I we -. .

Capt. Holland's Survey

Reviewed

In Detail C. Harvey

By Profi D.

(Continued from Page l)

5t, John's Island, because of ‘its restricted area and limited r5- sollrcca. did not loom as largo, ln ms imagination of an eighteenth century imperialist as it does in the affections of a native Island- ... of the present day. Conso- quently, while it profited by or gulleréd from tho speculations grid theories of the Board of Trade. at that date an efficient bpdy, the Island itself had no in- fluence upon general policy. It was regarded as a natural annex or Nova Scotia, and treated as such. References to it in both the Treaty of Paris and the earlier de- liberations of the Board of Trade were casual and incidental. until attention had been called to it 5p0CiflcRl1y by interested parties, who wished to evade the restric- tions imposed upon them by the Proclamation of 1753 and to spec- ‘ulnte in land. Then and for a short time only it was lifted out of ob- scllrity and given undue attention; for, if the terms oi the Proclam- ntion had been rigidly adhered‘ to. and 1r the warning from previous wholesale grants oi land had been taken to heart. the Island would in all probability have been spared s century of discouragement. though not oi-discontent; but. at the same time. it would never have been a separate colony, with what- ever advantages and disadvantages that has meant in the develop- mcnt of Island character.

But the fates decreed otherwise. No sooner had the Proclamation bccn issued than the land-grab- hing instincts of the eighteenth ______,*“‘__ _Z_ZT ._-i

VIRTUAL CLEA

(Continued from Page 1)

for n seat in Edmonton. Everyone of the prominent members lost cut to Social Credit nominees.

Defeat of the U. I". A. admin- istriltion came with more severity than it handed out in gaining poll-er. Guided by Henry Wise Wood, thefarmels Party was the first to achieve success in any Canadian" Prifvin when 2t ousted m» 2l-;,'ea1'~0ld , berll adminis- tration in 1921. _ To f‘ ' Dominion-Party

TORONTO, Aug. flit-Very Rev. Hclvlett Johnson, Dean oi Canter- bury. Eniland. will come to Can- flflll in October to aid in organizing a Dominion-wide Social Credi Lragus, it was announced today by E. Burnham Wyllio. chairman of the Douglas Social Credit Associ- M1011 col Toronto. ’

Wyl‘ic said organization plans would bc made asrapidly asporlbls but that the new body would take no active part in the general elec- ion campaign. It was hoped. how- tvfl‘. to have candidates avsifabla for every constituency in the suc-I cccding election, fcur or five years hence.

i?‘ pnrrils

GALLANT-‘At North ‘iuslleo on August 22, 1935, to Mr. and Mrs. Frank L. Gallant (nee Hilda Gal- lant) a daughter.

LACEY-At‘ the Charlottetown Hospital. Aug. is, mo, to. Mr. and Mrs. Wlm. Lacey, North River. a 8011.

blrGREGOR-At the Uhlrlottl- town Hospital, Aug. l8, 1985, to Mr. rélld Mrs. Roy McGregor. a daugh- Ci‘.

lvlAOAltTl-lUE-In this city. Aug. 2:, to Mr. and Mrs. ‘rheod-re Mac- Arthur. a daughter.

lilrflEE-At the Charlottetown Hrlspltll. Aug. l9. i095. to Mr. and fill-s. ‘truest McGee, City, s. daughter.

WHITE-On Tuesday, August l8. 19:45, to Mr. and Mrs. Mark White, ll daughter, Ruth Adele. DILLON-At the Charlottetown Hospital, Aug. 31. 1055. to Mr. and M ». Reginald Dillon, a __daughter. “'"—-~m.____..._

DEATH!

PAINTER-At the" P. m. Island Hospital on Friday, August 38rd, Anus Painter, aged 15 mfllthl. dmlwhter of Mr. and Mrs. Lorne Painter. Funeral from the resi- drllrc of hor grandparents. W- 511d Mls. m. Dennis. as Pnssmore 5t. cn Sunday. August 25. service fil-lrting at a o'clock. Interment Rapids Cemetery.

l I vi memory of little Donnie Minna: and Mrs. isles Mn- Laren, " ants! llltlua, who dwarfed this life Alglsl ll. 1006.

We know that Godhsdwarllcll him lnflssvarlbgiadsascfnshcalsla Tobe the Islhafs little III“ WeaisohnowGodknowotbbasl. in with oann as

sflsby Ill llllh In“ God's family clllll all complete.

lnsoriedlvillslmhslliaal Utlllitlt.

N.D. Mad-son

century forced themselves into prominence; and. during the next four years, the Privy Council was deluged with applications for lsnd in the Island. varying in quantity from the Right Honourable, the Earl of Egmont. who wanted it all

ing less. to Midshipman Zachary Macaulay, who asked for only 2,000 acres. At the end of the contest. neither Mr. Macaulay nor lord Egmont received any land in the Island; but the principle had been adopted of making much larger grants than the Proclamation had called for; and very inadequate steps had boon taken to secure bona fide grantees who would give their utmost attention to perman- ent and speedy settlement.

French Ascendsncy

‘Phroughollt the entire period of French ascendancy. when Louis- ‘bourg was in its glory, their ex- ciusion from the valuable fisheries of the Gulf oi St. Lawrence had been regarded as a serious handi- cap by the New Englanders; and. prior to the acquisition of St. John's Island, both British and Colonial officials had made ex- aggerated reports of the popula- tion and resources of that island. In the summer of 1763 interlopers had been making depredations up- on the white pine forests-of Three Rivers. employing the few remain- ing Acadians to cut masts and timber, One Bmothurst asserted that he was the first Briton who had attempted a fishery on the Island oi St. John, that he had raised two store-houses at St. Peters, had employed moat of the Acadians in this fishery. and had brought a crew from Marblehead in New England to cause an emu- lation. During the same summer s. number of London merchants had applied for lands in the Island with a view to exploiting the fisheries.

All these facts and fancies, to- gether with pressure brought to bear upon them "from men oi high rank," caused the Board of Trade suddenly to recommend withholding grants of land in the two islands of Cape Breton and St-John. until fuller information could be obtained as to their re- sources, although everything was to be done in themeantimc, to eh- courags the fisheries. Accordingly, in November 1763, Governor Wil- mot of Nova Scotia was instructed to promote and encourage the fishery, to have-s survey made oi these two islands, to transmit the fullest information he could ob- taln, but not to grant any lands or privileges that might operate as a mmopoly until he had received particular orders from home.

Holland Receives Commission

But before Governor Wilmot had time to gather any adequate know- ledge of these two islands the British Government had decided to undertake a general survey of all its territory in America: and. on March I3, 1754, commissioned Captain Samuel Holland as Sur- veyor-Gcneral of the district north of the Potomac River. and in. structed him to begin with St. John's Island (on account of the fisheries), after proceeding to Quebec to make the ecessa y ar- rangements for the survey. Lieu- tenants Robinson, Haldimand, and Carleton and Thomas Wright were appoi ‘ as his assistants; and an armed merchant vessel of 200 tons, the Canceaux, manned by 40 men, under command of Lieu- tenant Henry Mowat was placed at his service.

Holland arrived in Quebec, from England, early in August. ’I‘hera he met Captain Dean of the Mer- maid. who had visited the Island during the summer, and was ad- vised by him to take "all sorts of material snd provisions with him. as there was nothing left on the Island but a detachment posted at Port Amherst who were indiffer- sntly provided and could not fur- nish himself and his staff with lodgings." The truth of this de- scrlption Holland was soon to 00n- flrm by experience.

Arrival on Island

I-Is arrived on the Island early in October. Fort Amherst itself did not impress him. He described it as a poor stockaded redoubt. with barracks scarcely sufficient to lodge the garrison-tho houses nosi- it having been pulled down to supply material to build it. H5 had to build winter quarters for himself at Observation Inlet, now Holland's Cove. a loot in tho weeds, nssr theshore. when he put up an old frame of a barn which he covered with such mater- ial 5| he had brought with him and some boards collected from the ruins oi old harsh noises.”-

The lions or win r, “um- will; his negotiations with Captain Hill of the Ind Lieutenant Mont of the Canol-

‘Ace vwv

and would be content with noth- .

_ Woolf Ellii Specials

Chuck Roast lb. 12c Rump Roast lb. 15c

Sirloin Roast lb. 17c - Corned Beef . . . . . . .. lb. 10c

Corned Hooks . . .

.. lb. 7c Corned Tongues

lb. 12c

Lamb Legs lb. 20c Lamb Fronts lb. 15c Lamb Chops lb. 22c EXTRA SPECIAL Tomatoes (Lynn Valley) 8 for . . . . . ..

23c

uu-s...

Peanut Butter, 25 oz. jar 29¢

E- S. MDORE

o++++4+o++oo+wo+~ H-y”

aux, both of whom had tn b9 m. structcd as to their duties by higher auhorities, occupied his time until December 8th when he moved into his house. The early winter was spent ill astronomical observations, in keeping meterolo- gicslrecords and in drawing plans of his work in Canada so that the serious work of the survey was not undertaken until Februa-y 15, 1765, when four parties were organized under Holland and his assistants; and then the work proceeded rap. idly being finished by the fclfow- ing autumn. As much of this work was done in the winter and spring months, it is not difficult to under- stand why there were latcr dis- putos as to boundary lines of the various townships. "Our travelling wiqvipsse." he says. "consists of a sledge a foot in breadth. by six 1°" 1" ""1891. upon which are our beaver skin coats, a buffalo or bell‘ 5km. a blanket, canteens

drawn by a single dog, which we have purchased for that purpose from the Aoadians, but as the chainmen. not being able to carry ~tholr plDV1S10l1&—\Vhl0h the rest of the party ale obliged to do-I have found it absolutely necessary on that account, and in order to receive proper information, to hire an Acadian for each of the gentle- men.’

Maps Completed

Holland's maps and detailed description of the Island. lot by lot, were sent home in the autumn of 1765, the large plan with Licut. Robinson via Three Rivers, and a smaller plan via Halifax. These plans were duly received and be- came the basis of the distribution of lands two years later. On them he received warm compliments from Office, which drew from him the following poetic reply: "I can assure you it rvlved my spirits, and gave ma new strength to on- dure the fatigue I at this time underwent, as it was the first news of the arrival of my plans, add to this the remaining con- tents, made me climb the locks. and wade the waters, without thinking of danger or weariness."

Holland's survey is of funda- mental lmportance for those who wish a picture of the Island when it came within the British lihnpilc- l-lls maps and the tabulated des- cription of the various lots are preceded by a general description which was written by Holland himself and is free flom the dc- fects of later accounts which have been marred by the prejudices and policies of those who gave them. This‘ general description was pub- lished in full ln the Prince Ed- ward Isiand Magazine, Volume Ill, pp. 121 and 160. Time will not per- mit me to quoio from it but s word must be said about the more particular description.

Dcscrlntion by Lot

From the detailed description. lot by lot. it appears that there were only 398 French houses still standing, practically all of which were unienantable, 9 mills, two churches. and a decayed French battory on the Hillsborough. Of cleared lands Holland records 11.- 230 acres: but of these 2.000 acres. roughly one fourth, are listed as Only partly cultivated; while in his general description he spoke of all the cleared land as much overgrown with weeds and small trees It had been the custom during the French-occupation to plant in burnt soil as an aid to clearing, and frequently there was land to plant for which no seed was proourable. It is not surpris- ing. therefore, to find that seven years after the deportation of the French the wilderness had so fully ro-establishcd its claims. however tragic it may be in the light of Trench endeavor and however sad the commentary may be upon British efficiency. Curiously on- cugh, in the last detailed census that has survived the French reg- ime (l753) almost an identical proportion 5f this land is recorded as burned land. apparently not yct cleared, or in the language of the local pioneer. not yet stumped.

In his correspondence of this period Holland mentions meeting Lieutenant Burns of the 45th Ragt- who hsd conveyed his family and servants to tho Island, had built

a dwelling house and barn. and ltochedatraot ofland nssrSt.

0700 ‘Pill?!

lmll Ircvs IIIII -,,",,,°.,"°§.3.'.7.. in“ mm slum Ilanclll *4" “°.“‘_ ‘If. g as‘? DANUI:

Corned Neck Ribs lb. 7c-

and about B days’ provisions, each.

they substituto d: fish in its l! I

place. this, with now and I little salt meat. which t wt in exchange for game of far-

ent kinds, is their chief sup- port; and frequently are in distress and want even cf se- Theig poverty, however. 508w- times obliges them toiet the better of their idleness Ind forces them out upon the chase- ':l which for the molt part they are very capable, Illl-UBIIID of gzeat. skill in their deception to seduce wild fowls, who though here in great plenty are vary shy and difficult of ssceu. They are in the chase 0f martial and

Petitions for Grunts

Between 1755 and 1757 the Board of Trade had to consider petitions for grants of land in the Island of Et- John. came from merchants who had already attempted or‘ were planning to trade and to exploit the fisheries than: from officers of the army and navy who had served in America and were looking for a generous appreciation of the dangers to which they had been exposed in adding to the rs- aources oi the Empire and from "men of high rank," who, ol- though they had not risked their lives. were supposed to have done some service to the state, and bc- cause of their rank were hoping to exetclse a disproportionate in- fluence upon public policy.

Among the petitions from mer- chants the most intonsting are those from Musrs. Mure, Spence, Mill. and Caihcart of London. In June, i758, they had applied for land as an encouragement for the prosecution of the fisheries and had made such progress with the Board of Trade as to secure a promise from Lord Hillsborcugh that he would rcczr [land to the Council a grant of four townships in the vicinity of St. Peters and Three Rivers; but the next day they were informed of n memorial from Lord Esmont. who asked rol- the whole Island; and, deeming it prudent, they consented .0 assoc- iate themselves with him lest in the probable event of his applic- ation being successful they should be excluded altogether. Relying on the wisdom of this arrangement, in the summer of 1754 they fitted out two llessals and embarked 70 men for the fisheries under Cap- ialn David Higgins "and Robert BB-lmon. The fisheries miscarried; Captain Hill refused to let the men cultivate land or build huts until permission llad been obtain- ed from Governor Wllmot oi Nova Sootia, when 80 men were lei: on the Island and accommodated for the winter. The expedition crst the merchants £1000: and, when Lord Egmont/s proposal had been rejected and they thought of re- verting to their original agree- ment, they were informed by Lord Hiilsborough that this agreement had been broken by their assoc- iation with the Earl. They pet- itioned the Council for redress; and, a!though the Board oi Trade advised rejecting their petition, they finally won consideration in that they were granted Lots 40 and 59 bsfore the remaining lots were drawn for, in July. 175,7. For this grant there was some just]. ficatlon. as these merchants had at least proved their enterprise and sincerity by making some ef- fort to develop the fisheries, al- though it would appear that with the exception of Spence none of them ever ventured in person to the Isl .nd. s

The Egmont Memorial

The officers of the army and navy were at first inclined to be satisfied with the mtricted grants that were offend by the Proclam- atlon of October. 1758. until they wens c. rriod of.’ their foot by the memorial of Lord Egmont, First Lord of the Admiralty.

When the controversy as to what should be done with the con- quered territories in America was at its height, Lord Egmont had elaborated a general plan by which these territories should be divid- ed into provinces of eighteen mil- lion acres each, these provinces should be subdivided into counties of two million acres each, and the counties into hundreds, marlot-s and freeholds, to be granted to DBCFB. mat comm s- eminent merchants, and others-

As part of this general plan he submitted a memorial to the King, in i753, praying for s grant in fee of the whole Island of It. John, of which he should he Lord Prop- rietor. The memorial was very carefully drawn; 1nd specified subdivisions on s feudal basis. that pnsupposed an ares of two million acres, so as to provide for 40 osp- itsl lords, (00 lords of msnors. B00 fleeholdors. number of bu", lndsoccagetsnsnts. Though the unstable lord Hilisbolough seems to have temporarily savored the plan, it ran counter to the views that were hold at this time

13, 1704. that body made a very abls criticism of 10rd Egmontb proposal. which deserves attention both as a clear statement of policy based upon experience and as a conlmentsry upon the final disposal of the lands in St. John's Island when "influence" hld hsd its effects. Of this criticism I can m“ only one paragraph, as fol-

We have examined his ship's malarial with the greatest can sad attention and obslrvc that tbs constitution of gonna

s!

Gvmcsvlcr‘

jasty to comply with his lord- ship’: sawmi-

Abpeal To The King

"Though this memorial of Lord

lgmont was rejected, it had secur-

ed the support of s number of cf-

ficcrs, merchants, and members of

parliament. who hoped to be in-

cluded in the grant. Again, they

appealed to the King and he refer-

red the petition once more to the

Board of Trade. who by this time

felt that they had to bid against the

Earl on behalf of their own plans.

Accordingly on March 38. 1706. they

submitted the plan ‘which Captain

Holland was to follow in laying out

the Island in townships of 00,000

acres each; and recommended that

when‘ tho survey should have been

completed tbs Earl and his associ-

ates should be given regular indiv-

idusl grants under the same regula-

tions and conditions oi cultivation

and settlement as had been pre-

scribed for grants of land in other

parts of Nova. Scotia, regard being

had to the intentions and abilities of the several melnorialists as well as to the Proclamation of October 1703; but with the exception of the Earl and his nine children. who might be given a whole parish. no one person should receive s larger grant than 20,000 acres. In bidding against the Earl, however, they ra- comme ’ ‘ that a higher quit rent than the usual two shillings per hundred acres should be exacted .- from the grantees of the Island, ow- ing to its greater fertility. Thus. the Earl of Egmont may be held in- directly responsible for the fact that the Island was ultimately saddled with a higher quit rent than Nova Scotia, and with a modified form of proprietary government; for had it not been for his persistence there might have been no departure from the reasonable terms of the Pro- clamation of October 1763.

Modified llojcctlon

This modified rejection of Lord Egmonth memorial was approved by order-in-council on May 0, 1704, and all persons applying for land in the Island were directed to make individual application to the Board of Trade; but the “man of high rank" who had been associated with Lord Egmont were not to be so ens,- ily disposed of. Admiral Knowles, Sir Charles Saunders, Sir George Rodney, Richard Spry. Bu, on be- half of themselves and other offic- ors and merchants petitioned for a grant cf the whole Island of St. John to be divided among them in lots of 20.000 acres each. This peti- tion was rejected on May l4, 1784; and the memoriaiists were again in- structed to make individual applic- ations to the Board of Trade. Though this was then done, in the following year Sir Charles Saunders, Admiral Koppel and "diverse other sea and land officers, merchants. bankers, and gent‘ " petitioned for a review of tn; proposal of Lord Egmont and his associates: and it was not until April 13, 1757, that this monopolistic and strictly feu- dal plan was finally rejected. .