History of Halifax City Part 6

The order of the procession on this occasion was as follows:--1st, A Company of Grenadiers; 2nd, Constables of the Town; 3rd, Magistrates; 4th, Civil Officers of Government; 5th, Constables; 6th, The Provost Marshall with two deputies on horseback; 7th, a Band of Music; 8th, Constables; 9th, The Commander-in-Chief of the Province, the Honorable Jonathan Belcher, with Admiral Lord Colville and Colonel Foster, commandant of the Garrison, and the members of His Majesty's Council; 10th, the Speaker and the members of the House of a.s.sembly, followed by the princ.i.p.al inhabitants. At three o'clock the company waited on the Commander-in-Chief at Governor Lawrence's head tavern, where a very elegant entertainment was provided for them, and after dinner His Majesty's health was drunk under Royal Salute from the Batteries, also other toasts, and the evening concluded with great rejoicings and illuminations, bon-fires and artificial fire works, played off by the Royal Artillery. A sermon was afterwards ordered to be preached (13th February, 1761) in St. Paul's Church, on account of the decease of the late King, and all public amus.e.m.e.nts were ordered to cease for one month from that day. The 17th was accordingly set apart and the sermon preached by the Rev. T. Wood, the Curate. Part of St. Paul's church was hung in black, and minute guns were fired for an hour and a half, and the flags on the Citadel and George's Island were half-mast during the day.

On the 11th day of February, 1760, two Indian Chiefs of the Pa.s.samaquoddy and St. John River tribes, came to Halifax with Colonel Arbuthnot and appeared before the Council, and by their interpreter, settled with the Governor terms of peace, renewing the Treaty of 1725 and giving hostages for their good behaviour. At their request truck houses were established at Fort Frederick. Benjamin Gerrish, John Collier and Thomas Saul were appointed a Committee to prepare the Treaty in French and English, which was to be taken back with them to be ratified by their tribes. It was arranged that Colonel Arbuthnot should accompany them, and that they should be sent back at the public expense, after which His Majesty's health was drunk and the Chiefs returned to the quarters a.s.signed them by the Governor. On the 13th the Treaty was ratified in Council and the Indians and the Governor and Council settled the table of the prices to be established at the truck houses. The Indians stated that the number of their tribes, men, women and children, was about 500. During the sitting of the Council on the 13th, Roger Morris, one of the Mic-Mac Indians, appeared and brought with him three Frenchmen who were lately arrived from Pictou, and another Indian called Claude Renie, who said he was Chief of the Tribe of Cheboudie Indians.

He stated that he had left 70 of his people at Jeddore; the men were out killing moose and their families were in want of provisions. It was arranged that provisions should be sent to them and that the men should forthwith come up and conclude a peace.

Treaties of peace were afterwards concluded on 10th March following with three Mic-Mac Chiefs, viz., Paul Laurent, chief of the Tribe of LaHave, Michael Augustine, chief of the Tribe of Richibucto, and the before-mentioned Claude Renie, chief of the Cheboudie and Musquodoboit Indians; the treaty was signed in Council on that day and they received their annual presents. Another treaty of peace was signed in Council on 15th October, 1761, with Jannesvil Peitougawash, Chief of the Indians of the Tribe of Pictock and Malogomish, and the merchants and traders were notified that the Indian trade to the eastward would be thrown open under regulations in the following spring. The following summer Joseph Argunault, Chief of the Mongwash Indians, with a number of followers, appeared before the Council and executed a final Treaty of peace. The members of Council and Legislature, with the Magistrates and public officers, attended on the occasion.

The Abbe Mallaird being introduced, interpreted the treaty to the Chief, who was then addressed by the Hon. Mr. Belcher, the Commander-in-Chief.

The treaty was respectively signed by the Commander-in-Chief and the Indian Chief, and witnessed by the members of the Council present, the Speaker of the a.s.sembly and Mr. Mallaird.[41] The Chief then addressed Mr. Belcher in the following manner: That he had formerly paid obedience to another King, but that he now acknowledged King George 3rd for his only lawful Sovereign, and vowed eternal fidelity and submission to him; that his submission was not by compulsion, but that it was free and voluntary with his whole heart, and that he should always esteem King George 3rd as his good father and protector. That he now buried the hatchet in behalf of himself and his whole tribe, in token of their submission, and of their having made a peace which should never be broken upon any consideration whatever. The Chief then laid the hatchet on the earth, and the same being buried the Indians went through the ceremony of washing the paint from their bodies, in token of hostilities being ended, and then partook of a repast set out for them on the ground, and the whole ceremony was concluded by all present drinking the King's health and their Haggas. This ceremony is said to have been performed in the Governor's garden, westward of the old English burial ground, where the Court House now stands. Benjamin Gerrish, Esquire, was appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and additional truck houses were built and other arrangements made throughout the Province for more effectually carrying on the Indian trade.

[Footnote 41: NOTE.--This doc.u.ment is not to be found among the papers preserved in the Secretary's office at Halifax.]

On the 30th December, 1760, Malachi Salter, Alexander Grant, Jonathan Binney and John Burbidge were appointed Justices of the Peace for the Town of Halifax. Mr. Burbidge was a member of a.s.sembly; he afterwards removed to the country and settled in Cornwallis township, where his descendants now remain.

The French having invaded the British settlements in Newfoundland, and captured the fort of St. John, a council-of-war was called at Halifax, for the purpose of consulting on means of the defence of the town in case of an attack. This Council was composed of Lt. Governor Belcher, Col. Richard Bulkely, Halifax Militia, Major General Bastead of the Engineers, Col. William Foster, Lt. Col. Hamilton, Lt. Col. Job Winslow, and the Right Honorable Lord Colville, commander-in-chief of the squadron. They met on the 10th July, 1762, and continued their sittings until 17th August. They recommended to Government the embodying a portion of the militia force, and that the Batteries on George's Island, Fort George, Point Pleasant and East Battery should be put in repair and guns mounted, and the erection of such works around the town and at the Dockyard as might be considered necessary for the protection of the place. The whole to be placed under the superintendence of General Bastead of the Engineers. Some of the old works were put in repair and others added on this occasion, but the cause of alarm having subsided, further expense was deemed unnecessary.

At the first settlement it had been found necessary to occupy not only every elevated position in the vicinity, but also large s.p.a.ces around the town as at first laid out, for the purposes of defence and other military objects. After the necessity for those defences had ceased, it frequently occurred that the military commanders would lay claim to the grounds as military property, and in this way obstacles had continually arisen to the extension of the town, a grievance which has continued to be felt until the present time. Those whose duty it was to plan and lay out the town appear to have been guided more with a view to the construction of a military encampment than that of a town for the accommodation of an increasing population. The narrow blocks and small dimensions of the building lots have been found to be a continual drawback on the comfort, the health and the convenience of the inhabitants, and of late years these inconveniences have been severely felt in the business parts of the city. This, however, was not the case in laying out the north and south suburbs; here the lots were of ample dimensions, and though the streets were not of the width frequently met with in modern cities, yet of sufficient dimensions to ensure comfort.

It is to be regretted that the town and city authorities, during the last 35 years, have not, as in other places, exerted their authority in the arrangement and laying off of building lots, and by wholesome regulations, prevented the crowding of buildings on pieces of land not sufficiently deep to admit of proper ventilation. It is also a matter of the utmost importance to the future welfare of the city that those lands now in the hands of the military and naval boards in various directions around the city which are not immediately required for military works should be handed over to the Civil Government for public promenades and other useful purposes.

July 18th, 1768. The Chiefs of the tribes of Indians of St. John's River, named Pierre Thomas and Ambroise St. Aubon, appeared before the Council with the following requests: They said the use of rum and spirituous liquors was too common among them, and requested that a remedy might be thought of to prevent it. They also required lands for cultivation, and that they should not be required to bear arms in case of war with any of the European powers. That some further regulations of prices in their traffic should be made, and several other matters, all of which appear to have been granted them. They desired to return home as soon as possible, that their people might not be debauched with liquor in the town.

This year (1768) Mr. Joshua Mauger retired from the office of Agent of the Province in London. Mr. Mauger came up from Louisburg with the army and resided in the town as a distiller of rum, and followed the camp for several years. He received grants of land from the government in various parts of the province. The bench at the south-west extremity of Cornwallis Island, now known as McNab's Island, was named after him. Mr.

Mauger was afterwards elected a member of the British Parliament.

In the month of May of this year was presented to the Legislature the celebrated revolutionary doc.u.ment known as the Ma.s.sachusetts or Boston Letter. This was a letter addressed by Speaker Cushin of the House of Representatives at Boston, to the Speaker of the a.s.sembly in Nova Scotia. It bears the date February 11, 1768, and was on the subject of the differences existing between the British Government and the American Colonies, then on the eve of revolt. This letter is couched in very moderate but firm language; it appears to have been received, however, with great indignation by the House, who declined to have it read. A memorial was presented to the Governor and Council in March, 1767, by Colonel Dalrymple, then commander of His Majesty's troops at Halifax, complaining of the undue occupation of grounds about the town, on which there had been palisaded forts and lines of defence. It appeared that Governor Lawrence had granted certain small tracts of land on which a palisaded line of defence had formerly been, and that such tracts of land could not be supposed to come into use on any future occasion for fortifications. That Colonel McKellan of the Engineers had advised the situation of the Work House with an enclosure, in the front of said line, and that a whole bastion of two curtains of Lutterell's fort were covered by it, and that Governor Lawrence had further laid out more of such grounds on which part of the palisading of Horseman's Fort formerly stood, all of which it appeared he did by an undoubted right of the power given him by the King's Commission, to erect and demolish fortifications, and therefore to convert the ground to other uses, it being no more serviceable for the former purposes. But it also appeared that none of the Barracks were ever granted or admitted into private occupation. That Governor Lawrence had admitted the occupation of some of the ground reserved for fortification, on condition it should be surrendered when the King's service should again require it, by which it was evident that the King's rights in their lands had been sufficiently secured. Horseman's fort occupied the ground in the vicinity of the present Roman Catholic Cathedral. Lutterell's fort stood where the old Poor House and County Jail formerly stood. In June, 1763, the Council recommended the Governor to make a grant of the Common for the Town of Halifax to trustees for the benefit of the inhabitants. The Trustees were John Collier, Charles Morris, Richard Bulkeley, William Nesbitt, Charles Proctor and Richard Best. Some question having arisen as to the limits of the common, the Council were unanimously of the opinion that the lands which had been granted without the town were not within the limits of the Common as appeared by the plan thereof laid before the Lords of Trade, and which had not been disapproved of by their Lordships. No copy of this plan is now to be found.

The number of families residing in and around the town in 1763 was estimated at 500, which would make the population about 2500 souls.

There was also supposed to be, at this time, about one thousand Acadian French in and about the town.

In June, 1763, the Hon. Montague Wilmot was sworn in Lieut. Governor in place of Mr. Belcher. In the following year he received the appointment of Governor-in-Chief.

On the 29th day of September, 1766, the Germans, who had been located to the west of the peninsula, the settlement now known as the Dutch Village, pet.i.tioned the Government that a convenient road should be laid out for them to their settlement. The Surveyor was ordered to report on the pet.i.tion. He reported that he found the road from the north German lots to the southward of George Bayers' stone wall, now laid out, in the most convenient place, and that the road should be at least four rods wide. That from George Bayers' stone wall the road should be on the south side of said wall and thence to run until it meets the public road leading to the town.

About this time, at the request of the Magistrates, the Hospital was granted for an alms house. This hospital was established very early for the use of the settlers, and stood on part of the land now occupied by the Government House, to the north of that building.

The church of St. Paul's had now been for some years finished, and the Town and vicinity had been, by an Act of Legislature, const.i.tuted into a parish with corporate powers in the church wardens and vestry. After the death of Mr. Tutty, the Reverend Thomas Wood, from the Province of New Jersey, was appointed to a.s.sist Dr. Breynton, and he and the doctor were jointly inducted into the parish in 1758; Dr. Breynton as rector, and Mr. Wood as vicar or curate, to a.s.sist. Mr. W. continued at St.

Paul's until 1763, when he was removed to Annapolis Royal with the consent of the Governor and the church wardens and vestry, when the whole duties of the Mission at Halifax devolved upon Mr. Breynton. Mr.

B. was in the habit of officiating to the Germans in their own language.

In 1761, he preached in German and English to the small congregation in the old Dutch church in Brunswick Street, on occasion of its being dedicated as the church of St. George. In 1770, at the solicitation of the Governor and Council, the Chief Justice and the congregation of St.

Paul's, he received from the University of Cambridge the degree of D.

D., to which he was ent.i.tled from his standing in the University. Early in his ministry the Doctor established in the Town an orphan school, and provided for the tuition of 50 poor children, through the a.s.sistance afforded him by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Mr. Ralph Sharrock, a discharged soldier, was his first schoolmaster. In 1776, Dr.

Breynton mentions in his report to the Society, having administered the Lord's Supper to 500 men of the Baron de Seiltz's German regiment in their own language "whose exemplary and regular behaviour" he says, "did them great honour." The following extract from a doc.u.ment, in reference to Dr. Breynton, said to have been written by a Dissenter, is given by Mr. Hawkins, from the records of the Propagation Society: "As a person who, during a residence of upwards of twenty years in this Province, has deservedly gained the good will and esteem of men of all ranks and persuasions. He preaches the Gospel of peace and purity, with an eloquence of language and delivery, far beyond anything I ever heard in America." He lived to a good old age, preserving the esteem of his fellow townsmen to the last. He appears to have lived on terms of Christian fellowship with the clergy of other denominations, as we find that at the annual meeting of the Church Society, which took place in St. Paul's in 1770, the dissenting ministers all attended at the Church to hear the doctor preach his Visitation Sermon. One of the last acts of his ministry was the establishment of a Sunday School in the city.

This was about 1783, perhaps a little later, and was the first Sunday School inst.i.tuted in Nova Scotia.

In the month of July, 1769, a large number of Indians, many of whom at this time appear to have been Protestants, attended divine service in St. Paul's Church, when prayers were read by the Reverend Thomas Wood, in the Mic-Mac language, the Governor and many of the princ.i.p.al inhabitants being present. The Indians sang an anthem both before and after the service. Before the service began a Chief came forward, and kneeling down, prayed for the prosperity of the Province and the blessing of Almighty G.o.d on King George, the Royal family and the Governor of the Province. He then rose up, and Mr. Wood, who understood the language, at his desire explained the prayer in English to the whole congregation. When service was ended the Indians returned thanksgivings for the opportunity they had of hearing prayers in their own language.

In the following year Mr. Wood again performed divine service at Halifax in the Mic-Mac language at the residence of Colonel Joseph Gorham, where a number of Indians were a.s.sembled. He had obtained great influence with the Indians through his friendship with the Abbe Maillard, and particularly from his behaviour to him a little before his death. He was in consequence frequently called on both by the Indians and French to baptize their children and visit the sick in the absence of a priest of their own church. In one of his letters to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, in 1762, he mentions having attended the Abbe Maillard during his illness of several weeks, and at his request, the day before his death read to him the office of visitation of the sick in presence of many of the French, and having performed the funeral service of the Church of England, in French, on his remains in the presence of the princ.i.p.al inhabitants of Halifax and a number of French and Indians.

The Governor and all the public functionaries attended the funeral of M.

Maillard, who was highly esteemed and beloved in the community, and the members of His Majesty's Council were the pall bearers.[42]

[Footnote 42: It must be understood that M. Maillard did not leave the Roman Catholic Church, but there being no priest of his own persuasion in Halifax at the time, he availed himself of the pious offices of his friend, Mr. Wood, whom he no doubt esteemed as a good Christian.]

Mr. Wood was shortly after removed to Annapolis Royal, where he died in the year 1778. While there he applied himself to a closer study of the Mic-Mac language, and by a.s.sistance of papers left him by M. Maillard was enabled to prepare a Mic-Mac grammar and dictionary. He sent the first volume of his grammar, and a Mic-Mac translation of the Creed and Lord's Prayer to England in 1776. He continued occasionally to minister to the Indians in their own language until his death.

February 26th, 1769. Halifax harbour was so full of ice that vessels could not come in, which had not been the case for (says the Gazette for that day) ten years. The cold was intense, snow between four and five feet deep in the woods and on the peninsula, an instance of which had not been known for several years.

May 9th, 1769. Major Leonard Lockman died after a lingering illness in the 73rd year of his age; he was interred under the old German church in Brunswick Street, and a monument to his memory, with coat of arms, is yet to be seen in that church. Major Lockman was one of the leading settlers among the Germans. The street running between the German lots and Water Street in the north suburbs bears his name.

In the fall of this year the town was visited by a severe gale of wind from the S. W., which caused the destruction of much property and some loss of life.

Among the princ.i.p.al merchants in Halifax in 1769, the Hon. John Butler, uncle to the late Hon. J. Butler Dight, Robert Campbell on the Beach, John Grant, Alexander Brymer, Gerrish and Gray appear most prominent.

Among the shopkeepers and tradesmen who advertized during the year were, Robert Fletcher on the Parade, Bookseller and Stationer, Andrew Cunod, Grocer, Hammond and Brown, Auctioneers, Robert Millwood, Blockmaker, who advertized best Spanish River Coal at 30s. per chaldron.

The period between 1770 and 1776 was one of great public excitement, emissaries from the revolted colonies were numerous, and the Governor and Council deemed it expedient as early as 1770, to prohibit all public meetings of a political nature.[43] The same spring the general election took place, after which the House sat for fourteen years without being dissolved.

[Footnote 43: Among the various exhibitions of public feeling at this period was the erection of a gallows, on the Common, with a boot suspended from it as a token of disapprobation of Lord Bute's Government.]

In 1771, Governor Lord William Campbell issued a proclamation forbidding horse races as tending to gambling and idleness.

October 8th, 1773. Governor Legge was sworn into office.

The subject of fortifying the town came under the consideration of the Council in the following year. It was considered that the ground being rocky in many places around the town, it would not admit of entrenchments being made, and that the only practical fortifications would be temporary blockhouses and palisades, and it was resolved that the Engineers under Col. Spry do immediately proceed to fortify the Navy Yard in that manner, which may be defended by the people of the town, and afford a retreat for them. Any attempt at fortifying the Citadel Hill this season was thought to be out of the question, the season being too late, the scarcity of workmen very great, and there being no troops for its defence.

The Governor proposed and it was agreed in Council to collect a force of 1000 men with pay and provisions, and that four companies of light infantry now forming at Lunenburg be ordered up, and that 100 Acadians from Clare and Yarmouth, and two light companies from Kings County do march immediately to Halifax. The public authorities appear to have been kept in a constant state of apprehension of invasion, while a continued suspicion of many of the leading inhabitants being favourable to the revolt, seemed to have taken possession of the mind of Governor Legge, who, having differences of opinion with some of his officials, attributed their disagreement with him on subjects of finance, etc., as marks of disloyalty. He at length became so obnoxious to those in authority, that it was deemed advisable to remove him from the Government. His quarrels with Jonathan Binney, Governor Francklin and other leading men of the town, are disclosed in the official letters and minutes of Council of that day.

It was found necessary to remove the Military Stores to George's Island for safety, and additional batteries were erected there. The officers of the Town Regiment of Militia were called on to subscribe the Oath of Allegiance before going on duty. Those who subscribed were Col. Butler, Major Smith, Captains Vanput, Brown, Finney and Millet, Lieutenants Pyke, Piers, Solomon, Clarke and Fletcher, Second Lieutenants Tritton, Jacobs, Schwartz and Kerby, and Adjutant Peters. Among them we recognize several family names, the grandsires of some of our present citizens.

Among the magistrates appointed in 1771 were Joseph Gray, John Amiel and Captain Thompson of His Majesty's Ship Mermaid.

The bureau of Governor Legge, at the Government House, was broken open in 1744, and a reward of 100 was offered for the detection of the thief.

The condition of the Orphan House, and the children therein, was considered bad, and an order was issued for immediate steps to be taken for its being put on a better footing.

During the winter of 1774, Sambro Light House was without light for five successive nights in consequence of Mr. Woodma.s.s, the contractor, not having sent down a supply of oil, for which he was dismissed by Order of Council.

The following year William Nesbitt, speaker of the House of a.s.sembly, was appointed Custos of Halifax County, and the names of Thomas Bridge and Thomas Proctor added to the Commission of the Peace.

Col. Butler, commanding the militia force, reported that the sickness in the town, together with the daily labour of the inhabitants, rendered it difficult to make up the number of men ordered for the town guard, which duty the people considered a hardship. The guard was accordingly ordered by the Council to be discontinued.

The scarcity of provisions in the town was at this time so great that the government found it necessary to dispatch the Snow Elizabeth to Quebec for flour for the inhabitants.

The impressment of men for the Navy had been a great grievance; the trade of the country was not only injured, but the town was becoming deprived of fish and fuel in consequence of the scarcity of fishermen and labourers. The merchants pet.i.tioned the Governor and Council on the subject. The memorial was sent to the naval commander of the station; it does not appear, however, that any further attention was paid to the remonstrance.

In September, 1775, it was proposed to throw up some temporary works in addition to the old works on Citadel Hill, and to entrench about the naval yard. On consideration, it was thought too late in this season to do any earth work on Citadel Hill. Col. Spry, however, proposed the erection of Blockhouses in the neighbourhood of the town. It is probable the old Blockhouses at Fort Needham and Three Mile House, the remains of which are within the recollection of many of our citizens, may have been originally constructed about this time. They were in full repair during the war of 1812.

A continual influx of strangers from the old colonies caused Martial Law to be proclaimed on the 30th of November of this year, and it was deemed necessary by the Council that a proclamation should be issued requiring all persons not being settled inhabitants of the town, who had arrived since September, to give notice of their arrival and names to two Magistrates, and all inn and tavern keepers were required to report arrivals at their houses, and vessels were forbidden entering the North West Arm without license. One thousand militiamen were ordered for the defence of the town. The constant arrival of loyalist refugees from the revolted colonies, during this and subsequent years, rendered provisions scarce, and in addition to these troubles, the small-pox broke out in the town about the middle of July. The King's troops had all been removed from Nova Scotia to the revolted provinces, and the Governor was informed by the home authorities that no troops could be spared, and that the inhabitants themselves must defend the town. The town guard was accordingly again composed of militia.

1775. The fifth General a.s.sembly held this year its seventh session from 12th June to 20th July. Mr. Nesbitt was Speaker. Chief Justice Belcher presided at the quarter sessions this summer, and gave a very loyal address to the Magistrates and public functionaries present; all Magistrates and town officers took the Oath of Allegiance. The general feeling throughout the town appeared to have been eminently loyal; some of the leading citizens, however, though firm in their allegiance to the British Crown, yet thought that self government in the Colonies in fiscal matters was the correct policy. This threw several under suspicion; Mr. John Fillis, Mr. Malachi Salter and Mr. Smith, who were natives of Boston, were among the number.

Mr. Legge, the Governor, proposed to raise a regiment in Halifax, to be commanded by himself, but was unsuccessful owing to his unpopularity.