Читать книгу Under the Lily and the Rose - Arthur G. Sir Doughty - Страница 4

Table of Contents

In 1783 Great Britain acknowledged the Independence of the United States, and the boundaries of Canada were changed. Canada had to the south of her an Independent Republic composed of men who boasted that they had thrown off the yoke of England, and yet found no better model for their laws than that of the nation they despised. Not all the colonists, however, agreed to acknowledge the new Republic. They preferred to live under the British flag. These Tories, or Loyalists as they were called later, were drawn principally from New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, while a few came from Virginia, where the influence of Washington was greatest. Washington, the British officer, who six months before had said “to join in a measure in favour of Independence is wicked,” was now President of the Republic.

ON THE BEAUPORT ROAD

Walter Baker

For various motives, therefore, the people left the colonies and took up residence in Canada. Many of them had suffered persecution at the hands of the mob; their homes were broken into, and they were tarred and feathered. In fact there was an organisation under Sullivan for stamping out loyalty. “It is utterly impossible to leave exposed to the violence of the Americans men of character whose only offence has been their attachment to the King’s service,” wrote Carleton, and so they were offered homes in Nova Scotia and Quebec, and a commission was appointed to award compensation for their losses. The Americans thought the treatment of the Loyalists diverting. “Nothing can be more diverting,” wrote a Boston Whig, “than to see the town in its present situation; all is uproar and confusion; carts, trucks, wheelbarrows, coaches, chaises, all driving as if the devil was after them.” Five hundred of these people who had caused such diversion arrived at Annapolis in 1782, and as the population of the place was only about one hundred, it was difficult to accommodate them. In the spring of 1785 seven thousand men reached St. John, and part of them went to Nova Scotia. In St. John no preparation had been made for their reception, so they had to clear away the brush before they could pitch their tent or build a temporary shelter. By the end of the summer, twelve thousand had landed in the province without the necessaries of life, and by December the total had increased to thirty thousand. The Americans were anxious to be rid of the Loyalists, but Carleton assured the Governor that he would not leave New York until the last person claiming his protection was on board a British ship. Then the members of the Congress were angry—they hated the British soldiers. But Carleton told them bluntly that the longer violence existed the longer the evacuation of New York would be delayed.

The presence of thirty thousand destitute people in the province was a serious problem for the authorities, and some of the people were discouraged. “All our golden promises are vanished in smoke,” they said. “It is the most inhospitable clime that ever mortal set foot on. We have only His Majesty’s rotten port and unbaked flour to subsist on.” And so many of them went away and found homes where they could. Shelburne seemed a favourable place for a permanent town, and within a short time a settlement sprang up which flourished for a few years. It was quite unsuitable for farming and grazing, however, and could not support so large a population.

In 1783 New Brunswick became a separate province, and the executive there seem to have been able to cope with the situation better than the authorities of Nova Scotia. The new Governor was Thomas Carleton, brother of Sir Guy Carleton. Friction occurred among the Loyalists themselves from the first. The aristocratic element of the population had chosen a certain part known as the Upper Cove, and the other part was called the Lower Cove. At the election of members of the Assembly it was evident that the Lower Cove was polling a majority of the votes. This would never do, thought Thompson the Sheriff, for there were two government candidates in the Upper Cove. Thompson, therefore, struck off about eighty votes of the Lower Cove and declared the Upper Cove elected. In this Assembly some of the Loyalists had a seat. The conduct of the Sheriff seems disgraceful. But strange things occur at such times, even in our day under responsible government. Ballot boxes have disappeared, and people have been imprisoned for making false returns, and votes are polled at every election which are not legal. About seven thousand English came to Quebec, and the seigneury of Sorel was placed at their disposal. Another group settled near Three Rivers. Here the land had been cleared, and they suffered less. A few chose the shores of the Bay of Fundy, and a large contingent took up their abode in Ontario at Johnstown, near Prescott. In Prince Edward Island they seem to have been the victims of treachery and deceit. Where the Loyalists were dispersed is less important than the fact that the arrival of so large a body of English-speaking people changed entirely the political situation in Canada.

These people, like the pioneers of New France, had to make homes for themselves. A cabin or log-house divided in two was all that they could aspire to in the early years. The roofs were usually constructed of bark. The windows were sometimes covered with oiled paper when glass could not be obtained, and clay and sticks were used in building chimneys. Few articles of furniture were brought by the settlers, and the beds, chairs and tables were made of rough wood. In the course of time they learned to make linen, but the petticoats of women were often of deer-skin. Here and there you might find a man wearing knee breeches, a cocked hat, and shoes with silver buckles. They were the clothes in which he had escaped, and, patched and threadbare, they looked sadly out of place. The mothers did their best to make their daughters presentable, and sometimes by dint of hard work a cotton dress was purchased for high days, or for a wedding garment. Education was not forgotten. Schools were opened for the instruction of children. At least they were taught to read and write, and this is greatly to the credit of those in authority.

In time conditions improved, but like all pioneer effort in Canada courage and patience were required. England had given the Loyalists hundreds of thousands of acres of land and had expended over thirty millions on them in supplies. She has been blamed for not doing more. But it should be remembered that the Home Government was imposed on, for many mean Americans came to Canada claiming to be Loyalists, and, after they had obtained lands and assistance, sold out their property and returned to their country to fight England in the War of 1812.