BRITISH AMERICA. F /ooS CONTENTS VOLUME SECOND. BOOK I. NOVA SCOTIA. CHAPTER I. Boundaries. Superficies. Configuration. Natural Resources. Geological Features. Minerals. Productions. Wild Ani- mals, &c. &c. Natural Curiosities, 1 CHAPTER II. HISTORICAL SKETCH. Discovery. Cabot. Sir Humphrey Gilbert. De Monts. Port Royal. Potrincourt. Pontgrave. Champlain. Lescarbot. River St John. Settlement of Port Royal. Jesuit Mission- aries. Mount Desert Island. Demolition of Port Royal, &c. 1 1 CHAPTER III. England attempts planting Nova Scotia. Sir William Alex- ander. Baronets of Nova Scotia. Sir David Kirk. Claude de la Tour. Country ceded to France. Madame de la Tour. Acadia taken by Oliver Cromwell. Ceded again to France, 20 796344 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. PAGE Treaty of Utrecht finally secures Nova Scotia to England. Port Royal named Annapolis, in honour of Queen Anne. French A radians. Barbarities of the Savages. Grand attempt of France to recover Louisburg and Acadia. Splendid Expe- dition commanded by the Duke D'Ainville, and disastrous Sequel Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 28 CHAPTER V. Plan for Colonizing Nova Scotia. Governor Cornwallis. Hali- fax founded. Indian Hostilities. Neutral French. Fleets which carry the Forces to Louisburg and Quebec arrive at Halifax. Mr Pitt's vigorous Policy. Constitutional Govern- ment granted to Nova Scotia. Treaty with the Indians, &c. 36 CHAPTER VI. Peace of 1763. Stamp-act submitted to in Nova Scotia. Lord William Campbell, Governor. Dockyard. Peace with the United States. Fleet with Loyalists arrive in Nova Scotia. Sbelburne built. Packets established. His present Majesty, then Duke of Clarence, entertained at Halifax. Windsor College founded. Governors, Sir John Wentworth, Duke of Kent, Sir George Prevost, Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, Earl Dalhousie, Sir James Kempt, Sir Peregrine Maitland, 47 CHAPTER VII. Constitution. Government. Administration of the Laws. Re- presentation of the Towns and Counties. Defence of the Colony. Militia. Revenue. Quit Rents. Statute Labour. Poor Rates. Public Burdens, &c 58 CHAPTER VIII. Description of Halifax. Society. Manners and Amusement -. Public Establishments. Institutions. Interrour*e with Europe, United State-. West Indies, and Nnrtliein Colo- nies. Trade. Chamber of Commerce. Whale Ships, &c. 72 CONTENTS. Vll CHAPTER IX. PAOK Descriptive Sketches of the principal Settlements, ... 95 CHAPTER X. Agriculture. Former Neglect of Systematic Husbandry. Agri- cola's Letters. Board of Agriculture. Soils. Agricul- tural Returns. Live Stock, . . 142 CHAPTER XI. Trade. Commercial Resources. Former Restrictions. Advan- tage of Mr Canning's Policy in prohibiting the Admission of United States' Vessels into the Ports of the West Indies. Impolicy of opening these Ports to the Americans. Petition on the Subject. Mr Cambreleng's Report. Exports and Imports. Whale, Herring, and Cod Fisheries, &c. . .151 CHAPTER XII. Seminaries of Education. Religion. Population. Remarks on the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants of Nova Scotia. General Characteristics of the same Classes of Settlers in all the Colonies. American Loyalists, English, Lowland Scotch, Highland and Island Scotch. Germans. Acadians. French. Freed Negroes of Nova Scotia, . . 174 CHAPTER XIII. Acadian French, 191 CHAPTER XIV. Negroes from the United States. Sierra Leone Company. Fatal Consequences of removing the Negroes from Nova Scotia to Africa. Maroons sent from Jamaica to Halifax. Removed also to Africa. Chesapeake Negroes settled at Hammond Plains and Prescot. Wretched Condition, . 204 NOTES TO BOOK 1 211 VIM CONTENTS. BOOK II. Nh\V BRUNSWICK. CHAPTER I. Geographical Boundaries. Geological Features. Minerals. Wild Animals. Fishes, &c. Climate, &c. Settlement of the Country. Sufferings of early Settlers. Governor Carleton. General Smyth. Sir Howard Douglas. Con- stitution. Administration of the Laws, &c 217 CHAPTER II. Divisions of the Province. Description of the City and River of St John. Prairie. Suburbs of Portland and Carleton. Society. Lower Cataracts. Indian Town. Steam-boat. River Scenery. Grand Bay. Kennebecacis. Alwington Manor. Long Reach. Belle-Isle Bay. Washedemoak. Grand Lake, &c. FREDERICTON Beauty of its Situation. Luxuriant Scenery. Public Buildings. Governor's House. New Brunswick College. River St John, continued. Wood- stock. Beautiful Alluvial Islands. American Encroach- ments. Mars' Hill. Tributary Rivers. Grand Falls. Acadian Settlement at Madawaska. Route to Canada. Lake Tamisquata, &c 228 CHAPTER III. Coast of the Bay of Fundy. Passamaquoddy Bay, and Islands. Grand Manan. Campobello. Deer Island. American Frontier. Eastport and Robinstown. Town of St An- drew. St Stephen's. Rivers St Croix and Schoodic. Dig- daquash. Magaguadavic. L'Etang. Le Pn-uux. Mu-- quash. Quaco. Chepody. Petit Coudiac. Memramcook. Westmoreland. Great Roads. Interior Settlements, &c. 249 CONTENTS. ix CHAPTER IV. PAGE Coast of New Brunswick within the Gulf Shore. Miramichi River and Settlements. Chatham, Newcastle, &c. Occu- pations of the Inhabitants. Timber Trade. Cultivation of the Soil. Salmon Fishery. Tremendous Fire of 1825. Effects on the Soil. Harbours on the Gulf Coast, &c. . 260 CHAPTER V. BAY DE CHALEUR. Miscou. Shippigan. St Peter's. Rustigouche. Bonaven- ture. Carlisle. Gaspe, &c. Climate of the District of Gaspe. Whale-Fishery, 275 CHAPTER VI. Trade. Imports and Exports. Timber Trade. Lumbering Parties. Rafting. Habits and Character of a Lumberer. Manner of preparing Timber for Exportation. Saw-Mills. Agriculture. Attention of Sir Howard Douglas to the Encouragement of Husbandry. Agricultural and Emigrant Societies. Live Stock and Average Crops, 292 CHAPTER VII. Population. Religion. Education, College of New Bruns- wick. Madras Schools, 317 NOTES TO BOOK II . 324 BOOK III. CANADA. CHAPTER I. Discovery and History. Jacques Cartier. Champlain founds Quebec. War with the Indians. Company of New France. Ilecollet Friars. Quebec taken by the English. Restored X ( ONTBM I 8, PACK to France. Mission of Sillery. Jesuits' College at Quebec founded. Hotel Dieu. Convent of St Ursula. Death of Champlain. Order of St Sulpicius found an Establish- ment at Montreal. Hostilities of the Iroquois. Introduc- tion of Brandy among the Savages. A Bishop arrives at Quebec, and a Seminary founded. Sisters of the Cotfgre- gation. Tremendous Earthquake, 328 CHAPTER II. Company of New France surrender their Charter. Canada placed under the Government of the Company of the West Indies. Wars with the Iroquois. Discovery of the Mis- sissippi. Church of Quebec. Attempts to convert tin- Savages. Clergy. Administration of the Laws. Cala- mities of the Indians from the ravages of the Smallpox. Hostilities between the English and French Colonists, . S47 CHAPTER III. Perilous condition of Canada. Reappointment of M. Fron- tenac. War with the Indians. Sir William Phipps attacks Quebec. Hostilities between the English and French Colo- nists. Conferences with the Indians. Death of Count Frontenac. M. de Vaudreuil. Indian Perfidy. Le Hat. War with the Autagamis. Death of M. de Vaudreuil. M. de Beauharnois. War between France and England, &c. 364 CHAPTER IV. Preparations made by the English for conquering Canada. Forces under General Wolfe land, and ascend the Heights. Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Death of Wolfe. Sur- render of Quebec. Death of Montcalm. Surrender of Niagara. Ticonderago. Crown Point and Montreal. The Intendunt- General M. Bigot's Fraudulency. Governor Murray's Report. Governor Sir Guy Carleton. Quebec Act. (irncral Montgomery invades Canada. Reduces the Outposts, takes Montreal, besieges Quebec. His death. CONTENTS. XI FACE The Provincialises repulsed. Lord Dorchester arrives as Governor-General. Quebec Act of 1791. Partition of the Province. Governor Prescott. Governor Milne. Sir James Craig. Sir George Prevost. Last American War. Bravery of the Canadians. Sir George Gordon Drummond. Sir John Coape Sherbrooke. Duke of Richmond. Earl of Dalhousie. Difficulties under his Administration. Sir James Kempt. Lord Aylmer, 377 CHAPTER V. Government and Laws of Canada. Quebec Act. Partition of the Province, and evil Consequences. Counties and Re- presentation. Coutume de Paris. New Division of the Province. Constitution of the Government. Administration of the Laws. Districts. Courts, Judges, Lawyers, Nota- ries. Canadian Laws, Estates, and Tenures. Revenue. Civil List. Military Force. Public Departments. Pub- lic Burdens, and Expenditure, &c 410 CHAPTER VI. Configuration and General Aspect of Canada. Geological Structure. Organic Remains. Steps. Mineralogy. West- ern Region. Rocky Mountains, Climate, &c. . . . 436 CHAPTER VII. Coast of the River St Lawrence, from Gaspe to Quebec. Bay of Seven Islands. Trinity. Manicougan Shoals. Port Neuf. South Shore. Cape Gaspe. Anse L'Etang. Matan. Mitis. Rimouski. Bique. Trois Pistoles. Appearance of the South Coast. Roads, Travelling. Ca- nadian Parishes. Auberges. Churches. Habitans' Houses. Riviere de Loup. Kamouraska. St Anne's. St Thomas. Habitans on Sunday. Moral Character. Point Levi. North Coast. Tadousac. Saghunny. Malbay. St Paul's. Islands in the St Lawrence. Orleans, &c 446 Xll CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII. City of Quebec. Appearance from the River. Lower Town, Wharfs, Hangards, Streets, Houses, Upper Town, Public Buildings, English and Catholic Cathedrals, Churches, Nun- neries, Jesuits' College, Market, Populace, Society, Cana- dian Gentry, Amusements, Summer, Winter, Classification of Ranks, Hotels, Table (THdte, Public Institutions, Liter- ary and Historical Society, &c., Trades-people, Auctions, Walls, Fortifications, Citadel of Cape Diamond. Wolfe and Montcalm's Monument. View from Cape Diamond, &c. 473 CHAPTER IX. Environs of Quebec. St lloch. Road to Montmorenci. Falls. Patterson's Mills. Road to St Foix. Sillery. Jeune Lo- rette. Hurons. Cascades. Lake St Charles. Falls of the Chaudiere. River St Lawrence from Quebec to Montreal. Post Roads. Winter Travelling. Steam-Boats. New Li- verpool. Rapids of Richlien. Trois Rivie'res. Ursuline Convent. Abbe de Calonne. Forges of St Maurice. Lake St Peter. Delta. Fort William Henry. River Richelieu. Summer Residence of the Governor. Fort Chambly. St Jean. Isle Aux Noix. Rouse's Point. Lake Champlain. St Lawrence from Fort William Henry to Montreal. . . 491 CHAPTER X. Montreal. General Appearance. St Paul's and Notre Dame Streets. Nelson's Monument. Champ de Mars. Suburbs. Public Buildings. Catholic Cathedral and Churches. Eng- lish Church. Scotch Kirk. Court-House. Jail. Govern- ment House. Nunneries. French College. M'GiH Col- lege. Natural History Society. Mechanics' Institution. Hospital. Public Schools. News-Room. Libraries. Pe- riodicals. Position of Montreal. Trade. Bateaux, Scows. Ninth-west Company. Bank. Committee of Trade. Po- pulation. Society. Hotels. Amusements. Theatre and Circus. Environs of Montreal. The Mountain Scenery. Outlets of Montreal. Lachine, &c ........ ->OS CONTENTS. Xiii CHAPTER XI. PAGK Partition of Canada. Impolicy of the Measure. Constitution. Laws. Counties. Public Offices. Church Establishment. Clcnry Reserves. Revenue. Public Burdens. Lachine Ca- iiul. River Uttawa. Voyagers. Settlement of Hull Timber. Cataracts. Union Bridge. Military Roads and Settle- ments. Perth, Lanark, Richmond. Navigation of the St Lawrence. Rideau Canal. Steam-Boats. Lake St Louis. Rapids. Glengary. Lake St Francis. St Rigis. Cornwall to Prescott. Lake of the Thousand Isles, 521 CHAPTER XII. Kingston Naval Establishment. Dock-yard. Ships of War. Sackett's Harbour. Lake Ontario. Steam-Ships. New Settlements. Marmora Iron Works. Bay of Quinte. York. Lake Simcoe. Coote's Paradise. Niagara. Brock's Mo- nument, 532 CHAPTER XIII. Cataract of Niagara, 540 CHAPTER XIV. Lake Erie. Chippawa. Fort Erie. Buffalo. Sugar Loaves. River Ouse. Port Talbot. Long Woods. River Detroit. Lake St Clair. Lake Huron. Canada Company. Guelph. Goderich. The Far West. Manitoulin Islands. Georgian Bay. Lake Michigan. Lake Superior. North-west Ter- ritory. Lake Salmon, 548 CHAPTER XV. Population of Lower and Upper Canada. Religion. Catholic Church and Clergy. Church of England. Kirk of Scot- land. Dissenters. Education. Jesuits. Priests. Colleges and Schools. Manners. Customs and Pursuits of the In- habitants. Habitans. Voyageurs. Coureurs du Bois. Bois Brides. Indians, , 558 Xiv CONTENTS. ( HAI'TKK XVI. PAG Trade. Commerce, while under the French Government. Annual Expenses of the Colony. Fur Trade. North- west and Hudson Bay Companies. South-west and New York Companies. Articles of Export. Potashes. Trade with the United States. General Trade. Imports and Exports. Recapitulation of the Trade, Population, and Capital of British America, 575 NOTES TO BOOK III. 590 SKETCHES OF BRITISH AMERICA. BOOK I. NOVA SCOTIA. CHAPTER I. Boundaries Superficies Configuration Natural Resources Geological Features Minerals Productions Wild Animals, &c. &c. Natural Curiosities. THIS province, previous to 1763, comprehended all the territories situated between the River St Croix and the Bay de Chaleur ; and after the peace of that year, the islands of St John and Cape Breton were added. In 1770, the first of these islands was separated from Nova Scotia, and shortly after the treaty of 1783 it was reduced, by dividing from it New Brunswick and Cape Breton, to the peninsula, which may be termed Nova Scotia proper, lying to the south of a line drawn from the head of the Bay de Vert, a branch of the Gulf of St Lawrence, to VOL, n. A 2 NOVA SCOTIA. Cumberland Basin, an arm of the Bay of Fundy. Cape Breton was again, in 1820, reannexed. Nova Scotia lies within the latitudes of 43 and 46 north, and the longitudes of 61 and 67 west. Its length is about 320 miles, and its average breadth about 70 miles. Its computed superficies, exclusive of Cape Breton, is 15,500 square miles ; from which nearly one-third may be deducted for lakes, arms of the sea, and rivers ; leaving about 7,000,000 acres of land, 5,000,000 of which may be considered adapted for cultivation, and the remainder as affording tole- rable pasturage. A great proportion of these lands, estimated at 3,500,000 acres, is still vacant, and in the hands of the crown ; but the largest unoccupied tracts do not in one place exceed 40,000 acres. As the sea-coast of Nova Scotia was that which necessarily presented itself to the first discoverers, and to those who afterwards visited the country with the view of planting or settling it ; and as it must also be admitted that its aspect, particularly on the Atlantic side, is barren, rugged, and apparently inca- pable of cultivation, it was altogether, without due investigation, from its first discovery, till within the last eighty or ninety years, condemned by England as a countryunfit for agriculture, cursed with a humid and most inclement climate, and unworthy of any consideration, except for the purpose of trading with the savages for furs. To account for the wrong opinions which individuals at first, and even a whole nation afterwards, form of APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 3 new countries, we must conclude that they arise from ignorance, or the bias of prejudice. Hence Nova Scotia, which undoubtedly possesses many advantages paramount to those of Canada, was long considered, both by England and France, of no important value, unless it were for its harbours, which afforded shelter for their ships, and the consequent convenience for each nation to annoy the other. The mines of this colony are alone sources of great wealth ; and it produces also, especially in the interior, great plenty of wood for ship-building, coopers, joiners, &c. The soil is capable of yielding more than a sufficient quantity of white and green crops for the support of the inhabitants ; and although the climate in winter is colder than in England, yet when the weather is cold, it is usually dry.* The Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, from Cape Canseau to Cape Sable, is pierced with innumerable small bays, harbours, and rivers. The shores are lined with rocks, and thousands of islands ; and although no part of the country can properly be considered mountainous, and there are but few high steep cliffs, yet the aspect of the whole, if not romantically sublime, is exceedingly picturesque ; and the scenery, in many places, is richly beautiful. The landscape which the head of Mahon Bay, in particular, presents, can scarcely be surpassed. There is deep water, almost without exception, close to the rocks and islands, and into the harbours. The coasting vessels sail among, and within, the * See the Theory of the Climate, vol. i. book ii. chap. iv. 4 NOVA SCOTIA. myriads of islands that line the coast, during the most blustering weather, and have thus the advantage of passing along in smooth water while there is a heavy sea running in the main ocean. Within the Bay of Fundy, the shores have a more continuous outline ; and, after passing St Mary's Bay, the rugged appear- ance of the coast diminishes, but it still presents a bold and generally high character as far as the Basin of Minas. The interior of Nova Scotia is intersected and watered by numberless streams, rivers, and lakes ; none of the last are large, or at least not considered so in America. Lake Rossignol, out of which a river, named the Mersey, runs to the harbour now called Liverpool, but formerly Rossignol, is said to be thirty miles long; and Lake George approaches to the same extent. The mountains, so called, scarcely warrant the appellation ; the highest elevation in the province not being more than 700 feet above the level of the ocean. A high hill, called Ardoise Mountain, lying between Halifax and Windsor, is considered the most elevated land inNovaScotia, and commands a more extensively beautiful and picturesque prospect of land and water than any part of America that I have seen, except the heights of Cape Diamond, above Quebec. There is alsoa range of high hills between Annapolis Basin and Argyll ; and a mountainous or hilly ridge extends on each side of Annapolis River, running parallel with the Bay of Fundy to Cape Blomidon. These GEOLOGICAL CHARACTER. - 5 eminences, with Horton Mountain, Aspotogan, Cape Porcupine, Mount Tom, and Cobequid Mountains, may be considered the only high lands of consequence in Nova Scotia. The geological features of this province are pro- minent ; and a greater variety of rocks present them- selves, particularly along the Atlantic shores, than I have observed in any other part of North America. Granite, trap, arid clay- slate, predominate, not only as primitive, but as the prevailing rocks, along the whole of the coast of Nova Scotia, and several miles into the country, extending from the Gut of Canseau to Cape Sable, and from thence to Brier Island. Quartz, usually in veins with clay-slate ; mica-slate, sienite, and gneiss, but always detached, occur also in this extensive district. Greywacke is the most pre- vailing kind of transition rock. Whether all the gyp- sum strata, and calcarious rocks, belong to the floetz class, I have not been able to ascertain. The vast gypsum strata within the Bay of Fundy, at the Gut of Canseau, and at Antigonish, evidently belong to the latter. iGranite and trap rocks appear at Cobequid Mountains, and occur probably in all the hilly parts of Nova Scotia ; but so small a portion of the interior has been examined, and so little is known respecting its geology, except where roads cross the country, that it would be presumptuous to state even what appearances indicate. Granite, and calcarious rocks, with grey and red sandstone, prevail in the northern parts of Nova Scotia, from the Gut of Canseau to the Bay de Vert ; 6 NOVA SCOTIA. and extend across the province to the Basin of Minas, if not interrupted by a granite ridge, which may very probably occur in the Mount Tom range of high lands. The hard grey, or blueish sandstone, which occurs in various parts of the province, makes excel- lent grindstones. The light grey granite, quarried at Whitehead, near Cape Canseau, makes remark- ably good millstones ; and a beautiful freestone, most admirably adapted for building, is abundant in seve- ral places, but particularly at Port Wallace. Among the minerals of this province, coal and iron certainly claim the first attention. As to the extent of the coal-fields, or what may be considered inde- pendent coal-fields, any opinion on the subject would be incorrect; and it may be sufficient to observe, that enough has been discovered for the consumption of America for centuries. Iron of excellent quality abounds in great plenty, in different parts of the pro- vince, generally accompanying vast strata of coal and chains of carboniferous limestone. A most extensive coal-field has been opened at Pictou.* It is accom- panied with vast strata of iron-stone. Coal abounds also at Chignecto, and many other parts of the pro- vinces. Different varieties of copper ore, but not in great plenty, is met with at Carriboo, Tatmagouche, and some other places. Lead ores, chiefly sulphuret * A particular account of the mines opened near Pictou, and of the spirited operations of the Albion Mining Company, will be found in a following chapter, with a description of the several minerals which were brought from those mines by the author, and examined by Professor Jameson. SOIL. 7 of lead and carbonate of lead, are also found in small quantities. Salt springs are met with near Pictou, at River Philip, and in some other parts ; one of which is saturated with salt in the proportion of 12 to 88 water.* The gradual improvements and opening of the country, and the enterprise of companies and indivi- duals, will likely be the means of discovering many other minerals ; and the mines in Nova Scotia will, in all probability, become sources of immense wealth. The soil of Nova Scotia is of many different qua- lities, and of various degrees of fertility. The allu- vial, or intervale lands, of which there are extensive tracts, are rich, and produce plentiful returns of wheat, barley, oats, Indian corn, potatoes, turnips, and all vegetables and fruits common in England. Apples, equal to any grown in the United States, are produced in many parts of the province; and vines, co- vering several acres, have been lately discovered grow- ing wild, or indigenous, near Digby. Some of the uplands, lying between the hilly ground and the in- tervales, or rivers, are light and poor, while the high, or what the inhabitants call the mountain lands, are rich, and very productive. This circumstance appears somewhat unaccountable ; and the cause assigned is, that the light sand, or other substances, which natu- rally impart little nutrition to vegetables, having been carried, at various periods, by the rains down from the hills, have left behind a rich loamy earth ; * Note A. 8 NOVA SCOTIA. and that the poor uplands, or rather midlands, which prevail below the hills, and which have been formed of those sandy and light deposits, being very deep and loose, therefore retain neither rich earth or ma- nures near the surface, and are consequently sterile and unproductive.* The lands on the southern coast are generally so rocky, as to admit of cultivation only at much ex- pense and labour. After the rocks and stones are removed, the soil is by no means barren ; and some remarkably fine tracts are met with at the heads of the bays and up the rivers. The lands, however, within the Bay of Fundy, and those lying between the Gut of Canseau and Bay de Vert, form fertile agricultural districts. The forest trees of this province are of the same kind and quality as those already described under the general head of American trees ; nearly all of which abound in Nova Scotia. The wild animals are the moose, carriboo, bear, loup-cervier, tiger-cat, fox, marten, otter, mink, beaver, musk-rat, porcupine, racoon, wood-chuck, fisher, weasel, squirrel, hare, &c., all of which, excepting the two last, have decreased very rapidly in their num- bers. Nearly all the birds common to North America, frequent Nova Scotia ; and there are but very few * Replies to the above purport have frequently been made to me, particularly at Truro, on remarking these seeming contradic- tions of character in the soil of the neighbouring lands. NATURAL CURIOSITIES. 9 kinds of fish which are found in the American seas, that do not swarm round the shores of this colony. Among the natural curiosities of this country, there is, within three or four miles of Halifax, a rock- ing granite stone, about seventy-five feet in circum- ference, and supposed to weigh 164 tons. It rests so equally on a flinty base of twelve inches, that the strength of one hand will put it in motion. It stands near the margin of a small, deep, dark, but placid lake, which is surrounded with wood ; and to which imagination has imparted additional gloom, from the legend of two men having chosen a lamentable ter- mination to their earthly pains and pleasures in its depths. From this circumstance, its name of Withrod Lake, has been changed to that of " The Devil's Bowl." At a brook near Pictou, there is a curious grotto named " Peter Frazer's Cave." It is formed of cal- carious rocks. The possessor, who lives in it during summer, has laid a wooden floor over its bottom, hung a door at the entrance, cut two lateral holes through the sides to admit light, and two through the roof to allow the smoke of his fire to escape. It is about 100 feet long, and irregular in its width. Beautiful stalactites suspend from the roof, and a small stream of pure sweet water flows along its base. On the coast of the Bay of Fundy, at St Peter's Point, there is another magnificent grotto. On pass- ing through its entrance, which is from the sea, and very narrow, we are suddenly introduced into a spacious hall, the roof of which is hung with sta- 10 NOVA SCOTIA. lactites; and brilliant gems are observed sparkling at the moment the light of torch or candle appears.* Beneath a steep cliff near Lunenburg, are three very remarkable caverns, with great gaping mouths, and named " The Three Ovens." * Having never seen the cave at St Peter's Point myself, I have noticed it from a description given me by an intelligent gentleman, residing in Annapolis county. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 11 CHAPTER II. HISTORICAL SKETCH. Discovery Cabot Sir Humphrey Gilbert De Monts Port Royal Potrincourt Pontgrave Champlain Lescarbot River St John Set- tlement of Port Royal Jesuit Missionaries Mount Desert Island Demolition of Port Royal, &c. NOVA SCOTIA was first discovered in 1497, by John Cabot, or his son Sebastian, under a commis- sion from Henry VII., some time before Columbus actually discovered the main continent of America. With the exception of adventurers trading to New- foundland, England neglected the discoveries of Cabot until 1583, when Sir Humphrey Gilbert, on making a second voyage to Newfoundland, where he left a small colony, made the attempt to reach the continent which ended so unfortunately, as before related, in his perishing with his whole ship's crew at sea. His brother, Sir John, revived his claim in 1607, and proceeded to America, where he died the following winter, on an island at the mouth of the Kennebec. His followers, after having endured ex- treme misery, returned in the spring to England. The discovery by Cabot, and the possession taken of Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, and after- wards of the continent by his brother Sir John, form 12 NOVA SCOTIA. the foundation of right by which England claimed Nova Scotia and the adjacent countries. The spirit of colonizing it, however, seems to have languished on the part of the English. It was otherwise with France. Mons. De Monts, a French Protestant, and a gentleman of enterprising, resolute spirit, obtained a commission, in 1603, from Henry IV., constituting him governor of all the countries of America, from 40" to 46 north, under the name of New France, which included Nova Scotia, then and long after called Acadia. Several French adventurers having previously visited Acadia and Canada, the vast pro- fits they realized, by bartering European commodities for furs, created at that time an extraordinary spirit of enterprise among the French merchants ; and as De Monts had, by his charter, secured a monopoly of the fur trade, a great number of wealthy men readily associated themselves with him. They soon equipped and fitted out four ships, loaded with all necessary stores and suitable goods, and in March 1604, they sailed from Havre ; De Monts having the chief command, accompanied by Champlain, the cele- brated navigator of the St Lawrence, as pilot, and M. Potrincourt, and M. Champdore, with numerous volunteer adventurers. De Monts arrived, on the 15th of May, at the harbour in Nova Scotia which now bears the name of Liverpool, where he found a French adventurer, named Rossignol, trading with- out commission for furs with the Indians. He con- fiscated this man's property, naming the harbour Port Rossignol, as if to console him for the loss of HISTORICAL SKETCH. 13 his wealth by this mark of honour. From this place, De Monts coasted westward to Port Mouton, where he landed, and formed an encampment. The vessels under De Monts having different destinations, the one which carried the principal sup- plies for the winter, and which had been ordered to proceed direct to Canseau, there to wait his arrival, was long missing, in consequence of the delays oc- casioned by the capturing of four French vessels engaged in trading without license with the savages. De Monts soon after dispatched this ship to Tad- vusac, a spacious harbour on the north side of the St Lawrence, at the dtboucke of the river Saghunny. The other two vessels were ordered to cruise along the shores of Cape Breton and the island of St John, and off the coast of Acadia, within the Gulf of St Lawrence, in order to prevent unauthorized adven- turers from trading with the natives. De Monts, in the ship immediately under his com- mand, then proceeded westerly, and sailed into St Mary's Bay, where he discovered iron ore.* He traversed the coasts of the Bay of Fundy, which he named Le Bai Francoise ; and, by the narrow strait now called Digby Gut, on the east side, entered a beautiful and extensive basin ; with which, and the surrounding prairies andluxuriant woods,Potrincourt * At this place, a priest named Daubre, having forgot his sword at a spring of water in the woods, returned for it, and lost his way ; and the ship, after waiting for him several days, left the Bay without him. On returning to the Bay several weeks afterwards, they found him nearly incapable of any exertion. 14 NOVA SCOTIA. was so much charmed, as to select it for his place of settlement. He accordingly received a grant of it from De Monts, named it Port Royal, and soon after returned to France, for the purpose of carrying out his family and the means of establishing himself in Acadia. De Monts meantime discovered, on the festival of St John, a large river, which he named after that saint. He afterwards sailed southward, until he came to the river now called St Croix. On a small island at the entrance of this river, they commenced form- ing a settlement, by clearing some acres of the trees, buildinga magazine, aplace of worship, several houses, and erecting a fort and battery. This place had, however, scarcely any advantage to recomenmd it, except its being easily defended. It was most im- providently chosen, as it afforded neither fresh water, nor proper fuel for winter ; nor was it the haunt of game. Out of the whole number, seventy-six, which formed De Monts' colony, thirty-seven were carried off by scurvy, produced by living on salt meat, and by having no water but what was procured from melting snow. When the spring broke up, De Monts, after exa- mining the coast as far as Cape Cod, in search of a more fit place for settlement, resolved on abandoning St Croix, and removing altogether, along with Pout- grave, who had then arrived with supplies from Europe, to Port Royal. In this place they soon established themselves ; and, with the usual success of the French in negotiating with the savages, seen- HISTORICAL SKETCH. 15 red the friendship of the Indians. De Monts sailed for France in autumn, leavingPontgrave,Champdore, and Champlain, in command of the colony. In May following, De Monts and Potrincourt sailed from France ; and, after a tedious passage, reached Canseau, from whence he dispatched a party of Indians to communicate his arrival to the settlers at Port Royal. Pontgrave had previously attempted to explore the coast south of Cape Cod, agreeably to the instructions of De Monts, but was driven back, and shipwrecked near the entrance of Port Royal. In consequence of this disaster, he built two small vessels ; and, putting all he could on board of them, and leaving two volun- teers in charge of the remaining stores, he then proceeded to Canseau, before the arrival of the mes- sengers from De Monts ; but returned on meeting with a boat's crew which De Monts had left at that place. It was considered that, notwithstanding the energy of De Monts, the settlements at Port Royal would have been unsuccessful, were it not for measures pointed out by Lescarbot, a gentleman bred to the law, but who, from personal attachment, accompanied Potrincourt. He showed the urgent necessity of importing and breeding domestic cattle, and of culti- vating the soil, in order to become independent of the Indians for food, or of receiving supplies of provisions from Europe. The settlers would then, he contended* be more secure in trading with the natives, by living 16 NOVA SCOTIA. more compactly, and not subjected to chance for the means of procuring food. De Monts left Acadia for France in August 1606. Still anxious to establish a colony farther south, he dispatched Potrincourt in another vessel to explore the country to the southward of Cape Cod ; but this, like his former voyage, was quite unsuccessful ; and he returned to Port Royal in November, where he was received with great joy, friendship, and respect, by Pontgrave, Lescarbot, arid Champlain. The winter being remarkably mild, and the spring early, these respectable adventurers appear, from Lescarbot's account, to have passed their time most agreeably and sociably. At their principal mess- table, Pontgrave, Champlain, Lescarbot, and twelve others, dined, taking upon them the offices of presi- dent and caterer in daily rotation. They diverted themselves in making short hunting excursions, and in employing their people in building two small shallops, and in erecting a mill. After waiting, how- ever, a long time for the arrival of De Monts with supplies from France, a vessel at last appeared from Canseau, bringing only a few provisions and stores, and the mortifying information that the charter of De Monts was revoked, in consequence of the remon- strances made against it by the French merchants ; and that he was therefore under the necessity of relinquishing all connexion with Acadia.* * About this time, several Dutch adventurers frequented the coast, and to such extremes did their avarice lead them, that they pillaged the very graves, in order to obtain the beaver skins of HISTORICAL SKETCH. 17 The high-minded Potriucourt, distressed, but not disheartened, at this intelligence, received at a time when the colony was so far established, that nothing but a substantial right to the soil, and some further assistance in the way of supplies, were necessary to ensure its prosperity and permanency, resolved to return to France, for the purpose, if possible, of ob- taining both. He did not leave, however, until he was enabled to carry with him samples of wheat, and other agricultural produce, some native animals, and several specimens of minerals, which, on his arrival in France, he presented to the king. He succeeded in obtaining a grant of Port Royal, saddled, however, with a stipulation to provide for two Jesuits, who were to accompany him for the conversion of the savages. This condition was ex- ceedingly disagreeable to such a spirit as that of Potrincourt ; and soon after his arrival at Port Royal, he did not scruple to let them know his deter- mination to exclude them from all interference with his affairs. He justly told them, " that their duty was limited to teaching men the way to Heaven, and that it remained for him to govern and direct those under him on earth." The residence of these bigoted priests at Port Royal would have been of little importance, were it not for the attendant sequel. Potrincourt, who unwisely, though honestly, de- which the Indians made the shrouds of their dead. Nothing could have exasperated the savages more, and they ever afterwards held the Dutch in execration. VOL. II. li 18 NOVA SCOTIA. spised them, made their situation far from being agreeable to their ideas ; and their repeated complaints against him, and his son Biencourt, were apparently terminated by the arrival of a vessel, dispatched in 161 3 by their patroness, a pious lady of the name of De Gaucherville. This ship, having on board two priests and some emigrants, carried away the two Jesuits from Port Royal ; and, sailing out of the Bay of Fundy, they fixed on the. Island of Mount Desert, lying a few miles north of Penobscot Bay, as a pro- per situation for a settlement. Here they commenced by erecting a cross, setting up the arms of their lady patroness, and naming the place St Saviour's. While proceeding rapidly with their buildings and improvements, they were surprised by an English ship of war from Virginia, commanded by a Captain Argall, who pillaged the place, and compelled them to surrender as prisoners of war, for having en- croached upon, and settled within, English limits. One of the Jesuits was shot through the head while urging the settlers to defend themselves ; two ships that lay at anchor were seized, in one of which most of the prisoners were sent to France ; the others were carried to Virginia. This affair led to the fitting out of an armament from Virginia, commanded by Argall, for the pur- pose of dislodging the French settled in Acadia. Argall, piloted by the Jesuit Beart, who thirsted for revenge, proceeded to Port Royal, now command i-d by Biencourt, the son of Potrincourt, and destroyed the fort, but spared the mills and corn-fields. Bien- HISTORICAL SKETCH. 19 court attempted to treat with him, offering Argall an equal share in the trade, if he could obtain the protection of England, and the person of the hated Jesuit ; but the conference ended by some of the French associating themselves with the savages, others leaving for Quebec to join Champlain, and by those who surrendered being sent to England.* This outrageous affair, during a time of profound peace between England and France, cannot be de- fended on the slightest ground of justice ; and it may be safely assigned, principally to the thirst for plunder, and partly to religious bigotry. By this unwarrantable waste, robbery, and violation of pri- vate property, to which force alone gave authority, the first settlement made in North America was de- stroyed in 1613 or 1615, after prospering for eight or ten years, and without experiencing a share of that ferocious opposition from the savages which proved so dreadfully fatal to the early attempts of England at colonisation. * Charleroix. Lescarbot. 20 NOVA SCOTIA. CHAPTER III. England attempts planting Nova Scotia Sir William Alexander Baronets of Nova Scotia Sir David Kirk Claude de la Tour Country ceded to France Madame de la Tour Acadia taken by Oliver Cromwell Ceded again to France, ALTHOUGH the French settlements in Acadia were destroyed, it was neglected by England until 1621, when Sir William Alexander obtained a grant of the whole territory called Acadia from James I., and the name of the country was changed to that of Nova Scotia. Sir William was an accom- plished gentleman, of high literary attainments, the author of several tragedies, and much about the court of James I., who afterwards appointed him a secre- tary of state, and created him a baron, with the title of Viscount Stirling. During the summer which followed the date of his patent, Sir William Alexander dispatched a vessel with a small colony for Nova Scotia, which, owing to delay and a long passage, had to winter at Newfoundland. This ship proceeded on her voyage in the spring, visited a few harbours in Nova Scotia, and then returned to England, without any attempt being made to establish a settlement. A most Utopian account of the country and climate was published HISTORICAL SKETCH. 21 from the descriptions of those who performed this voyage. From the time Port Royal was destroyed, up to this period, (1623,) great numbers of French, and seve- ral Dutch adventurers, resorted to the province, and occupied different parts of the country, where they carried on a profitable fur trade, as well as a fishery at Canseau, and in some other harbours, The war with France, however, which commenced in the early part of the reign of our Charles I., completely crushed the French plantations in Acadia ; and that monarch not only confirmed the grant to Sir William Alex- ander, but completed what James had intended, namely, the instituting of the order of Baronets of Nova Scotia. The institution of this order was ratified by parliament, and the number limited to one hundred and fifty ; certain stipulations, contained in the grants of land attached to these titles, were at first required to be fulfilled before they were con- firmed by the king. At present the title of baronet of Nova Scotia is conferred, without regard to num- ber, according to his majesty's pleasure, and with all the privileges and rank of baronets of Scotland. In 1627, Sir William Alexander, assisted by a French Calvinist of the name of Kirckt, who fled to England from Dieppe in France, on the score of religious persecution, fitted out a few vessels, well armed, for Nova Scotia. This squadron, commanded by Kirckt, who was also made a baronet, under the title of Sir David Kirk, proceeded on the voyage, and fell in with a 22 NOVA SCOTIA. fleet of French transports laden with stores, and one hundred and thirty-five pieces of ordnance, intended for Quebec and Port Royal. These vessels they captured, and in the following year reduced Port Royal. No settlement, however, was made at this period ; and two years after, Sir William Alexander, discouraged at the failure of his attempts to colonise Nova Scotia, transferred the whole, except Port Royal, to Claude de la Tour, a French protestant, who was on board the transports captured by Sir David Kirk. This gentleman possessed wealth, spirit, and an enterprising mind ; and while residing, after his capture, in England, he married a lady of the queen's household, and was knighted. He proceeded to Nova Scotia, where he had a son, Etienne de la Tour, still at Cape Sable, and commanding a fort on the part of France. No entreaty which his father could use would induce him to submit to the power of England, and in consequence Sir Claude was unsuccessful in forming a settlement. The inconsiderate treaty of St Germain, in 16.32, gave Nova Scotia, with Cape Breton and Canada, again to France ; and a long train of unfortunate and vexatious circumstances attended our American colonies in consequence. Canada, Acadia, Cape Breton, and St John's Island, were then placed under the worst of all governments ; namely, that of a company of merchants. These were embodied by royal charter, and styled " The Company of New France ;" under whose vassalage HISTORICAL SKETCH. 23 Acadia was now governed by M. Razillais. The lands of the colony were divided principally between the governor, whose share fell to his successor Dau- bre Charnis& Mon Denys, and Etienne de la Tour. The jealousies of Charnise and La Tour, arising principally from rivalship in the fur trade, partook for many years of a similar spirit to that which directed the predatory warfare of feudal chieftains ; and Mon Denys, who occupied the country from Cape Canseau to Gaspe', and who built a fort, and re- sided at Chedebucto, where he carried on a profitable fur trade, was finally ruined by the intrigues of his countrymen, and driven from this country.* De la Tour's principal establishment was on the river St John. His wife appears, from the records of that period, to have been a most extraordinary woman, possessing fortitude and courage seldom sur- passed even by the heroines of romance. Madame de la Tour, having had occasion to visit England on the affairs of her husband, engaged on her return with the master of a vessel to land her at the river St John ; who, instead of doing so, pro- ceeded to Cape Breton, and the countries within the Gulf of St Lawrence, where he continued during the summer, trading with the savages, and afterwards sailed for Boston. Madame de la Tour was detained during this period on board the ship of this European savage, suffering all the miseries of a protracted voy- age, and the most painful uneasiness of mind. On * Note B. 24 NOVA SCOT I A. landing at Boston, she commenced an action against the villainous captain, and recovered about L.2000 damages. She then proceeded to the fort at the River St John, where, during the absence of her husband, she was besieged by Charnisc', whom she beat off with extraordinary heroism, by disabling his ship, and killing and wounding several of his men. Some time after, the brutal Charnise, taking again the advantage of La Tour's absence, attacked his fort, and Madame de la Tour, with astonishing bravery, commanded its defence ; but at length, in order to save the lives of her few remaining men, she accepted the terms of capitulation proposed by Charnisd. On entering the fort, this horrible tyrant, enraged at having been once so gallantly repulsed, and a second time so courageously resisted by a female, hanged all the prisoners except one, whom he com- pelled to execute the rest. He then led Madame de la Tour with a halter round her neck to a tree ; and. after exposing her for some time, either hung her, or the effects of the indignant treatment she had re- ceived, and grief for the fate of her brave and faith- ful people, caused her death in a few days. Charnise then destroyed the fort, and carried the ordnance, and all La Tour's effects, to Penobscot, to which place he had removed from La Have. La Tour's own character, however, was none of the fairest ; and the records of Massachusetts Bay charge him with disgraceful and ungrateful conduct. He afterwards went to Canada and Hudson's Bay, where he was connected with the fur trade ; but HISTORICAL SKETCH. 25 returned on the death of Charnise, whose widow he married ; and by the death of a pious lady of St Omers, a sister of Charnise, he became possessed of all his property in Nova Scotia. La Tour remained in peaceable possession until 1654, when an armament, dispatched by Oliver Crom- well, conquered the province. Disgusted with his own countrymen, who were about to dislodge him by intrigue and force, when Acadia submitted to the arms of England, La Tour transferred his allegiance ; and two years after, he obtained a grant of his lands from the Protector. He afterwards sold his lands and property in Nova Scotia to Sir Thomas Temple, who, after spending large sums in forming establish- ments, and after securing a profitable share in the fur trade, was most unjustly deprived of the whole by the treaty of Breda, which ceded the province again to France. An armament, sent in 1690 from Massachusetts, under the command of Sir William Phipps, retook Port Royal, levelled its fortifications, and burnt the establishments at Chedebucto. The object of this expedition appears to have been more to annoy the French than to possess the country. It was, however, considered as a conquered province, and added by a new charter to the government of Massachusetts. Some aggressions on the part of France, who still occupied her usual places of resort for the fur trade, and the demolition, by Villibon, the French governor, and the Baron Castine, reinforced by two ships of war, of the English fort at Pemiquid, were resented 26 NOVA SCOTIA. by an expedition under the command of Colonel Church. He sailed up the Bay of Fundy, drove most of the Acadians to the woods ; and, on the re- fusal of those who surrendered to join the English in pursuit of the Indians, he burnt their church and all their houses, destroyed their cattle, and demolished the dikes which guarded their rich marshes from the sea. In 1696, the treaty of Ryswick gave Nova Scotia again to France ; and that government soon after entered with spirit and resolution into measures for colonizing the province, and securing its fur trade, and especially the fisheries. The latter, in which the English had for some time participated largely, be- came the fertile cause of dispute between the New England colonists and the French in Nova Scotia. The French government also encouraged the pirates who infested the coasts to commit depredations on the shores of Massachusetts, and on the English fish- ing vessels, by offering them an asylum, and the means of disposing of their .plunder, at La Have. The people of New England retaliated, in 1704, by dispatching Colonel Church a second time, with about six hundred troops, to pillage the French settlements in Nova Scotia. He proceeded to Passamaquody, where he burnt all the houses, and seized the pro- perty of the inhabitants. He then crossed the bay to Port Royal, and sent the boats with a detachment to Minas, where they plundered and destroyed three flourishing villages. On their return to Port Royal, Church discovered HISTORICAL SKETCH. 27 that the fortresses built since he destroyed the place eight years before, were too strong to be taken by the force under his command. He therefore sailed to Chignecto, where he laid waste all the settlements, and carried the plunder to Massachusetts. The New England States, still unwilling to relinquish the con- quest of Nova Scotia, raised a thousand troops, who were dispatched, in 1707, with two ships of war, to take Port Royal ; but they were repulsed with great gallantry by M. Subercuse, who succeeded Brouil- lard. The same force was soon after sent again from New England to Port Royal, but they returned a second time equally unsuccessful. The conquest of Port Royal was, however, deter- mined upon, and in 1710, an armament, commanded by General Nicholson, an able and brave officer, con- sisting of four men-of-war, nineteen transports, with one regiment of marines, and four provincial regi- ments, appeared before Port Royal. With the ex- ception of those on board of one vessel that was wrecked, the troops landed without difficulty. Bat- teries were immediately erected by the English ; and after a heavy cannonading on both sides, the garrison capitulated. The conditions were most honourable both to General Nicholson and the gallant Subercuse. NOVA SCOTIA. CHAPTER IV. Treaty of Utrecht finally secures Nova Scotia to England Port Royal named Annapolis, in honour of Queen Anne French Acadians Bar- barities of the Savages Grand attempt of France to recover Louisburg and Acadia Splendid Expedition commanded by the Duke D'Ainville, and disastrous Sequel Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. FRANCE still seemed anxiously disposed to regain possession of Nova Scotia, but the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, secured the province to England, from which time the country has not been subject to any other government ; and there is not any of his Majesty's colonies, unless it be Newftnmdland, so likely to re- main firm in its allegiance to Great Britain. The name of Port Royal was now changed, in ho- nour of Queen Anne, to Annapolis ; the fortifications were repaired and strengthened ; and General Nichol- son appointed as the first resident British governor. He arrived at Annapolis in 1714, but could not succeed in obtaining the allegiance of the French set- tlers, who, by the capitulation of Port Royal, were allowed two years to retire, with their effects, from the province. In 1719, Colonel Phillips arrived, and succeeded Governor Nicholson ; and, by the royal instructions, established a council to assist him in the civil affairs of the colony. The pro- HISTORICAL SKETCH. 29 vince, at this period, was resorted to only by trading adventurers, and there were no resident inhabitants but the Acadian French, who, although abandoned by their hereditary sovereign, still withheld allegiance to any other.* Clinging with extraordinary affection and lingering hopes to France, it was long, and then with wonderful reluctance, before many of these unfortunate, and frequently ill-used people, were induced to swear fealty to the King of England. From this period to the peace (1763,) that succeeded the conquest of Louisburg and Canada, Nova Scotia was incessantly harassed by the savages ; while the ill-fated Acadians kept the provincial government at the same time in continual uneasiness ; and the powerful armaments of France, sent to reconquer the country, experienced the most tragical discomfiture. The details of these circumstances, although interest- ing, would now be considered tedious ; and it will probably be sufficient to observe the leading features of this period. The vicinity of the islands of St John and Cape Breton to Nova Scotia, which were still possessed by France, formed not only retreats for the savages, but places where they received rewards for their barba- rities, as well as instructions from the Jesuit mis- sionaries. The building and fortifying of Louisburg gave France a safe rendezvous for her fleets, and a * The condition of the Acadian French, from the first settlement of Acadia to the present time, forms a subject of such interest, as to require, besides what of curs in this Historical Sketch, a distinct account, which will appear in a subsequent chapter. ;*() NOVA M OTIA. position in every respect incomparably superior to Port Royal, for the purpose of annoying and injuring the English colonists. The hopes of the Acadian French, cherished by a knowledge of the past event- ful history of Acadia, which had so often changed its masters, held them ever ready to assist even the feeblest effort of France to regain its sovereignty. The settlement of Acadia was long disregarded by the British, although the governors issued procla- mations which stated their readiness to grant lands on favourable terms to emigrants. But the New England and Southern States were at this time in a condition to afford abundant room for new settlers ; and men, especially farmers, preferred removing to those places where others had previously gone, and of whom, or of their success, they had some know- ledge. Very few, therefore^ except trading adven- turers, resorted for a long time to Nova Scotia. A respectable fishery was, previously to 1720, esta- blished at Canseau harbour ; but during the autumn of that year, a desperate attack was made on this place by the Indians, several persons were killed, all the property plundered, and the merchants ruined. Many other acts of pillage and cruelty were com- mitted by the savages ; and several vessels lying in the different harbours were surprised and plundered, and the crews either scalped or made prisoners. The Indians contended that the country was theirs by immemorial occupancy, and that they were an indt'iK'iulent people ; and the Governor of Louisburg, although it was well known that the savages were HISTORICAL SKETCH. 31 persuaded by the French to commit these outrages, declared that he had no control over them. In 1723, Canseau was surprised a second time by the Indians, who seized sixteen or seventeen vessels lying at anchor, and took several prisoners, some of whom they scalped. Even the seat of government (Annapolis) was attacked by them ; and, although repulsed, they burnt some houses, took several pri- soners, one or two of whom they scalped. It became at length necessary to resort to resolute and effective measures against the Indians. On the west coast of the Bay of Fundy, the Abenaqui tribe were entirely governed by a Jesuit priest, named Pere Ralle, and by a son of the Baron Castine by an Indian woman. The latter, whom they considered their cacique or leader, was arrested, but soon after- wards released. He and Pere Rall& resided at Ken- nebec ; and an expedition against the Indians and Acadians settled in this place, was dispatched from Massachusetts, which defeated both with great slaughter, and among the killed was Pere Ralle. The chapel, crucifix, and all that was considered idolatrous, were then destroyed, the goods plundered, and the buildings subjected to conflagration. The fate of Pere Ralle was much deplored by the Indians ; and it was maintained that the provincials, after he was killed, treated his body with the most brutal barbarity.* Soon after the beginning of the war that commen- * NoteC. XOVA SCOTIA. ced with France in 1744, Canseau was destroyed by an expedition sent from Louisburg. The Indians al>o recommenced their hostilities; and, under the directions of a French priest, and with some troops under the command of an officer from Cape Breton, besieged Annapolis. They were, however, compelled to raise the siege ; and rewards were at the same time offered by the English to those who captured or scalped the savages. These premiums were, L. 1 20 for every male prisoner above twelve years old, or L.I 00 pounds if scalped ; and L.60 for women and children made prisoners, or L.50 if scalped. Not- withstanding these measures, Annapolis was again attacked by about one thousand Indians and several Acadians, commanded by French officers. These were also repulsed, and Louisburg and the island of St John were taken the following year by the provin- cial troops under General Pepperel. The conquest of Cape Breton and St John's was of serious consequence to France, while it secured Nova Scotia, in a great measure, against the depredations of the savages, and gave the British ships of war the advantage of all the harbours on the coasts of Ame- rica, with t lie consequent effectual means of annoying tin- cojiniuTce of France. The li arbour of Louisburg, and the possession of Cape Breton and Nova Scotia, was, however, an object of too much importance to the French nation, to be abandoned to England without an extraordinary effort to recover those colonies. One of the most powerful that had ever left France for North America 6 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 33 was therefore equipped for sea, provided with im- mense stores of artillery, ammunition, and provisions, and having on board about four thousand regular troops. The supreme command was given to the Duke d'Anville. They sailed early in the summer of 1746 from Rochelle, unobserved by the English, and escaped the pursuit made by Admiral Lestock. The disasters which this expedition experienced are scarcely paralleled by the fate of the invincible Armada of Spain. After a passage of nearly three months, D'Anville, with three ships, reached Che- bucto, where one of his ships had arrived before him. He died a few days after. Several other vessels arrived, after experiencing great hardships ; and the second command, under the vice-admiral, was assu- med by M. De la Jonquire, governor of Canada. Eighteen hundred men, chiefly Indians arid coureurs du bois, intended to co-operate with D'Anville, arri- ved early in the season at Minas, under M. de Ram- zay, who, having waited beyond the expected time, returned towards Canada. Four hundred of these were overtaken, and returned and joined the French force in Acadia. But the wretched condition of the troops that had arrived from France, and the great number of ships with stores and troops which were either lost or not accounted for, called for a council of war, in which the bombardment of Louisburg, according to the original plan, was relinquished, and an attack upon Annapolis agreed to, much against the advice of Vice-Admiral Destournelle, who now had the chief command. Up- VOL. II. C .; i NOVA SCOTIA. wards of twelve hundred men were lost during the voyage from France, and the majority of the survivors \\viv ivduced to a condition of helpless debility by scurvy and fever. It was found necessary to allow them time to recover, and encampments were accord- ingly formed for their accommodation. The infec- tion was then caught by the Indians, several hun- dreds of whom became its victims ; and about the same number of sailors and troops as died during the voyage, were carried off by disease after landing. Destournelle, reduced to that state of bodily weakness and depression of mind which usually causes deli- rium, terminated his life by running a sword through his body. Great as all these accumulated evils were, the attack upon Annapolis, if to be attempted at all, could not be longer deferred ; and the fleet, reduced from seventy to forty ships, with the remaining troops, accordingly left Chebucto on the 13th October. The measure of calamity, however, which destiny had prepared for this expedition, was not yet completed. A tremendous storm dispersed the fleet off Cape Sable, drove them from the coast, and back to France, where most of them arrived in a shattered, disabled, and miserable condition. This splendid fleet, which raised such glorious hope> in France, and caused proportionate terror in tin' Briti>h colonies, would, no doubt, if attended with I'vi'ii common fortune, have repossessed France of all the- colonies she claimed in America. The glorious sun of England was now, however, in the ascendant ; and in the beginning of May, another HISTORICAL SKETCH. 35 fleet of thirty-nine ships, most expensively equipped, and destined for America, under the command of the gallant Jonquire, was defeated by Admiral Anson. M. Ramzay still remained in Nova Scotia, holding the province in a state of alarm ; but the intelligence of Jonquire's defeat destroyed all the sanguine hopes he had entertained of success, and he soon after re- tired to Canada. After the power of France had been so effectually weakened in America as to leave all the sea-coasts and the fisheries under the dominion of Great Britain, there was scarcely any circumstance that could have more deeply mortified the English colonists than the restitution of Cape Breton to France by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. 3G NOVA SCOTIA. CHAPTER V. Plan for Colonizing Nova Scotia Governor Cornwall!* Halifax Founded Indian Hostilities Neutral French Fleets which carry the Forces to Lou'iMbiirg and Quebec arrive at Halifax Mr Pitt's vigorous Policy Constitutional Government granted to Nova Scotia Treaty with the In- dians, &c. A PLAN for settling the province of Nova Scotia, agreeably to the recommendation of the Board of Trade, was now decided upon ; and measures were adopted to form a settlement, and build a town and fortifications, within a harbour of equal security with Port Royal, and one that possessed also the advantage of immediate access during the whole year from the Atlantic. The encouragement offered by government to effect this object, was too favourable not to be immediately accepted. Lands were to be granted to officers who had served during the war ; the quantity, according to rank, from two hundred to six hundred acres ; and to soldiers and seamen, fifty acres, with an addition according to the number of their families. Forty thousand pounds were voted by Parliament for de- fraying the expense of conveying the settlers to Nova Scotia, to assist in the erection of habitations, and to furnish one year's provisions. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 37 Chebucto, on the east coast of the province, was fixed upon, on account of its safe and capacious har- bour, at all times accessible, with its position the most convenient of any part of America as a rendezvous for fleets, and as a station to command the coasts, and to annoy the French trade with Canada, Cape Breton, and the West Indies. In the month of June, the Honourable Edward Cornwallis, holding his Majesty's commission as governor of the province, arrived with about four thousand adventurers at Chebucto harbour ; and having fixed on the sloping side of a peninsula, on the west side of the harbour, for the site of a town, laid it out according to a regular plan, and named it Halifax, in honour of the Earl of Halifax, then pre- sident of the Board of Trade and Plantations. By the judicious arrangements of Governor Corn- wallis, and the celerity with which the woods were cleared away, and houses and huts built, the colo- nists, as well as the military and seamen, were com- fortably accommodated with habitations before win- ter. A council was formed, and measures adopted for the preservation of order, regulating the direction of labour, and enforcing a due obedience to the laws. Plans for defending the town were soon afterwards executed. The hostile spirit of the Indians rendered this necessary; while it was well known that the French colonists never ceased to excite the savages, over whom the priests had astonishing influence, to acts of depredation, as long as they held possession of Louisburg. Neither could the Acadian French 38 NOVA SCOTIA. be depended upon. Although they and the Indians professed by their deputies submission to England, yet they resolved to remain as formerly neutral, and refused to become subjects by swearing allegiance to his Britannic Majesty. The Indians, meantime, plundered Canseau, attacked Dartmouth, opposite Halifax, scalped some of the inhabitants, murdered nearly half the crews of two ships in Halifax har- bour, and carried off several prisoners, whom they sold at Louisburg. They were incessantly commit- ting murders along the coasts, and it was impossible to guard the colonists effectually against enemies, who sprung with the agility and fury of tigers from the thickets, or who came along silently in their birch canoes during night. The Governor of Louisburg pretended, as formerly, that he had no control over them, and that the premiums for English prisoners were given from motives of humanity, to prevent the horrible tor- tures which the savages would inflict upon them, or their excruciating death by the murderous scalp- ing-knife. Governor Cornwallis, however, was convinced that the answer of the Governor of Louisburg was mere finesse, to prevent remonstrances against the French government during peace ; that many of the neutrals who were settled at Minas and Chignecto had already sworn allegiance to France ; and that they were all ready to join a force sent by De la Jonquire from Canada under M. la Come, who had built forts .it Mina- :md Bay de Vert. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 39 Major Lawrence, who was dispatched with a small detachment to Chignecto, found that the inhabitants, on learning that he was approaching, had burnt their houses, and joined La Corne ; and, after an unsatis- factory interview with this officer, he returned to Halifax. A force of one thousand men was in con- sequence sent to Chignecto under Major Lawrence, where he effected a landing with some difficulty and sharp skirmishing, and the loss of several men. The French and Indians saved themselves by escaping across the river and joining La Corne. He then built a fort, which served to overawe the French, and to check the incursions of the Indians. The French, however, built several other forts ; and the Governor-General of Canada, as well as the Governor of Cape Breton, still persisted in encoura- ging the Indians and Acadian French in their depre- dations. The government of France, when repeatedly acquainted with these breaches of national faith during peace, promised immediate attention to the subject, and that no time should be lost in sending positive orders to Jonquire to remove all cause of remonstrance. Dartmouth was, however, again surprised by the savages, who scalped and made prisoners of the ma- jority of the inhabitants, and plundered their houses, escaping by the Shubenacady lakes to the Bay of Fundy ; and the settlement formed by a colony of industrious Germans at Malagash, or Lunenburg, was perpetually harassed, and many of the inhabit- ants murdered by the Indians. K) NOVA SCOTIA. Major Lawrence succeeded to the administration of the government in 1754 ; and soon after, an expe- dition from New England, under the command of Colonel Monkton, proceeded to Chignecto, where he was joined by four ships of war and a detachment of regular troops. .After bombarding and taking a block-house and battery, Fort Beau-Sejour, which mounted twenty-six pieces of artillery, was stormed, and the garrison made prisoners and sent to Louis- burg. The fort on Bay Vert was then invested and taken. In both, great stores of ammunition and pro- visions were found. To secure the peace of the province, and to deprive the Acadians from assisting the French or encoura- ging the Indians, it was determined by Governor Lawrence to remove them from Nova Scotia, unless they subscribed to the oath of allegiance in the fullest manner. Their conduct at Chignecto was considered indefensible, although they always declared that they were forced to join La Corne, or else lose their lands, which he claimed as within the limits of Canada. They never had taken the oath of allegiance, and could not be treated as rebels. They now expressed all humility, and begged to be allowed to remove to Canada or Cape Breton, if they were to be sent from Nova Scotia, which they loved, and in which they were happy. They offered willingly to swear alle- giance, if they were exempted from bearing arms against their countrymen and the Indians. Their case was certainly difficult to adjust. To permit them to remove either to Canada, or to the HISTOUICAL SKETCH. 41 French colonies, would be adding great strength to the enemies of Britain, as war had then com- menced ; and to allow them to remain in posses- sion of their lands, situated in the most dangerous part of the province, lying in the best route for the French and Indians to attack Nova Scotia, was con- sidered equally dangerous ; while the religious spirit of the English colonists, at the same time, distrusted the neutrality of Catholics, even under the sanction of an oath. The Acadians were, therefore, without any intima- tion as to the object of calling them together, com- manded to appear before Colonel Winslow at Grand Pre ; and, in consequence of this summons, about four hundred men assembled. They were then shut up in the church, which was now turned into a garri- son, where they were told that they were immediately to be removed from the province, and distributed among the other colonies, and that their cattle and lands were forfeited to the crown. There were at this time from seventeen to twenty thousand Acadians inhabiting the rich and fertile lands of the province ; they possessed upwards of sixty thousand head of horned cattle, seventy thou- sand sheep, fifty thousand hogs, besides horses. As their circumstances were equally distant between poverty and wealth, and their habits and education in that simple medium state between barbarism and refinement, their condition probably embraced as much happiness as man can enjoy, or human nature admit. Many of these people fled to the woods, and 42 NOVA SCOTIA. joined the Indians ; others found their way to Ca- nada and the Island of St John. The villages were laid waste, and their houses burnt to ashes. The whole of the settlements at Chignecto and Minas were subjected to conflagration ; and the wretched inhabitants, deprived of shelter, were obliged to sub- mit, or fly to the woods, and finally escape to Canada, the Island of St John, or Cape Breton. From seven to eight thousand in all gave themselves up to be disposed of by the British commander ; and it must be mentioned to the honour of Colonel Winslow, a brave and excellent officer, that, in sending them away from the country to which they were so much attached, he acted with more kindness and delicacy than his orders strictly allowed.* The formidable warlike preparations then in ope- ration, and which at that period occupied the atten- tion of all Europe, became paramount to every other consideration with England, as its glory and pro- sperity seemed to rest on the die that should be cast by the fortune of this war. Nova Scotia, in consequence of the commanding harbour of Halifax having become the rendezvous of the navy, and for some time the head-quarters of the forces, had now attained a summit of importance hitherto unknown in English estimation. In the summer of 1757, a fleet of thirty-two ships and several transports, under the command of Admi- ral Holborne, arrived at Halifax, with five thousand Se the condition of tho A radians in chap. xh'i. b. 1, vol. ii. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 43 troops, under Lord Howe; and Lord London, on whom the chief command in America devolved, joined them with six thousand troops from New England. The grand object of these forces was the conquest of Louisburg and Canada ; but the late discomfiture of the British troops near the Canadian lines, and the powerful fleet and strong garrison then at Louisburg, were considered wise grounds for deferring an attack until the following year. Meantime, Admiral Hoi- borne proceeded with a fleet of twenty ships to recon- noitre off the harbour of Louisburg ; but considering it imprudent to engage the French fleet at that time, he returned to Halifax. He soon after, with a rein- forcement of four ships of the line, sailed for Louis- burg ; but the French admiral, secure within the har- bour, and fully protected by the batteries, would not hazard an engagement, which alone might ruin the power of France in America. While on the coast, the whole English fleet were driven by a tre- mendous storm so near the rocks, that nothing but a sudden change of wind could have saved any of the ships. One vessel, with about half the crew, was lost, ten dismasted, most of them threw their guns overboard, and in this disastrous condition they were compelled to bear away for England, where they arrived in a very disabled state. Such was the unfortunate termination of this powerful and expensive expedition, that the con- quest of Louisburg and Canada would have been, in all probability, abandoned, if the British government had not then had at the head of its councils a man 44 NOVA SCOTIA. whose mind misfortunes could not subdue, nor diffi- culties discourage. Mr Pitt was this year appointed premier, and his almost superhuman sagacity soon discovered, that if Great Britain did not humble France, by conquering Cape Breton and Canada, the splendid sun of Eng- land would be obscured by the loss of our trade, and the ruin of the British colonies. The vast importance of these colonies never, until he expired in their cause, forsook the mind of that great statesman : and his memory deserves to be immortalized by a monument in every town and hamlet in North America. The measures he adopted on the return of Admiral Holborne, astonished Eu- rope. In less than five months, a most glorious fleet was equipped, which sailed immediately for Halifax. This fleet, consisting of one hundred and fifty-two ships, commanded by Admiral Boscawen, and having on board an army of fourteen thousand regular troops, under General Amherst, arrived safe at that port in April, where they were joined by the provincial troops. On the 28th of May, this formidable arma- ment, consisting of one hundred and fifty-seven ships, and sixteen thousand troops, sailed from Halifax, and arrived five days after at Gabarus Bay. The con- quest of Louisburg, which followed, and which I have already observed in the account of Cape Breton, with the surrender of St John's Island, secured t la- prosperity of Nova Scotia ; and Governor Lawrence was enabled, on his return from Cape Breton, to attend to the civil affairs of the province. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 45 The administration of government had hitherto been altogether vested in the Governor and Coun- cil. A House of Representatives was this year formed, agreeably to a constitution granted to the colony, cor- responding with that of England. Every encourage- ment that the circumstances of the country would admit, was also offered to settlers by the Governor's proclamation. The taking of Quebec by the expedition from Halifax under the immortal Wolfe, and the final conquest of Canada, gave complete security to Nova Scotia, the settlement and peace of which, since that important epoch in American history, has not been disturbed by the intrigues of France, or by the more terrible hostilities of the Indians. Governor Lawrence died in the autumn of 1760. His administration was just, and his exertions in promoting the prosperity of the province committed to his care were truly great. He was, therefore, much esteemed, and justly regretted. In consequence of the arrangements made by Go- vernor Lawrence, the settlement of the colony advan- ced steadily, and the prosperity of the inhabitants was secured by the protection and assistance of go- vernment. As lands in favourable situations in New England became scarce, many of the redundant inha- bitants removed to Nova Scotia, and formed the basis of an industrious and respectable population. Emigration from Ireland flowed afterwards into the province, and a few settlers arrived soon after from Scotland. A road was opened from Halifax to the 46 NOVA SCOTIA. settlements in the Bay of Fundy, in the labour of which the troops assisted. Arrangements were also entered into in order to place the trade with the Indians on such a scale as would secure justice to the savages, and a treaty was iMiUTed into with them, by which they acknowledged submission and allegiance to the crown of England. Two years after the death of Governor Lawrence, the news of St John's and some other places in New- foundland having been taken by the French, alarmed the inhabitants of Nova Scotia with the apprehension of invasion ; and so far agitated the nerves of the president administering the government, that he laid an embargo on the shipping, proclaimed martial law, and resolved on removing from the province the remaining Acadian French. These unfortunate people were accordingly surprised at their peaceful agricultural pursuits, and led by the military to Halifax, from whence they were sent in transports to Boston. The people of Boston, however, would not allow them to land and become a burden on the pro- vince ; and they were consequently sent back again to Halifax, where they were landed, and allowed to settle in the colony, as St John's and the other places in Newfoundland were retaken by the British. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 47 CHAPTER VI. Peace of 1763 Stamp-act submitted to in Nova Scotia Lord William Campbell, Governor Dockyard Peace with the United States Fleet with Loyalists arrive in Nova Scotia Shelburne built Packets esta- blished His present Majesty, then Duke of Clarence, entertained at Hali- fax Windsor College founded Governors, Sir John Wentworth, Duke of Kent, Sir George Prevost, Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, Earl Dalhousie, Sir James Kempt, Sir Peregrine Maitland. BY the treaty of Paris in 1763, France relin- quished all claim to Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Cape Breton, St John's Island, and Canada ; and from that time these countries have formed a part of the British empire in America. An Irish settlement was formed by one Alexander M'Nutt, this year, on the north side of Minas Basin, and named by the settlers, or by some Irish families settled there two years before, Londonderry. The following year, the same adventurer began a settle- ment at Port Roseway, to which he gave the pious name of New Jerusalem. It did not flourish ; it has been long forgot, and even its name has vanished. A general survey of British America, by order of government, was commenced this year, but never completed. Several new townships were laid out in Nova Scotia, and granted away to various indivi- duals, many of whom neglected to settle upon them ; IS NOVA SCOTIA. but the troubles which began at this time to agitate the New England colonies, occasioned many to re- move and settle in Nova Scotia. In 1765, the famous stamp-act, which was publicly burnt at Boston, and resisted in all the southern colonies, was submitted to in Nova Scotia and in Ca- nada ; and both those provinces remained unshaken in their loyalty during the whole revolutionary war. The Island of St John was separated from the jurisdiction of Nova Scotia in 1 767, and erected into a distinct government, and new seals for each were sent to the respective governors. Lord William Campbell, who w r as appointed gover- nor of the province in 1760, sent the surveyor-general, in 1769, to New York, with information respecting the vacant lands in Nova Scotia, and the encouragement that emigrants might expect by settling in the colony. The dock-yard also, which was established some years before, was extended, and supplied with all necessary stores for the navy. The militia was regularly trained, and held in readiness during the whole war ; and two corps of provincial troops were raised for the defence of the colony. The inhabitants signed, unanimously, a declaration of loyalty, which was sent to his majesty, and received with great approbation. Copies of it were distributed throughout the realm. In 1773, Lord William Campbell, being appointed governor of South Carolina, was succeeded in the administration of Nova Scotia by Francis Legge, J., as governor. At this time the population of a HISTORICAL SKETCH. 49 the province was estimated at nineteen thousand, which included about two thousand Acadians. Such was the fear of popish ascendency at this period, that Lord Dartmouth, the secretary of state for the colo- nies, ordered the governor not to grant lands to a Ro- man Catholic, until the case had been made sufficient- ly known to his majesty. The Americans burnt and plundered the fort and settlement of St John in 1775 ; and, during the same year, Charlotte Town was plun- dered by them, and the president and some other officers carried off prisoners : on their arrival in New England, they were, however, kindly treated, and politely released by General Washington. With the exception of the capture of a vessel at Pictou, after- wards retaken, and the attack upon Lunenburg, the Americans gave no further annoyance to Nova Scotia. The Indians, who assembled at this time in vast numbers on the River St John, probably instigated by the intrigues of France, threatened hostilities against the English ; but they were appeased by pre- sents, and they have never since attempted any act of depredation. In the autumn of 1781-2, Mr John Parr was ap- pointed governor ; and, in January following, the acknowledgment of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, formed a most important era in the history and settlement of Nova Scotia. Immediately after the treaty of peace, the province received an accession of American loyalists as settlers,* / * In all about eighteen thousand. VOL. II. D 50 NOVA SCOTIA. who may be said with great truth to have established the foundation of its prosperity. These men brought along with them correct principles, industrious ha- bits, large sums of money, vessels, merchandise, cattle, and furniture ; and many of them being respectable and intelligent men, the courts of justice and the legislature became consequently more respectable than in most new colonies. In 1784, New Brunswick and Cape Breton were detached from Nova Scotia, and constituted separate governments. This measure was much complained of by the inhabitants, as reducing the province to the peninsula, and therefore limiting the jurisdiction of its government. On the following year a whale fishery was established by the settlers at Dartmouth, who came from Nantucket ; and the town of Shel- burn, at Port Roseway, rose up as by enchantment, having a population of twelve thousand in a few months, where no habitations had previously existed. Saw-mills and grist-mills were also built in all the settlements in which there was a population sufficient to pay the attendant expenses. A line of packets between Falmouth and Halifax was also established this year, and an alien duty of L.18 laid on oil im- ported to the United Kingdom from the United States, as an encouragement to the fisheries of the British colonies. The boundaries of lands were also adjusted and described ; and various public improvements either completed or commenced. Nova Scotia was then erected into a Bishop's See, and the first bishop, Dr Charles Ingles, appointed in HISTORICAL SKETCH. 51 1787. His present majesty, while in the navy, was this year at Nova Scotia, and was entertained at a dinner and ball by the legislature. Among other public matters, a seminary of education, supported by legislative enactment, was established at Windsor, and, two years after, funds were appropriated for pur- chasing ground and building a college at the same place. In 179&, Sir John Wentworth was appointed to .succeed governor Parr ; and the finances and the po- pulation of the province enabled the government soon after to open the great western road to Pictou. This was an undertaking of much labour, and its accom- plishment one of the most important advantages to the inhabitants. A mistaken philanthropy, or more blind enthusi- asm, occasioned the removal during thisyearof the free blacks from Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone, where they all died soon after. In consequence of the war with France, which commenced in 1793, Halifax became again an important rendezvous for the British squa- drons on the coasts of America, and a provincial corps was also raised and trained. The first ships of war captured and brought into Halifax, were La Raison and La Prevoynant, belonging to a squadron bound to Guadaloupe, and taken by his majesty's ship Thetis, the Honourable Captain Cochrane, and the Hussar, Captain Beresford, in May 1795. The exertions of his royal highness the late Duke of Kent, while he resided in Nova Scotia, should nev^r be forgotten ; so deep was the sense of his services 52 NOVA SCOTIA. entertained by the legislature, that on his leaving Nova Scotia, previously to his appointment to the chief command of the army in America, they voted L.500 for the purchase of a star, as a mark of their esteem for him. He afterwards returned and remained in the province until the year 1800. Nova Scotia has been peculiarly fortunate in ha- ving had its administration intrusted generally to good, and in most instances to great men. Sir George Prevost,who succeeded Governor Went- worth in 1808, directed with great ability the re- sources of the province into proper channels. He introduced greater order into the public departments ; established schools in all the principal settlements ; carried into successful operation a new style of train- ing the militia ; founded that superb edifice, the " Province Building ;" had newroads opened and the old ones repaired and improved ; and by his applica- tion, talents, and power, did the utmost to encourage the agriculture, trade, and fisheries of the colony. On the promotion of Governor Prevost to Canada in 1811, he was succeeded by Sir John Coape Sher- brooke, who, with equally good judgment, and with perhaps still greater ability, governed the province during the American war, and until 1817. The Little Belt being fired into on the 16th May, 1811, by the United States ship President, and six- teen men being killed, and twenty-one wounded, may be considered the prelude to the last American war. The pride of the Americans was also wounded in 1807, by his majesty's ship Leopold firing into the HISTORICAL SKETCH. 53 Chesapeake, which surrendered ; and out of which several English deserters were taken, one of whom was tried by a court-martial, and hanged at Halifax. The war commenced on the part of the Americans, by a squadron of the United States ships chasing and firing into his majesty's ship Belvidera, on board of which the captain and eighteen seamen were wounded and two killed. Letters of marque were soon after granted ; and the privateers fitted out from the ports of Nova Scotia were very successful in making captures. Eastport was taken, in July 1816, by a squadron commanded by Sir Thomas Hardy, and the 102d regiment, and a detachment of artillery from Nova Scotia ; and in August following, an ex- pedition, commanded by Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, sailed from Halifax for Castine, on the river Penob- scot, which immediately surrendered. The John Adams, an American frigate, which lay at anchor in the harbour, was set on fire, to prevent her falling into the hands of the English. Machias soon after surrendered ; and the militia and inhabitants of the coast, about one hundred miles in extent, on agreeing not to bear arms against his majesty during the war, were not further molested. This district of country was restored to the United States by the treaty of Ghent. Whatever want of gallantry and bravery may be attributed to the American soldiers, during the last war, and which, no doubt, arose from the absence of discipline and subordination for no one can charge the Americans generally with cowardice they cer- ."> t N'OVA SCOTIA. thinly displayed no want of heroism and bravery in their naval actions. They fought as if determined to evince that they had not degenerated from the stock they grew; from, and as if proud to have an oppor- tunity to prove the same by personal prowess and moral courage. The most brilliant action perhaps on record, is that between his majesty's frigate Shannon, and the United States frigate Chesapeake, which only lasted eleven minutes. Neither were there wanting instances of polite observance and humane consideration. The frontier inhabitants of Maine, being aware that carrying on hostilities against the frontier inhabitants of New Brunswick would answer no purpose but the de- struction of private property and the calamity of pri- vate families, expressed their disposition not to enter into such warfare ; and the governor of Nova Sco- tia issued his proclamation, forbidding the subjects of his majesty in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to injure those on the frontiers of Maine. The bodies of Captain Lawrence and Lieutenant Ludlow of the Chesapeake, who were buried at Halifax, were also allowed to be disinterred, during the war, and carried to Salem, and afterwards to New York, where they were re-buried with great pomp and solemnity. Mr Munro, the president, ordered that no British vessel going to the station at Sable Island should be mo- lested. Sir John Coape Sherbrooke was promoted to the chief command in Canada in 1816. His administra- 5 HISTORCAL SKETCH. 55 tion was altogether distinguished by great and useful measures. No man's integrity could be more inflex- ible, nor could any governor be more indefatigable in all public duties. The legislature of Nova Scotia voted L.I 000 for purchasing a sword, to be presented to him. The Earl of Dalhousie, who succeeded to the go- vernment, held the administration until 1820, when he was appointed to the government of Canada. His administration was exceedingly agreeable to the people of Nova Scotia, and his conciliating man- ners, and amiable, benevolent disposition, made him generally beloved. The excellent character of the amiable Countess of Dalhousie, will also be long re- membered in Nova Scotia. During his lordship's administration, the central board of agriculture was formed at Halifax ; he founded Dalhousie College ; and the agricultural resources of the country, under his patronage, first began to be properly appreci- ated. He also granted L.I 000 of the Castine fund, to establish a library for the use of the army at Ha- lifax. On his departure, the House of Assembly granted L.I 000 for the purchase of a sword and star for his lordship. Sir James Kempt, who succeeded Lord Dalhousie in Nova Scotia, and afterwards, in September 1828, in Canada, is considered to be better acquainted with business in detail, than any of his predecessors. From the time he entered upon the administration of Nova Scotia, the agriculture, trade, and general prosperity of the province, have maintained a regular and thri- 56 NOVA SCOTIA. ving progress ; and various undertakings, connected either with the internal improvement of the colony, the encouragement of agriculture, or whatever may be considered beneficial to the common and general interests of the country, have been accomplished, or are in the progress of being completed. Cape Breton was re-annexed to the province ; a bank established at Halifax ; a commercial society, and chamber of commerce founded ; the cutting of the Shubenacady Canal commenced; Courts of Session formed in the counties ; a line of packets established between Halifax and Liverpool ; and a South Sea whale-fishery commenced, during Sir James Kempt's government. Sir Peregrine Maitland, lately lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, is the present governor of Nova Scotia. His administration, although yet of too short duration to justify an opinion, seems to be mild, just, and agreeable to the inhabitants. The people of Nova Scotia have, perhaps more than those of any other British colony, united ear- nestly with their governors in carrying forward and accomplishing any measure of public utility which they undertook ; and to this co-operation may, in a great measure, be ascribed the absence of political difficulties, and the harmony for which this province has been so long and so justly distinguished. From the foregoing pleasing retrospect of its go- vernment I have to advert, with great pain, to intel- ligence that I have since received of a most serious misunderstanding I hope I am right in naming it HISTORICAL SKETCH. 57 such between the Legislative Assembly and Council, which arose from a novel right claimed by the latter in money bills, and by which the usual provincial revenue has, for the present year, been lost to the colony. If ministers determine that the Legislative Council shall arrogate to itself more than it constitu- tionally can, the measure will be the cause of general discontent throughout the colonies ; and if the repre- sentative legislature of Nova Scotia has erred, it has done so agreeably to the immemorial usage of the British House of Commons. Three years ago, the council of Prince Edward Island attempted to claim much the same right in money bills as that which has lately been assumed by the council of Nova Scotia, and the opinion of Mr Huskisson, then secretary of state for the colonies, was, that the council was claiming a privilege to which it had no right whatever. This opinion set the matter at rest in that colony ; and it is to be hoped that the same example will be adopted to restore tranquillity to the legislature of Nova Scotia. On every other subject of importance, the most per- fect and cordial understanding prevails between the different branches of the legislature; and the members of each house, who are generally men of ability and education, will likely, before long, wave the obser- vance of mere formal privileges when the public good is at hazard.* * Note D. 58 NOVA SCOTIA. CHAPTER VII. Constitution Government Administration of the Laws Representation of the Towns and Counties Defence of the Colony Militia Revenue Quit Rents Statute Labour Poor Rates Public Burdens, &c. THE constitution of Nova Scotia is, by royal com- mission, a representative provincial government, one of the three original forms of colonial constitutions. Its legislature is a transcript of that of the United Kingdom, and vested in three estates ; the governor representing the King, the council representing the House of Lords, and the Legislative Assembly repre- senting the Commons' House of Parliament. The lieutenant-governor* is commander-in-cliief within the province, and independent of any other in civil authority, except when the governor-general is present, which seldom occurs, unless it be in the form of a visit, and then he assumes no authority. The king appoints the governor, and all public acts are issued * The designation of lieutenant-governor may be considered the same as governor, as he is commander-in-chief within the province. The Governor of Canada, being Captain-general of British America, does not interfere with the administration of the other colonies. CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT. 59 and executed in his majesty's name. The governor of Nova Scotia is by rank a lieutenant-general in the army, and is styled, " His Excellency the Lieutenant- governor and Cominander-in-chief in and over his Majesty's province of Nova Scotia and its depend- encies, Chancellor and Vice-admiral of the same," &c. &c. &c. Before entering office, he takes the oath of allegiance, and also the oath of office for the due and faithful execution of the trust confided in him, and for the impartial administration of the laws. He is sworn before the council, or any three members of council. The governor receives on his appointment, or with his commission, a sort of code, called " the royal instructions," to guide him in his administra- tion. Should he violate his duties by misrule, or by injuring or distressing his majesty's subjects, the course to follow, for the purpose of obtaining redress, is either by petition to the king or to the parliament, or else by action in the King's Bench. The governor's powers are very extensive. He is commander-in-chief of the regular forces and militia within his government ; he holds in custody the great seal of the province, is Chancellor of the Court of Chancery, and can extend the king's pardon to crimi- nals. He presides in the Court of Error, summons the Provincial Assembly, nominates the high sheriff and justices of peace, suspends officers of the crown, grants licenses of marriage and probates of wills. He is also vice-admiral within the limits of his go- vernment. The crown pays a fixed salary to the governor, but the legislature has also settled a sum 60 NOVA SCOTIA. to be allowed him to support the becoming dignity of his high station. The council, besides their legislative duties, occupy the same place, in relation to the governor, that the privy council does to the king. The members are ap- pointed either by his majesty's mandamus, or by the governor's nomination, to be afterwards approved of by the king, and are styled honourable. They are also justices of the peace throughout the province, and must take the usual oaths, as well as those of office. The council constitutes with the governor a Court of Appeal, or Court of Error, and also a Court of Mar- riage and Divorce. The senior councillor assumes the administration of government on the demise of the governor, or in his absence from the province. The Legislative Assembly is a body formed of mem- bers elected by the inhabitants holding an annual interest of forty shillings in land, or who are house- holders, as their representatives. This assembly is considered to correspond, in respect to the province, in jurisdiction, privileges, duration, and parliament- ary usage, with the Commons' House of Parliament. All money bills should originate in the House of Assembly. Acts of the Provincial Legislature, with- out a suspending clause, or that affect descent, mar- riage, &c. &c., must have the royal allowance to become a statute. Forty-one members represent the province. When Cape Breton was re-annexed to Nova Scotia as a county, Mr Lawrence Kavannngh, a most respectable and worthy man, was one of the two elected, and being a Catholic, the usual test oaths ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAWS. 61 were dispensed with, in respect to him, by his ma- jesty.* The impartial administration of the laws, if these laws be just, is assuredly the highest privilege which the colonies can enjoy. Nova Scotia has been emi- nently blessed in the uprightness and abilities of the judges of its courts. All causes, both civil and cri- minal, are determined according to the common and statute law of England, and the statute laws of the province. The courts of law, therefore, are consti- tuted to correspond with those of England. The practice of the Court of Chancery is also agreeable to that of England ; and although the governors, who are chancellors of this court in all the colonies, are generally unacquainted with law or with Chancery practice, yet, from deciding according to what appears to them to be just, on the rational principles of right and wrong, there is no doubt but their conclusions are as often correct as those of the lord chancellor would be. The absolute power which this court vests in the chancellor has, however, been most wantonly and tyrannically exercised by one or two colonial governors, but never in Nova Scotia. The Supreme Court of Judicature is modelled after the Court of King's Bench, the practice of which is strictly adhered to. The jurisdiction of this court extends to all parts of the province, and it may be said to embrace also the powers of the Courts of Ex- * It appears that the Catholic Bill of 1829 does not extend to the Catholics in the colonies, and, in consequence, the colonial legisla- tures have provided for this circumstance. (>< NOVA SCOTIA. chequer and Common Pleas. The chief justice is paid by government, the assistant judges out of the colo- nial treasury. The present venerable chief Justin-, the Honourable S. S. Blowers, has presided thirty- two years on the bench of this court. His high legal attainments, impartial firmness of decision, and the excellence of his private character, must ever endear him to the inhabitants of Nova Scotia. There is also a Court of Common Pleas in each county, the jurisdiction of which only extends to civil actions within the county. Magistrates take cogni- zance of breaches of the peace, and of matters of debt not exceeding five pounds. Appeals from the infe- rior courts may be made to the Supreme Court, from thence to the governor and council, who compose a Court of Error and Appeal, and from thence to Eng- land. In each county there is also a Court of Session. The Court of Admiralty has, since the last war, be- come little more than the mere name. Piracies are tried by special commission ; but for some years no convictions have taken place. The bankrupt laws do not extend to the colonies, nor is there in Nova Scotia any law which affords an unfortunate and honest debtor the release which is obtained in England, and which gives an industrious man the free exercise of his abilities in directing his labour and talents to productive or money-making pursuits. On the contrary, when a man in the co- lonies becomes unfortunate in trade, and unable to pay his debts, he is too often imprisoned, and finally driven, by poverty and desperation, either out of the PROVINCIAL LAWS. 63 country, or, if he ever does business afterwards, as his property is always liable, he evades attachment, by owning nothing in his own name. From this circumstance has arisen a great share of that spirit of scheming and overreaching so frequently complain- ed of as prevailing in the United States, and which unfortunately is also to be often discovered in all the British colonies that have legislatures of their .own, and seldom in Newfoundland, where an act of the Imperial Parliament operates much in the same way as the bankrupt laws in England. A provincial law in Nova Scotia, called the " In- solvent Debtors' Act," generally relieves the debtor from imprisonment, but the fruits of his industry afterwards are always liable, if the demands be renew- ed every seven years. A law which the good sense of the legislature of the province lately repealed, ope- rated, and was most justly complained of, for many years. This law enabled a creditor who merely swore to his claim, to attach the property of his debtor, and consequently ruin his credit and blast his hopes and comfort, before proving his debt by a judgment of court. By this means, merchants and others certainly were enabled to obtain payment of debts that they would otherwise probably not have recovered, but such a law gave a bad man too much power over the property of others, and many an industrious, honest individual, who would have surmounted, with time, all his difficulties, has been ruined by its operation. At present, the laws of the province are generally judicious, and, as far as they go, with the exception 64 NOVA SCOTIA. mentioned, certainly calculated for the condition and prosperity of the colony. That there is too frequent recurrence to law is true, but experience and time will likely destroy this American mania, and Nova Scotia approaches nearer, in most respects, to the customs and ideas most approved in England, than any other part of America. At the bar of the judicial courts a very fair share of rhetorical and legal knowledge is conspicuous. Formerly, admission as a barrister or attorney to the courts was too easily obtained ; but an institution, established in 1825, formed of the judges, crown officers, and members of the bar, stamps respectability on the profession, by regulating the necessary acquire- ments of those who apply for admission as attorneys or barristers. The representative constitution of Nova Scotia made it necessary to divide the province into counties, and that the county towns that should send members to the Assembly should be named. These regulations were accordingly adopted ; but, in consequence of the country becoming populous, since the first Legislative Assembly met, in many parts which at that time contained no inhabitants, several alterations have been made in the representation of the province. The extent of the province required also that it should be divided into districts or circuits for hold- ing the courts of law. Besides these, lesser divisions have been made, called townships, but they might with equal propriety be called parishes, as they merely, without regard to extent of land, as in Canada REPRESENTATION OF THE COUNTIES. 65 or in the United States, embrace the population of a certain division of a county, for the purpose of meet- ing annually, to take into consideration the condition of any poor people who may be among them, and to vote small sums for their relief or support. The counties into which Nova Scotia is now divi- ded, are, including Cape Breton, ten, viz. : The county of Halifax, divided again into the three districts of Halifax, Pictou, and Colchester, repre- sented in the Provincial Assembly by nine members : four for the county, two for the town of Halifax, and one each for the towns of Truro, Onslow, and Londonderry. The county of Annapolis, which contains two dis- tricts, is represented by five members : two for the county, and one for each of the towns of Annapolis, Grenville and Digby. The county of Shelburne contains two districts, and sends five members to the Assembly, two for the county, and one for each of the towns of Shelburne, Barrington and Yarmouth. Queen's county sends two members to the Assembly for the county, and one for the town of Liverpool. The county of Lunenburg sends also three mem- bers to the Assembly, one of which is for the town of Lunenburg. King's county is represented by two members for the county, and one each for the towns of Horton and Cornwallis. The county of Hants sends two members for the VOL. II. E fob NOVA SCOTIA. county, and three members represent the towns of Windsor, Falmouth, and Newport. The county of Cumberland is considered as un- fairly represented, in proportion to its population, sending only three members to the Assembly, one of which is for the town of Amherst. The town of Sidney sends only two members to represent it. Cape Breton is also confined to the election of two members. This is certainly a most unequal repre- sentation ; but the interests of Cape Breton being, in fact, those of the province generally, will no doubt be guarded by the legislature ; and until there are men of more wealth among the inhabitants, who can afford to devote the time required, as their representa- tives, to legislative duties, it may probably be as well for the county to be represented by no more mem- bers. It might, it is true, be represented by additional members resident at Halifax ; but it would not then follow that the interests of the county would be more faithfully attended to. The military force, stationed in the province, con- sists of the greater part of three regiments of the line, and a detachment of artillery, which, with the provincial militia, and the ships of war on the station, secure the defence of the colony against any ordinary invasion. The governor for the time being is commander- in-chief of the whole forces. Sir George Prevost was, however, the first governor who carried into execution an effective plan for training the militia. MILITARY FORCE. 67 The militia law is continued from year to year. By its regulations, every male between the age of sixteen and sixty years, is subject to enrolment for military service, but not to be led involuntarily out of the province. The organized militia, including that of Cape Breton, may be estimated at 30,000 effective men, which form together twelve companies of artillery, and thirty-three battalions of infantry. No troops of cavalry, which I could find no satisfactory reason to account for, have as yet been formed. The governor appoints all the militia officers ; the highest rank is that of lieutenant-colonel. The only officers who are remunerated for their services, are three inspecting field-officers, the adju- tant-general on the general staff, and the adjutant on the regimental staff. They are all paid, as well as the cost of the fire-arms of the privates, by the pro- vincial treasury, and not by the imperial government, as some political grumblers have asserted. With the exception of the artillery and flank-com- panies at Halifax, the militia of Nova Scotia exhibit a most unmilitary appearance ; this does not arise, however, either from moral or physical defect ; for in both they are not excelled by any equal body of men in Europe. The English retain all the pride and courage of Old England's yeomanry. The Celts of Nova Scotia are as brave and hardy as the High- landers of Caledonia ; and crossing the Atlantic Ocean has destroyed neither the fire nor the gallantry of the Hibernians ; while the American loyalists and 68 NOVA SCOTIA. natives of the provinces possess all the spirit that holds danger in contempt. Since the peace, the militia musterings are merely meetings, where little more is done than calling over the roll ; and as to the training, it is absolutely the very acme of burlesque. The arms have been called in, and lodged in depots to rust at Halifax ; a very injudicious measure, although resorted to for their preservation, as many were said to be lost, and even sold by the militia-men, to whom they were issued. Fire-arms would, very likely, be frequently carried away by those who removed from one province to another, and used on all occasions in the woods, along the shore, or on board vessels ; but preventing the in- habitants from doing so, can only be considered as a stretch of bad policy, for the purposes of ill-judged economy. The skill which the militia-men of North America attain in the use of fire-arms, merely by the prac- tice of shooting wild beasts and birds, causes them to be more dreadful enemies in a wooded country, than any troops in Europe would be ; and it is absurd to check the means of acquiring such experience, by calling in the fire-arms. The effect of the inattention to military training would be felt at the sudden com- mencement of a war ; but, in a short period, tin- per- sonal spirit of brave men, defending their property and families, would render the militia of Nova Scotia more formidable to invaders than most men imagine. Yrt. it should be the policy of Government to encourage a spirit for military training among the REVENUE. 69 inhabitants, in a manner the least inconvenient to men in their habitual pursuits. The provincial revenue is raised wholly by trifling impost duties, principally on wines and ardent spirits ; which, however, amount to about L.60,000, and which is appropriated by the legislature nearly in the following proportions ; varying, however, according to contingent circumstances : Administration of the Government, . . . L.2,800 Expenses of the Legislature, 3,000 Judges and Courts of Justice, 5,QQQ Roads, 30,000 Militia, 2,000 Security of Commerce and Navigation, . . 3,000 Schools, 3,500 Public Buildings, about 10,000 Expenses of collecting the Revenue, . . . 1,500 Incidental expenditure, 8,200 L.60,000 Part of this revenue is collected by the custom-house, the rest by the collector of excise. The officers of his majesty's customs, instead of the fees they former- ly received, have now fixed salaries. The collector at Halifax has L.2000 per annum, the comptroller L.1000, and the other officers are paid in proportion. By an act of the Legislative Assembly, in 1829, the province voted L.7444, 18s. 9d. in one general sum to his majesty's government, for the cus- tom service; being L.1870, 14s. 8d. less than the amount stated by the crown. The scale of appro- priation was left to the commissioners of the customs. 70 NOVA SCOTIA. It must be confessed that the Provincial Assembly appears, at least on comparison, to be sufficiently liberal in the sum voted for the custom-house 'ser- vice.* * The Governor of New York receives only half the salary that the Collector of Halifax docs ; but this again is reducing economy to meanness. The quit-rents on all lands granted by the crown, of two shillings per hundred acres, if it be ever collected, will form the only tax payable to the crown. The amount of the quit-rents would not, probably in time, form a burden of itself very difficult to pay ; but the collection of this rent would most certainly pro- duce distress and general discontent in the province. Those who may be acquainted with the extraordinary distress that was created by the proceedings instituted by the orders of Mr Smith, in the winter of 1823, in Prince Edward Island, when a quit-rent of only two shillings had, in numerous instances, been collected at an ex- pense of L.8 to L.15 to the individual from which it was claimed, must declare their opposition to the collection of quit-rent in British America. And if the British government, after having tacitly re- lmi|iiished their collection for so many years, now insist on their payment, it will be better for the colonial legislature to purchase them by an annual prant to the crown. The sum of L.2000 per annum, as the price of these quit-rents, is required as a commutation for the quit-rent. This sum appears to me to be rather too much for Nova Scotia ; for, although its condition is certainly prosperous, yet as there is BO great a part of the colony occupied by water and rocks, it would follow that a large proportion of this grant, in lieu of quit-rents, would, in fact, be a tax on its trade and fisheries, and not on the land. Trifling poor-rates are collected, for the support of n few pau- pers. In the country, if there be nny poor, they are placed to board among those who will take them at the lowest price. Care, however, is generally taken that they are committed only to those who will maintain them properly. A provincial statute requires PUBLIC BURDENS. ?1 that each inhabitant, from sixteen to sixty, should perform three or four days' labour, either personally or by substitution, on the public roads ; this is certainly no grievance. The public burdens of the province are in fact so light, and the trifling impost duties, which are confined to articles of luxury, so unimportant, that we can in no country find the inhabitants placed, in these respects, under more favourable circumstances. Although the salaries of public officers in the United States are low beyond precedent, there are innumerable public exactions, which bear heavily on the citizens, that the inhabitants of British America never feel. 72 HALIFAX. CHAPTER VIII. Description of Halifax Society Manners and Amusements Public Esta- blishments Institutions Intercourse with Europe, United States, West Indies, and Northern Colonies Trade Chamber of Commerce Whale Ships, &c. ON the south-east coast of Nova Scotia, in latitude 44 40' N., and longitude 63 40' W., and nearly equi- distant from its extreme points, Halifax harbour enters the province. It is at all seasons accessible, and its navigation scarcely ever interrupted by ice. On a small island off Sambro Head, on the west side of the entrance, stands a lighthouse ; and another light has latelybeen established on Sherbrooke Tower, which stands on Magher's Beach, a spit extending from MacNab's Island ; when this light can be seen, ships are at a safe distance from a dangerous shoal called Thrum Cap, and may run into the harbour without fear. The bay, from which the entrance of the harbour leads, is formed between Sambro Head and Devil's Island. There are four islands still farther in ; on the smallest of these, which is nearly opposite the town, there are batteries strongly mount- ed, and several other fortifications command the harbour. The passage to the harbour on the west side of MacNab's Island, is that for large ships ; the other, on tin- ra>t, has only water for schooners. APPEARANCE FROM THE HARBOUR. 73 There is sufficient water for ships of war between MacNab's Island arid George's Island. The main channel is guarded by York Redoubt, Sherbrooke Tower, and several other batteries. The eastern passage is defended by a strongly built stone fort, called East Battery. Carrol's or Macnamara's Island is fertile, with picturesque clumps of wood growing on it. MacNab's Island, containing about 1 000 acres of good land, is under partial cultivation, and pret- tily wooded. The town of Halifax is built on the east side of a peninsula, on the declivity of a hill, which rises gra- dually from the water on the west side of the harbour. In length it is rather more than two miles, and about half a mile in breadth. The streets are wide, and cross each other, generally at right angles, but that only next the water is paved ; most of the others, however, are Macadamised, and from the ascent and nature of the ground, usually dry ; but in summer, the dust, which is often whirled furiously along by the winds, is exceedingly disagreeable. The appearance of Halifax from the water, or from the opposite shore, is prepossessing and peculiar. The front of the town is lined with wharfs, along- side of which vessels of all sizes, and variously rig- ged, are incessantly discharging or loading their cargoes.* Warehouses rise over the wharfs, as well * When first at Halifax, a short time after the war, I went down to the wharfs to see the hull of a foreign ship, I think Dutch, ap- parently of more than 1000 register tons, which was captured by some of our cruisers. This huge vessel was hauled, by the person 71 IIAI.IIAN. as in diHVrent parts of the town ; and dwelling-houses and public buildings rear their heads over each other as they stretch along, and up the sides of the hill. Tin- spires of diU'emit clmrches ; the building above the town, in which the town clock is fixed ; a rotunda- built church ; the signal-posts on Citadel Hill ; the different batteries ; the variety of style in which the houses are built, some of which are painted white, some blue,some red, and some built of brick and stone, intermixed with those built of wood ; rows of trees showing themselves in different parts of the town ; his majesty's ships moored opposite the dock-yard ; the establishments and tall sheers of the latter; the merchant ships under sail, at anchor, or alongside the wharfs ; the w r ooded and rocky scenery of the background ; with the islands, and the small pretty town of Dartmouth on the eastern shore ; are all objects which strike most forcibly on the view of a stranger when sailing up the harbour. The number of dwelling-houses is estimated at about 1700, the public buildings 82, and the popu- lation, exclusive of the army and navy,* about 16,000. who purchased her, until well grounded alongside of a wharf, and then roofed over tin- deck, in the same way as the warehouses are. Doors were cut in the side, and the spaces between decks, and under tin- roof, converted into warehouse rooms, below which there were stable* for cart and truck horses ; and if I recollect well, there WM a tannery in one end. This vessel was afterwards burnt by acci- dent, when it was discovered she had a double set of timbers. * There is generally the greater part of three regiments, a com- pany of artillery, a numerous staff, and some ships of war, at Ha- lifax. BEDFORD BASIN NORTH-WEST ARM. 75 The houses are very irregularly built, some being one, some two, some three, and a few four stories high. Handsome stone and brick buildings are built and furnished in the English style ; and many of the houses built of wood, are really more imposing in their appearance, being large, neatly finished, and painted white, than the best stone houses. The wooden houses are lathed, plastered, papered, and finished within, in the same manner as stone or brick houses. Fires have at different times destroyed very many of the old wooden buildings ; and although individuals were, in consequence, subjected to great loss and inconvenience, yet the town, from having stone or brick houses built on the site of the former wooden ones, has greatly improved. About a mile above the upper end of the town, the harbour becomes very narrow, but again widens into a splendid sheet of water, called Bedford Basin, the surrounding scenery of which, although not highly romantic, is agreeably varied, and beautifully pic- turesque. This basin forms a harbour, in which a thousand ships can anchor with shelter and safety. On the west side, the late Duke of Kent, when command- ing in North America, erected a handsome residence, with corresponding out-houses, offices, &c. ; and the grounds, naturally beautiful, he laid out with much taste. The road to Windsor, from which the great western road branches, leads past this villa. The north-west arm, which branches off from the main entrance of the harbour, is about four miles long, something less than half a mile in width, with 76 ii. \i.n.\\. ton to twenty fathoms depth of water, and with safe anchorage. It winds in the rear of the town, until within half a mile of Bedford Basin, forming the land between it and the harbour into the peninsula of Halifax. A small island lies near the mouth of the north-west arm, within which a chain was stretch- ed across, during the war, to prevent the entrance of hostile vessels. Near the head lies Melville Island, connected to the peninsula by a bridge. On this islet are buildings, now decaying fast, in which pri- soners of war were lodged. Opposite, among the bushes, are the humble tumuli, which swell over the remains of those whom the mere game of war de- prived of liberty, and whose destiny it was to be only released from captivity, by the universal liberator Death. Several streams issue into the north-west arm, on one of which there are mills built. The forma- tion of the Peninsula of Halifax, is little more than a vast rock of hard bluish clay slate, impregnated with iron, which imparts to nearly all the water a hard metallic taste. There are, however, a few wells of good water. Great labour and expense have at length succeeded in converting most of the peninsula, from naked rocks, to fertile fields ; but the greatest part of the soil has been formed by artificial means. At the south end of the town, is the " Government House," so named, from being the residence of the governor of the province. The appearance of this -true-tun- is baronial, rather than elegant; the stone of whirli it is built, though tolerably well polished, PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 77 is of a sombre colour, which imparts a gloomy, and rather antique character to the building. . The most splendid edifice in North America is, certainly, the " Province Building" of Nova Scotia. It stands nearly in the centre, of Halifax, in the middle of a square, which is enclosed with handsome iron railing. The size of this superb building is at present perhaps too great for the business of the province ; but it must be considered built as well for the use of posterity, as for that of the present day ; and that it is situated in the metropolis of a country, the population of which is multiplying rapidly. Its length is 140 feet, breadth 70 feet, and the height of the walls 45 feet. Its plan combines elegance with strength and utility. The columns are of the Ionic order ; and the beautiful freestone, quarried in the province, of which it is built, is finely polished. It contains chambers for the Council and Legislative Assembly ; the Supreme Court, with its appendant offices ; and also, all the provincial offices, as the treasurer's, surveyor- general's, colonial secretary's, &c. &c. ; the Halifax public library, &c. The admiral's house is a plain stone building, at the north end of the town, and on an eminence above the dock-yard, commanding a view of the harbour, telegraphs, and shipping. It is appropriated for the residence of the admiral, for the time being, com- manding the squadron on the American station. There is also a respectable large wooden building at the south end of the town, for the use of the military commandant. The north and south barracks, built ?S HAl.llAV also of wood, are sufficiently extensive to accommodate three regiments. Connected with the barracks is an excellent library, for the use of the military, for which they have principally to thank the Earl of Dalhousie. The other government buildings are, commodious ordnance and commissariat stores ; the military hospital, a large respectable building, erect- ed under the direction of the late Duke of Kent ; the dock-yard, &c. The naval hospital was burnt dou n some time ago, and nothing has yet been built to re- place it. His majesty's dock-yard in Halifax is the most respectable establishment of the kind out of England. It> plan is extensive, and embraces, within the stone wall which surrounds it on the land side, all that is u>el'ul and convenient for repairing and refitting the largest ships.* Attached to it is the residence of the commissioner, a respectable-looking house. Never was there a more egregious measure entered upon, than that of removing the greater part of the naval stores from Halifax, for the purpose of establishing A gentleman, connected with the establishment, politely showed me, in November 1828, through all the extensive ranges of store- rooms connected with the dock-yard. Every article within them WM arranged in the most orderly manner, in respective apartments ; aiid the rooms were in the best possible condition for preserving all kinds of naval stores from decay. Some cordage, of a size that did not happen to suit, was pointed out to me as having been twenty- fire years in the store, and .still in the IIIOM perfert state of preser- vation and strength. The climate of Bermuda destroy, on the other hand, the fibrous strength of hemp, according to the informa- tioo given me, in a MTV short time. NAVAL DOC K-Y AH D CHURCHES. 79 a dock-yard at Bermuda, for the use of his majesty's ships on the American station ; the absurdity of which is too palpable not to be seen into at once by all who have any knowledge of both places. Halifax has the best harbour in North America, in a healthy climate, and in the centre of countries abounding in timber, and all kinds of provisions, at low prices. The Bermuda Islands, on the contrary, are little more than a cluster of rocks, in the middle of the ocean, of extremely dangerous access, covered only in de- tached spots with a scanty soil ; and where, besides the frequently unhealthy state of the climate, provi- sions, and almost every thing else, are only obtained at exorbitant prices.* Natural obstacles of great magnitude must also be removed from the site of the dock-yard at Bermuda, before it can, in any respect, answer the intended purpose. The attendant ex- pense will be enormous. The Episcopal church (St Paul's) is a large and handsome-looking edifice, with a tall spire. The in- terior has much the appearance of a large modern church in England. It has a good, but not very powerful, organ. The rotunda-built church, at the north end of the town, called Dutch-town, has a dome, and an imposing appearance ; but a stranger * Few places are more unfit for a naval hospital. Fresh meat can only be had with great difficulty, at any price. Fish is plenti- ful, it is true. I have frequently heard the natives who, by the way, are an industrious, frugal people say that a bit of Irish or American ham was a dainty only to be indulged in on rare and particular occasions. 80 II.M.IFAX. would more readily take it for a circus, or a building to rxhibit a large panorama, than for a church. The Scotch kirk, called St Andrews, is rather a plain building, with a neat spire. The new Catholic chapel is an immense stone building, erected close to the old chapel. Besides these places of worship, there are one Presbyterian meeting-house, two for Anabaptists, one Methodist, and one Sandemanian. There is also a poor-house, and a work-house, or house of correction. In a large brick building, in which the Court of Common Pleas is held, there is also an exchange room, where the merchants meet, and in which the principal English and American papers are taken. In the Free Mason's Hall, there are assembly rooms ; and at the south end of the town is the humble building at present used as a theatre. The state of society in Halifax is highly respect- able. The officers of the civil government, and of the army and navy, mix very generally with the merchants and gentlemen of the learned professions ; and most of the leading residents, whether engaged in commercial or other pursuits, are men of gen tool education and intelligence. These circumstances impart to the first class of society in Halifax, more refinement, more elegance and fashion, than is to be met with probably in any town in America. I will not except even Quebec or Montreal ; certainly no town in the United States. The style of living, hours of entertainment, fashions, manners, dress, are all English. Dress is fully as much attended to as in London ; and many of the l AMUSEMENTS. 81 fashionable sprigs who exhibit themselves in thestreets and loimging-places of Halifax, and indeed in lesser towns in British America, might even in Regent Street be said to have attained the ne plus ultra of " dandyism." The amusements of Halifax are principally such as are usual in the other North American provinces ; in all of which, assemblies, pic-nic parties, and amateur theatricals, form leading sources of pleasure. Annual horse races, on a respectable scale, have for some time been established ; and it is remarkable, that all over America there is a general passion for this kind of diversion or amusement. Regattas, for which Hali- fax harbour is one of the finest in the world, have been conducted with great spirit an i. I iv those who can allbnl the time and expense, tn different parts of the country. The halls, .sW/rV.v, and dinners at Government House, and the assemblies, are conducted in the same manner and style as English etiquette and fashion have established. Those who are admitted to these, (for although private feeling may sometimes be unavoidably and unintentionally lacerated, it is ne- cessary to mark a line of demarcation somewhere,) a IT the officers of the civil government, those of three regiments, artillery and staff, and gentlemen of re- s]u ctability and education from among the merchants and resident inhabitants. Fancy balls, but confined to the same circles, have also been introduced. Those delightful sources of social pleasure small evening parties at the houses of private families*- which we enjoy in England with probably much greater satisfaction and happiness than any of our various public amusements, are, as respects America, more perfectly the property of Halifax. I believe there are few, who, having visited Halifax, and who have been at these small parties, but will say that they have insensibly forgot that they were not in England, the language, the manners of the ladies and gentlemen, the style of dress, the dancing, the i'H/rcffent or small talk, the apartments, the furni- ture, the refreshments, are all so truly alike, so much akin to England. It would be ungallant to take leave of Halifax without mentioning what none but those whose heart- are indeed cold, if they have visited the place, SOCIETY. 83 can forget I mean the ladies. Along with my own admiration of their beauty, accomplishments, amia- bility, and excellence of character, I must add, that several English gentlemen, who were at Halifax while I was there, have frequently remarked to me their admiration of the beauty, genteel manners, and intelligence of the ladies. These gentlemen, I may also observe, were men of liberal education, well acquainted with the world, and in the habit of mix- ing with fashionable society in Europe. It may appear presumptuous to add farther, that in the small but neat theatre at Halifax, more genteel and beautiful ladies may be seen, than among the same number in the boxes of any of the London or pro- vincial theatres. We may account for it from there being in reality a greater number of respectable in- habitants in Halifax, according to its population, than in the towns of this country. In Halifax there are few labourers or manufacturers, arid even the labouring people, by having greater means, are always better dressed than in England. In regard to the gentlemen of Halifax, and particularly those who have been born and educated in the province, I only record the opinion of other travellers, as well as my own, when I state, that, at the bar and in the pulpit, as merchants and as private gentlemen, we discover the natives of Nova Scotia, with few exceptions, to be men of superior attainments ; and we must ascribe this principally to the careful provision that has been long made for the education of youth. Many cir- cumstances also cherish and maintain among them M I1AI.HAX. endearments and associations connected with the mother country. The anniversaries of the titular saints of each of the three kingdoms are also celebra- ted at Halifax, with much spirit and cordiality; and, let indifferent spirits or cold hearts say what they may. there are but few indeed of those born in the British Isles, or of their offspring, who, when abroad, forget the associations and warm feelings of the heart, which filial regard and a lingering fondness for the United Kingdom, in spite of circumstances, inevitably nourish and preserve.* The officers of his majesty's civil list, and those of the army and navy, prefer Halifax, I believe, to any other town in America. They soon find themselves at home among the kind and hospitable inhabitants of the place ; and I have never met an officer else- where-, who was at Halifax for anytime, who did not * On my dining as a guest with the North British Society, on St Andrew's day, (1828,) I was particularly pleased with the ani- mated hut orderly enthusiasm which prevailed. An old Scotchman in humhlc life, who had been for thirty years messenger to the y at Halifax, and who resigned, in consequence of his age, that evening to a more able-bodied man, interested me exceeding- ly. \\ lien he drank to those around the hoard on the occasion of his departure, and on his own health being drunk as a faithful r, tin- old man'* face seemed reanimated by the return of youthful vigour while he walked round the room behind our chairs. On the name occasion, several songs were sung, which were written by the natives of the colony, sons of Scotchti.cn, and educated in the pr<>\ mre. Some of these I have copies of; and, as far as my judgment tan appreciate, they possess great merit, particularly two or three written by a y.iin<: gentleman, n MM ml.er of the court in one of the com NEWSPAPERS. 85 speak with enthusiasm of the place. The excellent library established by the Earl of Dalhousie, affords also to the military a variety of standard and popu- lar works, which, at such a distance from England, to gentlemen whose profession can barely allow them to carry along their necessary luggage when travel- ling, must be considered a great advantage. There are six or seven weekly papers and a monthly magazine, and one or two circulating libra- ries ; and also one or two booksellers, the principal one of whom imports from England and the United States the most approved new publications. There is also a livery-stable or two, the best of which is kept by a negro. It is in the streets of Halifax that we most forcibly feel that we are not in Europe. In place of the huge horses and carts and frocked carters of Eng- land, we observe a thing, convenient enough in its way, called a truck, which forms a kind of inclined plane to roll puncheons of rum and molasses on it, with a half-starved horse, arid generally a negro driver. We see few four-wheeled carriages no hackney coaches ; but many drive their own gigs in summer, and almost every one has a horse and sledge, or cabriolet, for winter amusement ; waggons coming in with hay from the country, driven by the tall lank sons of the farmers, clad in short light-blue jackets, grey or blue trowsers, and straw hats ; a parcel of lazy, miserable negroes, with some wild fruits or brooms to sell, from Hammond's plains ; the proud strut of the well-fed and well-dressed negro servant ; S(i H.\l 11 AN. a group of Mii-niac Indians, probably drunk, with tlirir squaws and children; here and there an Aca- dian Frenchman and his wife, decently and simply In ed, the latter much in the same fashion as that of her ancestors a century and a half past ; all these, in contrast with brilliantly dressed military officers, on horseback or on foot, the golden epaulets, cocked hats, and blue uniform of the navy, and fashionably dressed resident gentlemen and strangers, the exqui- site dandy, groups of soldiers, and sailors belonging to the men-of-war or to the merchant >hips, may give some idea of the population that animate the streets of Halifax. The intercourse between Halifax and Europe is regular and certain, either by the government packets to Falmouth, which now proceed once a-month from Halifax direct, or by the Halifax Packet Company's -hips to Liverpool. The latter is by far the most preferable convey- ance, the >hips being large, substantial, well equipped, and commanded by experienced officers ; and consi- dering the comfortable accommodations, and the sumptuou* living, the fare (L.25) is cheap.* There are sailing packets regularly established between Halifax and Boston ; and vessels sail every week to New York and the West Indies. The go- vernment packets go to and return from Bermuda ; and during summer. ve>sels sail regularly to Cape n. I'rince Kchvard Mand, Pictou, Miramirhi. i . IMPORTANCE OF HALIFAX. 87 Bay de Chaleur, and Quebec, and nearly all the year round to Newfoundland and New Brunswick. There are steam-packets about to be established between Halifax and Quebec, which will be attended with very great advantage and convenience. Although resident housekeepers live in the most comfortable manner at Halifax, the notorious badness of the inns or boarding-houses does not afford the same comfort to transient residents. The attend- ance is bad in the extreme, the beds far from being good ; and, although the tables are plentifully loaded with good things, yet altogether, both the inns and boarding-houses, or when you dine at a table d'hote, although equally expensive, are beyond description inferior to those of Quebec or Montreal. A man who understood the business, and who would esta- blish an hotel in the English style, with proper attentive waiters, might, with good management, make a fortune at Halifax.* The climate of Halifax is perhaps more foggy, but not so rainy, as that of England, and much hotter in summer and colder in winter. The fogs, which are disagreeable, but not unwholesome, are occasioned by its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, and only occur when the winds blow from the sea. Halifax has, since its first settlement in 1749, con- tinued to be a place of considerable importance, not only as a rendezvous for his majesty's ships, 'and as * Since I left Halifax, I am informed tliat a very good boarding- house, or table d'hote, has been established. SS HALIFAX. the head-quarters of the troops on the establishment of the lower American provinces, but also as the i i'ii t re of a profitable fishery and trade. There are certain points on the face of the globe, which, by their position, seem intended by nature for the site of great storehouses, or places wherein to deposit the productions of one country for the pur- pose of distributing them again to others. In respect to British America, Halifax must doubtless be con- sidered the great and most fit depot for all general purposes, especially during the winter months. During the last war, the vessels and property cap- tuml from the enemy on the coast of North America, \veiv chiefly sent into Halifax for condemnation. At that time, money was exceedingly abundant ; all who possessed even common sagacity accumulated consi- derable sums, and Halifax became the theatre of incessantly active enterprise and commercial specula- tions. But the merchants and traders generally, as well as others, became at the same time so far in- toxicated with, or lured by, the gains of the moment, that they apparently forgot, or at least did not stop to consider, that, according to the common order of things, a change must inevitably take place that would speedily destroy the then sources of wealth. They accordingly entered into many imprudent spe- culations, and launched into a most splendid style of living. The peace crushed both, and opened the eyes of all. Since that period, trade has been esta- blished on a more solid foundation, and conducted more prudently, and according to a more regular TRADE CHINA SHIP. 89 system. The commerce of Halifax is therefore, at the present time, in as prosperous a condition as that of any town in America ; and it deserves to be no- ticed, that only one house of consequence has failed for the last twelve years. By an order in council, it was, in 1817, declared, to a certain extent, a free port ; and since then the privilege of being a free warehousing port has been extended to it. There is great activity observed, particularly about the wharfs, among all classes con- nected with, or employed in trade. The principal commerce of Halifax is with the West Indies, which has increased greatly since the Americans of the United States have wisely been prohibited from par- ticipating in the same trade. Next to this trade is that with Great Britain, which, in respect to the importations of British manufactures, has increased, and will still increase, prodigiously. Its commerce extends also to the continent of Europe. A company was formed some time ago to open a trade with the East Indies ; one experimental voy- age to which has been accomplished, with sufficient success to warrant the prosecution of the trade. The East India Company now send a ship with teas annually to Halifax, consigned to the respectable house of S. Cunard and Company. Halifax enjoys also an important inter-colonial trade, as well as its trade with all the outports of the province. The latter receive a great part of their West India pro- duce, and most of their British manufactures, from Halifax, which are paid for in money, fish, agricul- <)<> IIAI.II A\. tural produce, furs, and lumber. Several vessels are a l-i i fitted out for the fisheries, which would he rapidly increased in number, were it not for the com- petition which we have enabled the Americans to establish and to maintain. The exports from Halifax consist chiefly of dried codti>h. pickled herrings, mackerel, and salmon ; red herrings, coal, lumber, staves, cattle, butter, cheese, flour, oats, potatoes, &c., to the West Indies and the southern parts of America ; and of timber, staves, deals, fish, oils, furs, &c., to Great Britain. The im- ports from the West Indies, &c., are rum, sugar, molasses, tobacco, &c., and all sorts of manufactured goods. Some years ago, when the business was not so well understood in Halifax, the enterprising house of Messrs Cunard made several spirited trials in the whale-fishery, which, however, did not succeed so well as might have been expected, or as their attempts de- served. But neither they themselves nor others were to be discouraged by failures, caused more probably by accidental circumstances, than by more substantial cau-e>, while the Americans were pursuing the whale- fishery with success and profit. A remarkably fine .-hip, named the Pacific, was therefore built (in 1828) for the South Sea whale-fishery, and fitted for sea at an expense of L.I 1,000. This vessel was equipped with stores for three years, and, maimed by spirited young men belonging to the province, proceeded to the Pacific Ocean. Another large >hip was chartered by the same SHIPPING MANUFACTURES. 91 company in 1828, and equipped and fitted out for the Brasil bank ; and Messrs Cunard have lately pur- chased a condemned sloop of war, which they have repaired, equipped, and dispatched for the South Sea whale-fishery. The ships owned by the inhabitants of Halifax are about ninety large, square-rigged vessels, and about the same number of large schooners, with several smaller craft. The wharfs are also generally lined with coasting vessels and English and foreign ships, as well as those belonging to the port. The articles manufactured at Halifax are as yet but few in number, and none to any great extent. Among these, two or three porter and ale breweries are the most important ; and the ale, which is much like that brewed in Leith, is certainly of excellent quality. There is also a sugar refinery, on rather an extensive scale ; rum, gin, and whisky distilleries ; soap and candle manufactories ; tanneries ; a paper mill, and several tobacco manufactories. An iron foundery has lately been established opposite the town at Dartmouth. There were several attempts made to establish a public bank at Halifax, under a legislative charter, but the different bills brought under the considera- tion of the House of Assembly were so thoroughly tortured during their progress, that their vital prin- ciples were completely destroyed, while an overwhelm- ing load of restrictions rendered them impracticable. The consequence was, that the merchants themselves have established, independently, a private bank, which 9'J 1 1. \i.n.\\. is considered perfectly safe, and which affords facili- ties, some think too freely, others not sufficiently so, to the commercial interests of the province. The merchants of Halifax, generally speaking, connect prudence and active perseverance with enter- pri-e. They are by no means backward in under- taking whatever affords a fair prospect of gain. Some of the old moneyed men are, it is true, certainly ac- cused, and, it must be admitted, with some justice, of declining to co-operate in any measure in which there is the barest possibility of risk. The line of Liverpool packets, the whale ships, the hank, and that great undertaking, the Shubenacady Canal, have all been projected, and are all conducted and supported by the energies of associations, formed in the province. In 1826, a company was formed to open a canal navigation from Halifax harbour to the Basin of Minas, along the line of the Shubenacady Lake and rivers, a distance of about fifty-four miles ; and the legislature voted L.15,000 in aid of this spirited undertaking. This canal will soon be completed, and Halifax must derive great advantage from it, to which it will convey the agricultural productions of the fer- tile diVtricts of the Basin of Minas, as well as various kinds of lumber, and probably coal and other mine- rals, which abound along its banks. It is sixty feet hroad at top, thirty-six at the bottom, and will float veweK drawing eight feet. It is intended to have -ma 11 > tea m-boats on it to tow vessels along. The Chamber of Commerce of Halifax, consisting CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 93 of fifteen members, elected by ballot from the general subscribers of the Commercial Society, has imparted a spirit of energy to the trade of the province, un- known before its establishment. The Commercial Society was formed in March 1822, by agreement, signed by the members, who are the principal merchants ; and the Chamber of Com- merce may be considered as a committee acting for the Commercial Society. Their business consists of taking into consideration every subject connected with the trade of the province ; corresponding with the Chambers of Commerce of other colonies on all commercial matters ; managing the funds of the society ; presenting petitions to the House of Assem- bly ; making necessary by-laws, and collecting all the information respecting the colonial trade. They cer- tainly do not neglect the duty confided to them ; and to this circumstance we may, in a great measure, attribute the superior intelligence of the merchants of Halifax, in respect to all commercial matters. Opposite to Halifax stands the pretty little town of Dartmouth. This place was first laid out and settled the year after Lord Cornwallis founded Hali- fax ; but in 1756 it was destroyed, and most of the inhabitants massacred by the Indians. Twenty- eight years after, a colony of loyalists from Nantucket, who were brought up principally to the South Sea whale fishery, were induced to settle here by govern- ment, and L.I 500 given to establish them. These people followed the whale-fishery for eight years with great success ; but the failure of an extensive and || DAKl MOUTH. speculative mercantile house at Halifax. arrested their enterprise, and reduced them to poverty. Liberal offers were then made them, through an agent, by the merchants of Milford in Wales, which induced them to leave the province, and Halifax, consequently, NM the benefit that would have been derived from a probably very extensive and profitable whale-fishing. Dartmouth has since that time, however, increased, slowly indeed, in population and in buildings. It has at present a neat church and school ; and at a pretty cove close to it, thepacket-ships that are established be- tween Liverpool and Halifax, and the whale ships, were built. A fine new steam-boat and several ferry-boats ply between Halifax and Dartmouth, where the dis- tance across is less than a mile, and the Shubenacady (anal joins the harbour near this place. There is also a pretty good road from Dartmouth, leading to the great western road. Two or three spots near this place are admirably adapted for patent slips or marine railways, which, from the rise and fall of tide in the harbour of Halifax being only six or seven feet, would be found of eminent convenience in gra- ving or repairing ships. The lands on the Dartmouth side of the harbour are much less stubborn, and more of a sandy loam character than those on the opposite side; and the industrious (iermans, who are settled along the eastern passage, have long subjected them to fair and profitable cultivation. NOVA SCOTIA. 95 CHAPTER IX. Descriptive Sketches of the principal Settlements. THE sea-board of the province, from Halifax to Yarmouth, like the whole of the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, presents a succession of innumerable headlands, small islands, bays, and harbours. It may be observed that nearly all the small harbours have a few inhabitants, deriving a tolerably comfortable living from the means of fishing and a little agricul- ture. The general character of this part of the country is rocky, often naked, and difficult of culture. But many spots of good land occur at the heads of the bays and up the rivers. The first harbour east from Halifax is Sambro. It lies within the lighthouse, and affords good anchor- age and shelter for vessels that are wind-bound after leaving Halifax. Its population are fishermen. St Margaret's Bay lies twenty miles to the west- ward of Sambro. It is less than two miles at the entrance, six wide inside, and fourteen long. Its shores are indented with several fine harbours. The soil is rocky but fertile, and many parts are subjected to profitable cultivation by the industry of the settlers, (about nine hundred,) who are the descend- ()(i ATLANTIC COAST, ants of Germans and of some French Huguenots. The country surrounding this magnificent bay, as the uncultivated parts are in most places covered with woods, is picturesque and beautiful. Various streams run into this place, which abound with salmon, trout, gaspereau, &c. Mali on Bay is separated from that of St Margaret by the lofty peninsula of Aspotogan. This bay, the scenery of which, for picturesque grandeur, is not surpassed by any landscape in America, is about ten miles broad and twelve deep ; and contains within it a multitude of beautiful wooded islands, which were probably never counted, but said to exceed two hundred. Many of these are appropriated to pastu- rage, and admirably adapted for raising sheep. One of the largest, Tancook, has a population of about 200 inhabitants, subsisting principally by agriculture. There are many excellent harbours within this bay, and three or four rivers, on which there are several saw-mills, and two or three grist-mills. The harbour and village of Chester is the most considerable place within this bay. Jt was first settled by people from New England, who afterwards abandoned the place. The Germans, who succeeded then), were industrious, and secured independence to themselves, and the prosperity of the settlement. The population of the bay amounts to about two thousand, who are chiefly employed in agriculture, and preparing lumber at the saw-mills for exporta- tion. They own several schooners and sloops, in which they export the produce of their industry. LUNENBURG. 97 Near the entrance of Mahon Bay, on the western side, lies the harbour of Lunenburg ; it was formerly called Malagash or Merliguesh. After the settlement of Halifax, government held out, by proclamation, inducements to German Protestants to remove to Nova Scotia ; in consequence of which, one thousand seven hundred and forty-five German and Swiss emigrants arrived at Halifax in the course of three years. Malagash was fixed upon as the most judicious place to locate them, and its name changed to Lunen- burg. They were accordingly removed from Halifax to this place, and immediately commenced clearing the ground of the trees, erecting habitations, and building block-houses to defend them against the savages. Although government supplied these people with provisions for three years, and with about seventy head of horned cattle, one thousand sheep, and one hundred pigs, and upwards of one hundred and fifty goats, yet the misery they suffered, arising from the hostility of the Indians, prevented their prosperity until 1760. They could not venture singly the least distance into the woods without being murdered ; and several of these men were scalped or carried off by the savages. From the time of the peace, which secured them against the Indians, the inhabitants of Lunenburg industriously advanced in agriculture, and such other pursuits as necessity or their means directed. They extended their improvements, erected saw and grist- mills ; and all their necessary wants and comforts were considered secure, when they were once more VOL. II. G 98 LUNENBURG. reduced nearly to ruin in 1782, by the depredations of six American privateers, which entered the harbour, and plundered all the property they could lay hold of, and also compelled the inhabitants to sign a bond for the payment of a thousand pounds, to prevent the burning of the town. The peace of next year relieved them from further apprehensions, and left them to their industrious occupations. Lunenburg at present contains about one hundred and forty dwelling-houses, besides stores, and about twelve hundred inhabitants. It is built on a most commanding situation ; its harbour is about a mile in length, and has sufficient water for large vessels ; it- trade is not carried on with great spirit, but it is conducted with steady perseverance and economy. The smaller vessels are employed in the fisheries, the larger ones in carrying fish and lumber to the West Indies, and one or two in carrying timber to Liver- pool, and bringing back salt and fishing-tackle. There are sixteen or seventeen square-rigged vessels, and M-vrral schooners and shallops, belonging to this place. The aspect of the town of Lunenburg is unlike that of the other towns in the province : the style of the houses is truly Dutch, but the outsides are generally painted either red, white, orange, or i The arrangements of the interior, with every regard, however, to substantial comfort, are also peculiar. strong clumsy furniture, old Dutch clocks, Iftddng^laSMS, chimney ornaments, and old pictures, which seem intended to outrage the rules of per- spective, hold their position among modern English LE HAVE LIVERPOOL. 99 carpets and curtains. The close German stove, and the custom of sleeping between two feather beds, are also preserved as necessary in-door comforts ; and the inhabitants are still much the same honest, industrious, and unceremonious people, that their ancestors were. They still talk German, and so do all the children ; but while we cannot but regard the feeling that cherishes an affection for a language in which all their early ideas and associations have been conceived, yet, isolated as they are from the country in which it is the language of literature and science, a tenacious adherence to it will prevent their attaining the same knowledge as the other inhabitants of the province. They must, however, be considered as forming a most useful and decent portion of the popu- lation of the province, with means sufficient and ample to render their condition comfortable and happy. La Have, a few miles to the westward, is one of the largest rivers in Nova Scotia, and is settled prin- cipally by Germans or their descendants. There are from sixteen to eighteen saw-mills, and some grist- mills on this fine river ; the lands are generally good ; and its harbour is the principal timber port on the coast. Several islands lie at the entrance. Port Medway, lying some miles to the westward of this place, is also a port where timber is shipped, and on its rivers there are several saw-mills. Liverpool is the second town in the province, and is situated on a harbour of the same name, distant eighty miles west from Halifax. It was formerly called Port Rossignol after the French gentleman 100 LIVERPOOL. of that name, already mentioned, who was establish- ed in this place, and driven from it during the French government. On an island at the entrance, there is an excellent lighthouse ; but the harbour, which never freezes over, and which in other respects is convenient and safe, has a bar across the entrance, covered only with nine feet water at ebb, and fifteen feet at full tide ; there is safe anchorage, however, three miles below, at Herring Cove. Those who first settled in this place came from New England : like others at that period, their miseries were for some years severe ; persevering intrepidity, however, over- came great difficulties, and secured their independence. It is at present the most imposing country town in the province. The houses are not only large and handsome, but the interior arrangements are com- fortable and respectable. It has a court-house, jail, fort, an English church, one Methodist, and one Baptist meeting-house, a respectable grammar school, about two hundred private buildings, and a groat number of wharfs. The inhabitants have from fifty to sixty vessels, principally ships, brigs, and large schooners, besides shallops and small craft. They trade with England and the West Indies, and several schooners go to the fisheries at Labrador. There is a cove and fine beach at Coffin's Island, where most of their fish is dried. During the last war, this place fitted out more privateers than all the other parts of the province. They were very successful in making captures, which produced a temporary source of wealth, that SHELBURNE. 101 probably did no real good to the inhabitants : cer- tainly none, when we are made acquainted with the number of widows, and of fatherless children, that became such in consequence. The lands adjoining the town, and for a long way back, are remarkably stubborn and rocky ; but the industry of the inhabitants has subjected many spots to cultivation. The salmon-fishery, though much decreased ; the convenience of the place for the cod, herring, and mackerel-fisheries ; the lumber, for export, either in square logs, or in deal boards, or scantling, which is flooded down from the interior country by the river Mersey and its lakes, are means abundantly sufficient to secure the prosperity of this place. There is a communication by water, with little interruption, for canoes, from Liverpool to Annapolis, by the river Mersey and a chain of lakes. The Indians frequently cross the country by this route. Above the town there is a bridge over the river, built on piles, and nearly four hundred yards long ; it is the only toll in the province. There is another bridge of one hundred yards, over the river at the cataract, a few miles farther up. Shelburne Harbour, perhaps the finest in America, lies about forty miles west of Liverpool ; there are several small settlements in this distance ; and on Roseway, or M'Nutt's Island, at the entrance of Shelburne, there is a good lighthouse. The settle- ment of this place was attempted by several persons connected with one Alexander M'Nutt, who planted themselves on the western shore, and piously gave it 102 Mir.i.isruXE. the name of New Jerusalem. They wholly failed in the terms of settlement, and the lands reverted to the crown. The lands surrounding Shelburne are rocky, and difficult to cultivate. The river Roseway, which falls into it, issues from a chain of lakes in the interior ; and although it is often broken in its course, oak and juniper, of durable quality for ship-building, are floated down its stream. Various kinds of fish frequent this harbour ; and near its entrance an ex- tensive fishery might be established. The celebrity of Shelburne, however, rests not on its present, but its past condition. In 1783, twelve thousand loyalists arrived from the United States, and injudiciously fixed on a spot near the head of Port Roseway for a town, which governor Parr named Shelburne. Its situation is certainly pleasant and well sheltered, and the water deep. But being ten miles from the entrance, it was too far from the fisheries : wanting roads and navigable rivers, it had no com- munication with the interior ; and the adjoining country being uncultivated and without inhabitants, it could only be supplied with grain, meat, and vege- tables, from a great distance. The harbour also freezes over during winter. A spacious town was, however, immediately laid out, the streets opened, and magnificent houses, capable of lodging all the civilians ; and barracks for several regiments of soldiers, were erected. In short, a splendid town rose instantaneously, as if ivured by the wand of a magician, rather than by SHELBURNE. 103 the labour of masons and carpenters. Wanting, however, those advantages without which no town can thrive, Shelburne, as might reasonably be ex- pected, declined rapidly. These men were infatuated with the beauty of the harbour alone ; they knew not then the inconveni- ence of its being remote from all the other settle- ments ; their previous pursuits unfitted them for the incessant labours of fishing or farming ; their wealth was acquired either by commerce, or it de- scended to them by easier channels ; neither their constitutions nor their ideas were calculated to sur- mount the difficulties which were inevitably connected with their situation ; yet they vainly imagined that splendid buildings and elegant society would attract the intrepid and the industrious to their town from all parts of the province : that it would become the metropolis of Nova Scotia, sink Halifax into ob- scurity, and command a great trade. Not one of these brilliant expectations was realized. These respectable but ill-fated men dissipated property and money, amounting in value to half a million, in two years. Most of them returned afterwards to the United States ; the remainder transplanted themselves to other parts of the province. The present population of Shelburne, and its en- virons, is not considered more than five hundred. The ruined state of the place streets overrun with grass, long weeds, and shrubs ; tall houses, with broken windows, the floors fallen in, doors ajar, or broken off their hinges, ceiling broken, and walls 104 CAPE NEGRO BARRINGTON. moulding or covered with green moss ; a churchyard, now seldom disturbed by the grave-digger, and u tout ciifsctnhle picture of desolation, present charac- teristics which would seem to mark a city depopula- ted by plague or famine, rather than a town once the abode of wealthy and genteel families. The interior country is said to be fertile in many places, and watered with many fine streams. There are also several small lakes lying between it and St Mary's Bay. A few miles west of Shelburne Harbour is Cape Negro Harbour, sheltered by a high island of the same name. It forms the embouchure of Clyde river, which, next to Annapolis river, is considered the most beautiful in the province, and winds forty miles through the country. It is finely wooded, and has a Welsh agricultural settlement on its banks, but many of the inhabitants follow fishing as well as farming.* Barrington Harbour lies within Cape Sable Island. It was first settled by the French ; afterwards by whale fishers from Nantucket, who again left it ; and then by fishermen from Cape Cod, who remained. Cod-fishing has from that period been their chief pursuit. There are about seventy vessels owned at the village or township of Barrington. The soil i> barren, but several rivers, issuing from lakes, run into the harbour, by which timber for ship- building is conducted from the interior. The inha- bitants attend partially to grazing and agriculture. Pubnico, which is an excellent safe harbour, lies * Note G. PUBNICO ARGYLE TUSKET. 105 some miles to the north, after passing several rugged islands, towards the Bay of Fundy. Its inhabitants, as well as those of the neighbouring village at Eel Brook, are principally industrious well-behaved Aca- dians. The right to the eel-fishery was long a mat- ter of great dispute between them and the Indians. At the east side of Townshend, or Argyle Bay, lies Argyle, within the Tusket Isles, probably three hun- dred in number, which form innumerable harbours. Tusket River spreads into different branches, passes through lakes, and affords excellent situations for farms and improvements. This is a very valuable and beautiful part of the province, and a fine agri- cultural district commences here, which extends to the Basin of Minas. The first settlers after the banishment of the Aca- dians from Tusket, were loyalists and disbanded soldiers, who suffered the evils of poverty for many years ; but they, or their descendants, have now good farms, well stocked with cattle. The Acadian settlers at Tusket, about two hundred families, are an orderly people, in tolerably good circumstances. They have a neat chapel, amidst a beautiful grove of oak-trees, in which the Abbe Segoigne officiates occasionally. At the harbour of Jebogue there is a populous settlement ; the inhabitants are the descendants of people from New England, who removed there on account of its immense marsh, and its convenience for the fisheries. It was previously settled by Acadians. Yarmouth, or Cape Fourche Harbour, is the prin- cipal and most thriving place in this part of the pro- 106 YARMOUTH ST MAttY'S BAY. vince. Its harbour is safe, and the channel deep, up to the town or village of Yarmouth ; but when it ebbs, there remain extensive mud flats between the channel and the shore, which render it disagreeable, and even difficult, to land until the tide covers thi'in. This is indeed common to some of the finest har- bours, in other respects, in America. Some miles up the river, near the falls or rapids, is a very pretty village called Milburn. The interruption of the navigation in the river, occasioned by this fall, was tried to be obviated by means of a lock, but this has been abandoned. Yarmouth and its neighbourhood contain an industrious population of about four thou- sand five hundred inhabitants, who possess about seventy vessels, and large stocks of cattle. This part of the country is remarkably beautiful ; and the scenery, marked with hills, woods, rivers, and a vast number of lakes, is exceedingly picturesque. The climate is also more temperate than in the other parts of the province. St Mary's Bay is a spacious inlet, about thirty-five miles deep, and from four to ten miles broad. Cape St Mary's,on the south, and Brier I*land,on the north, are the points that form its entrance. Brier Island, on which there is a miserable light-house, Long Island, in the same range, and a peninsula called Digby Neck, separate it from the Bay of Fundy. These places are all rocky, and their soil appears for- bidding, but they were settled many years ago by industrious loyalists, who follow fishing and farming. There is a safe channel between Brier Island and CLARE. 107 Long Island, and another between the latter and the land. These islands lie in a range with the penin- sula, and the channels, or guts, passing obliquely between them, occasion the whole to appear, when sailing up the Bay of Fundy, as a connected country from Annapolis Gut, or rather Patrick's Hole near it, to Brier Island. The lands of the peninsula, on being subjected to cultivation, are much more fertile than they appear to be. At the head of the bay there is a very large marsh ; and the shores, to the pretty village of Weymouth, twelve miles below at Sissiboo river, are settled by farmers ; opposite to this settlement a town was laid out, and named New Edinburgh, by Governor Parr, which, like many others similarly planned, has never been built. The Sissiboo is a beautiful rapid river, which receives the waters of several lakes and smaller streams ; but it is only navigable for four or five miles from the sea. Along the south side of St Mary's Bay, extending nearly thirty miles towards Yarmouth, lies Clare, which contains a population of about four thousand four hundred Acadians, the descendants of those neutrals who were formerly banished from the pro- vince, but who returned, as soon as they were allowed, to the country dear to their hearts from early affec- tion. While in exile, they often visited Nova Scotia in small shallops, which they built at Massachusetts ; and on being allowed, after repeated applications for leave, to return, they immediately removed to this 108 ABBE SEGOIGNE. part of the country, where they have settled and pros- pered. They certainly occupy a fine portion of the province, the lands of which are fertile, and on th3 shores of which the sea throws up abundant manures to enrich it when necessary. Fish also swarm round the shores ; and although the Acadians prin- cipally depend upon agriculture, they are also fisher- men occasionally, and carry the overplus produce of the soil and fishing across the Bay of Fundy to sell at St John's. All their wants are easily supplied ; and, happy, contented, and unambitious, retaining the habits and customs, language and religion, of their fathers, they seem to have nothing to wish for, and thus probably enjoy as much happiness as human nature will admit. The main post road leading from Annapolis to Yar- mouth passes through Clare. There are two chapels, one not far from each extremity of this long settle- ment. The easternmost, which is the largest, will contain about two thousand five hundred persons ; its altar is a very splendid one. Here lives, and here has resided for about thirty years, a man whom the demon of revolution drove from France. In that country he was born, and there did he receive that education, and acquire those manners, which, by being superinduced on a pure heart and sound head, constitute the worth of the amiable and venerable Abb6 Segoigne. This excellent curd is the priest, the comforter, the lawyer, and judge of all the Acadians of Clare and Tusket. As their lawyer, or rather notary, he keeps their records, writes their deeds, ABBE SEGOIGNE. 109 notes, and contracts ; while his opinion as their judge, and his advice as their priest and father, convince his flock of the evils of litigation, from which they are taught to fly as from pestilence. Woe be to the pockets of the lawyers of Nova Scotia, if each settle- ment in the province had an Abbd Segoigne for its pastor, and inhabitants that respected his advice. Since M. Segoigne retired to this peaceable and secluded settlement, he has only been once at Hali- fax, and only two or three times at the adjoining town of Digby. The urbanity of manner, and the polish which distinguished the gentlemen of the old French school, are truly those of the Abbe ; yet for him the world has no allurement to fascinate his thoughts from the calm, pious, cheerful, and useful life, which has diffused so much happiness among the Acadians. All the changes, politics, and vexations of the world, are unknown to him ; and he has probably no further connexion out of Clare arid Tusket with his own church, than an occasional letter from the Ca- tholic bishop of Quebec or Halifax. He speaks the Indian language fluently ; and the Micmacs regard him with the utmost veneration. The greater part of his flock have been born, or have grown up, under him, while he has been among them ; and a few are accompanying him in the decline of his well-spent life. To him, with reverence and love, all look up for comfort in their afflictions, for advice in their mutual difficulties, and for the settlement of their little dis- putes. HO ANNAPOLIS BASIN. One of those tn-im>udous fires which make such fear- ful ravages in America, nearly destroyed the district of Clare in 1823. The chapel, and most of the houses and corn-fields, were consumed ; and M. Segoigne had one of his hands severely burnt, while pushing through the fire to save the boxes which contained the land-titles, and other records of the inhabitants. This calamity was inevitably the cause of much dis- tress and poverty, which the Acadians have since completely overcome. Annapolis Basin is the next inlet after leaving St Mary's Bay. Its communication with the Bay of Fundy is by a narrow gut or strait, which is formed by a precipitous chasm, the appearance of which impresses the idea of a tremendous explosion having blown away the rocks and other materials which previously occupied the space now open, and which formerly maintained an unbroken coast from St Mary's Bay to the Basin of Minas. It lies nearly south from St John's River ; and on entering through this strait from the Bay of Fundy, one of the most beautiful havens in America opens to view. Besides the waters of several small rivers, it receives also those- of the largest in Nova Scotia, and of one of the most beautiful rivers in America, which flows and f Ttilizcs the country for about sixty miles, in a direction nearly parallel to the Bay of Fundy. Three miles above the lighthouse, at the entrance of the strait, on the west side, and in a most charm- ing situation on the declivity of a hill, stands the town of Digby. It contains a court-house, church, DIGBY ANNAPOLIS. Ill Methodist chapel, and about a hundred private houses and shops. The inhabitants, who are industrious American loyalists, or their offspring, employ them- selves in building vessels in the mackerel and herring- fishery, and trading in the produce of the country and imported goods. The fame of the small fat smoked or red Digby herrings, or, as they are humo- rously called, " Digby Chickens," has spread over the continent of America. The Indians also shoot vast numbers of porpoises about the gut. Above Digby, a beautiful farming district named Clements, inhabited principally by loyalists and Ger- mans, extends to Annapolis. On the opposite or north side of the basin, lies the rich and well-cultivated township of Grenville. The town of Annapolis, once the Port Royal and metropolis of the province, and the oldest European settlement in North America, is situated on a point formed by the Annapolis and the little river Le Quille. De Monts, and his associates, delighted with its situation, chose it for a place of residence in 1604 ; and, unlike nearly all those of the other early settle- ments attempted in America by Europeans, its first inhabitants succeeded, at the same time, in establish- ing themselves, and in securing the regards of the Indians, who continued ever friendly to the French in Acadia. The natural beauty of the situation of Port Royal, which exhibited the primeval wildness of America in all its silvan luxuriance and solitude, was fully 1 1 nslow is a populous village, contains fertile lands, and one thousand four hundred acres of marsh mea- dows. Londonderry was first populously settled by Aca- dians. Their private buildings and immense chapel were destroyed by the troops which were sent to dis- perse them. Its lands are richly wooded, with fertile meadows, and good uplands. The settlement, or chain of settlements, called by the general name of Parsborough, occupies the coast of Minas Basin and the Bay of Fundy, from Eco- nomy to Point Chignecto. The lands are high, often rugged, but by no means unfertile. The village of Parsborough, between which and Windsor a packet plies during summer, is a pretty little place, situated within a jutting, abrupt, and high headland. Good leading roads pass through these settlements, and they all appear to be in a flourishing condition. A few miles north of Cape Chignecto, the basin so named, and sometimes called Beau Basin, forms another great branch of the Bay of Fundy, and re- ( rives several fine rivers, the largest of which, the IVtit Coudiac, winds through the adjoining province. The Cumberland shores of this basin, as far as the point or ridge called on the map Boar's Back, are i. with several coves, and some alluvial tracts, GU1.F COAST BAY DE VERT. 125 and rough, but fertile uplands. The diked marshes and meadows along the rivers at the head of this basin, present the most fertile character imaginable. Herds of cattle, stacks of hay, large barns, and good substantial farm houses, enrich this fertile portion of Nova Scotia. The inhabitants are Yorkshiremen, and native descendants of Americans who left Massachusetts before the Revolution. They prefer grazing to raising grain, and send butter and cheese in great quantities to Halifax and St John's. The river Missiquash, on the north side of which stood Fort Beau Sejour (now Fort Cumberland), and on the other was afterwards built Fort Lawrence, bounds the north-western extremity of Nova Scotia, which it here separates from New Brunswick. The proposed canal from River An Lac to Tidnish River, which would intersect the imaginary line which divides Nova Scotia from New Brunswick, and open a direct intercourse by water between the Gulf of St Lawrence and the Bay of Fundy, would doubtless be attended with great benefit and con- venience, by obviating a circuitous and dangerous navigation. The best line has been surveyed by Mr Hall, a skilful engineer. The length is about eleven miles, and the expense, to make a canal navigable for vessels drawing eight feet water, estimated at about L.70,000. The Bay of Vert is the most northerly inlet and boundary of Nova Scotia. Entering from the Gulf of St Lawrence, it contracts the country to an isthmus 126 PUGWAMI REMSHEG. of about ten miles over to Cumberland Basin. This bay is about twelve miles long, and from five to seven broad, with its shores flat and muddy, but pretty thickly settled. Nova Scotia claims but the south ride. Kiver Phillip, a long winding stream, is the next place of any consequence on the Gulf shore, but not navigable for large vessels. It abounds with salmon, gaspereau, and other fish ; and its fine lands have been long settled ; but the lumber business has been too much followed, to the detriment of agricultural improvement. Several salt springs are found near it. Pugwash River, or, as it has lately been called, Waterford, has the same embouchure as river Phillip, and is a fine river, navigable for large vessels ; but having a bar, and a very crooked channel, a pilot is necessary. The timber trade, which has diverted the inhabitants from agriculture, has also retarded cultivation, and presents a striking contrast to the beautiful lands settled by Scotch Highlanders, lying along the shore between this place and the next har- bours. The latter people, as well as those at Fox Harbour, were hardy, industrious emigrants from the Hebrides ; ignorant, however, of improved methods of cultivating the soil, yet by adhering to rural labour, they have not only obtained a better livelihood than the lumberers, but they have good farms, with ex- tensive clearings, which secure them against the evils of poverty. Kc-msheg, which has lately changed its name to Port Wallace, is a good harbour, with two or three TATMAGOUCHE. 127 small rivers, and one of considerable length falling into it. It was first settled with loyalists, some of whom afterwards left the place. The lands are ex- cellent; but here again they have been too much neglected for the timber business. The freestone, of which the Province Building of Halifax is constructed, was quarried a few miles up Remsheg River, vast quantities of which exist at the same place. Her- rings and gaspereau are very plentiful in these har- bours. Salmon, shad, eels, lobsters, &c. abound. A few miles to the southward is Tatmagouche Bay, which is broad and open ; and, although the water is deep, exposed to north-easterly winds. It is also a port for shipping timber, and the lands are good and pretty well settled. From the south side of Tatmagouche, the River John, over which there is a good bridge, branches off. This pretty thriving settlement was settled many years ago by Swiss Protestants ; they endured a train of severe hardships from the time they left their native country, until they attained the means of comfort where they or their descendants now live.* * There is some interest attached to the history of these families. When, after the peace of 1763, the dread of these kingdoms being depopulated by emigrations to America was entertained very gene- rally, the conditions of grants of large tracts of land, in Nova Scotia and in the colonies we acquired by conquest, stipulated that they should be settled on by foreign Protestants. The Swiss, here alluded to, were brought either to Portsmouth or Plymouth, by an officer who received a grant of lands in Nova Scotia ; but being unable, or unwilling, to fulfil his engagements with them, he there abandoned them. Their destitute condition came under the consi- K>S PICTOU. There is a pretty good road from this place, about fighti-eii miles to Pictou. The coast along the shore, about twenty miles, to the harbour of Carraboo, is settled by Scotch, chiefly from the Hebrides. Pictou harbour is one of the best within the Gulf of St Lawrence. It is narrow at the entrance, well sheltered, with seventeen feet depth of water at the lowest ebb ; deep and safe within, and sufficiently capacious for more than a thousand ships. Three fine rivers, which wind through a fertile country, branch from the basin, a little above the town. The harbour is, however, frozen over from the last week or end of December, to the beginning or end of April ; this is its only disadvantage. The town of Pictou stands on the declivity of a hill, on the north side of the harbour, and about three miles from its entrance. It is irregularly built, without any plan. Every one who erected a house, since the year 1790, when the first hut inhabited by an European raised its head, planted it where he could, and of dimensions and plan according to his fancy. Its situation is very agreeable. The point of land, called Mortimer's, above the town, with stores and wharfs near the shore, and with a large and very respectable stone house some distance back ; Fisher's Grant being a range of farms opposite the deration of government, and they were sent to Nora Scotia at the public expense. I beliere these are the leading points relative to their removal to Nova Scotia ; but I only write from my recol- lection of the account given me, by one of the oldest and most re- spectable of them, some years ago. 7 PICTOU. 129 town ; other fine clearings around the harbour ; the embouchures of three rivers ; and the hilly wooded background of Mount Toum, are interesting and pic- turesque features in the surrounding scenery. The hill above the town commands a very extensive and truly grand view of farms, houses, the harbour, Gulf of St Lawrence, and forest country. The town contains at the present time an Episco-> pal church, two Presbyterian kirks, a Catholic cha- pel, and a court-house ; about two hundred dwelling- houses, stores, and other buildings, and about sixteen hundred inhabitants. Pictou has also an excellent grammar school, and an academy called " Pictou Col- lege," where the highest branches of education are taught, and to which students of any Christian deno- mination are admitted. This institution owes its existence to the Reverend Dr M'Culloch, a gentleman of superior acquirements, learning, and abilities. It contains a commodious class-room, a library of good standard works ; a laboratory, with philosophical apparatus, printing-press, &c. ; and a museum, in which is to be found the only zoological collection worth mentioning of the natural history of the pro- vince. The department of ornithology is nearly complete, and the birds remarkably well stuffed and preserved. It is to be regretted that the academy has met with \rery uncharitable opposition, and I believe the fund given to aid its support has been withdrawn. The settlement of the district of Pictou commenced VOL. II. I 130 PICTOU. by the arrival of a few families from Maryland in 1765, which were sent by a company who received a very extensive grant of land known in the province by the name of the " Philadelphia Grant." At the head of this company was Dr Weatherspoon, a man celebrated at the time in colonial story. These peo- ple, although they received some assistance in the way of provisions, endured great misery for some years ; and thirty families of Highlanders who joined them afterwards, underwent almost incredible diffi- culties, in consequence of arriving late in the season, having no houses to shelter them, wanting provisions, the general wilderness state at that time of this part of the province, and its great distance from the near- est settlement.* In the course of a few years, however, great per- severance enabled them to secure the means of living comfortably ; and, from that period, this part of the country has continued to improve regularly in its settlement and agriculture; and the port has also continued to be a great paint d'appui for emigrant ^liips leaving the Highlands and Isles of Scotland. Settlements consequently extended up the rivers, and along the shores to the north and south-east ; and Pictou therefore derives its importance from being the centre of all the intercourse and trade, as well as * The first settlers had often, daring winter, to cross the country, n . may be said to have been first planted in thi> district. The late Rev. Dr James M'Gregor, PRESBYTERIAN SYNOD. 133 who left the comforts of a British home, in 1786, to seek toil and privation amidst the forests of Nova Scotia, may justly be considered the father of the Presbyterian church of the province. This venerable and excellent man, who died lately, (1830,) was pecu- liarly adapted for a country like Nova Scotia. He arrived in it when it was little more than a continued wilderness. He lived to see it extensively cultivated, and in most parts settled, with roads opened between the settlements, and schools generally established over the province. He had none of the bigotry of secta- rians ; he mixed cheerfully with all men ; the wicked he endeavoured to reclaim, but never attempted to promulgate religious dissensions, nor ever to wound the feelings of any on account of their difference of creed. He was, in short, in his own line of duty, the most harmless and most useful of men. When we arrive as strangers in Pictou, and behold its extraordinary natural advantages, the excellence of its harbour, the fertility of the adjoining country, its vast mines of iron and coal, with limestone, and excellent freestone for building, and the convenience of the place for the rich fisheries of the Gulf of St Lawrence, it is truly painful, if not disgusting, to discover soon after, that society has, for the last few years, been in a state of the most violent agitation, principally from the passion for religious ascendency, probably as much from fanciful individual vanity : when we also find that the very parties who render themselves so truly ridiculous in the cool judgment of reasonable minds, differ, not in doctrines of faith 134 ins-rim i or ricTOU. but in some unimportant matter or form of church government, we are still more disgusted at squabbles that cannot possibly originate from honest religious principles or ( 'liristian charity. Which of the parties have the best pretensions, it is not, even if it were possible, (which I doubt,) my object to determine ; but it is certainly much to be regretted that the har- mony which, it is said, prevailed so long among the Presbyterians of the province, should be disturbed, and that such violent animosities should convulse the minds of a population that have such ample scope for being so much better, so much more usefully engaged.* The lands, a great part of which is intervale, through which the west river of Pictou winds for about sixteen miles, are fertile and extensively culti- vated. The middle river is a small stream, but its banks are well settled and improved. The east river, which divides into two principal streams, flows through a beautiful, fertile, and popu- lous settlement. Six miles up this river, a village, with a few shops and taverns, in the form of a small American town, called Xew Glasgow, has risen within * Much has been said of Roman Catholic bigotry and intolerance. I have not been able to discover a solitary instance of the clergy of that church interfering with the professors of a different creed, nor endeavouring to disseminate quarrels or agitations among them ; while I regret to have to observe that the Presbyterians who con- Mt' tlie tidi -. AGRICULTURAL RETURNS. 147 The aboiteau, an Acadian term, is a mound raised on a foundation secured by piles, and provided with flood-gates. The lands thus recovered form in many parts extensive plains, which produce luxuriant crops of grain, or become the richest pastures in the world. A marsh, after being newly diked, is left three or more years untilled, during which period it becomes firm and fit for the plough. Wheat, although scarcely ever cultivated with great care, produces at an average on marsh, inter- vale, or good uplands, from fifteen to eighteen returns, or about thirty bushels per acre. On newly tilled lands, especially on diked marshes and intervales, twenty-five return^, or fifty bushels per acre, is a common crop. Wheat crops often fail in America, not in growing, but from the grain being checked in ripening by rust or blight; a careful selection of seed, the use of lime, and early sowing, generally ensure a good crop. Winter wheat is seldom sown ; although, on lands that are sheltered by surrounding wood, it yields much greater returns than summer wheat, and ripens so much earlier, that it is never affected by either rust, blight, or the Hessian fly. On lands exposed to the sweeping snow storms and drifts, which lay the ground bare, and expose it to intense frost, and which, after a thaw, becomes in- crusted with ice, winter wheat will not succeed ; but the enclosure and subdivision of fields with hedges for shelter, would most likely, under all ordinary circumstances, ensure a good crop of winter wheat. 148 LIVE STCK'K. Indian corn produces extraordinary returns ; from sixty to ninety bushels per acre are common. Oats, buck wheat, barley, and rye, are always cer- tain crops. Beans may be raised in vast abundance ; they are frequently sown along with Indian corn. and we sometimes observe pumpkins also growing intermingled with them. Good land will produce about two hundred bushels of excellent potatoes per acre ; turnips, mangel wur- zel, carrots, cabbages, and all kinds of culinary vege- tables, grow to great perfection. White and red clover, and timothy, are the grasses cultivated ; two to four tons per acre may be con- sidered the general crop. What is said of seed-time, hay-making, and har- vest, in treating of Prince Edward Island, applies to this province. The cradle, an implement of Ameri- can invention, in which there is a scythe fixed below a framework, is oftener used to cut down the corn than the sickle. From the richness of intervales and diked marshes, (the latter never requiring any,) manures were not formerly much used. A rotation of crops, the use of stable dung, marsh mud, and occasionally lime, have, however, for some years, been attended to ; and the face of the country exhibits striking evidence of im- provement. Grazing has, in the fertile districts of Cumberland, Windsor, Cornwallis, Horton, and Annapolis, par- ticularly in the first, been probably too much attend- ed to, in preference to the cultivation of the lands. HORTICULTURE. 149 Excellent butter and cheese, the latter quite equal to that of Cheshire, are made in those places ; and the cattle, especially the oxen, that feed among the rich pastures of the diked marshes, are remarkably large and fat. The sheep are generally, as respects their wool, of an unprofitable breed, but they thrive well, and their meat is excellent. The swine, although the best breeds thrive remarkably well, are still the most miserable, long, lank, ill-favoured animals imagina- ble. An improvement is, however, observable. The horses of Nova Scotia are rather small, but wonderfully hardy and full of spirit. They may be considered a mixed breed of the Canadian and English horses. Several excellent saddle horses may be found among them ; and some English blood horses have been, during the last few years, imported to the pro- vince to improve the breed. Horticulture is but little, and always slovenly, at- tended to. This is generally the case all over America. The country is capable of producing many fruits in the open air that would not ripen in England, which may be accounted for from the greater heat of sum- mer. Wild vines, covering several acres, were dis- covered several years ago near Digby. The Acadians had small orchards in all their settle- ments, clumps of the apple-trees of which are still in existence. On the settlement of the country by emigrants from the New England and Southern States, the raising of apple-trees was not neglected by them ; and we may have as good apples produced 150 HORTICULTURE. in Nova Scotia as in any part of America. In the orchards of Windsor, Cornwallis, Horton, &c., great quantities are raised, from which excellent cider is made for domestic use and exportation. Along with the progress of improvement in the cultivation of the soil, a great improvement has also taken place in preparing its productions for use. Much more attention is directed to the construction of grist-mills, and cleaning and grinding wheat, bark 1 }-, and oats, than formerly. Oat or shelling- mills have been also erected in the agricultural dis- tricts; and the ploughs, harrows, and carts of the farmers, are generally well made. Greater care is also taken in the salting of meat, which was long most unpardonahly neglected. The slovenly want of arrangements which we still discover among the farmers, may be attributed to two causes, the high price of labour, which will long prevent gentlemen from becoming to any great extent practical farmers, and the facility with which the labouring farmer can obtain the necessaries of life. Generally speaking of the climate and soil, we mu>t admit that a great belt of the province, extend- ing along the whole Atlantic coast, is for many miles back as rugged and sterile as any part of the habit- able globe ; and that the chilly sea-fogs, even where a little soil is to be found, will always render the culture of wheat uncertain ; while experience ha-, at tin- >anu' time, proved beyond dispute, that a vast proportion of Nova Scotia is eminently adapted by n. -i tun- t.r a rich agricultural country. TRADE. 151 CHAPTER XL Trade Commercial Resources Former Restrictions Advantage of Mr Canning's Policy in prohibiting the Admission of United States' Vessels into the Ports of the West Indies Impolicy of opening these Ports to the Americans Petition on the Subject Mr Combrelling's Report Exports and Imports Whale, Herring, and Cod Fisheries, &c. THE geographical position and configuration of Nova Scotia, with its natural resources, give this colony most important advantages in respect to com- merce. Its fisheries, mineral riches, forests, and pastures, afford abundant resources for obtaining articles of export, while its soil is at the same time capable of producing plenty of food for its inhabitants. There were formerly many restrictions on the trade of the colonies, which prevented the inhabitants from resorting to foreign markets, and which com- pelled them to carry all their productions and com- modities in a raw state to Great Britain, with the exception only of fish ; and to import, direct from England and Scotland, all the articles they required from other countries, with the exception of salt for the fisheries, horses and provisions from Ireland, and wines from the Western Islands and Madeira. Cer- tain West India productions were afterwards per- I.VJ TRADE. mitted to be exported direct to Gibraltar and Malta ; and in order to encourage the fisheries, a variety of European articles were also allowed to be imported from ports south of Cape Finisterre, by vessels am ving from our colonies with British American fish, or colonial productions. Other privileges were at different periods extended to the colonial trade ; but the celebrated act of 6 Geo. IV., entitled " An act to regulate the trade of the British possessions abroad," which came into operation 5th January, 1826, may be said to have almost completely un- shackled the commerce of the colonies, and to have exd-nded to them the most liberal privileges, without injuring in any degree the interests of the mother country. Halifax, which was previously declared a free port, with Quebec, St John's in New Brunswick, Kingston in Jamaica, and Bridgetown in Barbadoes, were by tliis act free warehousing ports. The same privilege has since been extended to Pictou. It would be tedious and uninteresting to enter into tin' details of the privileges granted to the colonies ; and those who may be engaged in colonial trade, should be well acquainted with the provisions of, and possess the act mentioned. Great advantages to the British American colonies have arisen from the Americans of the United States having refused to avail themselves of the benefits that tlii- act held out to them, on condition that they should place the ships and commerce of Great Britain and her colonies on the same footing as those of the TRADE WITH THE WEST INDIES. 153 most favoured nations. The consequence of their refusal to do so was, that Mr Canning, with the spirit and vigour of a great British statesman, shut the ports of our West Indian colonies against the ships of the United States. This measure has there- fore been highly favourable to our North American possessions, and by no means injurious, although I am aware that many think otherwise, to our sugar colonies. The former can supply with great facility all that the latter require from the Americans ; and a great increase in the consumption of British manu- facture and West Indian produce in the North Ameri- can colonies, is another important consequence of this measure of policy, while a vast number of British ships are also engaged in the trade, which would otherwise be enjoyed by the Americans. The Bri- tish colonies take, in return for the lumber,* cattle, fish, flour, butter, and salted provisions, which they export to the West Indies, rum, sugar, molasses, &c., while the Americans, who require but little of those articles from others, were taking away the circulating specie, and causing, in consequence, much inconveni- ence among the inhabitants of the sugar colonies. Besides which, the Americans contrived, as long as their vessels were admitted into the ports of the British West Indies, to carry on a great smuggling trade, for money payments, by vending tea, East India and foreign goods among the inhabitants, while they finally prohibited nearly altogether the direct * Lumber is a general colonial term for planks, boards, beams, fcc. l.U TKAU1-: WITH TIN. WKST INDIKS. importation of tin- manufactures of the United King- dom, by their impolitic tariff. The Americans know well the vast importance of being again allowed to trade to the British Wc-st Indies ; but the granting of this privilege would be a measure of the greatest impolicy on the part of his majesty's government, and the cause of general dis- content among the colonists. The merchants of British America have invested a great part of their capital in the trade between the colonies and the West Indies, under the full confi- dence that the trade should remain as it is ; and throwing the ports open again to the ships of the United States, would bring inevitable ruin upon the merchants and shipowners now engaged in supplying the West Indies with- colonial productions. We, even now, under the present regulations, in a great mea- sure thwart the object of the American tariff, by the immense quantities of British manufactures that find their way through the colonies to the United States, for which the Americans pay either in dol- lars, or in flour, provisions, staves, lumber, and pot and pearl-ashes, which, with the exception of flour and corn, the present laws allow to be shipped from the colonial free ports, as if the same were the pro- duce of the British plantations. From these circum- stances, therefore, not only the manufactures of the United Kingdom, but the British shipowners, and the inhabitants of the colonies, derive profitable and important benefits; and it would be the ne ;V//.s ullni of weakness in ministers to destroy this trade PETITION TO THE KING. 155 merely to gratify the Americans, who will assuredly give us no solid equivalent in return. There is no matter which requires such delicate management as interfering with any well-established trade, nor so hazardous as changing commercial re- gulations with which the inhabitants of a country are satisfied. The British colonies are so perfectly contented with the present state of things, and assu- redly they have every reason to be so, that if govern- ment were to ask them what farther could be done for their commerce, they might, with great truth, make the reply, " Laissez nous faire," leave us to act as we are, which the French merchants made to M. Colbert when he asked them a similar question. On the subject of the trade between British North America and the West Indies, the following extracts from the joint address of his Majesty's Council and House of Assembly of the province of Nova Scotia to the King, may be considered as the general opinions of the inhabitants of all the North American pro- vinces, the spirit and substance of the addresses to his majesty from each of the other colonies being the same. This address commences, " May it please your Majesty, " The Council and House of Assembly of your loyal province of Nova Scotia beg leave most hum- bly to approach your Majesty, to represent the great alarm which has been excited throughout British America on learning that the government of the United States are endeavouring to induce your Ma- iT/rrnox TO Tin. KIN(.. jesty to permit a direct trade between the ports of that country and your Majesty's possessions in the \\V>t Indies. " The Council and Assembly of Nova Scotia desire most humbly to express their gratitude for the bene- fits which this province has derived from the acts passed by the Imperial Parliament during your Ma- jesty's reign, for extending the trade of your Majesty's colonies. " Fully aware of your Majesty's paternal solicitude for the happiness and welfare of your subjects in every part of your extensive dominions, they are convinced it will be gratifying to your Majesty to learn that the benefits expected to have been derived from these acts have been realized in British Ame- rica, and they think they may add, in your Majesty's Trans-atlantic dominions in general. " It has long been noticed by all who have paid attention to the principles which actuate the govern- ment of the United States, that, in their domestic policy, they avail themselves of the vast variety soil and climate which their extensive territorh embrace, and strive to cement the union of the con- f fiU-rate states, by encouraging an interchange thi-ir respective productions. " Upon this principle, they are now encouraging tin- utmost of their power the manufacture of sugar, spirits, and molasses; and it may be confidently assert ed that those- articles, which comprise the staple of the \\Y-t India trade, are already produced in the Flori- ON THE WEST INDIA TRADE. 157 das and Louisiana, to an extent nearly equal to the supply of the United States. " The inhabitants of British America feel, with proud exultation, that they are the subjects of a Mo- narch whose dominions extend to every quarter of the globe, and theyknowthat if an interchange of the vari- ous productions of the several portions of the British empire is encouraged, such wise policy would enable your Majesty to confer commercial privileges upon your colonial subjects, infinitely more important than any that the government of the United States can bestow upon its citizens. " That the distance which separates the several por- tions of your Majesty's dominions from each other, enhances the benefits which the empire would derive from their intercourse, as the interchange of their respective productions would be carried on in British ships, navigated by British seamen, and thus increase the resources of that naval power which lias made Great Britain the mistress of the seas, and to which she is mainly indebted for the proud station she holds among the nations of the earth. " That your Majesty's loyal subjects in North Ame- rica have no desire to advance their local interests at the expense of those of the Empire in general, but humbly conceiving that, in the present case, the gene- ral interest is identified with theirs, they trust that the citizens of the United States will not be allowed to participate in a trade which would render them dangerous rivals to your Majesty's subjects in their northern colonies, -and prove most injurious to their 158 PETITION TO Till. KING. interests, without producing corresponding benefits to the West India Islands. " Those Islands now receive through these colonies a regular supply of the articles which they require from the continent of America, for the greater part of which they pay with their own produce. This not only creates a most beneficial barter trade between the northern colonies and the British West Indies, but increases 'the intercourse between the northern colonies themselves. Nova Scotia and New Bruns- wick, in consequence of their situation on the Atlan- tic, became the carriers between the Canadas and the West Indies. The fish caught on the coast of Bri- tish America, is carried in the vessels of the Atlantic Colonies to the Islands, and there disposed of for rum, sugar, and molasses, with which those vessels return to supply the wants, not only of the Atlantic Colo- nies, but of the Canadas also. The Canadians pay for these supplies in flour, pork, and other articles of agricultural produce, which are required for the fish- ermen on the sea-board, and all the colonies are thus made to feel how beneficial they are to each other. " The demand for West India produce in British America must increase with the rapid augmentation of the population in these healthy countries ; and the wealth which the inhabitants will derive from this trade, if it is preserved to them, will enable them to become better customers every year to the British manufacturer. " That no burdens in the shape of protecting duties can ever he imposed upon British manufactured goodfl PETITION TO THE KING. 159 in the North American Colonies ; and, by fostering their trade, and encouraging their prosperity, Great Britain ensures to herself a valuable market for her domestic productions. " That the duties which the American Congress has imposed upon West India produce, in order to en- courage their own planters and distillers, nearly amount to a total prohibition of the imports of those articles into the United States, which, added to the decrease in the demand from abroad, in consequence of domestic supply, would prevent the Americans from taking payments in produce for any cargoes they might carry to the islands. " Their admission, therefore, would drain the Bri- tish islands of specie nor would the evil be confined to this they would probably proceed to the foreign islands, and with that specie purchase the clayed su- gars which are in demand in Europe, and carry them thither, from whence they would return with such foreign European goods as are suited to the Ameri- can markets. " By this impolitic measure, then, Great Britain would provide a country, which appears destined to become her rival, with the means of procuring full freights upon their several voyages, and thus add to their commercial wealth and their maritime power at the expense of our own. " The Council and Assembly of Nova Scotia most humbly state to your Majesty, that when the Ame- rican government, in adhering to the system of fos- tering its own trade, forebore to avail itself of the 160 I ITION TO THK KIN(i. offers held out to the foreign powers by the acts of the Imperial Parliament, and declined to place tilt- commerce of Great Britain upon the footing of the most favoured nations, your loyal subjects in British America were induced to believe that your Majesty's Government would persevere in the measures it then thought proper to adopt, and would not renew any negotiation relative to the intercourse between the United States and your Majesty's Colonies. " That the declaration of your Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to the American Minis- ter, then in London, confirmed them in this opinion, and encouraged them to invest a large capital in the commercial and agricultural pursuits, which an ad- herence to such a line of policy is calculated to foster and increase in these colonies. ** That the alarm which the mere report of an in- tention of departing from this judicious system has occasioned, has, in some measure, paralyzed the efforts of those engaged in such pursuits ; and if that inten- tion is acted upon, it will involve all who have tliu^ embarked their capital in inevitable ruin. " The Council and Assembly of Nova Scotia humbly conceive that the adoption of the measure now pressed upon your Majesty's government by the Minister of the United States, would prove injurious to British shipowners throughout your Majesty's dominions : would encourage dangerous rivals to British mer- chants in the foreign ports of Europe ; would increase the carrying trade of America at the expense of that of (treat Britain : would diminish, if not destroy, the 8 MR CAMBRELLING'S REPORT TO CONGRESS. 161 intercourse between the several portions of your Majesty's dominions, which must ultimately prove so beneficial to the whole empire ; and would in a more especial manner prove ruinous to the North American colonies. " The Council and Assembly of Nova Scotia, there- fore, humbly trust that your Majesty will be gra- ciously pleased to adhere to that wise and enlighten- ed policy which has distinguished your Majesty's reign, and preserve to your faithful and loyal subjects in North America, a trade so essential to their pro- sperity; and as in duty bound, they will ever pray." To preserve the deep-rooted attachment of the inhabitants of so great and powerful a country as British America is destined to be, for Great Britain, and to repair as far as possible the political blunders which we have committed, in giving up a full partici- pation of our colonial fisheries to the French and Americans, it will be wise in ministers to persevere in the line of policy which has been adopted towards the colonies and the United States. That the liberal and intelligent citizens of the United States, are convinced of the political errors of their government, will, I believe, fully appear from the following extracts from the able report of Mr Cambrelling, submitted, February 1, 1830, by the committee of trade to the Congress of the United States. This document states, " The policy of this country must be regulated in some measure by the commercial laws of our maritime rival. Our com- VOL. II. L .Mil l.\ M151U.I. LING'S REPORT TO CON(.K I inerce with Great Britain and her dependenci far more important to us than that with any other country ; and the trade witli the United States is, in a commercial point of view, the most valuable branch of the foreign commerce of Great Britain. There are no two countries so deeply interested in securing and preserving the most friendly and liberal reci- procity. " The interest of both, however, has been hitherto, and we fear may be hereafter, sacrificed to those political jealousies, which are too apt to influence the councils of countries naturally rivals for naval as- cendency. We should, however, in our foreign policy, avoid such influence, and cultivate, with an indiscriminating and just equality, the most friendly intercourse with all nations. But in wishing this reciprocal commerce, without anticipating the proba- bility of future conflicts with any power, it is among our highest obligations vigilantly to superintend our means of national defence, and, with a wise foresight, to prepare for any emergency. " It will be discovered, on examination, that while we have been for fifteen years wasting our energies and resources in crude and speculative experiments, other nations have kept a vigilant eye on the growth of their commercial marine. " From 1788 to 1807, we enjoyed an almost un- interrupted commerce, under rates of duty so mode- rate. that they were scarcely felt or perceptible. From that time till 1815, we were driven, through political necessity, into a train of mea.Mires which MR CAMBRELLING'S REPORT TO CONGRESS. 163 disturbed our intercourse with foreign nations. From 1815 to the present time, our commerce, though uninterrupted, has been depressed by immoderate imposts on consumption, and restrictions on our foreign trade. " It is a common impression that our early mari- time prosperity was owing to the wars growing out of the French revolution, which enabled the United States and Great Britain to monopolize the carrying trade. Those who think so, take but a superficial view of the causes which gave a strong impulse to our navigation at that early period. " These were our rich and increasing agricultural resources ; the removal of all the countervailing laws of the states ; our commercial enterprise, and a foreign commerce without restrictions. " But what exhibits in the clearest light the dangerous tendency of our late measures, is the ex- traordinary increase of her (England) tonnage in the trade with her North American possessions. " The prosperity of these colonies proves not only that we have aided Great Britain in her plans to enlarge her commercial marine, but that, by the extraordinary folly of her own laws, we have assisted her in opening a new and indirect channel for the illicit introduction of her manufactures to the con- sumption of North America. Such is the extraordi- nary manner in which we have been for fifteen years countervailing the policy of Great Britain : we need not apprehend her retaliation while we persist in a policy so admirably calculated to destroy ourselves, 164 MR CAMBRELLING'S REPORT TO CONGRESS. and to encourage the growth of her colonies. She may put an end to our commercial treaty, which one of her late ministry told us he renewed conditionally, for the express purpose of resorting to that expedient, if they could not terminate that system of commercial hostility, which England was not the first to begin, but the first to lament. Whether she executes this threat or not is immaterial. She carried into full operation in 1825 a policy in relation to her North American possessions, which, if we persevere in our prohibitory system, must inevitably place the finances and naviga- tion of the United States in the worst possible con- dition. The resources of no country were ever placed, by the folly of its own government, in such peril, so en- tirely at the discretion of the very power whose mari- time strength she has most and just reasons to appre- hend. The ministers of Great Britain will understand their advantages over us, and how to use them. Know- ing that the trade with their colonies would be more profitable as they might enlarge their intercourse with other countries, and perceiving how effectually they could countervail the policy we are blindly pursuing, they continued from time to time to grant new pri- vili'gc-s to their northern possessions on our frontier. Our tariff of 1824 had scarce become a law, when Parliament adopted, in June and July 1825, those liberating measures which went into operation on the 5th of January, 1826. By these acts, they granted to the Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, substantially, all the commercial pri- vileges of an independent nation ; and they not only MR CAMBRELLING'S REPORT TO CONGRESS. 165 imposed more moderate duties than are charged upon the consumption of any country, but they placed the revenue at the discretion of their local legislatures for the use of the colonies. " We have not yet realized the fatal consequences that are to result from the permanent operation of two such tariffs on the North American continent. The illicit trade actually existing, however extensive it may be, is nothing when compared with that which is to come, should we unwisely persist in an attempt to enforce our present high duties. The free-trade policy of Great Britain was not made complete in her northern colonies till 1826. It is our duty to anticipate and prevent, by timely measures, the con- sequences which must result from two systems of government, so opposite in character, but so harmo- nious in their tendency, to destroy our navigation and revenue. These provinces consume the produce and manufactures of Great Britain and her dominions almost free of duty; they enjoy the commerce of the East India Company, of Europe, and North and South America, charged with duties averaging not more than 10 per cent, while the voluntary taxes of the United States on the primary necessaries of life, average 100 per cent ad valorem. What can Great Britain desire more, if she wishes to see our resources paralyzed and exhausted, than that we should con- tinue the policy we have pursued since the war ? But a few more privileges to her northern possessions, and another fifteen years of restrictions, and this legisla- tive war will be closed, with little honour to those I > : -;i; < A MI:I;I. I.I iNi.'.s UI-.roKT TO CONGRESS. who have been intrusted by the people with the direction of our national commerce. " With New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Canadas, on the north ; with Bermuda, the Bahamas, IUT West Indies, and the Spanish Island of Cuba, on the south ; with restrictions on our side, and free- traders on theirs, what must in time become of our revenue and navigation ? " Britain has already perceived the advantages to her of this indirect trade through her colonies, by destroying our navigation employed in the direct trade. She has long imported through Canada much of the produce of the United States, at a less duty than the same could be imported direct. Imme- diately after the passing of our late tariff, she carried this policy one step farther, by the act of August 1828, admitting cotton, when imported from any British province, at fourpence, or seven cents on a hundred and twelve pounds, and charging six per cent ad rtilorem, when imported direct. " Let Great Britain admit the produce of the United States free of duty, through all her possessions, northern and southern; let her levy a discriminating duty, when imported direct, equal to the freight; let her open the navigation of the St Lawrence, as wide as law can make it; let American property pass frei-ly to and fro, through her northern colonies, and we shall soon see how completely we have placed tin- resources of our country in the power of the of that rival nation, whose measures we MR CAMBRELLING'S REPORT TO CONGRESS. 167 are pretending to countervail. These northern colo- nies stand in a peculiar and dangerous relation to us. ** A free trade on that frontier must effect our finances and navigation, as sensibly as if Louisiana were to set our revenue laws at defiance, and pro- claim the port of New Orleans open to all the world. It is even worse. Our navy might blockade the mouths of the Mississippi, and we might take the chances of involving ourselves in a war, by intercept- ing the vessels of foreign powers ; but we have not even that security, dangerous as it may be, against importations through the northern colonies. They are not under the dominion of our laws, nor can we blockade their ports ; neither have we any right to complain, if they enjoy commerce without taxation or restriction. It is not their fault if our colonized neighbours are treated more liberally, and more in- dulgently, by Parliament, than we are by our own representatives. There is, indeed, little consolation in the prospect before us. If we wish to gratify Great Britain, and promote her interests by injuring ourselves, and increasing her navigation, we shall keep our laws in their present condition, or make them worse, by piling new restrictions on trade ; if we mean to save our revenue, and protect our re- sources, we must adopt some wiser plan to counter- vail the policy of our maritime rival." The imports of Nova Scotia, as has been observed under the head of Halifax, consist principally of British manufactures and West India produce ; while the privileges extended to that port and Pictou, as 10*8 IMPOKTS AM) I.Xl'ORTS WHAl.E-riSIIKHV. free and warehousing ports, constitute them places of deposit for foreign productions and manufactures to be distributed to other ports. The export trade consists, in the first place, of timber, a very small share of which is carried on from Halifax ; but this trade has for many years employ- ed a great number of ships, which have loaded prin- cipally at Pictou, Port Wallace, Le Have, Port Med- \vav, and Liverpool. The timber and lumber shipped at Halifax is carried there from the out-ports ; and great quanti- ties of deals, boards, shingles, and scantling,* to make up assorted cargoes for the West Indies, will here- after be brought to Halifax by the Shubenacady Canal. Gypsum, which the Americans will always require for manure, has long formed an article of export ; but the coal and iron mines of this province must, however, in all probability, become the most import- ant of its exports ; and Nova Scotia become in re- spect to other parts of America, what Newcastle, Sunderland, and Mary port, are to the United King- The fisheries, however, claim, at the present time, the first right to our attention. The whale-fishery, which was at one time carried on with great activity from Dartmouth, has been, as already observed, revived with much spirit by the Scantling im-ani timber hewed, or sawed, to the proper size Kilters, and other parts of the framework of a hou*e. WHALE-FISHERY. 169 merchants of Halifax. This branch of enterprise has long been profitably followed by the inhabitants of Nantucket, and the seaports from Cape Cod to New London. The character of these people is grave, sober, and persevering ; and they retain much of the deportment which characterised their ancestors, who were either Quakers or Puritans. Their ships in this employment, or their whale fleet, amount to about two hundred, registering from two hund.ed to six hundred tons. With these vessels they navi- gate the greatest oceans, and most stormy regions. Their voyages average about two and a half years, but they are fitted out for three years ; and care is taken to have every article that may be considered necessary to promote the comfort and preserve the health of the crews. The preparation for whaling voyages, and the de- partures of the ships, are attended with the most interesting circumstances. The mothers, wives, sis- ters, or daughters of these hardy and adventurous men, are, long before the day of sailing, busily enga- ged in collecting every delicacy for the voyage, and providing and packing up all sorts of clothing suit- able for the stormy and cold rigours of the Antar- tic regions, as well as for the mild climate and gentle seas of the Pacific. On parting with them for a period of nearly, or more than three years, the old, middle- aged, and young of both sexes, manifest, in the most tender and affectionate manner, all the endearing feelings of the heart. Some of these ships proceed round Cape Horn, 170 WIIAI.K-l 1.SH1.KY. others round the Cape of Good Hope, and they fre- quently meet in the Pacific. The Indian, Chinese, and Pacific Oceans are better known to these men than to any other navigators ; and to this circum- stance, and their great caution in keeping two men always stationed at the mast-head, on the look-out for land or breakers, must be attributed the very few shipwrecks among them, for they certainly navi- gate the most boisterous regions, and the most im- perfectly known seas, especially on the charts, in the world. The dangers to which they are exposed are great in the extreme, and innumerable are the hazards they encounter. The whales most valued are considered as be- coming scarcer, and ships are going farther south than before; and those engaged in the South Sea seal-fishery proceed still farther than the whalers towards the South Pole. The ships seldom remain more than three months at a time over each whaling ground. During these long voyages, the young men receive instructions, from those older, in mathematics, navi- gation, geography, the natural history of the South nid in practical knowledge connected with their haxardous profession. They occasionally land and refre>h themselves in some of the beautiful islands of the Pacific, and return on shipboard, invigorated and recruited, to follow their proper pursuits. Jn the two splendid ships fitted out for the South Seas at Halifax, and in the one equipped for the 15r.ix.il Bank, about sixty young men, natives of the HERRING-FISHERY. 171 colony, have gone out for the purpose of qualifying themselves for the South Sea whale-fishery ; and from the intrepid character of the Nova Scotians, and the flattering accounts of the success of these ships, there is every reason to expect that the whale-fishery will hereafter become a most important part of the trade of the province.* The seal-fishery, for which Halifax and the At- lantic ports of Nova Scotia are well situated, is only of recent standing ; but this branch of enterprise is likely to be followed up with spirit. The cod-fishery of the province is of much import- ance to it, in providing a portion of the assorted cargoes required in the West Indies ; but encourage- ment, extended by the legislature to the fisheries, in the shape of bounties, has been found expedient to enable the fishermen to compete with the Americans on the coast of Labrador. The shores of Nova Scotia may be considered as the greatest resort of herring and mackerel fisher- men. A small variety of herrings, exceedingly fat and delicious, frequent the shores of the Bay of Fundy in May ; and about the end of the month enter An- napolis Basin, where, on the shore of Clements, they have been caught in amazing quantities. They are usually smoked or cured as red herrings, and packed up in boxes, which hold each half a bushel, and con- * Two of these ships have returned with very fair success. There are now five or six ships in all fitted out from Halifax. 17i2 HERRI N(1-FISHERY. tain about two hundred. A hundred thousand boxes of these have been exported during some years, but they are said not to be so plentiful as formerly. Herrings of large size, full of spawn, arrive in all the harbours in May ; but these, although taken in great quantities, are poor, and not much esteemed. The spring mackerel are also lean, and not much valued, although they keep better than others in hot climates. The fall herrings and mackerel are exceedingly fat, and much esteemed. The regulations, by legis- lative enactment, for inspecting the quality of fish packed up in the province, which must all be in new casks, have, although complained of at first, esta- blished the preference for the pickled fish of Nova Scotia in foreign markets. Crow Harbour, and Fox Island, both near each other, and within Chedebucto Bay, have always, i specially in autumn, been the great resort of inack- !:! and herrings. Nets are sometimes used, but the- great bulk of the fish is caught with seines. These plau-s. while the fishing season lasts, are generally ihe scenes of the most lawless disorder and licentious- ness, occasioned by the violence of the fishermen contending for the best places to haul their seines ashore; the pillaging of the fish; the selling and drink- ing of rum; the smuggling of goods bytheAmericans; the exactions of those who possess the lands border- ing on the shores; and often from the mere spirit of ^filiation and misdiief. A ship of war has been asionally sent round from Halifax to preserve MACKEREL-FISHERY. 173 some sort of order among the multitudes of men, boats, and schooners that resort to these harbours ; and certainly these fisheries, from their great import- ance, require protection and the establishment of regularity for their governance. A novel method of catching mackerel was some time ago discovered by the fertile genius, in such matters, of the Americans. The method is, simply, on arriving over the fishing grounds, to cut up in very small pieces a quantity of old pickled herring or mackerel, for the mincing of which the Americans have also invented an instrument, and on scattering the same in the sea, round the vessel, myriads of mackerel appear near the surface, when they are caught, as fast as they can be taken in, with a rod and line, the hook being baited with a small piece of shark or mackerel. Sprinkling salt on the surface of the water is said to have the same effect, but it is more expensive. 17 t SEMINARIES OF KDl'l ATION. CHAPTER XII. Seminaries of Education Religion Population Remarks on the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants of Nova Scotia General Charactei i-ti<-s of the same Classes of Settlers in all the Colonies American Loyal Nt-, English, Lowland Scoti-h, Highland and Island Scotch Germans Acadian* French Freed Negroes of Nova Scotia. WHAT places Nova Scotia, more than any other circumstance connected with its history or establish- ments, in a point of view that has accelerated its prosperity, while it at the same time gave an intel- lectual ascendency to those brought up in the colony, is, that the benefits of education were always, or at least since the American revolutionary war, to be obtained in the province. Amidst all the active engagements of the inhabitants, in occupations where the acquisition of wealth is the sole object, they have not neglected to cultivate the field of learning. It would, indeed, appear as if they were, from their first settling in the country, fully impressed with the truth, that New England owed its prosperity as a country, and its inhabitants, power and pro- perty as a people, in consequence of the superior in- telligence of its population, and the liberal provision that was always made in that state for the education of youth. It will In- con>idiTi'd, I am aware, matter of some EDUCATION. 175 astonishment in England, where we so frequently hear the deplorable ignorance of the North American- colonists talked of, that we will find, on becoming properly acquainted with Nova Scotia, that it is a matter of doubt whether more general and useful knowledge, among all grades of the population, can be discovered in any country than will be found to prevail in this province. Many of those born and educated in it, have distinguished themselves not only at home, but in different parts of the world ; and the natives generally possess a ready power of apprehension, a remarkably distinct knowledge of the general affairs of life, and the talent of adapting themselves to the circumstances of such situations as chance, direction, or necessity, may place them in. The college of Windsor, from its constitution, claims the first notice among the seminaries of education ; but it is much to be regretted that the illiberal policy which has all along restricted the admission of stu- dents to those only who subscribed to the Thirty-nine Articles, has prevented the province from deriving the full benefits of this college.* To obviate this objection, Dalhousie College, a handsome and commodious edifice, was built at Halifax during the administration of the noble earl whose name it retains, and nearly L. 10,000 invested in the funds for its maintenance. Its constitution is similar to that of the University of Edinburgh ; but some difficulties connected with its funds or manage- * Note K. 176 EDUCATION. ment have as yet prevented its being opened for the admission of students.* There is an excellent grammar school established at Halifax. Also a national school, and one on the Lnncasterian system, which was established by Mr Bromley in 1813. Besides these institutions, there are at Halifax Sunday schools, a very large school for the Catholics, and several smaller schools. Grammar schools have also been established in each county, and common schools in the settlements. I have already mentioned the excellent academy and grammar school at Pictou ; I trust that party feelings will not prevent the prosperity of these use- ful institutions. The Provincial Legislature grants about L.4000 annually, to aid the maintenance of the various semi- naries of education. The Episcopal Church of England is established, by provincial statute, as the fixed form of worship, but without the power of assuming any control over any other denomination of Christians. All religious professions are not only tolerated, but may be con- sidered perfectly free. * I have lately learned that an arademy lias been opened for more than a year in this building; and tin- annual examination of the pupils in English reading and grammar, in Latin, Greek, French, Mathematics, &c., which took place on the 30th of July last, (1830) afforded the most satisfactory proofs of the abilities of the reverend gentleman who directs the tuition, and of the rapid, yet solid pro- greM of the scholars. 8 RELIGION POPULATION. 177 The population of the province, including Cape Breton, may safely be estimated at one hundred and sixty thousand, and consists of natives, the descend- ants of Europeans, English, Scotch, Irish, American loyalists, Germans, Acadian French, Indians, and freed negroes. Their religious professions may agree nearly with the last census ; and, including Cape Breton also, may be distributed in the following order : Inhabitants, including children, classed as professing the creed and forms of the Church of England, . 32,000 Church of Scotland, 49,000 Church of Rome, 34,000 Baptists, 22,500 Methodists, 13,500 Lutherans, ; 3,000 Dissenters from the Church of England, . . 4,500 Ditto, ditto Scotland, 500 Universalists, Quakers, Sandemanians, Antinomians, Swedenborgiaus, and Unitarians, . . . 300 Doubtful, 700 160,000 The clergy of the Episcopal Church are about twenty-two in number, and supported, as mission- aries, by a salary of two hundred pounds from the Society for Promoting Religion in Foreign Parts. The diocese of the Bishop of Nova Scotia includes also New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, New- foundland, and Bermuda.* The laws do not give him * The present bishop, Dr Inglis, is an eloquent and highly-gifted preacher, and a gentleman of superior polite and literary acquire- ments. VOL. II. M 178 RELIGION. any control whatever over the clergy of other pro- fessions, and the Episcopal clergy possess no exclusive powers in the province, unless it be that, in conse- quence of the governor's having, I believe, always directed marriage licenses to them, they claim the privilege of marrying by license as their peculiar right. The Presbyterian Church of Nova Scotia, without regard to the speculations that have created divisions in the Church of Scotland, has established a provin- cial synod, which regulates the Presbyterian Church in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. The Presbyterian clergy in these colonies are about forty in number. Some unhappy dissensions have arisen, which are much to be regretted, and which I have already noticed when treating of Pictou ; but still the Presbyterian Church is in a very flourishing condition, and the clergy, as a body, are very intelli- gent, respectable, and assiduous in their avocations. They are wholly supported by their congregations. The Roman Catholic clergy are about fourteen in number, under the control of a bishop, all of whom are respectably maintained by their congregations. Among the Baptists, which include a numerous and respectable body of the inhabitants, each congre- gation is considered independent, but the whole may be said to be voluntarily governed by the decisions of their annual association meeting, which very much mbles the Wesleyan conference. The Baptist clergy are also maintained by their congregations. MANNERS OF THE INHABITANTS. 179 The Wesleyan Methodists are in connexion with the general conference in England. They have their district meetings, and also their annual conference, composed of ministers from various stations in the three aforementioned colonies. They occasionally receive some assistance from the funds of the Wes- leyan Missionary Society in London ; but they are principally supported by voluntary contributions from the members of their own congregations. Notwithstanding all that may have been said to the contrary, these colonies have all the benefits of religious instruction as fully as the people of the United Kingdom ; and although fanaticism may have occasionally disturbed the brains of the ignorant in some particular districts, my enquiries have not, except in one or two instances, discovered any thing so extravagant as the delusion or frensy which has lately agitated so many individuals* on the banks of the Clyde. In describing the manners and peculiarities of the inhabitants of Nova Scotia, they, like those who form the population of all the rest of British America, retain most of the habits and ideas which were com- mon to the various parts from which either they them- selves or their ancestors came ; modified, however, by their marrying and mingling together in the settle- ments, and by their mutual wants requiring mutual acts of neighbourly assistance. The geographical position of Nova Scotia has im- parted to its inhabitants a somewhat more adventu- * Miss Campbell's disciples. 180 ro\\s character than is observed in the other colonies,* and the advantages of education have given them, generally speaking, as a people, an ascendency among the inhabitants of British America. In other respects, the following observations, which apply generally to British America, may be considered equally correct in regard to Nova Scotia. In the English farmer we observe the dialect of his county, the honest John Bull bluntness of his style, and other peculiarities that mark his charac- ter. His house or cottage is distinguished by clean- liness and neatness, his agricultural implements and utensils are always in order ; and wherever we find that an English farmer has perseverance, for he sel- dom wants industry, he is sure to do well. He does not, however, reconcile himself so readily as the Scotch settler does to the privations necessarily connected, for the first few years, with being set down in a new country, where the habits of those around him, and almost every thing else attached to his situation, are somewhat different from what he has been accustom- ed to ; and it is not until he is sensibly assured of succeeding and bettering his condition, that he be- comes fully reconciled to the country. There are, indeed, in the very face of a wood farm, a thousand seeming, and, it must be admitted, many real difficulties to encounter, sufficient to stagger Those engaged in the north-west free trade, now connected with Hudson's Bay, form an exception to this general, but by no means particular, observation. SCOTCH AND IRISH SETTLERS. 181 people of more than ordinary resolution, but more particularly an English fanner, who has all his life been accustomed to cultivate land subjected for cen- turies to the plough. It is not therefore to be wondered at that he feels discouraged at the sight of wilderness lands, covered with heavy forest trees, which he must cut down and destroy. He is not acquainted with the use of the axe ; and if he were, the very piling and burning of the wood, after the trees are felled, is a most disagreeable piece of labour. He has, besides, to make a fence of the logs, to keep off the cattle, sheep, and hogs, which range at large ; and when all this is done, he must not only submit to the hard toil of hoeing in grain or potatoes, but often to live on coarse diet. Were it not for the example which he has before him of others, who had to undergo similar hardships before they attained the means which yield them independence, he might indeed give up in despair, and be forgiven for doing so. The Scotchman, habituated to greater privations in his native country, has probably left it with the full determination of undergoing any hardships that may lead to the acquisition of solid advantages : He therefore acts with great caution and industry, sub- jects himself to many inconveniencies, neglects the comforts for some time which the Englishman con- siders indispensable, and in time certainly succeeds in surmounting all difficulties, and then, and not till then, does he willingly enjoy the comforts of life. The Irish peasant is soon distinguished by his brogue, his confident manner, readiness of reply, 182 AMERICAN LOYALISTS. seeming happiness, although often describing his situation as worse than it is. The Irish emigrants are more anxious, in general, to gain a temporary advantage, by working some time for others, than by beginning immediately on a piece of land for them- selves ; and this, by procuring the means, leads them too frequently into the habit of drinking a vice to which a great number of English and Scotch become also unfortunately addicted. The farmers and labourers born and brought up in America, possess, in an eminent degree, a quick- ness of expedients where any thing is required that can be supplied by the use of edge-tools ; and, as car- penters and joiners, they are not only expert, but ingenious workmen. Almost every farmer, particularly in the thinly settled districts of America, has a loom in his house, and their wives and daughters not only spin the yarn, but weave the cloth. The quantity, however, manufactured among the farmers, is not more than half what is required for domestic use. The houses of the American loyalists residing in the colonies are better constructed, and more convenient and clean within, than those of the Highland Scotch and Irish, or indeed those of any other settlers who have not lived some years in America. Although the house of an English farmer who settles on a new farm is, from his awkward acquaintance with edge- tools, usually very clumsy in its construction ; yet that comfortable neatness, which is so peculiar to Eng- land, prevails within doors, and shows that the vir- LOWLANDERS IRISH. 183 tue of cleanliness is one that few Englishwomen, let them go where they may, ever forget. The Highland Scotch, unless intermixed with other settlers, are not only careless, in many particulars, of cleanliness within their houses, but are also re- gardless of neatness and convenience in their agricul- tural implements and arrangements. All this arises from the force of habit, and the long prevalence of the make-shift system ; for whenever a Scotch High- lander is planted among a promiscuous population, no one is more anxious than he to rival the more respectable establishment of his neighbour. The Scotch settlers from the Lowland counties, although they generally know much better, yet re- main, from a determination first to accumulate pro- perty, for some years regardless of comfort or conve- nience in their dwellings ; but they at last build respectable houses, and enjoy the fruits of their industry. The lower classes of Irish, familiarized from their birth to a miserable subsistence and wretched resi- dences, are, particularly if they have emigrated after the prime of life, perfectly reconciled to any condi- tion which places them above want, although by no means free of that characteristic habit of complaining which poverty at first created. Of all the civilized people of America, there are none who can more readily accommodate themselves to all the circumstances peculiar to a country in a state of nature than the descendants of those who first settled in the United States. Far from being 184 SCOTCH HIGHLANDERS. discouraged at the toil of clearing a new farm, they, in countless instances, make what may with great propriety be called a trade of doing so. These people fix on a piece of woodland, clear the trees away from off a few acres, build a house and barn, and then sell the laud and improvements the first opportunity that offers. When this is accomplished, they probably tra- vel one, two, or three hundred miles before they settle on another wood farm, which they clear, build on, and dispose of in the same manner as the first. These men must generally be excluded, in point of charac- ter, from the honest, stationary American loyalists. Those who make a trade of levelling the forest, will rim in debt and cheat whenever they can ; yet, like private vices which often become public benefits, these men are useful in their own way, being the pioneers that open the roads to the remote districts. Few people, however, find themselves sooner at their ease than the Highland Scotch ; no class can encounter difficulties or suffer privations with more hardihood, or endure fatigue with less repining. They acquire what they consider an independence in a few years ; but they remain, in too many instances, con- tented with their condition, when they find them- selves in possession of more ample means than they possessed in their native country. This observation is, however, more applicable to those who settled from thirty to forty years ago in America, and who retain many of the characteristics which prevailed at that time in the Highlands arid Isles of Scotland. I have observed, that wherever the Highlanders form dis- MANNERS AND AMUSEMENTS. 185 tinct settlements, their habits, their system of hus- bandry, disregard for comfort in their houses, their ancient hospitable customs, and their language, un- dergo no sensible change. They frequently pass their winter evenings reciting traditionary poems in Gaelic, which have been transmitted to them by their forefathers ; and I have known many who might, with more propriety, be called faithful counterparts of the Highlanders who fought at Culloden, than can now, from the changes which have during the last fifty years taken place, be found in any part of Scot- land. In many instances, as warm a veneration for the royal house of Stuart exists among the old High- landers who settled, about forty years ago, in differ- ent parts of America, as was ever felt in Scotland ; but with this difference, that they are sincerely and faithfully attached to the present royal family. The enthusiasm of those brave Celts is by no means of a rebellious and turbulent nature. They merely cherish a kind and filial remembrance for persons whom they consider to have been unfortunate, and for whom all the associations of childhood created respect. Nothing contributed to produce these feelings more than the legendary tales, songs, and music of the Highlanders. That statesman knew the human character well who said, " Let me write the songs of my country, and, let who will make the laws, I will rule the people." There is scarcely a Highland settlement in North America in which there is not a piper, who plays with great spirit the same wild martial music which has for centuries resounded among the mountains 180 MANNERS AMUSEMENTS. and glens of Lochaber, Rannoch, and Aberfoil. At their weddings, and often at their dances, and even at their militia musters, the piper is considered indis- pensable. At their dances within doors, they, how- ever, generally prefer the old Highland fiddler, or the young one who has learnt the same music, which is at all times played with the spirit and rapidity of which the Scotch reels and strathspeys are so emi- nently susceptible. Their dancing is assuredly at the very antipodes of our fashionable quadrilling ; with them every muscle and limb is actively and rapidly engaged, and they often maintain the floor till one, whose strength of body or lungs is weaker than that of the others, yields to the fatigue, and sits down. They have always dances at their marriages, and also when the bride arrives at her lord's house. Christmas is also with them the season of making merry. The Low- land Scotch have dances much in the same way and on the same occasions ; indeed, they mix much with each other, as the neighbours are generally, be they of what country they may, all invited. The High- landers are as superstitious in America as they are, or were, in Scotland, believing in second sight, ghosts, and prognostics of good or evil fortune. Of the Highlanders who settled in America about fifty years ago, there are numbers still living in ex- cellent health and spirits, although from seventy to ninety years of age. They relate the tales of their early days, and the recollections of their native land, with enthusiastic rapture ; and the wish to tread once COMPARATIVE TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 187 more on ground sacred to their dearest feelings, and hallowed from containing the ashes of their ancestors, seems paramount to the ties of property and every connexion which binds them to a country in which they have so long been domiciliated. There are but few indeed that I ever met with in any part of Ame- rica, who do not, in a greater or less degree, feel a lingering wish to see their native country ; and although prudence or necessity forbids their doing so, yet nothing appears to destroy the warm affection they retain for the land where they first drew breath. This feeling descends to all their offspring born in America, and all call the United Kingdom by the endearing name of " home." Various circumstances connected with Scotland, make the attachment which her children retain for a country to which destiny allows but few of them to return, differ widely from what is usually observed among the natives of England or Ireland. Among the latter, indeed, both the recollection of their country and an affection for relatives are strong, but the distress to which they were inured, under the peculiar circumstances of their native country, seems to have extinguished an attachment which would otherwise have been warmly cherished. The honest pride of an Englishman makes him consider every country inferior to his own, nor can he on earth discover a nation so eminently blessed as England is with comforts and advantages ; but, when abroad, he seems to think too much of its many sources of enjoyment, and to sigh too frequently for 188 COMPARATIVE TRAITS OF CHARACTER. its sports and amusements, to support that spirit which is the soul of adventure. All these feelings are natural, but they check the ardour which conquers difficulties. With the native of North Britain, not only does the education he receives at school, and the principles inculcated at the fire-side of his parents, impress on him, as well as the usual course of instruction does on the native of England, that correctness arid pro- priety of conduct are essential to form a character that will succeed in the world, as well as gain the confidence of mankind ; but the lessons of early life infuse also, among the lower and middle classes in Scotland, a spirit which will endure the greatest hard- ships without repining, wherever a manifest utility is to be attained. The pride of rising in the world, the consciousness that friends left behind will be gratified and elated on learning that prosperity attends one's pursuits, and the natural ascendency which one acquires in society, by the superior and successful exertion of one's abi- lities, are, altogether, motives that have an irresistible influence over the character and actions of the ma- jority of those who have left Scotland for other coun- tries. The vast numbers of them also who meet abroad, form attachments, which the recollections of early days, and conversing on circumstances con- nected with their native land, strengthen and main- tain. This alone is the cause of their assisting, and their a.Miciatiiig so much with, each other in distant countries. AMUSEMENTS. 189 The amusements of the farmers and other inhabit- ants settled in the British colonies, are much the same as they have been accustomed to, before leaving the countries from whence they came. Dances on many occasions are common ; families visit each other at Christmas and New-Year's-Day ; and almost all that is peculiar to Scotland at the season of " Hallowe'en" is repeated. Among the young men, feats of running, leaping, and gymnastic exercises, are common ; but that in which they most delight in is galloping up and down the country on horseback. Indeed, many of the farmers' sons, who could make a certain live- lihood by steady labour, acquire a spirit for bargain- mailing, dealing in horses, timber, old watches, &c., in order to become what they consider (by being idle) gentlemen ; those who lead this course of life seldom do any good, and generally turn out lazy, drunken, dishonest vagabonds. The insufferable forwardness of many of the sons of very worthy and industrious men who emigrated at different periods to America, is truly disgusting. Their fathers, by steady labour and honesty, have generally some valuable property in land and cattle. The sons, observing few in better circumstances than themselves, begin to think, especially if they have been taught a little learning by a straggling Irish schoolmaster, or by a disbanded soldier, that they should not work as their fathers have done ; that " scheming" or " head-work" will answer much bet- ter ; and they consequently acquire, in a short time, the vices, principles, and manners of the worst of the 190 FROLICS. Americans. I quite agree with Mr Howison, when he says, " that the tie plus ultra of impudence, ras- cality, and villainy, is comprehended in the epithet Scotch Yankee" The term frolic is peculiar, I believe, to America, in the different senses in which it is there used. If a goodwife has a quantity of wool or flax to spin, she invites as many of her neighbours as the house can well accommodate ; some bring their spinning- wheels, others their cards. They remain all day at work ; and, after drinking abundance of tea, either go home, or remain to dance for some part of the night. This is called a " spinning frolic." They are on these occasions, as well as at other frolics, joined by the young men of the settlement, and in this way many of their love-matches are made up. When a farmer or new settler wants a piece of wood cut down, he procures a few gallons of rum to drink on the occasion, and sends for his neighbours to assist him in levelling the forest. This is again called a " chopping frolic." In New Brunswick, and other parts where husk- ing Indian corn is a matter of some moment, the young men and women assemble for the purpose of performing the job. On these occasions, which they call " husking frolics," they have rare frolics indeed ; tumbling and kissing each other among the corn, forming a prominent share in the amusement. ACADIANS. 1 91 CHAPTER XIII. Acadian French. THE present condition of the Acadians, and the leading particulars of their eventful history, are both subjects too interesting to be omitted in an account of Nova Scotia, although we now find them settled in distinct villages throughout New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton, and the district of Gaspe\ For many years after the first French adventurers resorted to Nova Scotia, the cultivation of the soil was neglected for hunting, fishing, and the fur trade. The rich intervales, however, and the vast marshes which abounded within the basins of Minas and Chignecto, with the fertile lands of Port Royal or Annapolis River, at length riveted the industry of the Acadians to grazing and husbandry, and secured to them all that was necessary to render their condition as happy as can probably ever be the lot of humanity. They became strongly attached to the country, and they formed a simple, moral, and contented peasantry, who, when Nova Scotia was finally ceded, in 1710, to the Crown of England, had, by regularity of conduct and steady industry, attained to affluent circumstances, in so far as possession of 192 ACADIANS. extensively cultivated farms, and large herds of cattle, can constitute riches. For a long time after they changed masters, they remained unmolested ; and in giving an account of the Acadians at that period, I cannot omit the beau- tiful, and, I believe, just, picture of their condition drawn by the Abbd Raynal. " Such was the attachment which the French then had for the honour of their country, that the Aca- dians," says the Abbd, " who, in submitting to a new yoke, had sworn never to bear arms against their former standards, were called French neutrals. " No magistrate was ever appointed to rule over them, and they were never acquainted with the laws of England. No rents or taxes of any kind were ever exacted from them. Their new sovereign seemed to have forgotten them, and they were equally strangers to him. " Hunting, which had formerly been the delight of the colony, and might still have supplied it with subsistence, had no further attraction for a simple and quiet people, and gave way to agriculture. It had been begun in the marshes and lowlands, by repelling the sea and rivers which covered these plains with dikes. These grounds at first yielded fifty times as much as before, and afterwards twenty times as much at least. Wheat and oats succeeded best in them, but they likewise produced rye, barley, and maize. There were also potatoes in great plenty, the use of which was become common. " At the same time they had immense meadows, 7 ACADIANS. 193 with numerous flocks. Sixty thousand head of horned cattle were computed there, and most of the families had several horses, though the tillage was carried on by oxen. " The habitations, built chiefly of wood, were extremely convenient, and furnished as neatly as a substantial farmer's house in Europe. The people bred a great deal of poultry of all kinds, which made a variety in their food, and which was, in general, wholesome and plentiful. Their common drink was beer and cider, to which they sometimes added rum. " Their usual clothing was, in general, . the pro- duce of their own flax and hemp, or the fleeces of their own sheep ; with these they made common linens and coarse cloths. If any of them had any inclination for articles of greater luxury, they pro- cured them from Annapolis or Louisburg, and gave in exchange corn, cattle, or furs. " The neutral French had no other articles to dispose of among their neighbours, and made still fewer exchanges among themselves, because each family was able, and had been used, to provide for its wants. They therefore knew nothing of paper cur- rency, which was so common throughout the rest of North America. Even the small quantity of specie which had stolen into the colony, did not promote that circulation, which is the greatest advantage that can be derived from it. Their manners were of course extremely simple. here never was a cause, either civil or criminal, of VOL, II. N 194 ACADIANS. importance enough to be carried before the Court of Judicature established at Annapolis. Whatever little differences arose from time to time among them, were amicably adjusted by their elders. All their public acts were drawn by their pastors, who had likewise the keeping of their wills, for which, and their religious services, the inhabitants voluntarily gave them a twenty-seventh part of their harvest. " These were plentiful enough to support more than a sufficiency for every act of liberality. Real misery was entirely unknown, and benevolence pre- vented the demands of poverty. Every misfortune was relieved before it was felt, and good was univer- sally dispensed without ostentation on the part of the giver, and without humiliating the person who received. These people were, in a word, a society of brethren, every individual of which was equally ready to give and to receive what he thought the common right of mankind. " So perfect a harmony naturally prevented all those connexions of gallantry, which are so often fatal to the peace of families. There never was an instance in this society of an unlawful commerce be- tween the two sexes. This evil was prevented by early marriages ; for no one passed his youth in a state of celibacy. As soon as a young man came to the pro- per age, the community built him a house, broke up the lands about it, sowed them, and supplied him with all the necessaries of life for a twelvemonth. Here he received the partner whom he had chosen, and who brought him her portion of flocks. This ACADIANS. 195 family grew up and prospered like the others. They altogether amounted to eighteen thousand souls." The Abbe' continues to observe : " Who will not be affected with the innocent man- ners, and the tranquillity of this fortunate colony ? Who will not wish for the duration of its happiness ? Who will not construct in imagination an impene- trable wall, that may separate these colonists from their unjust and turbulent neighbours ? The calami- ties of the people have no period ; but, on the con- trary, the end of their felicity is always at hand. A long series of favourable events is necessary to raise them from misery, while one instant is sufficient to plunge them into it. May the Acadians be exempted from this general curse ! But, alas ! it is to be feared they will not."* The fears of Raynal were too truly realized. I have already briefly observed, in a former chapter, the miserable dispersion of the Acadians. Their sufferings in the southern colonies, to which they were transported, were severe and undeserved. They were treated not like innocent men, but, as if they were condemned convicts. They were accused of having joined the troops from Canada ; but those who did so, pleaded being forced to join their countrymen ; and certainly a great share of their misfortunes must be laid to the charge of the French at Canada and Cape Breton. * History of the East and West Indies, by the Abbe Raynal. Vol. v. p. 312, et seq. 196 ACADIANS. But again, their accusers were their judges, and they were visited with punishment, the severity of which can never be defended. The ardent attachment which they cherished for Nova Scotia during their exile, is forcibly and feelingly expressed by them, in the language of their petition to his Majesty George the Second.* After stating their conscientious scruples as to the oath required of them ; and their being forcibly carried away from the province to uncongenial climates, this memorial concludes : " Thus we, our ancient parents and grand-parents (men of great integrity and approved fidelity to your Majesty,) and our innocent wives and children, be- came the unhappy victims to those groundless fears ; we were transported into the English colonies, and this was done in so much haste, and with so little regard to our necessities and the tenderest ties of nature, that, from the most social enjoyments and affluent circumstances, many found themselves des- titute of the necessaries of life : parents were separa- ted from children, and husbands from wives, some of whom have not to this day met again ; and we were so crowded in the transport vessels, that we had not room even for all our bodies to lay down at once, and consequently were prevented from carrying with us proper necessaries, especially for the support and comfort of the aged and weak, many of whom quickly ended their misery with their lives ; and even those Note L. ACADIANS. 197 amongst us who had suffered deeply from your Ma- jesty's enemies, on account of their attachment to your Majesty's government, were equally involved in the common calamity, of which Re'ne' Leblanc, the notary-public before mentioned, is a remarkable instance : he was seized, confined, and brought away among the rest of the people, and his family, consist- ing of twenty children, and about one hundred and fifty grand-children, were scattered in different colo- nies, so that he was put on shore at New York, with only his wife and two youngest children, in an infirm state of health, from whence he joined three more of his children at Philadelphia, where he died without any more notice being taken of him than of us, not- withstanding his many years' labour and deep suffer- ings for your Majesty's service. " The miseries we have since endured are scarce sufficiently to be expressed, being reduced, for a live- lihood, to toil and hard labour in a southern clime, so disagreeable to our constitutions, that most of us have been prevented by sickness from procuring the necessary subsistence for our families ; and are there- fore threatened with that which we esteem the great- est aggravation of all our sufferings, even of having our children forced from us, and bound out to stran- gers, and exposed to contagious distempers unknown in our native country. " This, compared with the affluence and ease we enjoyed, shows our condition to be extremely wretch- ed. We have already seen, in this province of Penn- 198 ACADIANS. sylvania, two hundred and fifty of our people, which is more than half the number that were landed here, perish through misery and various diseases. In this great distress and misery, we have, under God, none hut your Majesty to look to with hopes of relief and redress. We therefore hereby implore your gracious protection, and request you may be pleased to let tlir justice of our complaints be truly and impartially enquired into, and that your Majesty would please to grant us such relief, as in your justice and clemency you will think our case requires, and we shall hold ourselves bound to pray, &c." This petition was disregarded, and the Acadians were allowed to pine, and many of them to die, in the southern colonies. Those who were afterwards al- lowed to return, settled where they best could, as the lands they previously possessed were occupied by others ; and the Acadians are now to be found (as before mentioned) in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton, and the district of Gaspc, always by themselves in distinct villages. They still continue averse to settling among other people ; and I have not been able to discover more than four instances of their intermarrying with stran- gers. They profess the Roman Catholic faith, and observe the most rigid adherence to all the forms of their church. On Sunday, we observe a decorum and simplicity in the appearance of the Acadians, men, women, and children, that reminds us of what we read of the amiable manners of primitive ages. Their ACADIANS. 199 general character is virtuous, honest, and inoffensive. Religiously tenacious of their dress, and all the habits of their forefathers, they have no ambition to rise in the world above the condition in which they have lived since their first settling in America. The dread of being exposed to the derision of the rest, for at- tempting to imitate the English inhabitants, and the want of an education that would conquer prejudices, are the principal causes that prevent individuals among them, who would willingly alter their dress and habits, from doing so. In Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Richibucto, Magdalene Islands, and the River St John, the Aca- dian women dress nearly in the same way as the Bavarian broom girls, with small neat calico caps, and sometimes a coiffe or handkerchief tied over the head. Their petticoats of woollen stuff are liberally formed as to breadth, striped red, white, and blue, thickly plaited in large folds at the waist, but they seldom reach within six inches of the ankle ; they usually wear blue stockings. On Sunday, their clothes and linen look extremely clean and neat ; and they wear over their shoulders a small blue cloth cloak, reaching only half-way down the body, and generally fastened at the breast with a brass brooch. On week days they are more carelessly dressed, and they usu- ally wear sabots (wooden shoes). The men dress in round blue jackets, with strait collars, and metal but- tons set close together ; blue or scarlet waistcoats, and blue trowsers, with sometimes the Bonnet Rouge, but generally round hats. Among all the Acadians in Prince Edward Island, I never knew but one per 200 AC A 1)1 A Nv son who had the hardihood to dress differently from what they call " notre fa^on." On one occasion he ventured to put on an English-made coat, and he has never since, even among his relations, been called by his proper name, Joseph Gallant, which has been supplanted by that of " Joe Peacock." At Arichat, the Acadians, both men and women, sometimes depart in their dress from the fashions of the Acadians, and wear coats and gowns made in the English fashion. At Caraquette, I observed also a partial deviation from their usual dress : some of the men wearing- coats, and a few of the women wearing gowns. The head-dress of the women on the south side of the Bay de Chaleur, is, I believe, peculiar to themselves. In- stead of the Bavarian-like small caps worn by all the other Acadians, they delight in immense muslin caps, in shape like a balloon. The women are always industrious ; and in the fishing settlements they are perfect drudges. The men, after splitting the fish, leave the whole labour of curing to the women, who have also to cook, nurse their children, plant their gardens, gather what little corn they raise, and spin and weave coarse cloth. The old worn clothes they either cut into small strips, and weave as waft into coarse bed-covers, or they untwist, the threads into wool, which they again spin and make into cloth. The occupations of the Acadians depend much upon their local situation. In Arichat, Magdalene Islands, Rustico, Tracady, the Bay Chaleur, and some other places, where they principally follow fishing, ACADIANS. 201 they are not in such easy circumstances as at Clare, Cumberland, and some places in Prince Edward Island, where they chiefly depend on agriculture. Wherever we discover the Acadians depending on the cultivation of their lands, we find them nearly approaching the condition of their ancestors as de- scribed by Raynal. They marry very young, five to thirty couple at one time in the same chapel, are very affectionate to their children ; and the husband seldom makes a bargain or enters on any project without first consulting hisfemme. Domestic virtue they may lay an eminent claim to. One instance in a thousand cannot probably be discovered of a child being born out of wedlock. They have large fami- lies, and their children, when young, are fat and chubby, but few are so when they grow up. The Acadians are nearly destitute of education ; scarcely any of the women, and few of the men, can read or write ; and, like all ignorant people, it matters not of what religion, they are exceedingly bigoted and superstitious.* * The following anecdote was related to me by different persons in Prince Edward Island : At St Eleanor's, Colonel Compton, to whom the township of St Eleanor belongs, lived about thirty years ago. Near his house is a small river, the entrance of which opens early in the spring, at which time it is usually frequented by flocks of wild-geese. St Eleanor's was then populously settled with Aca- dian French ; and during the residence of Colonel Compton, one of the inhabitants (Louis Gallant) died without the usual consola- tory attendance of a clergyman, there being but one priest at the time on the island, who lived about seventy miles distant, and who could not, it appears, come in time to hear the confession of the dying man. Louis, it seems, was one of those Acadians who did 202 ACADIANS. Most of the men understand English, but French is, and will long continue to be, their language. It is a still more corrupted patois than that spoken by the Canadians ; but they perfectly understand French as spoken in France. Dancing, fiddling, and feasting, not surrender when the island was taken ; and while lurking about in the woods, he found two Englishmen sleeping, during the summer heat, under the shade of a tree. Louis, considering them his natural enemies, as well as the conquerors of his country, felt no scruple in killing them with his hatchet. The murder, however, made Louis miserable, and his conscience was a most troublesome one to him as long as he lived, although his dying hour only developed the mysterious cause of his misery. A little after his death, a solitary wild-goose made its appearance in the opening of the ice at the mouth of the river, near the village of St Eleanor's. The young men, who were all considered such good shots as to be able to hit a goose at a hundred yards distance with a musket-ball, fired fre- quently but ineffectually at this one, which they at last began to think invulnerable. At this time there was on a visit at Colonel Compton's an Irish officer belonging to the troops stationed at Charlotte Town. He had with him an excellent double-barrelled gun, and the Acadians beseeched him to try its virtues by shooting the wonderful goose. He accompanied them, crept within shot of the object, and being (although a Catholic himself) amused at their superstitious fears, he, at the moment he was apparently going to fire, started up as if in great terror, and told the Acadians that no one must attempt firing again at what they took for a wild-goose, that his gun possessed the peculiar and wonderful property, when he aimed with it at a supernatural object, of exhibiting it to him in its proper form, and that what they had vainly attempted to shoot, was the ghost of Louis, who would doubtless haunt St Eleanor's until a clergyman was sent for to deliver his soul from the pains of purgatory. A deputation of young men was immediately dis- patched for the priest, the goose disappeared, and the good Acadi- ans rejoiced in having performed a religious duty, which the felicity of their lost friend rendered necessary. ACADIANS. 203 at Christmas, at Mardi-Gras, before Lent, and feast- ing at or after Easter, are their principal sources of amusement or indulgence. They labour under the impression that justice is not, under the British government, administered im- partially to them in the courts of law ; and this has arisen perhaps entirely from the conduct of the jus- tices of the peace, many of whom, appointed in the settlements, are stupid, ignorant men ; and I regret to say, that I have often known them to make iniqui- tous and unjust decisions against the Acadians. The descendants of the French, settled in the north side of the Bay de Chaleur, are mostly Acadians ; but, from their intimate intercourse with Quebec and the Canadians, are a more intelligent people than the other Acadians, whom they, as well as the Canadians, denominate " Les Sauvages." This appellation is owing to some of the Acadians having, in conse- quence of their ancestors marrying Indian women, the indication of Micmac blood apparent in their countenances. The Acadians have swarthy com- plexions, seldom fair hair, are generally well made, but the men are very rarely inclined to corpulency. The women are usually under the middle stature, with thick waists and ungainly figures. The features of their faces are, however, generally regular, with fine eyes and expressive countenances. 204 FREED NEGROES. CHAPTER XIV. Negroes from the United States Sierra Leone Company Fatal Conse- quences of removing the Negroes from Nova Scotia to Africa Maroons sent from Jamaica to Halifax Removed also to Africa Chesapeake Negroes settled at Hammond Plains and Prescot Wretched Condition. THE negro slaves who were brought to the pro- vince from the United States at different times, were, whenever they chose, liberated ; and after the Ame- rican Revolution, some hundreds of freed negroes emigrated to Nova Scotia. The mistaken philan- thropy of the Sierra Leone Company caused the re- moval of eleven hundred and ninety-six of these people in 1792, at extraordinary expense, in sixteen vessels, to Africa ; sixty-five of them died during the voyage, and many of the remainder became victims to a climate not congenial to them, although it was naturally so to their ancestors. The rest became turbulent and ungovernable. Some time after, three ships, with the rebellious Maroons of Jamaica, arrived at Halifax. Great but unsuccessful efforts were made to settle these people in the province. For some time their labour at the fortifications, and their obedience to authority, while well fed and clothed, occasioned them to be consi- FREED NEGROES. 205 dered rather an acquisition than a burden to the colony. They were afterwards enrolled as a militia corps, and, in a warm climate, would have made good soldiers, as they were passionately fond of arms. It was also attempted to convert them to religion, in which, however, there does not appear to have been the least progress made ; a plurality of wives, or rather women, and the African burial ceremonies, they declared they would never abandon ; and, in short, they only listened to the ministers of religion with contumely. Two or three hard winters, however, produced sulky discontent among them, and they evinced a determined reluctance to work for themselves. Although they were housed and fed without working, and allowed to indulge themselves in their accustomed sensuality, and card-playing, the spring only brought about fresh murmurs and complaints, alleging that the various engagements intimated to them on leaving Jamaica were disregarded ; and after costing the island of Jamaica L.47,000, and the British Govern- ment L.I 0,000 annually for some years, they were, in 1800, also removed to Sierra Leone. The folly of making Nova Scotia a rendezvous for freed negroes, was not yet however completed. While a British squadron was blockading the American coast, in 1815, some hundreds of negroes fled from their masters, and were received by the English Ad- miral, who sent them to Halifax. These people be- came idle vagrants, rather than stationary settlers. Although lands were laid out for them, and tools, 206 FREED NEGROES. implements of husbandry, and rations, were provided for them during winter by government, they became sulky and discontented. They thought that to be free, meant to be idle, in fact, to live without working. A few of them stole off to the United States, ninety of them were removed at the public expense to Tri- nidad ; and, as if nothing else were wanting to crown the folly of this most absurd philanthropy, one million, I believe the sum is correct, but I speak from memory, was granted to the United States as a com- pensation for these negroes. The Americans them- selves sneer at this ultra stretch of English genero- sity, and it has actually gone a great way to strengthen the common impression among them, that there is nothing too unreasonable to ask of, or with which to gull, honest, credulous, kind-hearted John Bull. Slavery does not exist in Nova Scotia, and the number of freed negroes may be equal to three thou- sand. Of these, part came originally from the West India Islands ; others are the residue of those from the United States ; and the remainder were born in the province. A settlement was laid out for them at Hammond Plains, and another at Prescot, both in the neighbourhood of Halifax, and every facility afforded them by the provincial government ; yet they are still in a state of miserable poverty, while Euro- peans, who have settled on woodlands, under cir- cumstances scarcely so favourable, thrive with tew exceptions. There are at Halifax, and in most of the country settlements, several negroes who live as domestic servants among the inhabitants, and in this FREED NEGROES. 207 condition they are generally industrious, obedient, and well provided with food and clothing. We find them also on board the ships as sailors, but more frequently as stewards and cooks. There are not, probably, ten exceptions to be found among all the negroes in the province who are their own masters, that are not indolent, improvident, miserable, and ragged. They gather wild fruits in summer, which they sell in the Halifax market, and in winter they bring in brooms, which they dispose of for rum, and what food they can get. They seem inclined indeed to do any thing, and even meet starvation in the face, rather than cultivate the ground with patient industry. They think the returns for their labour too slow, too distant to wait for until the seed they sow produce a crop. Whether their wretchedness may be attributed to servitude and degradation ha- ving extinguished in them the spirit that endures present difficulties and privations, in order to attain future advantages ; or to the consciousness that they are an unimportant and distinct race ; or, more proper- ly, to the fact, that they find it more congenial to their habits to serve others, either as domestic servants or labourers, by which they make sure of the wants of the day certain it is that they prefer servitude, and always live more comfortably in that condition than they do when working on their own account. Thirteen years after they were settled at Hammond Plains, I had the opportunity of knowing their con- dition. It was wretched in the extreme. The grown up and the aged in rags, and the children nearly 208 FREED NEGROES. naked. Their habitations, destitute of furniture or common necessaries, were also unfit to defend them from the inclemency of winter. To a man unac- quainted with our possessions abroad, it might be difficult to account for the poverty-stricken and un- happy condition of these unfortunate beings. To me the causes of their penury and misery were distinct and evident. The surrounding settlements, though the lands of which were not originally of better, and in some cases not of equally good quality to that occupied by the negroes, were cultivated by emigrants, who arrived in the colony from time to time, with nothing but their industry to acquire the means of living. They received no public assistance, and they had all to pay some pounds before they secured titles to the lands on which they settled ; yet I found these peo- ple, with very few exceptions, in comfortable circum- stances, with their houses commodious and conveni- ently furnished, their farms well cultivated, them- selves and their families well clothed, their tables well supplied with excellent food, their moral cha- racter correct, their attention to public worship regular, and the instruction of their offspring at- tended to. What then has secured to them all these blessings ? neither more nor less than persevering industry and good management. Then to what are we to attribute the penury and the misery of the freed negroes of Nova Scotia, to whom the legislature have yearly afforded assistance, and to whom the blessings of religion and the bene- fits of education have been as fully extended as to FREED NEGROES. 209 the other inhabitants of the province ? To no cause but the absence of steady well-directed industry, and judicious management. We then come to enquire, how does it arise that the freed negroes are an indolent, improvident class of men ? To account for this fact, we have only to reflect that man, in order to husband and manage the fruits of his labour, as well as to regulate his moral conduct, must be trained from infancy, by ex- ample and education, so as to render such a course of life natural and desirable to him ; and by which means alone, will he be prepared in due season to act prudently or wisely on his own responsibility. The previous life of the negro is so very different from that of Europeans, that even when in Africa, in his freest state, it would require the operations of useful and liberal instruction for more than one ge- neration, to adapt him for acting, according to his own free will, with the steady industry, good ma- nagement, and discretion, necessary to render his condition equally happy with that of the husbandmen and artisans of Europe, or of their descendants set- tled in America. It is far from my wish, in making these observa- tions, to inculcate the revolting doctrine, that slavery is the most happy condition in which negroes can live ; but all my observations, in our colonies, have led me to conclude, unbiassed by prejudice or by interest, that the attempts hitherto made to render the freed negroes more happy or more virtuous than they were as slaves, have been unsuccessful ; and VOL. ir. o 210 FREED NEGROES. that unless the West India negroes be gradually pre- pared for personal liberty, they will, on obtaining their freedom, become objects of much greater com- miseration than they now are in a state of bondage ; and the history and present condition of the freed negroes of Nova Scotia fully substantiate these asser- tions. [ 211 ] NOTES TO BOOK I. NOTE A, page 7. BEAUTIFUL specimens of agate, jasper, chalcedony, amethyst, &c., are found along the coast of the Bay of Fundy. A number of the American Journal of Science for 1828, (which, from having mislaid, I cannot refer to,) contains much interesting information respecting the mineralogy of the western part of the province, com- municated by Mr Jackson, and Mr Alger of Boston, who travelled over a great part of the country. NOTE B, page 23. " IN 1634, La Tour arrived at the harbour of Boston, in a ship having one hundred and forty men on board ; the master and crew of which were Protestants of Rochelle. He stated to the governor that his fort on the River St John was besieged by his rival, and that he had come for the purpose of seeking aid to remove him. Recourse was had to the Bible, as was usual with the Puritans on all doubtful occasions, to discover if possible some case which would, by analogy, apply to the present, and furnish a rule for their conduct. On the one hand, it was said the speech of the Prophet to Jehoshaphat, in 2d Chronicles, xix., 2, and the portion of Solomon's Proverbs contained in chap, xxvi., 17th verse, not only discharged them from any obligation, but actually forbid them to assist La Tour ; while, on the other band, it was agreed that it was as lawful for them to give him succour, as it was for Joshua to aid the Gibeonites against the rest of the Canaanites, or for Jehoshaphat to aid Jehoram against Moab, in which expedi- 212 NOTES. tion Elisha was present, and did not reprove the King of Judah. These conflicting authorities divided their councils, and though either course was sanctioned by Scripture, it did not appear that there was any certain rule on the subject, while the safest course was to adhere to the old maxim, Did/in causa helium non cst suscipiendum" HALIBURTON'S Nova Scotia, p. 54. NOTE C, page 31. " LE PERE RALLE, who had been a missionary among the savages for forty years, resided at Noridgewaak at this time, and had erected a church there. They loved and idolized him, and were at all times ready to hazard their lives for his preservation. He was conversant with the English and Dutch languages, and master of the several dialects of the Ahenaquis nation. His literary attainments, though of little use to him in such a situation, appear to have been very respectable ; and his Latin, in which he generally addressed those gentlemen at Boston with whom he had occasion- ally a controversial correspondence, was pure, classical, and elegant. As both those persons (the Baron Castine and Le Pere Ralle) were supposed to have instigated the Indians to hostility, as well in Nova Scotia as on the confines of New England, and were in the immediate interest of the Governor of Canada, they became very obnoxious to the English." Charlvoix informs us, " that La Pere Ralle, though unprepared, was not intimidated, and advanced to- wards the English in order to attract their attention to him, and tlni- screen his flock by the voluntary offer of his own life. As soon as he was discovered, he was saluted with a shout, and a shower of bullets, and fell, together with seven Indians, who had rushed out of their tents to shelter him with their bodies, at the foot of a cross which lie had erected in the middle of the village." He adds, that the savages, when the pursuit had ceased, returned to weep over their beloved missionary ; and that they found his body perforated with balls, his head scalped, his skull broken with hatchets, his mouth and eyes filled with mud, the bones of his legs fractured, and his limbs dreadfully mangled. After having bathed his remains with their tears, they buried him in the site of the NOTES. chapel, where the preceding evening he had celebrated the sacred rites of religion." HALIBURTON'S Nova Scotia) p. 104. NOTE D, page 75. DURING the session of the Legislature of Nova Scotia, in December last (1830,) the dispute between the Council and House of Assembly has been most satisfactorily adjusted, and the most perfect harmony restored, with the determination of both to coalesce in carrying into effect whatever may promote the public good. NOTE E, page 81. A VERY interesting military spectacle a sham fight took place at Halifax last August (1830). The 24th regiment of foot, command- ed by Colonel Fox, with the volunteer militia companies, represented the enemy ; and the 8th, under Colonel Cathcart, arid the 52d, under Colonel Fergusson, defended the peninsula of Halifax. After several counterfeit, but apparently real, desperate rencontres, the enemy of course was defeated, and compelled to retreat from the town and fortification. NOTE F, page 86. IN December 1828, I returned in one of the Halifax Company's ships to England. We made our voyage in eighteen days. The rapidity of the passage, and the comfortable arrangements of the ship, made the voyage appear little more than a pleasure excursion on the water. The living was sumptuous : dejeuner a la fourchette, the prominent materials of which, with coffee, tea, bread, butter, a'nd eggs, were cold fowls, ham, tongue, cold beef, hot beef-steaks, and fish. Luncheon at twelve ; dinner at three, in which the courses were chosen from the well-supplied stores of fresh beef, mutton, turkeys, geese, fowls, hams, tongue, and fish, with abun- dance of puddings, cheese, fruits, spirits, wines, and malt liquors. 214 NOTES. Tea and supper afterwards followed iu due time for those who chose to partake of them. So that with feasting, walking on deck for exercise, conversation, books, cards, and sleep, the time passed hy most rapidly; and it was somewhat difficult to think, on entering the river Mersey, that Halifax was two thousand five hundred miles distant NOTE G, page 104. THE rivers which flow through the southern part of Nova Scotia, rise principally at the foot of a range of hills situated in the interior, between Argyle Bay and Annapolis Basin, and called the Blue Mountains. The Indians are said to have formerly resorted perio- dically to groves among those wilds, which they considered as consecrated places, in order to offer sacrifices to their Gods. NOTE H, page 122. THE regulation which stipulated that students, on their matricu- lation at Windsor College, should subscribe to the Thirty-nine Articles, has, since the text was printed, been wisely dispensed with, except as respects those who take degrees in divinity. NOTE I, page 136. A SANDY cove, near Cape George, is called Malignant Cove, not from any evil connected with its history, nor from any forbidding feature in its appearance, but from the Malignant frigate having run ashore on its beach, to avoid the certain destruction of all on board, on the iron bound coast to the eastward. NOTE K, pago 175. SEE Note II . NOTES. 215 NOTE L, page 196. FRAGMENT. THE following, translated by a gentleman in Nova Scotia, was written by M. De Ch-t-l-n, one of the sufferers of 1755, and trans- lated from the original French manuscript, in the Library of " L'Hotel Dieu," Quebec : The Tears of Acadia. 11 And must we from our native land depart ? Break break asunder, oh my bleeding heart ! Driven from our altars, and our happy home Strangers and poor through other realms to roam. Our wives and infants share the direful fate Unspotted victims of tyrannic hate. See them on bended knees, with tears o'erflown, In our calamities lament their own. Sever'd from father, brother, son, and friend, Unheard of sorrows shall their steps attend. Yet some sad trembling hope still flutters near, That we shall meet again, though never here ; Meet to divide the mis'ries of our chain, But never to enjoy a smile again ! ******** Our flocks shall follow strangers now no choice, Though still unknown to them the stranger voice. Our faithful dogs may trace these ruins round, And mourn the masters never to be found. Oh never shall we tread the peaceful plain, Where our brave fathers toil'd for us in vain I Oh, never shall we see Acadia's shore Ours once, by Heaven's decree, but ours no more. Our churches burn behold the ascending glare, Bearing to Heaven our agonizing prayer I Eternal Judge, to whom revenge belongs, Forbear to visit for our num'rous wrongs ; Let us in patience bow beneath the rod, And say with Christ ' Thy will be done, oh God !' 216 NOTES. How shall we go ? Soldiers, some pity feel, Nor goad the ling'ring exile with thy steel ! Let us one longing look behind us cast, Our fathers' sepulchres demand the last. 'Tis done and oh I what horrors rise to view ! Without a ray of light to cheer us through. In foreign lands our days of woe to spend In foreign lands our hopeless days to end. There will no sympathy for us be shown : Unpitied all our tears our cries unknowir; Our nation scorn'd our faith despised as vain ; And ev'ry bigot* riveting our chain : E'en when the wearied spirit seeks release, No shepherd of onr fold to whisper peace I ******** Thus do the English fix our fatal doom, And crown with woes our passage to the tomb !" Visionnaire, in the original. [ 217 ] BOOK II. NEW BRUNSWICK. CHAPTER I. Geographical Boundaries Geological Features Minerals Wild Animals - Fishes, &c. Climate, &c. Settlement of the Country Sufferings of early Settlers Governor Carleton General Smyth Sir Howard Dou- glas Constitution Administration of the Laws, &c. THE province of New Brunswick extends from the River St Croix, which is considered the boundary line of the United States, to the Bay de Chaleur and the River Restigouche, which divide it from Canada. The greater part of this colony is yet in a wilderness state, although its soil, with the exception of a few rocky districts, principally on the Bay of Fundy coast, and several but not extensive swampy tracts, is rich and fertile. The River St John, with its lakes and myriads of streams ; the tributary waters of one side of the St Croix ; the River Petit Coudiac ; the Miramichi, with its majestic branches ; the river Nipisighit, and many lesser rivers, open an inland navigation into almost every part of the province. 218 NEW BRUNSWICK. Dense forests cover nearly the whole country ; and the trees, which grow to an immense size are of the same kind and quality as already described under the head of forest trees. Pine abounds in greater plenty than in any of the other lower provinces. Birch, beech, and maple, are the prevailing hardwood trees. The quality of the soil here, as elsewhere in America, may always be ascertained by the descrip- tion of wood growing on it. Along the countless rivers of this province there are also innumerable tracts of what is termed intervale land : this kind of soil is alluvial, with detached trees of luxuriant growth, principally elm, maple, and black birch, and butter- mitt ; and is, like the lands of the Nile, annually irri- gated and enriched by the overflowing of the rivers. In several parts of the interior country, generally along small brooks, are wild meadows, caused origi- nally by the industry of the beaver, in consequence of the irrigation of a flat tract by the water, arrested by the dams constructed by these animals. The aspect of the coast of New Brunswick, along the Bay of Fundy, is generally rugged, and the soil near the shore stubborn and difficult to cultivate. The geology of the province is very imperfectly known. Limestone, greywacke, clay-slate, with sandstone, interrupted occasionally by gneiss, trap, and granite, seem to prevail on the southern coast. Among these, however, calcareous rock appears to predominate. Marble, of fair pretensions to beauty, abounds at Kennebecasis, and probably in other parts GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 219 of the country. Coal is plentiful, and iron ore abun- dant. Copper, plumbago, and manganese, have also been found, and great research may likely discover many other minerals. Gypsum and grindstone are abundant near Chignecto Basin. Along the shores of this province, facing the Gulf of St Lawrence and Chaleur Bay, sandstone prevails. Grey sandstone and clay-slate seem to predominate, as far as I could observe, along the course of the Miramichi ; among which, granite, mica, quartz, and ironstone, in detached rocks, occasionally occur. Spe- cimens of amethyst, cornelian, jasper, &c., have been picked up in various places. Some sulphurous, or hepatic springs, of much the same properties as the waters of Harrowgate, have lately been found. Salt springs, strongly saturated, are believed to be nu- merous. Some of the salt produced by boiling the water of one of these springs was shown me, which resembled the finest table salt we have in England. As we proceed from the sea-coast up the rivers of this province, the rich fertility of the country claims our admiration. A great flat district may be said to prevail from the parallel of the Long Reach, up the River St John, to the foot ofMars' Hill. High hills occasionally rise in ridges in various places, but no part of New Brunswick can be considered moun- tainous. The scenery of the rivers, lakes, and cataracts, is generally picturesque and beautiful, and often wild and grandly romantic. The wild animals are bears, moose-deer, and car- 220 GENERAL DESCRIPTION. riboo ; foxes, loup-cerviers, tiger-cat, racoon, porcu- pine, martin, beaver, otter, mink, musquash, fisher, hare, weasel, &c. Most of the birds enumerated as common to America are also plentiful. Along the coasts, cod, haddock, mackerel, and nearly all the kinds of fishes caught in the North American seas, are abundant ; salmon, shad, bass, &c., frequent the rivers and shores ; and a variety of other descriptions of fish, among which are chub, smelt, trout, eel,and perch, are plentiful in the streams or lakes. A kind of fish, called in New Brunswick cusk, and considered excellent eating, is caught in the rivers. I have not seen it elsewhere. It somewhat resembles the white fish of the Canada lakes, but is less in size, and quite a different species. The climate of New Brunswick is salubrious ; the epidemic fevers of the southern states are unknown ; and colds, and their consequent diseases, can only be considered as common in this province. An ery- sipelatous disease, previously unknown in the coun- try, made its appearance three or four years ago ; at which time it prevailed also in Nova Scotia. It must have been produced by some peculiarity in the season of that year, or brought on by accidental circumstan- ces. Consumption, although not apparently so com- mon as in England, is the principal cause of death among the young, or those between twenty and thirty. Fevers, generally in the form of mild typhus, occur frequently in the beginning of winter, most probably for want of proper attention in fortifying CLIMATE EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 221 the body in time with additional clothing against the sudden change from warm to cold weather. In a country like New Brunswick, where the in- habitants expose themselves so much to all the varie- ties of climate, arid to the waters of the sea and rivers, rheumatism often afflicts the working classes, especi- ally the lumberers, who are so often, during fall and spring, drenched in the remarkably cold waters of the rivers. The diseases, however, that are most fatal to life, are those brought to the province from other countries, principally by passenger-ships, such as fevers, small-pox, and measles. Generally speak- ing, the climate may be considered at least equally healthy as that of England. The temperature of the climate of the southern parts is much milder than that of those parts which border on the Gulf of St Lawrence, the Bay de Cha- leur, and Lower Canada. Sea-fogs frequently enve- lope the shores of the Bay of Fundy, and render the culture of wheat near the coast uncertain, but do not appear to cause any unhealthy consequences. With the difference of more humidity in the south- ern coast, and a few miles inland, and that the har- bours within the Bay of Fundy, at least from St John's to the State of Maine, are seldom long obstruct- ed with ice, and the frosts in the northern parts being somewhat more severe, what I have observed in treating of the climate of America generally, will apply equally to this province. The natural advantages of New Brunswick are equal to those of any wilderness country in America ; 222 SUFFERINGS OF and it requires only a great addition of industrious settlers to its present population, to secure its pro- sperity, and to make it one of the most important of his majesty's colonies. Its resources are great, and it is capable of maintaining at least three millions of inhabitants. The history of New Brunswick is embodied with that of Nova Scotia, of which province it formed a part until 1785. The first settlement attempted by the British was in 1762, by a few families from New England, on the River St John, about fifty miles from its mouth, and named Maugerville. These people experienced great misery, and met with many obstacles before they established them- selves. The difficulties inseparable from settling in the finest wilderness country in the world, are suffi- ciently formidable and discouraging, but the hostile spirit of the Indians harassed them still more, and the savages were only at last appeased by the pay- ment of large sums for the wild animals which the English colonists had killed. During the American war, several other families left New England, and planted themselves on the lands adjoining Maugerville. This district became then the seat of the court of law, and obtained the name of Sunbury. At the peace of 1783, there were about eight hun- dred inhabitants in this part of the province. They endured many hardships before they secured ample HUMUS to subsist on ; but it appears, however, that private dissensions and separate interests formed no THE EAHIA" SETTLERS. 223 small share of the evils that prevented their pro- sperity. Three thousand persons from Nantucket arrived at the River St John in the spring succeeding the peace with America. Many of these were men who served during the war ; twelve hundred more from the same place followed during the autumn of the same year. The sufferings of these settlers were extremely severe. They had previously enjoyed all the comforts which a country, subdued and cultiva- ted by the endurance and industry of their forefathers, afforded, and they had all at once to encounter all the horrors of an approaching winter, without houses to shelter them, amid the wilds of New Brunswick. Their sufferings are described as follow, by a gentle- man now residing at Fredericton, in a small pamphlet descriptive of the province : " The difficulties," he says, " which the first settlers were exposed to, conti- nued for a long time almost insurmountable. On their arrival, they found a few hovels where St John's is now built, the adjacent country exhibiting a most desolate aspect, which was peculiarly discouraging to people who had just left their homes in the beau- tiful arid cultivated parts of the United States. Up the River St John, the country appeared better, and a few cultivated spots were found unoccupied by old settlers. At St Ann's, where Fredericton is now built, a few scattered French huts were found ; the country all round being a continued wilderness, un- inhabited and untrodden, except by the savages and wild animals ; and scarcely had these firm friends of 224 NEW BRUNSWICK. their country (American loyalists) began to construct their cabins, when they were surprised by the rigours of an untried climate ; their habitations being enve- loped in snow before they were tenantable. The climate at that period, (from what cause has not yet been satisfactorily ascertained,) being far more severe than at present, they were frequently put to the greatest straits for food and clothing to preserve their existence ; a few roots were all that tender mothers could at times procure to allay the importunate calls of their children for food. Sir Guy Carleton had ordered them provisions for the first year, at the ex- pense of government ; but, as the country was not much cultivated at that time, food could scarcely be procured on any terms. Frequently had these set- tlers to go from fifty to one hundred miles, with hand- sleds, or toboggans, through wild woods, or on the ice, to procure a precarious supply for their famish- ing families. The privations and sufferings of these people almost exceed belief. The want of food and clothing in a wild country was not easily dispensed with, or soon remedied. Frequently, in the piercing cold of winter, a part of the family had to remaii up during the night to keep fire in their huts to prc vent the other part from freezing. Some very des titute families made use of boards to supply the want of bedding ; the father, or some of the older children, remaining up by turns, and warming two suitable pieces of boards, which they applied alternately to th< smaller children to keep them warm, with man; -iniihu 1 expedients. GOVERNOR CARLETON. 225 " Many of these loyalists were in the prime of life when they came to this country, and most of them had young families. To establish these they wore out their lives in toil and poverty, and by their unremitting exertions subdued the wilderness, and covered the face of the country with habitations, villages, and towns. I have not noticed these cir- cumstances as if they were peculiar to the settlers of New Brunswick, but to hold up to the descendants of those sufferers the hardships endured by their parents ; and to place in a striking point of view, the many comforts they possess by the suffering per- severance and industry of their fathers. "Under the judicious and paternal care of Gover- nor Carleton, assisted by several of the leading cha- racters, many of the difficulties of settling an infant and distant country were lessened. The condition of the settlers was gradually ameliorated. The governor himself set a pattern, in which he was fol- lowed by several of the leading men in the different offices. A variety of grains and roots were cultiva- ted with success, and considerable progress made in clearing the wilderness." In 1785, a royal charter was granted to New Bruns- wick as a distinct province, and the administration confided to Governor Carleton. The safety of pro- perty, and the personal protection of the inhabitants, secured the improvement of the country ; and its settlements, agriculture, and trade, advanced from this time with little interruption : the inhabitants fol- lowing such pursuits as necessity directed, or those VOL. II. P CONSTITUTION AND LAWS. that were most profitable, or at least agreeable to their inclinations. Few men have been more anxious to promote the prosperity, and to guard the interests of a country {dinmitted to their care, than Governor Carleton. He left New Brunswick for England in 1803, where he resided until his death in 1817- During this period the government of the province was administered by presidents. Major-General George Stracey Smyth was ap- pointed lieutenant-governor in February 1817. He administered the government until his death in 1823, from which time it was held by Mr Chipman, as president, and afterwards by Mr Bliss, until the ar- rival of Major-General Sir Howard Douglas, Baronet, in August 1824, as lieutenant-governor and com- mander-in-chief. His administration has been uniformly directed to the welfare of the province. His indefatigable exer- tions to promote its agriculture and trade, to open roads through the country, and his anxious attention to the administration of justice, and the establishment of seminaries of education, merit the highest praise. The constitution of New Brunswick is similar to that of Nova Scotia. The Council consists of twelve members, and the Legislative Assembly, which me in winter, of twenty-six representatives. The courts are, the Courts of Chancery, of whir h the governor is chancellor. In the Supreme Court, which represents in its practice the King's Bench, one chief justice and three assistant justices preside. All important civil causes are decided, and all capital crimes tried in this PUBLIC BURDENS. 227 court. The salary of the chief justice is L.750, and that of the assistant justices L.500 each. The terms are in February, May, July, and October. There is also an inferior court, or Court of Common Pleas, held in each of the counties, in which two or more justices preside. In this court petty crimes are tried, and civil causes of small amount are deter- mined. It exercises also within the county extensive powers in the appointment of parish and police- offices, auditing parish accounts, regulating the licenses of public houses, and fixing such small parish assessments or county rates as may appear necessary. Debts under five pounds are recovered before magistrates, who take cognizance also of breaches of the peace, as in England. The provincial laws are much the same as those of Nova Scotia, differing only in some instances, to accord with local circumstances. The public burdens are so very similar to those of Nova Scotia, already described, and so trifling, that an account of them is unnecessary. The statute labour, and militia laws, also correspond. The reve- nue is raised by trifling imposts ; and a casual revenue to the king arises from the rents of wild meadows, and lands belonging to the crown. The amount of the revenue raised by imposts and legislative enactments, averages about L.43,000. It is appropriated by the House of Assembly to the purposes of opening and improving of roads, erecting public buildings, en- couraging agriculture and the fisheries, supporting seminaries of education, &c. 228 NT.W uiirxswrcK. CHAPTER II. Divisions of the Province Description of the City and River of St John- Prairie Suburbs of Portland and Carleton Society Lower Cataracts Indian Town Steam-boat River Scenery Grand Bay Kenneberacis Alwington Manor Long Reach Belle-Isle Bay^Washedemoak Grand Lake, &c. FREDERICTON Beauty of its Situation Luxuriant Scenery Public Buildings Governor's House New Brunswick College River St John, continued Woodstock Beautiful Alluvial Islands American Encroachments Mars' Hill Tributary Rivers Grand Falls Acadian Settlement at Madawaska Route to Canada Lake Tamisquata, &c. THE representative constitution of the province, and the administration of justice, required that it should, like Nova Scotia, be divided into counties : these are St John's, Westmoreland, Charlotte, Sun- bury, Queen's, and York counties, through which last the River St John winds, and the county of Northumberland,* which fronts on the Gulf of St Lawrence and the Bay de Chaleur, and which is watered by the Miramichi, and other rivers. The principal settlements are along the River St John and its lakes, on the north banks of the St Croix, on the Gulf of St Lawrence, on the River Miramichi, and on the shores of the Bay de Chaleur. The corporate town, or city of St John, is situated * Note A. CITY OF ST JOHN. 229 in 45 20' N. latitude, 66 3' W. longitude, on the southern declivity of a peninsula, and on the northern side of the entrance from the Bay of Fundy to the River St John. On approaching St John's from the Bay of Fundy, the aspect of the country on each side is bold and rugged. Meogenes Island and several coves open to the left ; a bold headland on the right, between which and Partridge Island, on which there is a lighthouse, is the proper entrance to the harbour. The town, with part of Carleton on the opposite side, opens to view at several miles distance ; and the wooded mountainous background, and various additional picturesque features, with the masts of ships, wharfs, stores, houses of various sizes and colours, spires of churches, forts, and the beautiful range of new bar- racks, form altogether a very splendid picture. The rise of the tide is from twenty-five to thirty feet. When the sea flows so as to cover the shores, the appearance of the Harbour of St John, viewed from Carleton, and all the surrounding objects which fill up the landscape, is beautiful and magnificent ; but at low water the aspect of the front of the town, which exhibits muddy shores, high wharfs, and tim- ber booms covered with slime, is exceedingly dis- agreeable. One of the most beautiful and extensive prospects of scenery is, however, from the heights on which are the ruins of Fort Howe, over that part or division of the town named Portland. The view from this station is really magnificent : the har- bour, prairies, mountains, woods, a bird-eye view HO CITY OF ST JOHN. of the town and shipping, a broad prospect of the , Bay of Fundy, with Nova Scotia high and darkly blue in the distance, are its prominent features. Fort Howe is now in ruins, its position is very commanding. On the Carleton side, situated also on a commanding height, there is another fortification, and some guns are also planted on Partridge Island. St John's is not the metropolis, although the largest town in the province. It is about half the size of Halifax,but contains nearly two-thirds as manydwell- ing-houses. The government and public buildings, if not splendid, are certainly handsome structures. The wharfs, with warehouses built either over them or immediately adjoining, and the private houses, closely resemble the buildings in Halifax. The ground on which the town is built is rocky and very irregular, and the forming and levelling of the streets required vast labour. Much improvement is still necessary to level them sufficiently for carriages to drive along agreeably ; and the abruptness of some of the streets renders them very dangerous in winter. The public buildings are, a very commodious and handsome stone court-house, built lately on the high ground above the middle of the town, a marine hos- pital, poor-house, and, of course, a jail. Previous to this period, the courts were held over the market- house, a very mean building. There are two Episcopal churches ; the oldest, built of wood, but painted so as to resemble white stone, is a very handsome edifice, with a pretty spire. The interior is arranged nearly in the same man- CITY OF ST JOHN. 231 ner as most modern English churches of the same size. The new Episcopal church is a substantial edifice, built in the Gothic style, of rough stone, and its in- terior very handsomely planned and finished. Both these churches have good organs. The Scotch kirk is a plain neat building, with a tall spire, and handsomely fitted up within. Besides these places of worship, there are a Catholic chapel, two or three Methodist chapels, and one Baptist meeting-house. There is a respectable grammar school, a central school, on the Madras system, and some other insti- tutions, principally Sunday schools, where the rudi- ments of education are taught. There are also two or three Bible and religious societies, and the benevolent societies of St George, St Andrew, and St Patrick. The poor-house is made to answer also the purposes of an hospital. The provincial bank, or, in reality, the bank of St John's, established under an act of the legislature, with a capital increased since its formation to L. 50,000, has paid handsome dividends, and has been of great benefit, as well as occasional injury, to those engaged in trade. It facilitates sales by discounting promis- sory-notes at three months' date ; but this accommo- dation is apt to tempt men into imprudent transac- tions. The directors, however, are said to guard with much caution against risks. When its stock was increased in 1824, by legislative enactment, the new shares sold at 175 per cent. There is also a 232 CITY OF ST JOHN. bank for savings ; and a marine assurance company, established also by an act of the legislature, seems to prosper, and has hitherto been singularly fortunate in its risks. There are two public libraries, and a respectable news room, where the English, Colonial, and United States papers are taken. The Chamber of Commerce is formed on much the same plan as that at Halifax. Four or five respectably-conducted weekly newspapers are pub- lished at St John's, one at Fredericton, one at St Andrew's, and one at Mirarnichi. St John's is a corporate town, and styled a city. Its municipal government is lodged in a mayor, re- corder, six aldermen, and six assistants, designated, " Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the City of St John." The other civil officers are a sheriff, coroner, town- clerk, chamberlain, two marshals, a high constable, and six petty constables. The mayor, recorder, sheriff, coroner, and town or common clerk, hold their appointment of the go- vernor, continuing in office from one year to another. The aldermen are elected annually by the freemen. The mayor and council appoint the other officers. The mayor and council make laws for the improve- ment or government of the town, which expire in one year, unless confirmed by the governor and coun- cil ; they have also an annual revenue at their com- mand for public improvements, &c., and they consti- tute a Court of Record, or Common Pleas, for the " City and County of St John." Small debts are CITY OF ST JOHN. 233 recovered before an alderman's court, held once a- fortnight. The aldermen are all justices of the peace. On the opposite side of the river to St John's, and under its municipal government, stands the pretty- little town of Carleton, with a neat English church arid a chapel. The saw-mills within the aboiteux, a little above this place, are well worth visiting. On the Point of Carleton several ships have been built.* The upper part of St John's is named Portland, and the whole, including Carleton, is divided into six wards. Opposite to the town, in the middle of the stream, is Navy Island, small, low, and muddy ; and, as the Indians would have it, carried down at one time by the stream in a body. It is evidently formed by alluvial deposits. There are always some troops stationed at St John's ; and the barracks, situated above the lower cove, and near the extremity of the peninsula, are spacious, handsome, and commodious. The country in the vicinity is stubborn, but, when subjected to cultivation, fertile. An extensive prairie, named the marsh, containing about 3000 acres, and occupying a space, which is by some considered to have been once the bed of the River St John, lies near the town. The tide is shut out by an aboiteux, over which the road to Indian Town passes. The soil of this beautiful alluvial tract is remarkably rich, and neutralized by the application of lime, which is abun- dant in the neighbourhood. * A fine vessel, intended for a steamer, was on the stocks when I visited this place. 234 CITY OF ST JOHN. There are several handsome houses along the rising grounds which follow the course of the prairie ; and their situation and appearance seem to render them desirable and comfortable residences. As to the condition of society, I am not able to treat so explicitly as I have done in respect to Hali- fax, from having less intercourse with the inhabitants than a traveller could have wished. There were no public amusements there at the time, or if there had, these are not the places to draw a just picture of society. At both the churches, and at the Scotch kirk, the general appearance of the congregations was highly respectable ; and their dresses were in the fashions prevailing about a year previously in England. Two or three ladies, however, I observed dressed in the full Parisian style of 1828. Many of the ladies are very pretty, but walk rather stiffly and affectedly. Of their manners or accom- plishments I can say nothing. The gentlemen that I li.-ive had an opportunity of being acquainted with while there, or that I have met with from St John's in other places, were generally intelligent arid well- bred. From the information given me by people living in St John's, it would appear that a very tolerable share of bickerings and divisions prevails among tin- inhabitants ; one family arrogating a rank and re- spect which others will not admit ; and some build- ing their pretensions on their families being of the number of the first royalist settlers ; others measuring their respectability by the length of their purses. All CITY OF ST JOHN. 235 this, however, is common in larger towns than St John's ; and the same ease and freedom of manners which have gained the ascendant at Halifax, will likely, as the population increases, and a greater in- tercourse with the world takes place, distinguish this city. When we also consider the few years which form the age of St John's, we must make the most charitable allowance for any defect in the condition of its society. Sir Howard Douglas has done won- ders in the way of knitting society together, and the influence of his own family example has been of great benefit. Assemblies are common during winter, once a- month, or oftener. They excite, as elsewhere in America, from the necessity of forming some fixed line of demarcation as to admission, the angry bile of those who are excluded. Carriolling, pic-nic, and private parties, are also common ; and there are races annually near the town. Fifty years ago, the site of this thriving city was covered with trees, and only a few straggling huts existed within its harbour. This was its condition at the peace of 1783 ; and when we now view it, with its population of above 12,000, its stately houses, its public buildings, its warehouses, its wharfs, and with the majestic ships which crowd its port, we are more than lost in forming even a conjecture of what it will become in less than a century. Its position will ever command the trade of the vast and fertile country watered by the lakes and streams of the River St John. All towns through which the bulk 230 LOWER CATARACT. of the imports and exports of the country in which these towns are situated necessarily pass have, in consequence, flourished. \\Y vie\v this in the long and continued prosperity of Hamburgh, the boundless commerce of Liverpool, and the amazing prosperity of New York. The River St John, called by the Indians Loosh- took, or the long river, is, next to the St Lawrence, the finest river in British America. About a mile above the city of St John, at rugged narrows, the river is interrupted by huge rocks, over and among which the waters of this great river, and its tributary streams, roll and foam, and render the navigation, except for four short diurnal periods, impracticable. The great rise of tide at St John's, however, so far overflows these falls or rapids, that, when the flood rises twelve feet at the fort, sloops and schooners pass in safety for about twenty minutes, and for the same time when the tide ebbs to twelve feet. This cataract, viewed from the high ground on the Carleton side, forms, with the adjoining scenery, a picturesque and, indeed, romantic picture. The foam is frequently carried down in frothy bodies past St John's ; and the agitated waters, holding the juices of mossy deposits from the interior in solution, and running to the sea, impart to it, in the spring, at St John's, and for some miles out at the Bay of Fundy, a dark-brown colour. A chain-bridge, at the cost probably of not more than L. 10,000, might be suspended across the River St John at the Falls, where the breadth is not more 2 RIVER ST JOHN. 237 than four hundred feet, and the precipices on each side sufficiently high ; there are also more than one rock in the centre, on which abutments might be built ; but these would not, I think, be found necessary. The prairie, lying between the town and the height of land that separates the former from the present channel of the river, is considered by the speculative as the ancient bed of the River St John. I admit this conjecture to be quite within the bounds of probability ; but, on examining the features of both places, I could observe no reasonable ground to conclude that any other than the one over which this great river now rolls, was at any former period its channel. Above the Falls, the river widens, and forms a bay of some magnitude, surrounded by high and rugged woodlands. At the lower part of this bay, there is a small village called Indian Town, about a mile and a half, by a good road, from St John's. From this village the steam-boat for Fredericton starts. Passing up the bay, we are struck with the extraordinary wildness and desolation of the country, although within a few miles of the city of St John. Huge calcareous rocks, bursting through stern dark fir- forests, stretching up the sides of lofty hills and promontories, which frown over the dark waters, impart a most savage and menacing character to the scenery. A miserable hovel, in a mere speck of cleared land, occasionally opens to view ; and those who inhabit these huts derive little more benefit 238 RIVER ST JOHN. from the soil, than the lime which the rocks afford, and the fuel which the forest supplies, for both of which they find a market at St John's. Proceeding up the river, and entering Grand Bay, scenery of much the same character prevails. From this extensive bay, Kennebecacis Bay and River bends off to the eastward for nearly forty miles ; twenty of which are navigable for large vessels. The shores of the Kennebecacis are generally abrupt and rocky ; but, near the head, we arrive at a beautiful tract of country, called Sussex Vale, populously settled, and allowed to be one of the most fertile districts of the province. Leading roads, but not in very good condition, lead through it from St John's to the Kiver Petit Coudiac, and to the settlements on the River St John. The banks of the Kenuebecacis abound in limestone, gypsum, coal, and salt springs. The inhabitants manufacture great quantities of maple sugar. Fatal accidents frequently happen to the raftsmen in passing down Grand Bay ; and few years occur without some of them being drowned. A small arm, named South Bay, branches off to the south ; and, as we proceed up the river, the country begins to assume less forbidding features. On the left, we pass a beautiful and picturesque spot, called Alwington Manor,* near which, on receiving the Neripis from Alwington Manor once belonged to General Coffin. Ho cleared and cultivated it ; but I was told on passing it, that, like the American backwoodsmen, lie hail then removed several miles back into tin- forest, to subdue a fresh tract of the wilderness. BIVER ST JOHN. 239 the west, the river bends rather abruptly, and forms a beautiful vista of eighteen miles, called the Long Reach ; along which the cultivation of the soil appears to be attended to, but carrying firewood to St John's is said to occupy too much of the attention of the settlers. The lands are stony, but, when subjected to cultivation, very productive. At the head of the Long Reach, the lands on each side the river, and the pretty islands which divide it into several streams, present beautiful and rich features. Belle Isle Bay, a fine sheet of water, receiving several rivers, branches off here, for upwards of twenty miles, to the eastward. The River St John then winds to the north, from the head of the Long Reach to Fredericton, receiving the waters of the Washedemoak and Grand Lake from the east, and the Oromucto from the west. No part of America can exhibit greater beauty, or more luxuriant fertility, than the lands on each side, and the islands that we pass, in this distance. I can only compare it to the St Lawrence, from Fort William Henry to Montreal ; and those who have had the opportunity of observing both, will readily agree with me in considering the banks of the River St John to be naturally quite as beautiful and fertile as those of the St Lawrence. The parishes of Maugerville and Sheffield, on the right ; Gage Town and Oromucto, on the left ; and Long Island, with its neat church, are truly im- posing. This part of the province, including the lands around the Grand Lake, and along the Washede- 240 FREDERICTOy. moak,* must become a very populous and rich coun- try. A great proportion of the soil is intervale or alluvial, and coal is found in great plenty, near the Grand Lake. Fredericton, although yet but little more than a village, is the seat of government ; and is situated on a pretty point of land formed by a bend in the river, nearly ninety miles above St John's, and in front of as richly wooded hills as ever eye beheld ; for soft picturesque scenery it is not surpassed by any part of the province. In front, the River St John, some- thing more than half a mile in width, flows past, sometimes smoothly, but often in rapid overflowing grandeur ; and immediately opposite, it receives the Nashwaak, a rapid stream, which winds from the west thirty miles through fertile lands, settlements, and forests. The magnificent view from the College, lately built on the brow of a hill above the town, embraces, during summer and autumn, much of what poets and romance-writers tell us about Fairyland. Before us we have the neat white buildings of the town, with their pretty gardens, and the verdant foliage of their trees ; then the River St John, with the (li'honchc of the Nashwaak, and an extensively ascending forest country, stretching far to the north. Downwards, we have a commanding prospect of * The folly of many of those who occupy some of the fine cli farms in this part of the province, in neglecting their cultivation, has been attended l>y the usual consequence. Their farms are, I am informed, in most instances, heavily mortgaged. FREDERICTON. 241 several windings, for many miles, of the river ; the banks and headlands of which are beautifully adorned with clumps of trees, interspersed among the culti- vated uplands, or intermingled with the rich fringes of alluvial soil, which its waters have created. Up- wards, our eyes and imagination feast on a splendid view of luxuriant islands, water, cultivated farms, farm-houses, blue distant hills, wooded to their sum- mits ; with the presence of human industry herds of cattle on the farms and islands, one or more sloops on the river, timber-rafts, bateaux, and the white canoe of the savage to lend animation to the whole. The plan of the town is regular, the streets cross- ing at right angles, and in appearance much like Charlotte Town, in Prince Edward Island. The building-lots contain each a quantity of an acre, eighteen of which form a square. The public build- ings are, a provincial hall a mean-looking building, in which the courts are held, and in which the Legis- lative Assembly sit a jail, and a building which answers the double purpose of a market and county court-house. There are also an Episcopal church, of very humble appearance, but standing in a sweet spot, near the river, and three chapels, one each for the Catholics, Presbyterians, and Baptists. The bar- racks are handsome and commodious. The new stone building, erected for the residence of the governor, stands at the west end of the town, in a charming situation. It is rather a large house, the front and elevation striking, but not elegant ; and to me the design appeared, in many respects, to out- VOL. II. Q