CHAPTER
III : 1784-1785
THE
YEAR 1784
Many historians, in
dealing with Louisbourg, sound the death knell of the Old Town in the year 1784, when Cape
Breton became a separate province with its own Lieutenant-Governor and council. They speak
of Lieutenant-Governor Frederick Wallet Des Barres' choice of Sydney [Spanish Harbor] as
the new capital of the island province as the one act which reduced Louisbourg to a place
of minor significance and doomed it to its fate as a petty fishing hamlet. The point seems
well made and echoes the warning of Samuel Holland in 1767 who stated that its poor soil
and disagreeable climate would mean that settlers would flock to more agreeable places
once settlement was encouraged in them. He saw the fate of Louisbourg as resting upon its
position as the "seat of Justice and publick Business for the Island".
[93] Once that
position was shifted to Sydney, Louisbourg had little powers of attraction. A new
administration meant land grants and new land policies. There was little reason to choose
Louisbourg, whose ruins did not now even offer a place of adequate accommodation.
What was the reason
for the British Government's new desire in 1784 to populate Cape Breton when it had done
so little to encourage its possibilities prior to that date? The answers seem to lie in
the American Revolution and the problem of finding homes for those in the colonies who
remained loyal to Great Britain. Cape Breton now seemed a welcome answer. Abraham Cuyler,
former mayor of Albany, New York, seems to have initiated the suggestion which was met
with enthusiastic approval and relief by Imperial Officials. [94]
He asked for the
complete island of Cape Breton or "such part thereof as your Majesty would deem
proper", backing up his petition with the urgent claim that settlement could not be
delayed much longer.
The new desire for
settlement of Cape Breton was accompanied by the second part of New British policy since
the Revolution - "divide et impera". Under this system, the provinces would be
divided into smaller units, but under the general supervision of a Governor-General.
[95] The
result was that on 10 May 1784 the province of Nova Scotia was divided into two provinces,
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and the islands of St. John [P.E.I.] and Cape Breton became
a part of Nova Scotia, but with a Lieutenant-Governor in each who was to be
"subordinate to the said Eastern-Government". [96] Major Joseph Frederick Wallet Des
Barres became the first Lieutenant-Governor of Cape Breton. [97]
The Instructions of
Governor Parr of 11 September 1784 stated that land was to be granted in Cape Breton for
very moderate fees, [98] "and all Loyalists who desired to settle there were to be given
free grants of land to conform with the land policy of Nova Scotia. It was an effort to
meet the wishes of the inhabitants of Cape Breton, as well as to advance Imperial
interests by acquiring a Loyalist population to assist in the economics, social and
political development of the Island".
Abraham Cuyler, who
apparently received consent for his petition to bring Loyalists to Cape Breton, arrived in
the fall of 1784 at Louisbourg, which was one of the planned places of settlement, to
prepare for the arrival of his "Associated Loyalists". A letter form Governor
Parr of Nova Scotia to "Abraham Cuyler, Esq., Louisbourg" on 13 September 1784
reflects the dismay Cuyler must have felt on beholding the ruined state of the town and
the difficulty then apparent in preparing shelter for the Loyalists for the winter. Parr
writes:
I am happy to hear of
your safe arrival at Louisbourg, and I hope by this time the rest of your Associates have
joined you from Quebec. Am sorry you found the town in such a ruinous state, but hope you
will be able to get the whole under tolerable shelter before winter sets in.[99]
A full account of the
"Associated Loyalists" and their 1784 winter stay at Louisbourg is found in a
report made to Governor Des Barres in February 1785 by Cuyler. [100]
On the 28th of
October the Brig St. Peter arrived at Louisbourg with part of the Loyalists, and about the
same time the Vessels Liberty and Sally arrived at St. Peter's with the residue of these
unfortunate people with a year's Provision and other stores for their supply ...
... I requested those
that arrived at St. Peter's to hut themselves for the season and those at Louisbourg are
as comfortably lodged as the distribution of the four houses that are left standing
will admit, but the article of fuel is hard to be procured - I found part of the Barracks
and Labratory yet standing, but so much destroyed that they are hardly fit to be
repaired, and it is with difficulty that I am able to preserve the remains - the beginning
of December, Alexander Grant, Peter Thompson, William Dawson, and Patrick O'Brien of the
Loyalists applied for four months Provision and some Tools in order to proceed to Catalona
in Myra Bay to procure some frames of House Timber, which with reluctance I granted them
out of the Loyalist store, and unfortunately these people with the Stores were lost on
their passage in a Snow Storm and what is most to be regretted is that the three
first were good Carpenters which proves a public loss to an Infant
Country ... [The reasons for his grief are most interesting!!].
... In the course of
my residence at Louisbourg some complaints have come before me of which I have been
obliged to take Cognizance. The first was against two New England Fishermen that had
stolen some of my Servant's Clothing. On conviction, I sentenced them to depart the Port
in 24 hours and in case of return to be whipped. The second was against a Man by the name
of Connel, who was detected in a design to abscond with a Fishing Schooner, the property
of a Mr. Dogerty, of St. Andrews in Nova Scotia. The Vessel is secured and the Culprit is
Absconded, lastly two of the Loyalists by the name of Lorraway and Grant,
who refused to admit Richard Mondaville (one of the Loyalists) into Quarters and destroyed
his bedstead which I ordered to be paid for, and on their refusal I have stopped their
ration of Provision until restitution is made.
The Inhabitants of
Louisbourg bear not the best characters, and especially a family by the name of Kenedy
is of a mischievous dispositon, and persues the mal practice of retailing spirituous
Liquors which has a bad tendency, and I wish it might be prevented until the proper system
of Government was established ...
The state of the
buildings at Louisbourg must have been bad, indeed, if only four were left standing and
part of the Barracks and Labratory in such a ruined state as to prevent any attempt at
repair. The hopes of preservation of the remains and settlement there seem to have been
shattered by the unexpected bad state of the buildings as well as the great difficulty in
obtaining fuel from the almost barren surrounding region. Settlement on the "Old
Town" was thus discouraged, and as many more attractive sites were available, there
was no need to attempt to survive in such a forbidding region. No further reports on the
Loyalist settlement at Louisbourg were evident, and as Cuyler soon became a prominent
member of the Governor's Council at Sydney, it is reasonable to assume that the bulk of
Loyalists left the ruins of Louisbourg for Sydney or other encouraging areas.
A somewhat confusing
statement is made by the Venerable Archdeacon T. Fraser Draper, Rector of St.
Bartholomew's Church at Louisbourg, Cape Breton, in his "History of the Church of
England in the Island of Cape Breton". Speaking of the Rev. Benjamin Lovell,
"Chaplain to his Majesty's forces, who had been to minister the troops at
Sydney", Archdeacon Draper says:
The Rev. Lovell
arrived late in the year 1784 at Louisbourg, and remained there all winter, and proceeded
to Sydney in the following spring. As there were still some troops living in the Old Fort
and in some of the houses which had been made habitable, and also five civilian families
who had chosen to remain at Louisbourg after the removal of the forces to Halifax, there
is no doubt but that Rev. Mr. Lovell would not spend the Sundays at least in idleness.
Archdeacon Draper
does not give the source of his information, yet it is conspicuous that he does not
mention the "Associated Loyalists" at Louisbourg during that winter. The five
civilian families mentioned seem to be a reasonable number considering that there were
only four houses standing, but exactly what "troops" he is referring to as being
in the Old Fort's houses is puzzling (unless he is referring to those who were formerly
part of the garrison) as Cuyler does not mention them in his report.
The complaint of
Cuyler concerning the bad character of the inhabitant, Kennedy, apparently brought a
response from this gentlemen in question. The council minutes of 1786 makes reference to
the "petition of Pierce Kennedy of Louisbourg to His Excellency the Governor in
Council praying to be heard by this Board respecting his Character which he Conceived was
highly injured by Abraham Cuyler Esquire in a Paper delivered by him to his Excellency the
Governor in Open Council the 12th day of December last, and sworn to by the said Abraham
Cuyler as true ..." Not only this petition but "several Papers containing
recommendations of the said Kennedy and Family Setting forth their Character in a
favorable light were read - whereupon it was unanimously agreed that this Board is not
Competant as a Court to deside [sic] upon or determine matters of Personal Slander or
Award any Relief but that he be permitted to have an attested Copy of that Part of the
Papers delivered to this Board by Abraham Cuyler, to which he alludes, in Order that he
may persue Such Measures as he may think proper or be advised".[101]
JONATHAN
JONES
One of these
"Associated Loyalists" who had connections with Louisbourg for some years was
one Jonathan Jones. He was one of the commanders of the three vessels bringing the
"Associated Loyalists" to Cape Breton. The other two commanders were Colonel
Peters and a Mr. Robertson. The Associated Loyalists, estimated to be about one hundred
forty in number, were apparently furnished with clothing and provisions by the British
Government. From Louisbourg, Captain Jones reportedly proceeded to Baddeck where he
settled. He later received grants of land at the mouth of the Baddeck River,
"consisting of what is now Jones' farm". He also had lots in the town of Sydney.
"His family waited at Louisbourg for three years, joining him as soon as he had a
home for them".
Captain Jones' father
was a Welsh gentleman who "about the middle of the last century, settled at Fort
Edward, in New York", and died just before the beginning of the American Revolution.
The eldest of seven sons, two of which were killed during the war, Jonathan became a
Captain in one of the King's Provincial regiments. The results of the war led to his
removal to Cape Breton in 1784, as has previously been indicated. "Three years later
he was appointed a magistrate for the district of Louisbourg, which included Sydney and
Baddeck".[102] He also had the distinction of being the "first foreman of a Cape
Breton Jury", during which time he is said to have been living at Louisbourg.[103] A
rather amusing incident occurred on the 11th of November, presumably in the year 1785,
when the First True Bill was returned by a Cape Breton Grand Jury,
preferring an indictment
against one John Winter for Feloneously stealing sixteen pairs of white yarn stockings, of
the value of eight shillings, two pairs of black breeches of the value of two shillings of
the goods and chattals of one Jonathan Jones of Louisbourg".[104] No further
evidence of Mr. Jones' involvement with Louisbourg was noted.
LOUISBOURG
IN 1785
Lieutenant
W. Booth, on a tour of Cape Breton with General Campbell in 1785, records the following
description of Louisbourg on August 10, indicating something of habitation:
...
The light house is above half destroyed; the Fortifications of the Place, totally
dismantled, and laid in ruins ...; some of the Casemates, on the Flanks of the Bastions,
remain in a solid state, having been originally very firm, and well constructed. After
viewing these remains, we went over the Ground ...
...
This part of the Country has now a more dismal appearance than that which never received
the hand of the Labourer. There are not more than seven or eight Families in the place,
and its environs who live, mostly by fishing.[105]
LAND
POLICY DURING DES BARRES' ADMINISTRATION
There
seems to have been only one land grant in the Old Town of Louisbourg during 1784-1787, the
period of Des Barres' actual governorship. This grant was made to none other than
"Abraham Cuyler, Esq.r of the town of Sydney" on June 24, 1786. The Crown
granted to him "all that certain Town Lott ... in the Town or Harbour of Louisbourg
... in the Breadth in Front and Rear fifty feet, and in Depth on each side One Hundred
feet, and ... Bounded as follows:
"Beginning
at the South West Corner of King Street fifty feet to a small Pile of Stone, thence North
Towards the Waterside fifty feet, thence West one Hundred feet to the Place where it first
Begun, and has such shape form and Marks as Appear by the Plot there of hereunto Anexed,
Together with Waters, Profits Commodities Appurtences and Hereditaments whatsoever
..."
There
were regulations to be met, however. A yearly payment of one farthing was to be paid to
the Crown, and "within Three years After the date hereof" Cuyler had to
"Erect on the said Lott ... a good Dwelling House to be at least Twenty feet in
Length and sixteen feet in Breadth". Another priviso of the grant was that the said
Lott ... being improved or built upon as aforesaid shall be Accounted a sufficient seating
to save for ever from Forteiture the said Lott ... and if the said Rent hereby Reserved
shall happen to be in Arrear or unpaid for the Space of One Year from the time it shall
become Due and no Distress can be found on the said Lott ... hereby Granted, or if this
Grant shall not be Duly Registered in the Registers Office for our said Island within Six
Months from the Date here of and a Docket entered in the Auditors Office for the same,
then this Present Grant shall be void and the Lott or Parcel of Ground and the Lott ...
shall Revert to Us [the Crown]. Another provision stated that if the lot passed by
"Deed of Sale, Conveyance ... Exchange or by Gift Inheritance, Descent, Device or
Marriage" to the other Inhabitants of the Island "such persons ... shall within
Twelve Months after their Entry and Possession Take and Subscribe the following
Declaration ... "I do Promise and Declare that I will maintain and defend To the
Utmost of my power the Authority of the King in His Parliament as the Supreme Legislature
of this Island and its Dependences, before some one of the Magistrates of this said
Island". This action was necessary to be assured their "Lawful" Possession
of the Lot. [106]
A
small plan [107] in the Halifax Crown Lands Office shows the Old Fortress area and the following
statement appears at the bottom of the map: "Louisbourg --- Supposed to have been
surveyed in 1784 or 1785. [signed] A. Crawley, Sur. Genl.; 1812". The plan shows the
Fortress area, designating it "Town" and the words "No. 177 Gt. Town
Lot", appear near the area of the west gate inside the walls. This may have been
Abraham Cuyler's grant. Also worthy of note is the fact that the plan shows that there
were seven grants (?) or lots laid out to be granted on the North Harbor side of
Louisbourg as well as on the extreme southern side [near the lighthouse].
Cuyler
did not keep the lot in his possession long, for on August 25, 1786, he made a lease
[108] of
the lot to Edward Rowe. Cuyler is described as a resident of Sydney and Rowe as of
Halifax. Rowe apparently was to have possession of the lot "from the date hereof for
and during the term of one year from thence next ensuing ..." The lot was described
as all that "messuage House and Lott of ground Situate lying and being in the Town of
Louisbourg ... in Breadth in front and Rear Fifty feet and in Depth on each side One
Hundred feet ... Bounded as follows - Beginning at the South West Corner of Kings Street
thence Easterly along a street that leads to the General Hospital One Hundred feet thence
North towards the Water Side fifty feet Thence West one Hundred feet to King Street Thence
South along said King Street fifty feet to the place where it Begun".
What
was the reason for so few grants under the new administration, when their instructions
were to encourage settlement? The answer seems to have laid partially in the government
administration at Sydney. Strife among the government officials at Sydney seems to have
been so extensive that people were discouraged from attempting to make a home there. In
June of 1786, Rev. Ranna Cossit, first rector of St. George's, Sydney, wrote to Dr.
Morrice the following:
Discontent,
Envy, and Malice are much more dominant here than true Religion on account of contention
of some principal men (having commissions both Civil and Military) with the governor to
the great prejudice of the settlement. These contentions, with many false reports against
the governors have kept many industrious farmers and fishermen in New England of the
Possession of the Church of England and Quakers from becoming settlers of this Island,
when they had made all preparation for doing so in order to enjoy the British Constitution
which they esteem to be the Wisdom of God and the Glory of the whole Earth.
[109]
William
Smith, Attorney-General of Cape Breton at the turn of the nineteenth century supported
Cossit's view. He explains that DesBarres and McCormick, lieutenant-governors of Cape
Breton, were opposed to an ambitious American party led by Mathews, Attorney-General,
former mayor of New York and Cuyler, Secretary of the Province, former mayor of Albany.
"To accomplish their views, they distracted the settlement by violent party
disputes". He blames them for turning the people against the governor [DesBarres] and
as a result "a country, affording very encouragement to settlers, had few
inhabitants; and so circumstanced, made small progress, as may be naturally supposed, in
its advancement".
Other
deterrents to settlement involved the actions of the lieutenant-governor. William Smith
explains that "the attorney-general and secretary of the province were entitled to
fees" [for land grants]. "To deprive them of their perquisites, the governor, by
the advice of the chief justice - a headstrong, passionate, and conceited man -
substituted licences of occupation which he wished the people to believe were preferable
to grants. Numbers offered themselves, giving Cape Breton the preference to any other part
of America, and, anxious to settle, applied for grants of land. In a very short time,
there is every reason to believe it would have been a flourishing settlement; but the
uncomfortable state of the island, from party violence and the dislike of licences of
occupation, drove the people to other settlements." [110] The governor may have had
monetary motives for the substitution of licences of occupation for land grants, for he
collected fees for the latter.[111]
The
settlers' dissatisfaction with this insecure form of tenure was expressed in a petition
and forced Des Barres to realize he could no longer delay granting lands on the island.[112]
Even then he seems to have made few grants. "Only fifty five grants of land were
given on the island during the summer of 1786, most of which were in Sydney and vicinity
[compiled from a study of the Council Minutes for this year]. Undoubtedly, Des Barres,
interested only in private speculation, treated the land question as an 'evasive issue'
and only granted lands when he was actually compelled to do so".[113] The complaints
against Des Barres finally led to his recall in 1787 and the appointment of Lieutenant
Colonel William Macarmick as the new Lieutenant- Governor of Cape Breton.
[114]
We can conclude,
then, that not only Louisbourg but all of Cape Breton suffered from lack of population due
to the administration under Lieutenant-Governor Des Barres. Louisbourg by 1787 was,
indeed, in unfavourable circumstances. S. Hollingsworth, describing Cape Breton around
1787 says: "This island contains large tracts of land that are naturally fertile, and
was once populous, at least in many of its districts, but being since abandoned, have gone
to ruin. It has within it a number of excellent harbours, and among others, that of
Louisbourg, which till very lately, was in a state of desolation ..."
[115]
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