In January, 1752, Mr. Collier, who had been acting as Chief Justice, and
Captain Frotheringham, were called to the Council in place of Mr.
Salisbury and Col. Horseman, who had returned to England. On 3rd
February, a public ferry was established between Halifax and Dartmouth
and John Connors appointed ferryman for three years, with the exclusive
privilege, and ferry regulations were also established. At the same
sitting of the Council, an order was passed for the recording of deeds
and mortgages, making all papers unrecorded void against those which had
been registered. Col. Horseman's stone building was purchased for a
prison in place of that before used.
April 29th, Charles Morris, James Monk, John Duport, Robert Ewer, Joseph
Scott, John Wm. Hoffeman and Leonard Christopher Redolf were appointed
Justices of the Peace. It was resolved in Council at their sitting on
12th June, that a lottery should be held for building a Light House near
Cape Sambro, to raise L.450. One thousand tickets at L.3 each. Prizes from
one of L.500 to L.7 the lowest. Two hundred prizes, in all amounting to
L.3000, 15 per cent. to be deducted from the prizes, to be drawn publicly
in the Town House at Halifax, under the direction of managers to be
appointed by Government.
The winter of 1751-2 had been severe, but the harbour had not been
frozen or at all impeded by ice, and the spring opened early, and
preparations for prosecuting the fishery were soon in active operation.
The Government mills at Dartmouth, under charge of Captain Clapham, were
sold at auction in June. They were purchased by Major Gilman for L.310.
16th July--An order passed to strike off the victualling lists all the
German and Swiss settlers, who had arrived in the Speedwell.
In the spring of 1752, a number of settlers arrived in the Nancy, under
the charge of Lt. Young. About the same time the Marquis DeConte, a
Sicilian nobleman, and a number of other foreign settlers, came to
Halifax from the island of Tercera, one of the Azores, and settled in
the town.
Governor Cornwallis having obtained permission to resign the
Government, the Hon. Peregrine T. Hopson, was appointed his successor,
and was sworn into office before the Council on Monday, 3rd August. Mr.
Cornwallis, however, did not leave the province until after the 10th of
October, as he appears to have attended the Council held on that
day.[29]
[Footnote 29: On September 29th, 1752, the first fire regulations were
published at Halifax, among which are found the following: Two or three
Magistrates may order a house to be pulled down or blown up to stop a
fire, the owner to be indemnified by the house owners of the Town. The
fire wards to be appointed by the Justices of the Peace, each to carry a
red staff 6 feet long, with a bright brass spear 6 inches long on it;
and other regulations. This custom is still kept up in the City, or was
until very lately.]
In September, 1752, John Baptist Cope, commonly called Major Cope, a
Mic-Mac chief, head of the Shubenacadie Indians, came in with terms of
peace, which were agreed to. This bears date the 15th September, in that
year. Immediately after this document was signed, Cope left town in a
vessel, having requested Capt. W. Piggot should be sent to Indian
Harbour, to meet the Indians there, to ratify the Treaty. Mr. Piggot was
accordingly dispatched, and brought up with him two or three Indians,
who appeared before the Council, after which they were sent back to
Beaver Harbour, under the conduct of Mr. Piggot, with blankets,
provisions, etc. The terms of the Treaty were agreed to and confirmed in
Council, and the whole was engrossed on parchment and ratified on 22nd
November, 1752. The names of the Indian delegates on this occasion were,
Andrew Hodley Martin, Gabriel Martin and Francis Jeremiah. Mr. Saul
received directions to issue provisions, according to the allowance of
the troops for six months, for 90 Indians, that being the number of the
tribe under Cope, occupying the eastern part of the province.
This treaty does not appear to have been respected by the Indian Chief,
who we find, not more that eight months after its ratification, refusing
to respect the pass of Governor Hopson to one Anthony Cartel, who had
been captured by the Indians, in one of the harbours eastward of
Halifax, and carried through the country to Shubenacadie, the
head-quarters of Major Cope, from whom he was ransomed by a French
inhabitant. It would appear that the terms of amity, entered into by
Cope and his men with the Government at Halifax, had been in some manner
without the sanction of Abbe LeLoutre, who, when Anthony Cartel was
brought before Count Raymond at Louisburg, was present, and as Cartel
expresses it, inveighed bitterly against Governor Cornwallis, and said
if he wanted peace he ought to have written to him, and not to have
treated with the tribe of Indians. That he, Cartel, might depart, having
been ransomed, but that the first Englishman he caught should be
retained until he, LeLoutre, had full satisfaction for himself and his
Indians.
In April following, two men named John Connor and James Grace, arrived
at Halifax in an Indian canoe, bringing with them six Indian scalps.
They informed the Council that they and two others, having put into a
place between Tor Bay and Country Harbour, in a schooner, were captured
by the Indians, and carried ten miles into the country, where their two
companions were murdered; that they had surprised the Indians at night,
killed several, whose scalps they secured, and having escaped to the
seaside, seized a canoe, and made their way to Halifax. Along the coast,
both east and west from Halifax, Indian massacres had been frequent.
Those persons engaged in the fishery, who were compelled to land for
wood and water, were chiefly the sufferers.
Much had been said and written in Europe at the time, relative to the
aggressions of the French, during the suspension of hostilities between
the two nations. The Indians, from their religion and trading
intercourse, more favourable to the French in Canada and Acadia, were
made use of to harass the British settlers, who (though the two nations
were then at peace) were looked upon with a jealous eye by the resident
French population. A French writer, (I refer to a little work, now a
scarce book, published during the second siege of Louisburg), states
that the English neglected to cultivate an acquaintance with the manners
and customs of the Indians, and it was therefore not surprising at the
time, that they should show less affection towards them than towards the
French, who had great regard to their humours and inclinations.
"So strong is their aversion to despotic power," says the author, "that
force will never do; they will yield to nothing but persuasion. Though
they know nothing of precepts or subordination, yet they enjoy almost
every advantage derived from well-regulated authority. Their laws and
customs appear impressed on their hearts. In order to gain an ascendancy
over them, you must gain their esteem, for they never confide in a
person whom they do not value, and this esteem is very difficult to
obtain."
The savages were exasperated against the English by a speech delivered
by Count Raymond, at a meeting of the chiefs, in which, to suit his own
purposes, he depicted the most frightful cruelties perpetrated by the
English.
During the Indian hostilities, opposition on the part of the Colonists
was altogether of a defensive nature. The regular troops, as well as the
undisciplined militia, proving unfit for such warfare, it was found
necessary to employ the New England Rangers. These were volunteers from
the New England provinces, accustomed to Indian warfare, many of them
Indians and half-bloods. They ascended the rivers, penetrated into the
heart of the province, and attacked the enemy in their strongholds. The
Indians finding they were opposed by men equally accustomed to the
forest with themselves, soon found it their interest to make peace with
the British.[30]
[Footnote 30: Governor Cornwallis reduced the Rangers. He thought
Goreham very incompetent to command them.]
In 1758, it was found necessary to procure the services of 250 of these
Rangers from New England, by promises of high pay and other advantages.
Long accustomed to the border war with the Indians and French of Canada,
they had become well disciplined, and accustomed to hardships and
fatigue, and were perhaps at this time superior to all other provincial
troops in America. The Provincials were troops raised in the Colonies at
the expense of the Provincial Government, and were distinct from the
Rangers, who were independent companies paid by the British Government.
They served at Havannah, at Louisburg in the first siege under
Pepperell, and with Wolfe at Louisburg and Quebec, and afterwards served
to form the groundwork of Washington's army in 1775.
After the fall of Fort William Henry in 1758, it was said that the
Marquis de Montcalm sent a number of prisoners taken at that place, in a
vessel to Halifax. They were Provincial soldiers, chiefly from the New
England provinces. This was said to have been an attempt to introduce
the small pox into Halifax, many of the men being ill of the disorder on
their embarkation. Providence, however, frustrated this benevolent
design. The prisoners being kept on low diet, half starved, and exposed
to the cold, soon recovered, while the French in charge of the vessel,
having indulged in the use of wine and strong fare, were thrown down
with the disease, and nearly all perished. The vessel was brought into
port by the prisoners.[31]
[Footnote 31: This story was related by the late Titus Smith, who
received it from his father.]
In the spring of 1751, nine hundred and fifty-eight Protestant German
settlers arrived, and in the following year 1000 more.[32] The latter
were from Montbeliard, of the Confession of Augsburgh, and were placed
under the spiritual charge of the Rev. J. B. Moreau. They had been
induced to emigrate by promises from King George II, which it is said
were never realized. Considerable difficulty appears to have been
experienced by the Government in providing a suitable situation for
settling so large a number of persons. The original design with regard
to the foreign Protestants was to place them in the interior of the
country, on the lands unoccupied by the French Acadians, it being
supposed that their proximity to and intercourse with the French, would
be the means of lessening the bad feeling which had been fostered by
emissaries from Canada. The project was unfavorably received by the
Acadians. There were, however, other difficulties in the way of its
accomplishment, of a particular nature, which compelled the Government
to abandon the object. The want of sufficient provisions to maintain so
many settlers through the winter, the lateness of the season, and the
helplessness of a large portion of the Germans, who were unfit for
labour, induced the Government to place them in the neighbourhood of
Halifax. It was at first proposed in Council to send them to the
opposite side of the harbour over against George's Island, and Captain
Morris was sent to survey the grounds. The mouth of Musquodoboit River
was also suggested, and a survey of that part of the country ordered,
but the distance from Halifax and the danger of the Indians, rendered
the scheme impracticable. "All I could do," says the Governor, "was to
build boarded barracks for them. They must be sustained by Government
until they are capable of raising something of their own; most of them
are poor and wretched, and have scarce a farthing of money among them."
[Footnote 32: The names of the settlers who arrived after June and July,
1749, are not to be found among the records of the country.]
These people had been collected together by a Mr. Dick, the Government
agent for that purpose. He had persuaded these who came out this year
to sell everything they possessed even to their bedding, before going on
board; and they stated that owing to the want of bedding and other
conveniences, many of them died on the passage and since their arrival.
Many of these people are represented as very old, and as objects fitter
to be kept in almshouses, several of them above 80 years of age. The
Governor in his letter to the Board of Trade, says, "On the 26th
September last, when the last of these settlers were landed, there were
30 of them who could not stir off the beach, and among the children
there were 8 orphans, who in twelve days increased to 14 by the death of
their parents. These had to be removed to the public orphan house, and
had the best care taken of them." Many of these settlers became
discontented with their condition, and went off to the Island of St.
John, where they endeavoured to settle themselves. The difficulty of
procuring provisions was very great. The Government appears to have been
altogether dependent on the contracts of Althorp and Hancock of Boston,
and Delaney and Watts of New York, for the necessary supplies for the
settlement.
In June, 1753, about 1500 of these German settlers embarked for Malagash
Harbour, west of Mahone Bay, where they afterwards built the town of
Lunenburg. They were accompanied by a company of Rangers under Major
Goreham. The expedition was placed under the command of Col. Charles
Lawrence. There were also some regular troops, under Major Patrick
Sutherland, who took a very active part in planting the settlement.
Lieutenant John Creighton, of Warburton's Regiment, also accompanied the
German settlers, and also the Rev. J. H. Moreau, who officiated as their
minister.
The Lunenburg settlers were placed under similar regulations with those
at Halifax, and received Government allowance for several years after
their arrival at Malagash.
After the removal of the Germans from Halifax to Lunenburg, there were
but 15 German families left in the north suburbs. Not knowing any
English, they formed themselves into a separate congregation for
religious worship, and built themselves a small house upon the German
burial ground on Brunswick street, in which they had prayers every
Sunday. In 1760, a steeple was built on this house, and the next year
the Rev. Dr. Breynton, Rector of St. Paul's, preached there for the
first time, and it was on that occasion dedicated by the name of St.
George's Church. The congregation followed the English Church rules of
doctrine and appointed their Elders and Vestry. This old building still
remains in its primitive state, the only monument now remaining of the
old German settlement, called Dutchtown.
In October, 1752, Mr. Cotterall was appointed to the Council, and John
Duport sworn in Clerk of the Council. An order in Council and
proclamation appeared on the 14th of November, forbidding persons from
assembling or carrying about effigies on the anniversary of the holiday,
called Gunpowder Treason, being the 16th of November, according to the
alteration of the style.
At the Council held on the 22nd December, 1752, the Justices were
ordered to look out for a proper place for a bridewell or workhouse, and
to form a plan for the building of a block-house for that purpose, and
to obtain an estimate of the probable expense, and to report rules and
regulations for the government of the same. The Constables were to go
about the streets on Sundays to prevent disorders, and to make a report
to the Justices in the evening after divine service, and to apprehend
disorderly persons during the night. Proprietors of land were obliged to
fence their quota; on failure, to be liable to an action for the
recovery of the charges for fencing the same.
All proprietors of land upon the peninsula of Halifax were directed to
clear half their lots by 1st May, 1753, to clear the remainder and fence
the whole by 1st May, 1754, otherwise the lots would be forfeited and be
disposed of to others who would improve them. And an order was made for
permission to John Connors, to assign the Dartmouth Ferry to Henry Wynne
and William Manthorne.
Among the local events recorded this year, was a robbery in one of the
King's storehouses, which was broken open on the night of the 26th
October. There was also a cartel published by Governor Hopson, for the
exchange of prisoners with the French Government in Canada.
The most important circumstance of the year, however, was a charge
against the Justices of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, sent in to
the Council by a number of the most influential inhabitants, charging
them with partiality, and praying for a public hearing. This document
was presented to the Council in December, and was signed by Joshua
Mauger, Joseph Rundel, Isaac Knott, John Grant, Francis Martin, Edward
Crawley, Richard Catherwood, Robert Campbell, William Nesbitt, John
Webb, William McGee, Sebastian Zouberbuhler, Samuel Sellon and Isaac
Deschamps. These charges came on for hearing before the Council on 3rd
January following; they consisted of ten distinct charges against
Charles Morris, James Monk, John Duport, Robert Ewer and William Bourn,
Esquires, Justices of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, for the Town
and County of Halifax, and were signed by the following inhabitants:
Joshua Mauger,
S. Zouberbuhler,
Samuel Sellon,
Edward Buckleton,
James Porter,
Daniel Wood,
Jonathan Gifford,
William Schwartz,
Edward Crawley,
William Jeffray,
Vere Rous,
Francis Martin,
John Brooks,
Henry Wilkinson,
William Nesbitt,
John Woodin,
James Ford,
George Featherstone,
Thos. Mattison,
Joseph Antony,
Alex. Kedy,
James Fullon,
William Murray,
Louis Triquet,
William Clapham,
John Webb,
Robert Catherwood,
John Walker,
Geo. Peter DeBreg,
Richard Hollis,
Henry Sibley,
Edward O'Brien,
Henry O'Brien,
Thos. Wynne,
John Grant,
William Vanselson,
Cheyne Brownjohn,
Richard Tritton,
Edward Lukey,
Cyrus Jannin,
John Willis,
Roger Hill,
Js. Deschamps,
Robert Grant,
William McGee,
Joseph Rundel.
This affair arose from a dispute which occurred between the Government
and Captain Ephraim Cook, who had been discharged from the Commission
of the Peace by Governor Cornwallis for bad behaviour, and appears to
have been the result of party feeling.
It resulted in additional numbers being added to the bench of
Magistrates, and the Governor and Council availed themselves of this
affair to urge upon the Government the necessity of having a Chief
Justice.
The necessity of a properly organized Militia force being kept up, had
become apparent, in consequence of the continual threats of hostility on
the part of the Indians and native French; it was therefore resolved on
22 March, 1753, that a Militia should be raised and established for the
security of the Province, and a proclamation was accordingly issued,
compelling all persons (except foreigners, who were to be placed
elsewhere) between the ages of 16 and 60, to serve in the Militia.
On the first day of June, another proclamation was issued for a muster
of the Militia. Those of the south suburbs to assemble within the
pickets opposite the end of Barrington Street, near Horseman's Fort.
Those of the north suburbs, between the Grenadier Fort and Lutteral's
Fort, and those of the town on the esplanade, near the Citadel Hill.
On the 12th of April, 1753, Glaude Gisigash, an Indian who styled
himself Governor of LaHave, appeared before the Council, and having
declared his intention of making peace, terms of amity were drawn up and
signed by the Governor and the Indian Chief, on the part of himself and
his people. The terms were the same as those made with Major Cope, and
it was arranged that some of his tribe should come up and ratify the
treaty.
Governor Hopson went home on leave in the autumn of 1753, and the
government was administered by Col. Lawrence. In one of his last letters
to the Board of Trade, in reference to the disturbed state of the
country, Governor Hopson says, "Your Lordships may imagine how
disagreeable it is to me to see His Majesty's rights encroached upon,
and those encroachments openly avowed and supported by the Governors of
Canada and Louisburg, when it is not in my power to prevent it. I have
barely a sufficient force to protect the settlers from the insults of an
Indian war, under pretence of which the French take all opportunity to
commit hostilities upon His Majesty's subjects. I am informed that the
French have often been mixed among them in the expeditions, and am
convinced past doubt that they are fed and protected from our pursuit,
and are encouraged to disturb us as openly and in as great a degree as
in time of war."
There were three still houses in Halifax in 1753. Mr. Best the master
mason, and Mr. Clewley the master carpenter, having been ordered to
inspect them. The return was as follows:
Mr. Richard Bowers, 2 stills in Granville Street.
Wm. Murray, 1 still in Grafton Street, reported not safe.
Jonathan Gifford, 1 still in Barrington Street.
October 16th, Mr. John Greenwood presented a petition to the Council,
stating that he had paid passage for 12 men, 1 woman and 2 children,
foreign settlers, with the Governor's leave. They engaged to serve him
for a year, but having been removed to Lunenburg by the Governor's
orders, he lost their services; he was allowed L.79 5s., the labour of 12
men for 96 days.
Governor Hopson took leave of the Council on 26th October, and received
an address on his departure. He sailed for England on the 2nd November
following.
On the 16th November, two Indians appeared before the Council, who had
been sent from Lunenburg by Col. Sutherland. They stated they were of
the tribe of Cape Sable Indians, which consisted of about 60 people with
two chiefs; that Baptiste Thomas, one of their priests, was one of their
chiefs, and the other Francis Jean de Perisse was not a chief, but
deputed by the other chief. They stated that they had never joined with
the other Indians to molest the English; that on the contrary they had
always exhibited a friendly spirit, in consequence of which they had
never received any assistance from the French. The Council gave them
2000 pounds of bread, 3 barrels of pork, 20 blankets, 30 pounds powder,
some shot, tobacco and other articles, also two gold-laced hats for
their chiefs, and one silver-laced for the deputy.
The close of this year was occupied by the Governor and Council, in
investigation of the riots which occurred at Lunenburg, known as the
Hoffman Rebellion. It was found necessary to send Col. Monkton with a
body of regular troops to suppress the riots. Mr. Hoffman, the supposed
ringleader, was brought to Halifax and imprisoned on George's Island.
He was afterwards tried and sentenced to a fine of L.100 or two years
imprisonment.
It may be proper to advert to the religious condition of the settlement
at this period. The greater portion of the inhabitants were at this time
of the Church of England. The Protestant Germans had nearly all united
themselves to that Church, and sought missionaries from the S. P. G.
Society.
The Rev. John Breynton succeeded Mr. Tutty in St. Paul's. In 1752, he
reported that half of the population had professed themselves members of
the Church, and that the actual communicants were between 500 and 600.
Mr. Breynton established an Orphan House, and the Orphan School was
under his superintendence. In 1753, fifty poor children were diligently
instructed. Ralph Sharrock was the school-master. In 1753, the Rev.
Thomas Wood from the Province of New Jersey, was appointed to assist Mr.
Breynton, and he remained jointly in charge with Mr. Breynton until
1763, when he was removed to Annapolis.
It may here be observed, that on the establishment of Representative
Government at Halifax, in 1758, among the first acts of the Assembly,
was that for the support of Religious Worship, which contained a clause
for the free toleration of all Protestant dissenters, whether Lutherans,
Calvinists, etc., completely exempting them from all charges for the
support of the Established Church. By this act, the right of the
parishioners of St. Paul's and all future parishes, to present their own
minister to the ordinary for induction was declared, and immediately
after its publication, the parishioners of the parish of St. Paul's, in
the Town of Halifax, presented the Reverend John Breynton and the
Reverend Thomas Wood as joint Rectors, or "Rector and Vicar," as they
were called, to the Governor, who immediately went through the form of
induction, a ceremony thought necessary in order to entitle them to
privileges of incumbents. The record of this fact will be found in the
correspondence of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel at that
period.
During the winter of 1753-4, there had been no disturbance from the
Indians, and the Government availed themselves of the opportunity of
sending out proper persons to make a survey of the country around. The
winter was mild and the frost not so severe as usual or of so long
continuance. The valley of the Shubenacadie had been examined, but it
was not found available for settlement, being the principal resort of
the Indians under Cope. The Township of Lawrencetown including
Chezzetcook, had also been undertaken, and further grants of land in
that quarter of the country were sought for in the following spring.
The desertion of many of the lower orders of the German settlers at
Lunenburg is mentioned; they appear to have gone over to the French.
Governor Lawrence in his letter to the Board of Trade, August 1st, 1754,
speaking of the French, says, "They have not for a long time brought
anything to our markets, but on the other hand have carried everything
to the French and Indians."
At this time the land was being cleared for the Battery at the east side
of the harbour, the site probably of the present eastern battery. A fort
was also in progress of erection at Lawrencetown when the settlement was
progressing, not having been disturbed by the Indians. This settlement
had been formed by Governor Lawrence in consequence of the good meadow
lands at the head of the harbour, and he granted the township to 20
proprietors and built a blockhouse for their protection. But the
undertaking was not prosperous, and finally failed to answer the object
intended, owing to its exposed situation and the distance from Halifax.
The arrival of the Vulture, sloop-of-war, Capt. Kenzey, from the Bay of
Fundy, produced much excitement in the Town; she brought several
prisoners charged with murder, who were lodged in jail to take their
trial before the General Court.[33]
[Footnote 33: Mr. Nisbett was Attorney General at the time. He had been
acting in that office since the Spring of 1752.]
Benjamin Street, Samuel Thornton and John Pastree, were placed on their
trial for the murder of one of the midshipmen and a sailor of the
Vulcan. It appeared on the trial that a schooner, of which the parties
charged were part of the crew, commanded by one Hovey, belonging to
Boston or some part of New England, was found trading in the Bay of
Fundy and supplying the French with provisions, etc. Capt. Kenzey sent a
boat aboard Hovey's shallop, under the idea that he had contraband goods
on board. The crew refused to allow the man-of-war boat to come
alongside, and fired into her, killing Mr. Jolly and wounding several
others. Hovey, the master, appears to have gone below and hid himself
during the whole affair. He was discovered in his berth by the officer
in command of the man-of-war boat, after the sloop had been captured.
This affair occurred in July, 1754, and the trial took place before the
Chief Justice in Michaelmas Term of that year. This was the first
sitting at which Chief Justice Belcher presided. The three prisoners
were acquitted of the murder, but it would appear they were found guilty
of the minor offence, as they were sentenced to six months imprisonment,
and afterwards placed on board a man-of-war (1755). Joseph Hovey, the
master, was discharged, the grand jury refusing to find a bill of
indictment against him.
The following appointments were made by the grand jury in Michaelmas
Term, 1754: Gaugers of Casks, Paul Pritchard and Lewis Piers; Surveyors
of Pickled Fish, Henry Ferguson and Daniel Hills; Cullers of Dry Fish,
Charles King and E. Gerrott; Cullers of Hoops and Staves, Dennis
Heffernan and Benoni Bartlett; Surveyors of Lumber, etc., Joseph Scott
and Joseph Marshall; Surveyors of Cordwood, Samuel McClure, Josiah
Milliken and Joseph Wakefield.
On Monday 14th October, 1754, Jonathan Belcher, Esq., was sworn in Chief
Justice. The Court then adjourned to the Court House, where His
Majesty's Commission was read, appointing Lt. Governor Lawrence,
Governor General of the province. Mr. Belcher's appointment bears date
in July. At the commencement of Michaelmas Term, the following
ceremonies and procession were observed, the first of the kind ever seen
in Nova Scotia. On the first day of Michaelmas Term, the Chief Justice
walked from the Governor's house honoured by the presence of His
Excellency Charles Lawrence, Esq., Lieutenant Governor, and accompanied
by the Honourable the Members of H. M. Council, proceeded by the Provost
Marshal, the Judge's tipstaff, and other civil officers, the gentlemen
of the Bar attending in their gowns, and walking in procession to the
long room at Pontach's, where an elegant breakfast was provided, where
the Chief Justice in his scarlet robes, was received and complimented in
the politest manner, by a great number of gentlemen and ladies, and
officers of the Army. Breakfast being over, they proceeded with the
commission before them, to church, where an excellent sermon was
preached by the Rev. Mr. Breynton, from these words: "I am one of them
that are peaceable and faithful in Israel." A suitable anthem was sung,
after which they proceeded to the Court House, which upon this occasion
was very handsomely fitted up, where the Chief Justice being seated with
his Excellency the Lieutenant Governor on his right hand under a canopy,
the clerk of the Crown presented His Majesty's commission to the Chief
Justice, appointing him to be Chief Justice within the province, which
being returned, and proclamation for silence being made, the same was
read, and directions were given by the Chief Justice for the conduct of
the practitioners, and the Grand Jury appearing in Court upon the return
of the precept, were sworn and charged by the Chief Justice, and the
business of the day being finished, the Court adjourned. His Honor the
Chief Justice, accompanied and attended as before, returned to the
Governor's house. A few days after Mr. Chief Justice Belcher, the
Provost Marshal, the gentlemen of the Bar, and other officers of H. M.
Supreme Court, and the gentlemen of the grand jury, waited on his
Excellency the Lieutenant Governor, when the Chief Justice, in his robes
of office, addressed his Excellency in the name of the whole, as
follows:
"SIR,--We esteem it our indispensable duty to testify our zeal, as Chief
Justice, provost marshal, grand jurors, practitioners and officers of H.
M. Supreme Court of judicature, for the interest of this province, and
the protection of its laws, our attachment to your person, and our
respect and gratitude for your eminent services, by expressing our joy
in His Majesty appointing you to the chief command of this his dominion
of Nova Scotia. We shall ever consider it as essential to our fidelity
in the execution of the laws, to exert our most vigilant endeavors for
the ease and success of your administrations, and not only to suppress
any measures subversive of your consultations for the public good, but
at all times affectuate the means prescribed by you for the prosperity
of the province. Our solicitude for the advancement of justice under the
laws, cannot be more fervently expressed, than by the tender of our
ardent wishes for your being and happy continuance in the chief chair of
this Government."
To which his Excellency the Lieutenant Governor was pleased to make the
following answer:
"Mr. Chief Justice and gentlemen of the Supreme Court and grand jury:
"I have the highest sense of this testimony of your zeal for the public
welfare and your esteem for me. I should be much wanting in my duty if I
did not embrace this opportunity of returning my thanks for the late
pious, learned and eloquent charge from the Bench, and I doubt not,
gentlemen, but your vigilance and fidelity in the service of your
country will have its desired effect.
"While I have the power to sit in the chair, be assured the authority of
Government shall be ready to support the law, for the law, gentlemen, is
the firm and solid basis of civil society, the guardian of liberty, the
protection of the innocent, the terror of the guilty, and the scourge of
the wicked.
"CHARLES LAWRENCE."
Governor Lawrence in his letter of 12th January, 1755, says, "I am now
preparing to build three batteries of 10 guns each in front of the town,
and contemplate finishing them in good time. These batteries were
erected along the line of the shore. The middle or King's battery stood
where the Queen's wharf now is, there was another at the present
Ordnance Yard, another near the site of Fairbanks wharf, and a fourth at
the present Lumber Yard, which latter still remains."
The batteries along the front of the town were completed during the
summer of 1755, and a plan of them sent to England in June of that year.
They were twelve feet in height above high water mark, two hundred and
forty feet in length, and sixty-five in breadth. The parapet raised on
these was seven feet high, and the materials consisted of logs and
timber framed and filled up with gravel, stones, earth and sand. The
material consisted of 9500 logs of 25 feet, 1280 tons of square timber
and 25,000 tons weight of gravel and earth, the whole expense about
L.5,300. The work was commenced in January, 1755, and completed late in
the summer. 20 guns were mounted on these three batteries in July of
that year--the other batteries were afterwards added.
An attempt was made this year to involve the Government in a dispute
with the Indian tribes. Paul Laurant, an Indian Chief of the Mic-Mac
tribe, appeared before the Council on 12th February, 1755, and informed
them that he and another Indian Chief named Algamud, had set out from
Beausejour for Halifax in order to treat of peace, but that the Chief
had fallen sick at Cobequid and had intrusted him with the proposals.
They demanded the whole eastern section of the Province, from Cobequid
to Canso, to be set apart for them as feeding and hunting grounds. Being
asked what security he could give that the Indians would keep the peace,
he said he could say nothing to that, being only desired to bring in the
terms. The Council dismissed him with a promise of an answer in writing.
An answer in writing was drawn up and signed by the Governor on 13th
February, 1755, which expressed a willingness on the part of the
Governor and Council to allow them such lands as would be sufficient for
their purposes. It mentioned the perfidious breaches of all former
treaties on the part of the Indians, and where their conduct was
complained of that the Tribes themselves had disallowed all authority on
the part of their Chiefs to make such treaties, and that the Governor
and Council demanded a full attendance of Chiefs before them, with full
power to treat, before any further proceedings could be taken.
On the 3rd and 4th July, the Council was engaged with the French
Deputies, again on 14th, 15th and 28th same month.
The defence of the settlement was the next subject of deliberation and
the protection from the incursions of the French along the Bay of Fundy
and from Louisburg, both nations being at the time arrayed against each
other in open warfare.
On the 18th February, 1755, Mrs. Green, wife of Hon. Benj. Green, and
her family, Captain Horatio Gates and Mrs. Gates, with Captain Hale and
their servants and baggage, were received on board Captain Rogers' sloop
for Boston. Captain Gates had been one of the Aides-de-Camp of Governor
Cornwallis, he was afterwards a General in the American Revolutionary
Army.[34]
[Footnote 34: See Biographical note in the last Chapter.]
The loss of the Mars, a 70 gun ship, occurred off the harbour in May,
1755. It was in an easterly gale and supposed to be the fault of the
pilot. Guns and crew were all saved. The Mars rock at the western
entrance of the bay marks the spot. The guns and stores were brought to
Halifax. Admiral Holborn's letter announcing the loss of the ship bears
date the 28th May, off Halifax Harbour.
30th December, 1755, Montague Wilmot and Charles Morris, having been
appointed to the Council, were sworn in. The other members were John
Collier, Mr. Cotterell, Robert Monkton and Captain Rous.
A number of French prizes, taken by the fleet under Admiral Boscawen,
were this summer brought into Halifax. There were in these 19,998
gallons of rum and brandy.
A Mr. Ellis had for several years held the office of Governor of Nova
Scotia, and received the emoluments, but never came out. Lt. Governor
Lawrence received the appointment of Governor-in-Chief on the
resignation of Mr. Ellis, and Colonel Monkton became Lt. Governor; their
commissions were read and they sworn into office on 23rd July, this
year.
The following census of the town appears to have been taken about 1755
or 1756:--
Masters of families paying poor tax 256
Male children between 12 and 21 years of age 182
Male children under 12 291
Transient persons who pay no taxes 108
---
837
Married women 241
Girls unmarried above 12 years old 261
Girls under 12 years of age 345
Women servants 71
---
918
----
1755
The only other event of this year worthy of notice was the following
melancholy affair detailed in Col. Sutherland's letter from Lunenburg,
dated 12th September. "Yesterday," he says, "I received the melancholy
account of Mr. Payzant's house being burned in Mahone Bay, and that he
himself and other people who were with him, were killed by the Indians.
I immediately sent out an officer and party, which returned this
morning, by whom I am informed that on Payzant's Island the house is
burned, he with another young man killed and scalped, a woman servant
and child also killed and scalped near the water side. His wife and four
children missing. The young man was son to a family which lived on
Captain Rous's Island. As his hands were tied the gentlemen immediately
conjectured some further mischief was done there, and on their arrival
they found the man thereto belonging, likewise scalped. It appears that
Captain Rous's is the most advanced settlement, that they first came
there and took the boy to conduct them to Payzant's." Mr. Payzant came
to this country with a strong recommendation from Mr. Pownall, secretary
to the Board of Trade. The death of James Payzant, Esquire, a clerk in
the office of the Secretary of State, of the age of 100 years is
announced in the London Gazette for 1757. This was probably the father
of the gentleman who came out to Halifax, to whom Mr. Secretary
Pownall's recommendation referred.
1756. January 26th, the term of Henry Wynne and William Manthorn's
licences of the Dartmouth and Halifax ferry having expired, John Rock
petitioned and obtained the same on the terms of his predecessors.
On the 30th June, 1757, Lord Loudon arrived at Halifax with the troops
from New York, destined for the invasion of Cape Breton.
Saturday, 16th July, 1757, His Excellency acquainted the Council that
the Earl of Loudon had this day represented to him that a fever had
broken out among the troops, under His Lordship's command, occasioned by
the great quantities of rum that were sold to the soldiers by unlicensed
retailers, and if continued must prove of fatal consequences to the
service; and unless steps were immediately taken to effectually stop the
same, he would feel himself justified in ordering all liquors found in
the possession of such unlicensed retailers to be destroyed. The Council
empowered the Provost Marshal and his deputies to enter such houses,
seize the liquors and place them in the King's store until the army and
navy departed.
On the 1st November, 1757, the grand jury of the County of Halifax
petitioned the Governor and Council on behalf of the inhabitants of the
town, that the town should be put into some state of defence "for the
preservation of the place, the inhabitants, their families and effects."
They stated that the property, etc., was insecure from the want of
proper defences; that the people were willing to assist in the work, and
intimated that if their prayer could not be heard, humbly beg that they
"may immediately know it in order to take the first opportunity of
convoying themselves, their families and effects, to a place of safety
in some of the neighbouring Colonies." A previous petition had been
presented to the Governor, to which no answer had been returned. The
names attached to the petition were, Robert Saunderson, Joseph Rundell,
John Anderson, Paul Pritchard, Hugh McCoy, Joseph Fairbanks, William
Schwartz, Robert Campbell, William Pantree, John Killick, John Brooks,
Henry Wilkinson, Walter Manning, John Slayter, Richard Catherwood,
Joseph Pierce, Alexander Cunningham, Richard Tritson, Jonathan Gifford
and Benjamin Leigh.
The boundaries of the Township of Halifax were settled by order in
Council 20th May, 1758, as follows: That until said township can be more
particularly described, the limit thereof shall be deemed to be as
follows:
To comprehend all the lands lying southerly of a line extending from the
westernmost head of Bedford Basin, across the northerly head of St.
Margaret's Bay, with all the Islands near to said land, together with
the Islands called Cornwallis Island,[35] Webb's and Rous' Island.[36]
[Footnote 35: Now McNab's.]
[Footnote 36: Now known as Lawlor's and Devil's Islands.]
Minutes of Council 21st June, 1758: Mr. Josiah Marshall proposed to
build a workhouse, 50 feet long, 20 feet wide and 8 feet high, in the
town. The timber to be laid close, with a roof double boarded and
shingled; to have 4 windows on each side, each window to have nine panes
of glass and three iron grates; to have a staircase in the entry and a
whipping post. The building to be placed on a good dry wall. Mr.
Marshall's tender for L.200 sterling, finding materials and labour, was
accepted.
To Charles Morris, Joshua Mauger and Charles Proctor, Esquires.
"Whereas, it has been thought proper to convert to the use of the
public, a piece of land called Goreham's Point and the lands next
ajacent, lying in the north suburbs of Halifax, formerly allotted to
sundry persons, who have cleared and improved the same and erected some
buildings upon them; they were directed to value the lands and
proportion each owner's extent therein, and report to His Excellency.
Dec. 9th, 1758."
This is the site of the Commissioners' House in the present Dockyard.
December 9th, 1758. Peter Marquis de Conte and Gravina, convicted for
intent to commit rape on a child under the age of ten years, was
sentenced by the Court to walk between the hours of 11 and 12 this day
from the north to the south side of the Parade, and from thence to the
jail with a paper placed on his breast with his crime inscribed thereon,
and to be confined for three months and fined thirty pounds; to remain
in jail till the same be paid. Governor Lawrence remitted the first part
of this sentence. The Marquis de Conte was a Sicilian nobleman; he had
been an officer in Goreham's Rangers.
December 29th, 1758. It appears by an advertisement of this date, that
Governor Lawrence had wells sunk and pumps erected as reservoirs against
fires, and that they had been damaged by some unknown person. His
Excellency caused them to be put in repair.
Governor Lawrence, in his letter to the Board of Trade, 3rd November,
1759, mentions that the masonry of Sambro Light House had been some time
finished, and that the lantern was then in progress of erection. That a
chart of the harbour was also in progress, as also proper directions for
piloting in ships with safety. Copies of these directions were enclosed
in his letter.
It appears that in the year 1758, the Governor appropriated out of the
old crown duty money for the Light House L.1,000, for the Work House
L.500, for the Church L.400, and for the Meeting House L.100.
Again in 1760, for the Light House L.987 5s. 5d.
" 452 10 10
" 635 6 8
---- -- --
L.2075 2s. 11d.
For the Work House L.5,456, for the Church L.350 18s. 6d., Meeting House
L.174 0s. 4d., Jail L.208 11s. 9d.
Captain Rous was placed in charge of the Light House, a post which he
occupied for many years. This was not Captain John Rous, the member of
Council, but a relative of his from New England.
21st December, 1758. The Governor and Council appropriated the sum of
L.400, raised by duties on liquors, towards the church in Halifax, under
the direction of Benjamin Green, John Collier, Charles Morris, Robert
Saunderson and Henry Newton, commissioners for that purpose.
[Extract of letter from Louisburg, June 9th.]
"Admiral Saunders, with the squadron under his command, arrived in good
condition on the 21st April off Louisburg, but on account of ice
blockading the harbour, was obliged to bear away on the 26th for
Halifax, whence he arrived on the first of May."
June 16th, 1759. Peter Marquis de Conte and Gravini, was released from
his imprisonment, he having paid his fine. This gentleman died at
Halifax. His will is recorded in the probate office.
Thursday 16th August, 1759, William Cotteral, Robert Grant and Montague
Wilmot, Esquires, Councillors, being absent from the Province, the
Governor appointed Richard Bulkeley, Thomas Saul and Joseph Gerrish, who
were this day sworn in and took their seats.
February, 1760, two Indian Chiefs attended the Council, and were
presented with laced blankets, laced hats, etc. They were informed that
the same would be sent to the Chief of the St. John's Indians, and that
the treaty of peace would be ready to be signed to-morrow, and if the
wind was favourable they should embark on Sunday.
In Council 11th March, 1760, the Governor appointed the Hon. Jonathan
Belcher, Benjamin Green, John Collier, Charles Morris, Richard Bulkeley,
Thomas Saul and Joseph Gerrish, Esquires, and William Nesbitt, John
Duport, Joseph Scott, John Creighton, Sebastian Zouberbuhler, Edward
Crawley, Charles Proctor and Benjamin Gerrish, Esquires, to be justices
of the peace for the town and county of Halifax. Charles Morris, John
Duport, Joseph Scott, Joseph Gerrish and Edward Crawley, Esquires, to be
justices of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for the county of
Halifax, to the several of whom His Excellency then administered the
oath requisite.