The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Story of Newfoundland, by Frederick Edwin
Smith, Earl of Birkenhead
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Story of Newfoundland
Author: Frederick Edwin Smith, Earl of Birkenhead
Release Date: June 20, 2006 [eBook #18636]
Language: English
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF NEWFOUNDLAND***
E-text prepared by a www.PGDP.net volunteer, Jeannie Howse, and the
Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
(https://www.pgdp.net/) from page images generously made available by Our
Roots (http://www.nosracines.ca/e/index.aspx)
Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
file which includes the original illustrations.
See 18636-h.htm or 18636-h.zip:
(https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/6/3/18636/18636-h/18636-h.htm)
or
(https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/6/3/18636/18636-h.zip)
Images of the original pages are available through Our Roots. See
http://www.nosracines.ca/e/toc.aspx?id=1319
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| Transcriber's Note: |
| |
| Spelling and hyphenation inconsistencies from the original |
| document have been preserved. |
| |
| A number of obvious typographical errors have been corrected |
| in this text. For a complete list, please see the end of |
| this document. |
| |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
THE STORY OF NEWFOUNDLAND
by
THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD BIRKENHEAD
Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
Honorary Fellow of Wadham and Merton Colleges, Oxford
New and Enlarged Edition
London
Horace Marshall & Son
Temple House And 125 Fleet Street, E.C.
1920
Printed in Great Britain
by Turnbull & Spears, Edinburgh
PREFACE
Twenty-two years ago the enterprise of Horace Marshall & Son produced
a series of small books known as "The Story of the Empire Series."
These volumes rendered a great service in bringing home to the
citizens of the Empire in a simple and intelligible form their
community of interest, and the romantic history of the development of
the British Empire.
I was asked more than twenty-one years ago to write the volume which
dealt with Newfoundland. I did so. The little book which was the
result has been for many years out of print. I have been asked by my
friends in Newfoundland and elsewhere to bring it up to date for the
purpose of a Second Edition. The publishers assented to this proposal,
and this volume is the result.
The book, of course, never pretended to be anything but a slight
sketch. An attempt has been made--while errors have been corrected and
the subject matter has been brought up to date--to maintain such
character as it ever possessed.
I shall be well rewarded for any trouble I have taken if it is
recognized by my friends in Newfoundland that the reproduction of this
little book places on record an admiration for, and an interest in,
our oldest colony which has endured for considerably more than
twenty-one years.
BIRKENHEAD.
HOUSE OF LORDS,
_May_ 1920.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE 7
II. THE AGE OF DISCOVERY 22
III. EARLY HISTORY 45
IV. EARLY HISTORY (_continued_) 64
V. THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 81
VI. THE ENGLISH COLONIAL SYSTEM AND ITS RESULTS 95
VII. SELF-GOVERNMENT 114
VIII. MODERN NEWFOUNDLAND 126
IX. THE REID CONTRACT--AND AFTER 143
X. THE FRENCH SHORE QUESTION 171
MAPS--
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR 6
NEWFOUNDLAND IN RELATION TO WESTERN EUROPE 33
INDEX 188
[Illustration: NEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR]
THE STORY OF NEWFOUNDLAND
CHAPTER I
THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE
The island of Newfoundland, which is the tenth largest in the world,
is about 1640 miles distant from Ireland, and of all the American
coast is the nearest point to the Old World. Its relative position in
the northern hemisphere may well be indicated by saying that the most
northern point at Belle Isle Strait is in the same latitude as that of
Edinburgh, whilst St. John's, near the southern extremity, lies in the
same latitude as that of Paris. Strategically it forms the key to
British North America. St. John's lies about half-way between
Liverpool and New York, so that it offers a haven of refuge for needy
craft plying between England and the American metropolis. The adjacent
part of the coast is also the landing-place for most of the
Transatlantic cables: it was at St. John's, too, that the first
wireless ocean signals were received. From the sentimental point of
view Newfoundland is the oldest of the English colonies, for our brave
fishermen were familiar with its banks at a time when Virginia and
New England were given over to solitude and the Redskin. Commercially
it is the centre of the most bountiful fishing industry in the world,
and the great potential wealth of its mines is now beyond question. On
all these grounds the story of the colony is one with which every
citizen of Greater Britain should be familiar. The historians of the
island have been capable and in the main judicious, and to the works
of Reeves, Bonnycastle, Pedley, Hatton, Harvey, and above all Chief
Justice Prowse, and more recently to J.D. Rogers,[1] every writer on
Newfoundland must owe much. Of such elaborate work a writer in the
present series may say with Virgil's shepherd, "Non invideo, miror
magis"; for such a one is committed only to a sketch, made lighter by
their labours, of the chief stages in the story of Newfoundland.
To understand that story a short account must be given at the outset
of the situation and character of the island. But for the
north-eastern side of the country, which is indented by deep and wide
inlets, its shape might be roughly described as that of an equilateral
triangle. Its area is nearly 43,000 square miles, so that it is larger
than Scotland and considerably greater than Ireland, the area of which
is 31,760 square miles. Compared to some of the smaller states of
Europe, it is found to be twice as large as Denmark, and three times
as large as Holland. There is only a mile difference between its
greatest length, which from Cape Ray, the south-west point, to Cape
Norman, the northern point, is 317 miles, and its greatest breadth,
from west to east, 316 miles from Cape Spear to Cape Anguille. Its
dependency, Labrador, an undefined strip of maritime territory,
extends from Cape Chidley, where the Hudson's Straits begin in the
north, to Blanc Sablon in the south, and includes the most easterly
point of the mainland. The boundaries between Quebec and Labrador have
been a matter of keen dispute. The inhabitants are for the most part
Eskimos, engaged in fishing and hunting. There are no towns, but there
are a few Moravian mission stations.
The ruggedness of the coast of Newfoundland, and the occasional
inclemency of the climate in winter, led to unfavourable reports,
against which at least one early traveller raised his voice in
protest. Captain Hayes, who accompanied Gilbert to Newfoundland in
1583, wrote on his return:
"The common opinion that is had of intemperation and extreme cold that
should be in this country, as of some part it may be verified, namely
the north, where I grant it is more colde than in countries of Europe,
which are under the same elevation; even so it cannot stand with
reason, and nature of the clime, that the south parts should be so
intemperate as the bruit has gone."
Notwithstanding the chill seas in which it lies, Newfoundland is not
in fact a cold country. The Arctic current lowers the temperature of
the east coast, but the Gulf Stream, whilst producing fogs, moderates
the cold. The thermometer seldom or never sinks below zero in winter,
and in summer extreme heat is unknown. Nor is its northerly detachment
without compensation, for at times the _Aurora borealis_ illumines the
sky with a brilliancy unknown further south. A misconception appears
to prevail that the island is in summer wrapped in fog, and its shores
in winter engirt by ice. In the interior the climate is very much like
that of Canada, but is not so severe as that of western Canada or even
of Ontario and Quebec. The sky is bright and the weather clear, and
the salubrity is shown by the healthy appearance of the population.
The natural advantages of the country are very great, though for
centuries many of them were strangely overlooked. Whitbourne, it is
true, wrote with quaint enthusiasm, in the early sixteenth century: "I
am loth to weary thee (good reader) in acquainting thee thus to those
famous, faire, and profitable rivers, and likewise to those delightful
large and inestimable woods, and also with those fruitful and enticing
lulls and delightful vallies." In fact, in the interior the valleys
are almost as numerous as Whitbourne's adjectives, and their fertility
promises a great future for agriculture when the railway has done its
work.
The rivers, though "famous, faire, and profitable," are not
overpoweringly majestic. The largest are the Exploits River, 200 miles
long and navigable for some 30 miles, and the Gander, 100 miles long,
which--owing to the contour of the island--flows to the eastern bays.
The deficiency, however, if it amounts to one, is little felt, for
Newfoundland excels other lands in the splendour of its bays, which
not uncommonly pierce the land as far as sixty miles. The length of
the coast-line has been calculated at about 6000 miles--one of the
longest of all countries of the world relatively to the area. Another
noteworthy physical feature is the great number of lakes and ponds;
more than a third of the area is occupied by water. The largest lake
is Grand Lake, 56 miles long, 5 broad, with an area of nearly 200
square miles. The longest mountain range in the island is about the
same length as the longest river, 200 miles; and the highest peaks do
not very greatly exceed 2000 feet.
The cliffs, which form a brown, bleak and rugged barrier round the
coasts of Newfoundland, varying in height from 300 to 400 feet, must
have seemed grim enough to the first discoverers; in fact, they give
little indication of the charming natural beauties which lie behind
them. The island is exuberantly rich in woodland, and its long
penetrating bays, running in some cases eighty to ninety miles inland,
and fringed to the water's edge, vividly recall the more familiar
attractiveness of Norwegian scenery. Nor has any custom staled its
infinite variety, for as a place of resort it has been singularly free
from vogue. This is a little hard to understand, for the summer
climate is by common consent delightful, and the interior still
retains much of the glamour of the imperfectly explored. The cascades
of Rocky River, of the Exploits River, and, in particular, the Grand
Falls, might in themselves be considered a sufficient excuse for a
voyage which barely exceeds a week.
Newfoundland is rich in mineral promise. Its history in this respect
goes back only about sixty years: in 1857 a copper deposit was
discovered at Tilt Cove, a small fishing village in Notre Dame Bay,
where seven years later the Union Mine was opened. It is now clear
that copper ore is to be found in quantities almost as inexhaustible
as the supply of codfish. There are few better known copper mines in
the world than Bett's Cove Mine and Little Bay Mine; and there are
copper deposits also at Hare Bay and Tilt Cove. In 1905-6 the copper
ore exported from these mines was valued at more than 375,000 dollars,
in 1910-11 at over 445,000 dollars. The value of the iron ore produced
in the latter period was 3,768,000 dollars. It is claimed that the
iron deposits--red hematite ore--are among the richest in the world.
In Newfoundland, as elsewhere, geology taught capital where to strike,
and when the interior is more perfectly explored it is likely that
fresh discoveries will be made. In the meantime gold, lead, zinc,
silver, talc, antimony, and coal have also been worked at various
places.
A more particular account must be given of the great fish industry, on
which Newfoundland so largely depends, and which forms about 80 per
cent. of the total exports. For centuries a homely variant of Lord
Rosebery's Egyptian epigram would have been substantially true:
Newfoundland is the codfish and the codfish is Newfoundland. Many,
indeed, are the uses to which this versatile fish may be put. Enormous
quantities of dried cod are exported each year for the human larder, a
hygienic but disagreeable oil is extracted from the liver to try the
endurance of invalids; while the refuse of the carcase is in repute as
a stimulating manure. The cod fisheries of Newfoundland are much
larger than those of any other country in the world; and the average
annual export has been equal to that of Canada and Norway put
together. The predominance of the fishing industry, and its ubiquitous
influence in the colony are vividly emphasised by Mr Rogers[2] in the
following passage, though his first sentence involves an exaggerated
restriction so far as modern conditions are concerned:
"Newfoundlanders are men of one idea, and that idea is fish. Their
lives are devoted to the sea and its produce, and their language
mirrors their lives; thus the chief streets in their chief towns are
named Water Street, guides are called pilots, and visits cruises.
Conversely, land words have sea meanings, and a 'planter,' which meant
in the eighteenth century a fishing settler as opposed to a fishing
visitor, meant in the nineteenth century--when fishing visitors ceased
to come from England--a shipowner or skipper. The very animals catch
the infection, and dogs, cows, and bears eat fish. Fish manures the
fields. Fish, too, is the main-spring of the history of Newfoundland,
and split and dried fish, or what was called in the fifteenth century
stock-fish, has always been its staple, and in Newfoundland fish means
cod."
The principal home of the cod is the Grand Newfoundland Bank, an
immense submarine island 600 miles in length and 200 in breadth, which
in earlier history probably formed part of North America. Year by year
the demand for codfish grows greater, and the supply--unaffected by
centuries of exaction--continues to satisfy the demand. This happy
result is produced by the marvellous fertility of the cod, for
naturalists tell us that the roe of a single female--accounting,
perhaps, for half the whole weight of the fish--commonly contains as
many as five millions of ova. In the year 1912-13 the value of the
exported dried codfish alone was 7,987,389 dollars, and in 1917 the
total output of the bank and shore cod fishery was valued at
13,680,000 dollars; and at a time when it was incomparably less, Pitt
had thundered in his best style that he would not surrender the
Newfoundland fisheries though the enemy were masters of the Tower of
London. So the great Bacon, at a time when the wealth of the Incas was
being revealed to the dazzled eyes of the Old World, declared, with an
admirable sense of proportion, that the fishing banks of Newfoundland
were richer far than the mines of Mexico and Peru.
Along the coasts of Norfolk and Suffolk the codfish is commonly caught
with hook and line, and the same primitive method is still largely
used by colonial fishermen. More elaborate contrivances are growing in
favour, and will inevitably swell each year's returns. Nor is there
cause to apprehend exhaustion in the supply. The ravages of man are as
nothing to the ravages and exactions of marine nature, and both count
for little in the immense populousness of the ocean. Fishing on a
large scale is most effectively carried on by the Baltow system or one
of its modifications. Each vessel carries thousands of fathoms of
rope, baited and trailed at measured intervals. Thousands of hooks
thus distributed over many miles, and the whole suitably moored. After
a night's interval the catch is examined.
In 1890 a Fisheries Commission was established for the purpose of
conducting the fisheries more efficiently than had been the case
before. Modern methods were introduced, and the artificial propagation
of cod and also of lobsters was begun. In 1898 a Department of Marine
and Fisheries was set up, and with the minister in charge of it an
advisory Fisheries Board was associated.
Though the cod-fishery is the largest and the most important of the
Newfoundland fisheries, the seal, lobster, herring, whale and salmon
fisheries are also considerable, and yield high returns. As to all
these fisheries, the right to make regulations has been placed more
effectively in the hands of Great Britain by the Hague arbitration
award, which was published in September 1910, and which satisfied
British claims to a very large extent.
A pathetic chapter in the history of colonization might be written
upon the fate of native races. A great English authority on
international law (Phillimore) has dealt with their claims to the
proprietorship of American soil in a very summary way.
"The North American Indians," he says, "would have been entitled to
have excluded the British fur-traders from their hunting-grounds; and
not having done so, the latter must be considered as having been
admitted to a joint occupation of the territory, and thus to have
become invested with a similar right of excluding strangers from such
portions of the country as their own industrial operations covered."
It is better to say frankly that the highest good of humanity required
the dispossession of savages; and it is permissible to regret that the
morals and humanity of the pioneers of civilization have not always
been worthy of their errand.
It rarely happens that the native, as in South Africa, has shown
sufficient tenacity and stamina to resist the tide of the white
aggression: more often the invaders have gradually thinned their
numbers. The Spanish adventurers worked to death the soft inhabitants
of the American islands. Many perished by the sword, many in a species
of national decline, the wonders of civilization, for good and for
bad, working an obsession in their childish imaginations which in time
reacted upon the physique of the race.
Sebastian Cabot has left a record of his standard of morality in
dealing with the natives. When he was Grand Pilot of England it fell
to his lot to give instructions to that brave Northern explorer, Sir
Hugh Willoughby:
"The natives of strange countries," he advises, "are to be enticed
aboard and made drunk with your beer and wine, for then you shall know
the secrets of their hearts." A further practice which may have caused
resentment in the minds of a sensitive people, was that of kidnapping
the natives to be exhibited as specimens in Europe.
The natives of Newfoundland were known distinctively as Boeothics or
Beothuks (a name probably meaning red men), who are supposed to have
formed a branch of the great Algonquin tribe of North American
Indians, a warlike race that occupied the north-eastern portion of the
American continent. Cabot saw them dressed in skins like the ancient
Britons, but painted with red ochre instead of blue woad. Cartier, the
pioneer of Canadian adventure, who visited the island in 1534, speaks
of their stature and their feather ornaments. Hayes says in one place:
"In the south parts we found no inhabitants, which by all likelihood
have abandoned these coasts, the same being so much frequented by
Christians. But in the north are savages altogether harmless."
Whitbourne, forty years later, gives the natives an equally good
character: "These savage people being politikely and gently handled,
much good might be wrought upon them: for I have had apparant proofes
of their ingenuous and subtle dispositions, and that they are a people
full of quicke and lively apprehensions.
"By a plantation" [in Newfoundland] "and by that means only, the poore
mis-beleeving inhabitants of that country may be reduced from
barbarism to the knowledge of God, and the light of his truth, and to
a civill and regular kinde of life and government."
The plantation came, but it must be admitted that the policy of the
planters was not, at first sight, of a kind to secure the admirable
objects indicated above by King James's correspondent. In fact, for
hundreds of years, and with the occasional interruptions of humanity
or curiosity, the Boeothics were hunted to extinction and perversely
disappeared, without, it must be supposed, having attained to the
"civill and regular kinde of life" which was to date from the
plantation.
As lately as 1819 a "specimen" was procured in the following way. A
party of furriers met three natives--two male, one female--on the
frozen Red Indian Lake. It appeared later that one of the males was
the husband of the female. The latter was seized; her companions had
the assurance to resist, and were both shot. The woman was taken to
St. John's, and given the name of May March; next winter she was
escorted back to her tribe, but died on the way. These attempts to
gain the confidence of the natives were, perhaps, a little brusque,
and from this point of view liable to misconstruction by an
apprehensive tribe. Ironically enough, the object of the attempt just
described was to win a Government reward of £100, offered to any
person bringing about a friendly understanding with the Red Indians.
Another native woman, Shanandithit, was brought to St. John's in 1823
and lived there till her death in 1829. She is supposed to have been
the last survivor. Sir Richard Bonnycastle, who has an interesting
chapter on this subject, saw her miniature, which, he says, "without
being handsome, shows a pleasing countenance."
* * * * *
Before closing this introductory chapter a few figures may be usefully
given for reference to illustrate the present condition of the
island.[3] At the end of 1917 the population, including that of
Labrador, was 256,500, of whom 81,200 were Roman Catholics and 78,000
members of the Church of England. The estimated public revenue for the
year 1917-18 was 5,700,000 dollars; the estimated expenditure was
5,450,000 dollars. In the same year the public debt was about
35,450,000 dollars. The estimated revenue for 1918-19 was 6,500,000
dollars; expenditure, 5,400,000 dollars. In 1898 the imports from the
United Kingdom amounted to £466,925, and the exports to the United
Kingdom to £524,367. In the year 1917-18 the distribution of trade was
mainly as follows: imports from the United Kingdom, 2,248,781 dollars;
from Canada, 11,107,642 dollars; from the United States, 12,244,746
dollars; exports to the United Kingdom, 3,822,931 dollars; to Canada,
2,750,990 dollars; to the United States, 7,110,322 dollars. The
principal imports in 1916-17 were flour, hardware, textiles,
provisions, coal, and machinery; the chief exports were dried cod,
pulp and paper, iron and copper ore, cod and seal oil, herrings,
sealskins, and tinned lobsters. In 1917 there were 888 miles of
railway open, of which 841 were Government-owned; and there are over
4600 miles of telegraph line. The tonnage of vessels entered and
cleared at Newfoundland ports in 1916-17 was 2,191,006 tons, of which
1,818,016 tons were British. The number of sailing and steam vessels
registered on December 31st, 1917, was 3496.
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "A Historical Geography of the British Colonies." Vol. v. Part 4.
Newfoundland. (Oxford, 1911.)
[2] _Op. cit._, p. 192.
[3] In view of the nature and object of the present book, only a few
figures can be given here; fuller information can easily be obtained
in several of the works referred to herein, and more particularly in
the various accessible Year Books.
CHAPTER II
THE AGE OF DISCOVERY (1497-1502)
"If this should be lost," said Sir Walter Raleigh of Newfoundland, "it
would be the greatest blow that was ever given to England." The
observation was marked by much political insight. Two centuries later,
indeed, the countrymen of Raleigh experienced and outlived a shock far
more paralyzing than that of which he was considering the possible
effects; but when the American colonies were lost the world destiny of
England had already been definitely asserted, and the American
loyalists were able to resume the allegiance of their birth by merely
crossing the Canadian frontier. When Raleigh wrote, Newfoundland was
the one outward and visible sign of that Greater England in whose
future he was a passionate believer. Therefore, inasmuch as
Newfoundland, being the oldest of all the English colonies, stood for
the Empire which was to be, the moral effects of its loss in infancy
would have been irretrievably grave. How nearly it was lost will
appear in the following pages.
Newfoundland, as was fitting for one of the largest islands in the
world, and an island, too, drawing strategic importance from its
position, was often conspicuous in that titanic struggle between
England and France for sea power, and therefore for the mastery of the
world, which dwarfs every other feature of the eighteenth century. Nor
did she come out of the struggle quite unscathed. Ill-informed or
indifferent politicians in the Mother Country neglected to push home
the fruits of victory on behalf of the colony which the struggle had
convulsed, and the direct consequence of this neglect may be seen in
the French fishery claims, which long distracted the occasional
leisure of the Colonial Office. Newfoundland has indeed been hardened
by centuries of trial. For years its growth was arrested by the
interested jealousy of English merchants; and its maturity was vexed
by French exactions, against which Canada or Australia would long ago
have procured redress. Newfoundland has been the patient Griselda of
the Empire, and the story of her triumph over moral and material
difficulties--over famine, sword, fire, and internal dissension--fills
a striking chapter in the history of British expansion.
That keen zest for geographical discovery, which was one of the most
brilliant products of the Renaissance, was slow in making its
appearance in England. Nor are the explanations far to seek. The bull
(1494) of a notorious Pope (Alexander VI.)--lavish, as befits one who
bestows a thing which he cannot enjoy himself, and of which he has no
right to dispose--had allocated the shadowy world over the sea to
Spain and Portugal, upon a fine bold principle of division; and
immediately afterwards these two Powers readjusted their boundaries in
the unknown world by the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), which could
not, however, be considered as binding third parties. The line of
longitude herein adopted was commonly held to have assigned
Newfoundland to Portugal, but the view was incorrect. England was
still a Catholic country, and for all its independence of the Pope in
matters temporal, the effects of such a bull must have been very
considerable. Nor did the personal character of Henry VII. incline him
to the path of adventure; and on the few occasions when he was goaded
to enterprise, almost in spite of himself, we are able to admire the
prudence of a prince who was careful to insert two clauses in his
charter of adventure: the first protecting himself against liability
for the cost, the second stipulating for a share of the profits. It is
to the robust insight of Henry VIII. into the conditions of our
national existence that the beginnings of the English Navy are to be
ascribed, and it was under this stubborn prince that English trade
began to depend upon English bottoms. But the real explanation of
Anglo-Saxon backwardness lies somewhat deeper. Foreign adventure and
the planting of settlements must proceed, if they are to be
successful, from an exuberant State; neither in resources, nor in
population, nor, perhaps it must be added, in the spirit of adventure,
was the England of King Henry VII. sufficiently equipped. Hence it
happened that foreign vessels sailed up the Thames, or anchored by the
quays of Bideford in the service of English trade, at a time when the
spirit of Prince Henry the Navigator had breathed into the Portuguese
service, when Diaz was discovering the Cape, and the tiny vessels of
Da Gama were adventuring the immense voyage to Cathay.
It is now clearly established that the earliest adventurers in America
were men of Norse stock. More than a thousand years ago Greenland was
explored by Vikings from Iceland, and a hundred years later Leif
Ericsson discovered a land--Markland, the land of woods--which is
plausibly identified with Newfoundland. Still keeping a southern
course, the adventurer came to a country where grew vines, and where
the climate was strangely mild; it is likely enough that this landfall
was in Massachusetts or Virginia. The name Vinland was given to the
newly-discovered country. The later voyages of Thorwald Ericsson, of
Thorlstein Ericsson--both brothers of Leif--and of Thorfinn Karlsefne,
are recounted in the Sagas. The story of these early colonists or
"builders," as they called themselves, is weakened by an infusion of
fable, such as the tale of the fast-running one-legged people; but
with all allowances, the fact of Viking adventure on the American
mainland is unquestioned and unquestionable, though we may say of
these brave sailors, with Professor Goldwin Smith, that nothing more
came of their visit, or in that age could come, than of the visit of a
flock of seagulls.
It has been asserted by some writers that Basque navigators discovered
the American continent a century before Cabot or Columbus; but
evidence in support of such claims is either wanting or unconvincing.
"Ingenious and romantic theories," says a critic of these views, "have
been propounded concerning discoveries of America by Basque sailors
before Columbus. The whale fishery of that period and long afterwards
was in the hands of the Basques, and it is asserted that, in following
the whales, as they became scarcer, farther and farther out in the
western ocean, they came upon the coasts of Newfoundland a hundred
years before Columbus and Cabot. No solid foundation can be found for
these assertions. The records of the Basque maritime cities contain
nothing to confirm them, and these assertions are mixed up with so
much that is absurd--such as a statement that the Newfoundland Indians
spoke Basque--that the whole hypothesis is incredible."[4]
The question has been much discussed whether Columbus or Cabot in
later days rediscovered the American mainland. It does not, perhaps,
much matter whether the honour belongs to an Italian employed by Spain
or an Italian employed by England; and it is the less necessary to ask
whether Cabot explored the mainland before Columbus touched at Paria,
that in any event the real credit of the adventure belongs to the
great Spanish sailor. It is well known that Columbus thought, as Cabot
thought after him, that he was discovering a new and short route to
India by the west. Hence was given the name West Indies to the islands
which Columbus discovered; hence the company which administered the
affairs of Hindostan was distinguished as the East India Company.
Hence, too, the spiritual welfare of the Great Khan engaged the
attention of both Columbus and Cabot, whereas, in fact, this potentate
(if, indeed, he existed) was secluded from their disinterested zeal by
a vast continent, and thousands of miles of ocean. These
misconceptions were based on a strange underestimate of the
circumference of the world, but they add, if possible, to our wonder
at the courage of Columbus. Sailing day after day into the unknown,
with tiny ships and malcontent crews, he never faltered in his
purpose, and never lost faith in his theory. When he landed at
Guanahana (Watling's Island) he saw in the Bahamas the Golden
Cyclades, and bethought him how he might convey to the Great Khan the
letters of his Royal patron. He saw in the west coast of Juana the
mainland of Cathay, and in the waters which wash the shores of Cuba he
sought patiently, but vainly, for the Golden Chersonese and the
storied land of the Ganges.
John Cabot inherited both the truth and the error of Columbus. His
career is one of those irritating mysteries which baffle the most
patient inquiry. Born at Genoa, and naturalized in 1476 at Venice
after fifteen years' residence, he seems to have settled in England
eight or nine years before the close of the fifteenth century. Already
his life had been an adventurous one. We catch glimpses of him at long
intervals: now at Mecca, pushing curious inquiries into the region
whence came the spice caravans; now in Spain, under the spell,
perhaps, of the novel speculations of Toscanelli and Columbus; now
plying his trade as a maker of charts in Bristol or on the Continent.
The confusion between John Cabot and his son Sebastian adds to the
uncertainty. Those who impute to Sebastian Cabot a cuckoo-like
appropriation of his father's glory are able to support their opinion
with weighty evidence. The most astounding feature of all is that the
main incidents of a voyage which attracted as much attention as the
first voyage of John Cabot should so soon have passed into oblivion.
Marking the boundary as clearly as possible between what is certain
and what is probable, we find that on March 5th, 1496, Henry VII.
granted a charter in the following terms:
"Be it known to all that we have given and granted to our well-beloved
John Cabot, citizen of Venice, and to Lewis, Sebastian, and Sanctus,
sons of the said John, and to their heirs and deputies ... authority
to sail to all parts, countries, and seas of the East, of the West,
and of the North, under our banner and ensigns, with five ships, and
to set up our banner on any new found land, as our vassals and
lieutenants, upon their own proper costs and charges to seek out and
discover whatsoever isles ... of the heathen and infidels, which
before the time have been unknown to all Christians...."
No sooner was the patent granted than the vigilant Spanish ambassador
in London wrote to his master King Ferdinand, that a second Columbus
was about to achieve for the English sovereign what Columbus had
achieved for the Spanish, but "without prejudice to Spain or
Portugal." In reply to this communication Ferdinand directed his
informer to warn King Henry that the project was a snare laid by the
King of France to divest him from greater and more profitable
enterprises, and that in any case the rights of the signatory parties
under the Treaty of Tordesillas would thereby be invaded. However, the
voyage contemplated in the charter was begun in 1497, in defiance of
the Spanish warning and arrogant pretensions. It will be noticed that
the charter extends its privileges to the sons of John Cabot. It is
better, with Mr Justice Prowse, to see in this circumstance a proof of
the prudence of the adventurer, who prolonged the duration of his
charter by the inclusion of his infant sons, than to infer in the
absence of evidence that any of them was his companion. According to
one often quoted authority, Sebastian Cabot claimed in later life not
merely to have taken part in the expedition, but to have been its
commander,[5] and placed it after his father's death. Against this
claim, if it was ever made, we must notice that in the Royal licence
for the second voyage the newly found land is said to have been
discovered by John Cabotto. It is impossible to say with certainty how
many ships took part in Cabot's voyage. An old tradition, depending
upon an unreliable manuscript,[6] says that Cabot's own ship was
called the _Matthew_, a vessel of about fifty tons burden, and manned
by sixteen Bristol seamen and one Burgundian. It is probable that the
voyage began early in May, and it is certain that Cabot was back in
England by August 10th, for on that date we find the following entry
in the Privy Purse expenses of Henry VII., revealing a particularly
stingy recognition of the discoverer's splendid service, which,
however, was soon afterwards recognized less unhandsomely:
"1497, Aug. 10th.--To hym that found the New Isle, £10."[7]
The only reliable contemporary authorities on the subject of John
Cabot's first voyage are the family letters of Lorenzo Pasqualigo, a
Venetian merchant resident in London, to his brother, and the official
correspondence of Raimondo di Raimondi, Archpriest of Soncino. The
latter's account is somewhat vague. He says, in his letters to Duke
Sforza of Milan, August 24th, and December 18th, 1497, that Cabot,
"passing Ibernia on the west, and then standing towards the north,
began to navigate the eastern ocean, leaving in a few days the north
star on the right hand, and having wandered a good deal he came at
last to firm land.... This Messor Zoanni Caboto," he proceeds, "has
the description of the world in a chart, and also in a solid globe
which he has made, and he shows where he landed." Raimondo adds that
Cabot discovered two islands, one of which he gave to his barber and
the other to a Burgundian friend, who called themselves Counts, whilst
the commander assumed the airs of a prince.[8]
We have from the Venetian, Pasqualigo, a letter, dated August 23rd,
1497, which was probably a fortnight or three weeks after the return
of Cabot. According to this authority, Cabot discovered land 700
leagues away, the said land being the territory of the Great Khan (the
"Gram cham"). He coasted along this land for 300 leagues, and on the
homeward voyage sighted two islands, on which, after taking possession
of them, he hoisted the Venetian as well as the English flag. "He
calls himself the grand admiral, walks abroad in silk attire, and
Englishmen run after him like madmen."[9] It is easy to overrate the
reliability of such letters as those of Pasqualigo and Raimondo, and
Pasqualigo's statement that Cabot sailed from Bristol to this new
land, coasted for 300 leagues along it, and returned within a period
of three months, is impossible to accept. At the same time, the
accounts given by these writers occur, one in the frank intimacy of
family correspondence, the other in the official reports of a
diplomatic representative to his chief. They are both unquestionably
disinterested, and are very much more valuable than the later
tittle-tattle of Peter Martyr and Ramusio, which has plainly filtered
through what Mr Beazley would call Sebastianized channels.
[Illustration: NEWFOUNDLAND in Relation to WESTERN EUROPE]
A keen controversy has raged as to the exact landfall of John Cabot in
his 1497 voyage, and it cannot be said that a decisive conclusion has
followed. A long tradition (fondly repeated by Mr Justice Prowse)
finds the landfall in Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland. It is difficult to
say more than that it may have been so; it may too have been in Cape
Breton Island, or even some part of the coast of Labrador. In any
case, whether or not Cabot found his landfall in Newfoundland, he must
have sighted it in the course of his voyage. It may be mentioned here
by way of caution that the name Newfoundland was specialized in later
times so as to apply to the island alone, and that it was at first
used indifferently to describe all the territories discovered by
Cabot.
As no true citizen of Newfoundland will surrender the belief that Cape
Bonavista was in fact the landfall of Cabot, it seems proper to insert
in the story of the island, for what they are worth, the nearest
contemporary accounts of Cabot's voyage. They are more fully collected
in Mr Beazley's monograph,[10] to which I am indebted for the
translations which follow. The first account is contained, as has
already been pointed out, in a letter written by Raimondo di Raimondi
to the Duke of Milan:
"Most illustrious and excellent my Lord,--Perhaps among your
Excellency's many occupations, you may not be displeased to learn how
His Majesty here has won a part of Asia without a stroke of the sword.
There is in this kingdom a Venetian fellow, Master John Cabot by name,
of a fine mind, greatly skilled in navigation, who, seeing that those
most serene kings, first he of Portugal, and then the one of Spain,
have occupied unknown islands, determined to make a like acquisition
for His Majesty aforesaid. And having obtained Royal grants that he
should have the usufruct of all that he should discover, provided that
the ownership of the same is reserved to the Crown, with a small ship
and eighteen persons he committed himself to fortune. And having set
out from Bristol, a western port of this kingdom, and passed the
western limits of Hibernia, and then standing to the northward, he
began to steer eastwards [meaning westwards], leaving, after a few
days, the North Star on his right hand. And having wandered about
considerably, at last he fell in with _terra firma_, where, having
planted the Royal banner and taken possession in the behalf of this
King; and having taken several tokens, he has returned thence. The
said Master John, as being foreign-born and poor, would not be
believed, if his comrades, who are almost all Englishmen and from
Bristol, did not testify that what he says is true.
"This Master John has the description of the world in a chart, and
also in a solid globe which he has made, and he [or it] shows where
he landed, and that going toward the east [again for west] he passed
considerably beyond the country of the Tansis. And they say that it is
a very good and temperate country, and they think that Brazil wood and
silks grow there; and they affirm that that sea is covered with
fishes, which are caught not only with the net but with baskets, a
stone being tied to them in order that the baskets may sink in the
water. And this I heard the said Master John relate, and the aforesaid
Englishmen, his comrades, say that they will bring so many fish, that
this kingdom will no longer have need of Iceland, from which country
there comes a very great store of fish called stock-fish
('stockfissi'). But Master John has set his mind on something greater;
for he expects to go further on towards the east [again for west] from
that place already occupied, constantly hugging the shore, until he
shall be over against [or on the other side of] an island, by him
called Cimpango, situated in the equinoctial region, where he thinks
all the spices of the world and also the precious stones originate.
And he says that in former times he was at Mecca, whither spices are
brought by caravans from distant countries, and these [caravans] again
say that they are brought to them from other remote regions. And he
argues thus--that if the Orientals affirmed to the Southerners that
these things come from a distance from them, and so from hand to
hand, presupposing the rotundity of the earth, it must be that the
last ones get them at the north, toward the west. And he said it in
such a way that, having nothing to gain or lose by it, I too believe
it; and, what is more, the King here, who is wise and not lavish,
likewise puts some faith in him; for, since his return he has made
good provision for him, as the same Master John tells me. And it is
said that in the spring His Majesty aforenamed will fit out some ships
and will besides give him all the convicts, and they will go to that
country to make a colony, by means of which they hope to establish in
London a greater storehouse of spices than there is in Alexandria, and
the chief men of the enterprise are of Bristol, great sailors, who,
now that they know where to go, say that it is not a voyage of more
than fifteen days, nor do they ever have storms after they get away
from Hibernia. I have also talked with a Burgundian, a comrade of
Master John's, who confirms everything, and wishes to return thither
because the Admiral (for so Master John already entitles himself) has
given him an island; and he has given another one to a barber of his
from Castiglione, of Genoa, and both of them regard themselves as
Counts, nor does my Lord the Admiral esteem himself anything less than
a prince. I think that with this expedition will go several poor
Italian monks, who have all been promised bishoprics. And as I have
become a friend of the Admiral's, if I wished to go thither, I should
get an Archbishopric. But I have thought that the benefices which your
Excellency has in store for me are a surer thing."
To those who, in the teeth of contemporary evidence, prefer the claims
of Sebastian, the following extracts may be offered; the first from
Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, who wrote in the early sixteenth century, the
second from Ramusio. Martyr writes:
"These north seas have been searched by one Sebastian Cabot, a
Venetian born, whom, being yet but in matter an infant, his parents
carried with them into England, having occasion to resort thither for
trade of merchandises, as is the manner of the Venetians to leave no
part of the world unsearched to obtain riches. He therefore furnished
two ships in England at his own charges; and, first, with 300 men,
directed his course so far towards the North Pole, that even in the
month of July he found monstrous heaps of ice swimming in the sea, and
in manner continual daylight, yet saw he the land in that tract free
from ice, which had been molten by heat of the sun. Thus, seeing such
heaps of ice before him, he was enforced to turn his sails and follow
the west, so coasting still by the shore he was thereby brought so far
into the south, by reason of the land bending so much southward, that
it was there almost equal in latitude with the sea called Fretum
Herculeum [Straits of Gibraltar], having the North Pole elevate in
manner in the same degree. He sailed likewise in this tract so far
toward the west that he had the Island of Cuba [on] his left hand in
manner in the same degree of longitude. As he travelled by the coasts
of this great land, which he named Baccallaos [cod-fish country], he
saith that he found the like course of the water towards the west
[_i.e._ as before described by Martyr], but the same to run more
softly and gently than the swift waters which the Spaniards found in
their navigation southward.... Sebastian Cabot himself named those
lands Baccallaos, because that in the seas thereabout he found so
great multitudes of certain big fish much like unto tunnies (which the
inhabitants called Baccallaos) that they sometimes stayed his ships.
He found also the people of those regions covered with beasts' skins,
yet not without the use of reason. He saith also that there is great
plenty of bears in those regions, which used to eat fish. For,
plunging themselves into the water where they perceive a multitude of
those fish to lie, they fasten their claws in their scales, and so
draw them to land and eat them. So that, as he saith, the bears being
thus satisfied with fish, are not noisome to men."
Ramusio represents Sebastian Cabot as making the following statement:
"When my father departed from Venice many years since to dwell in
England, to follow the trade of merchandises, he took me with him to
the city of London while I was very young, yet having nevertheless
some knowledge of letters, of humanity, and of the sphere. And when my
father died, in that time when news were brought that Don Christopher
Colombus, the Genoese, had discovered the coasts of India, whereof was
great talk in all the Court of King Henry the Seventh, who then
reigned; in so much that all men, with great admiration, affirmed it
to be a thing more divine than human to sail by the west into the
east, where spices grow, by a way that was never known before; by
which fame and report there increased in my heart a great flame of
desire to attempt some notable thing. And understanding by reason of
the sphere that if I should sail by way of the north-west wind I
should by a shorter track come to India, I thereupon caused the King
to be advertised of my device, who immediately commanded two caravels
to be furnished with all things appertaining to the voyage, which was,
as far as I remember, in the year 1496 in the beginning of summer.
Beginning therefore to sail toward north-west, nor thinking to find
any other land than that of Cathay, and from thence to turn towards
India, after certain days I found that the land ran toward the north,
which was to me a great displeasure. Nevertheless, sailing along by
the coast to see if I could find any gulf that turned, I found the
land still continent to the 56th degree under our Pole. And seeing
that there the coast turned toward the east, despairing to find the
passage, I turned back again and sailed down by the coast of that land
toward the equinoctial (ever with intent to find the said passage to
India) and came to that part of this firm land which is now called
Florida; where, my victuals failing, I departed from thence and
returned into England, where I found great tumults among the people
and preparation for the war to be carried into Scotland; by reason
whereof there was no more consideration had to this voyage."[11]
The discoveries of Cabot were appreciated by Henry VII., a prince who
rarely indulged in unprovoked benefactions, for on December 13th,
1497, we find a grant of an annual pension to Cabot of £20 a year,
worth between £200 and £300 in modern money (a pension that was drawn
twice):
"We let you wit that we for certain considerations as specially
moving, have given and granted unto our well-beloved John Cabot, of
the parts of Venice, an annuity or annual rent of £20 sterling."[12]
It is material to notice that Sebastian, so considerable a figure in
the later accounts, is not mentioned in this grant. So it has been
observed that John Cabot is mentioned alone in the charter for the
second voyage; the authority is given explicitly to "our well-beloved
John Kabotto, Venetian." Apparently the second voyage was begun in
May, 1498, but a cloud of obscurity besets the attempt to determine
its results. It is noted in the Records under 1498 that Sebastian
Gaboto, "a Genoa's son," obtained from the King a vessel "to search
for an island which he knew to be replenished with rich commodities."
It is likely enough that Sebastian Cabot took part in this voyage, as
indeed he may have done in the earlier one; but it is clear that John
Sebastian was present in person, for Raimondo describes an interview
in which John unfolds his scheme for proceeding from China (which he
imagined himself to have discovered) to Japan.
This brief account of the Cabots, so far as their voyages relate
particularly to Newfoundland, may be closed by some further citations
from the Privy Purse expenses of Henry VII.:
"1498, March 24th.--To Lanslot Thirkill of London, upon a prest for
his shipp going towards the New Ilande, £20.
"April 1st.--To Thomas Bradley and Lanslot Thirkill, going to the New
Isle, £30.
"1503, Sept. 30th.--To the merchants of Bristoll that have been in the
Newfounde Lande, £20.
"1504, Oct. 17th.--To one that brought hawkes from the Newfounded
Island, £1.
"1505. Aug. 25th.--To Clays goying to Richemount, with wylde catts and
popynjays of the Newfound Island, for his costs 13s. 4d."[13]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES:
[4] Stanford's "Compendium of Geography and Travel" (New Issue). North
America, vol. i. Canada and Newfoundland. Edited by H.M. Ami (London,
1915), p. 1007.
[5] See the excellent contribution of Mr Raymond Beazley to the
"Builders of Greater Britain" Series--"John and Sebastian Cabot."
[6] The Fust MSS., Mill Court, Gloucestershire.
[7] S. Bentley, "Excerpts Historica" (1831), p. 113.
[8] These letters, together with other relative documents, are given
in the publication of the Italian Columbian Royal Commission: "Reale
Commissione Colombiana: Raccolta di Documenti e Studi" (Rome, 1893),
Part 3, vol. i., pp. 196-198.
[9] "Reale Commissione Colombiana: Raccolta di Documenti e Studi"
(Rome, 1893), Part 3, vol. ii., p. 109: "Calendar of State Papers,"
Venetian Series, vol. i., p. 262.
[10] The more authoritative Italian source has already been indicated.
[11] The testimony of both Peter Martyr and Ramusio, and of others,
like Gomara and Fabyan, who support the claims of Sebastian as against
John Cabot, does not now find favour; _cf._ Rogers, _op. cit._, p. 14.
[12] Custom's Roll of the Port of Bristol, 1496-9, edited by E. Scott,
A.E. Hudd, etc. (1897).
[13] See Hakluyt Society Publications (1850), vol. vii., p. lxii.
Bentley, _op. cit._, pp. 126, 129, 131.
CHAPTER III
EARLY HISTORY. AGE OF IMPERFECT COLONIZATION
The motives and projects of the early English colonizers are thus
aptly described by a recent writer already referred to:[14] "The
colonizers were actuated by three different kinds of definite ideas,
and definite colonization was threefold in its character. In the first
place, there were men who were saturated in the old illusions and
ideas, and intended colonization as a means to an end, the end being
the gold and silver and spices of Asia. Secondly, there were
fishermen, who went to Newfoundland for its own sake, in order to
catch fish for the European market, who were without illusions or
ideas or any wish to settle, and who belonged to many nations, and
thwarted but also paved the way for more serious colonizers. Thirdly,
there were idealists who wished to colonize for colonization's sake
and to make England great; but in order to make England great they
thought it necessary to humble Spain in the dust, and their ideas were
destructive as well as creative. All these colonizers had their
special projects, and each project, being inspired by imperfect
ideals, failed more or less, or changed its character from time to
time. The first and third projects were at one time guided by the same
hand; but the first project gradually cast off its colonizing slough,
and resolved itself once more into discovery for discovery's sake; and
the third project ceased to be a plan of campaign, and resolved itself
into sober and peaceful schemes for settling in the land. Even the
second project, which was unled, uninspired, unnational, and almost
unconscious, and which began and continued as though in obedience to
some irresistible and unchangeable natural and economic law, assumed
different shapes and semblances, as it blended or refused to blend
with the patriotic projects of the idealists. These three types of
colonization..., though they tended on different directions, ... were
hardly distinguishable in the earlier phases of their history. Perhaps
a fourth type should be added, but this fourth type was what
naturalists call an aberrant type, and only comprised two colonizers,
Rut and Hore, whose aims were indistinct, and who had no clear idea
where they meant to go, or what they meant to do when they got there."
After the first discovery of Newfoundland and the adjoining coast,
English official interest in the island declined, and English traders
were occupied for the time being with their intercourse with Iceland,
whence they obtained all the codfish they had need of. The new field
of exploration and enterprise was thus left for some twenty years to
others. At the beginning of the sixteenth century Gaspar Cortereal, a
brave Portuguese sailor, having obtained a commission from the King of
Portugal, made two voyages (in 1500 and 1501) with the object of
discovering a north-west passage to Asia, explored the coasts of
Greenland, Labrador, and Newfoundland, and finally lost his life on
the coast of Labrador (1501).[15] On the ground of these discoveries,
reinforced by the title conferred by the bull of Alexander VI., the
Portuguese asserted their claim to Newfoundland. Henceforward
Portuguese fishermen began to share the dangers and profits of the cod
fishery with the hardy folk of Normandy and Brittany, and with
Spaniards and Basques, who had followed fast in the footsteps of the
earliest discoverers. Hence we find that many names of places and the
east coast of the island are corruptions of Portuguese words, whilst
names on the south coast show a French or a Basque origin.[16]
In a sense it is true that Newfoundland has owed everything to its
fisheries, but it is unfortunately also true that a sharp dissidence
between the interests of alien fisheries and the policy of local
development did much to retard the days of permanent settlement. That
the more southern races of Europe took a large part in the development
of the fisheries was only natural, inasmuch as the principal markets
for the dried and salted codfish were in the Catholic countries of
Europe. Continuously from the beginning of the sixteenth century the
opening of each season brought vessels of many nationalities to a
harvest which sufficed for all. We cannot say that at this time any
primacy was claimed for English vessels, but there is no reason to
doubt that Englishmen soon played a conspicuous part in opening up the
trade. By the time of Henry VIII. the Newfoundland industry was
sufficiently well known to be included with the Scotch and Irish
Fisheries in an exception clause to a statute which forbade the
importation of foreign fish.
This statute is sufficiently noteworthy as an economic curiosity to be
set forth _in extenso_.
"ACT 33 HENRY VIII., c. xi.
"The Bill conceryning bying of fisshe upon the see.
"Whereas many and dyvers townes and portes by the see side
have in tymes past bene in great welthe and prosperitie well
buylded by using and exercysing the crafts and feate of
fisshing by the whiche practise it was not onelie great
strengthe to this Realme by reason of bringing up and
encreasing of Maryners whensoever the King's Grace had neede
of them but also a great welthe to the Realme and habundance
of suche wherebie oure sovereigne Lorde the King the Lords
Gentilmen and Comons were alwais well served of fisshe in
Market townes of a reasonable price and also by reason of the
same fisshing many men were made and grewe riche and many
poure Men and women had therebie there convenyent lyving--to
the strengthe encreasing and welthe of this realme.
"And whereas many and dyvers of the saide fissherman for their
singular lucre and advantage doe leve the said crafte of
fisshing and be confederate w Pycardes Flemynghes Norman and
Frenche-men and sometyme sayle over into the costes of
Pycardie and Flaunders and sometyme doo meete the said
Pycardes and Flemynghes half the see over.
"Penalty on subjects bying fishe in Flaunders &c., or at sea
to be sold in England, £10.
"And be it furder enacted by the auctoritie aforesaide that it
shall be lawful to all and every fissher estraunger to come
and to sell.
"Provided furthermore that this Act or any thing therein
conteyned shall not extende to any person whiche shall bye eny
fisshe in any parties of Iseland, Scotlands, Orkeney,
Shotlande, Ireland, or Newland [Newfoundland]."
The caution, however, suggested above must be borne in mind in
noticing the earliest mention of Newfoundland; the name was
indiscriminately applied to the island itself and to the neighbouring
coasts, so that it is for some time impossible to be sure whether it
is employed in the wide or narrow sense. It is certain, however, that
the island was becoming well known. Its position as the nearest point
to Europe made it familiar to the band of Northerly explorers.
Verrazzano, a Florentine, in the service of France, determined to
discover a western way to Cathay, sailed along America northward from
North Carolina, and placed the French flag on the territory lying
between New Spain and Newfoundland, which newly acquired territory was
thenceforth designated Norumbega or New France. All such original
annexations, whether pretended or real, were in the circumstances
extremely ill-defined; and maps of the time were frequently vague,
confusing, and contradictory. Cartier, on his way to sow the seeds of
a French Empire in North America, sailed past the coast (1534), and on
his second voyage (1535) foregathered with Roberval in the roadstead
of St. John's. Still earlier, in 1527, a voyage was made to the island
by John Rut, with the countenance of Henry VIII. and encouragement of
Cardinal Wolsey, but the authorities for this voyage are late and
unreliable. Purchas reproduces a valuable letter from John Rut (who
was a better sailor than scholar) to the King, from which it appears
that he found in the harbour of St. John's "eleven saile of Normans
and one Brittaine, and two Portugall barks, and all a fishing," as
well as two English trade-ships.[17]
The later adventure--"voyage of discovery"--of Master Hore, in 1536,
which was undertaken "by the King's favour," is inimitably told by
Hakluyt. His co-adventurers are described as "many gentlemen of the
Inns of Court and of the Chancerie"; there were also a number of
east-country merchants. After missing their proper course, and almost
starving, they were succoured by a French vessel off the coast of
Newfoundland. The gentlemen of the long robe had been out of their
element up to this encounter, but Judge Prowse notes with proper
professional pride the tribute of Hakluyt: "Such was the policie of
the English that they became masters of [the French ship], and
changing ships and vittailing them, they set sail to come into
England." The extremities to which these adventurers were reduced
before their relief is horribly illustrated by the narrative of
Hakluyt:
"Whilst they lay there they were in great want of provision and they
found small relief, more than that they had from the nest of an
osprey (or eagle) that brought hourly to her young great plenty of
divers sorts of fishes. But such was the famine amongst them that they
were forced to eat raw herbs and roots, which they sought for in the
maine. But the relief of herbs being not sufficient to satisfie their
craving appetites, when in the deserts in search of herbage, the
fellow killed his mate while hee stouped to take up a root, and
cutting out pieces of his body whom he had murthered, broyled the same
on the coals and greedily devoured them. By this means the company
decreased and the officers knew not what was become of them."[18]
For many years we must be content with the knowledge that the fishing
resources of Newfoundland were growing in reputation and popularity.
Now and then the curtain is lifted, and we catch a glimpse of life on
the island. Thus Anthony Parkhurst, a Bristol merchant, who had made
the voyage himself four times, notes in 1578, in a letter written to
Hakluyt containing a report of the true state and commodities of
Newfoundland, that "there were generally more than 100 sail of
Spaniards taking cod, and from 20 to 30 killing whales; 50 sail of
Portuguese; 150 sail of French and Bretons ... but of English only 50
sail. Nevertheless, the English are commonly lords of the harbours
where they fish, and use all strangers' help in fishing, if need
require, according to an old custom of the country."[19]
Clearer still is our information when the ill-fated Sir Humphrey
Gilbert, the half-brother of Raleigh, visited the island in 1583.
Already in 1574 Gilbert, together with Sir Richard Grenville, Sir
George Peckham and Christopher Carleill, applied for a patent with a
view to colonizing "the northern parts of America"; but, though a sum
of money was raised in Bristol for this object, the scheme fell
through. Gilbert's perseverance, however, was by no means checked. For
in 1577 he submitted a project to Lord Burleigh, asking for authority
to discover and colonize strange lands, and incidentally to seize
Spanish prizes and establish English supremacy over the seas. The
following year he received a patent to discover, colonize, fortify,
own and rule territories not in the possession of friendly Christian
Powers--subject to the prerogation of the Crown and the claims of the
Crown to a fifth part of the gold and silver obtained. His settlements
were to be made within a period of six years. Having obtained the
support of such men as Sir George Peckham, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir
Philip Sidney, Richard Hakluyt, Thomas Aldworth, as well as of Sir
Francis Walsingham, the anti-Spanish minister, and of Bristol
merchants,[20] Gilbert set sail on June 11th, 1583, from Plymouth
with five vessels--the _Raleigh_ (200 tons) which was equipped by Sir
W. Raleigh, acting as vice-admiral, the _Delight_ (120 tons) on which
was Gilbert, as admiral, the _Swallow_ (40 tons) the _Golden Hind_ (40
tons), and the _Squirrel_ (10 tons). Two days later the _Raleigh_
returned on the ground, it seems, that her captain and many of her men
had fallen sick. The entire crew consisted of 260 men, including
shipwrights, masons, carpenters, smiths, miners, and refiners. They
took with them a good variety of music "for solace of our people, and
allurement of the savages"; a number of toys, "as morris dancers,
hobby horsse, and many like conceits to delight the savage people,
whom we intended to winne by all faire meanes possible"; and also a
stock of haberdashery wares for the purpose of barter. Gilbert reached
St. John's on August 3rd, 1583, with his four vessels, and found in
the harbour twenty Spanish and Portuguese ships and sixteen English
ships. The latter made ready to give battle to the newcomers; but as
soon as the English vessels were informed of the mission, "they caused
to be discharged all the great ordnance of their fleet in welcome,"
and soon afterwards entertained their guests at their "summer garden."
The great importance of the errand was recognized, for it had no less
an object than to take possession of the island in the name of Queen
Elizabeth, by virtue of Cabot's discoveries, and the later acts of
occupation. Even then the small town of St. John's was not without
pretension to the amenities of social life. One, Edward Haie (or
Hayes), who was present--indeed he was the captain and owner of the
_Golden Hind_--and who has left us an account of the expedition,[21]
speaks of it as a populous and frequented place. According to the same
account, possession was taken of the territory on August 5th: "Munday
following, the General had his tent set up, who being accompanied with
his own followers, sommoned the marchants and masters, both English
and strangers to be present at his taking possession of those
countries. Before whom openly was read and interpreted unto the
strangers of his commission: by vertue whereof he tooke possession in
the same harbour of S. John, and 200 leagues every way, invested the
Queenes Majestie with the tith and dignitie thereof, had delivered
unto him (after the custome of England) a rod and a turffe of the same
soile, entring possession also for him, his heires and assignes for
ever: and signified unto al men, that from that time forward, they
should take the same land as a territorie appertaining to the Queene
of England, and himself authorized under her majestie to possesse and
enjoy it. And to ordaine lawes for the government thereof, agreeable
(so neere as conveniently might be) unto the lawes of England: under
which all people comming thither hereafter, either to inhabite, or by
way of traffique, should be subjected and governed." Gilbert's
authority was not seriously questioned; by virtue of his commission he
"ordained and established three lawes to begin with." They are given
by Hayes as follows:
1. Establishment of the Church of England.
2. Any attempt prejudicial to Her Majesty's rights in the
territory to be punished as in a case of High Treason.
3. Anyone uttering words of dishonour to Her Majesty should
lose his ears and have his goods and ship confiscated.
"To be brief," concludes the same authority, "Gilbert dyd lette,
sette, give, and dispose of many things as absolute Governor there by
virtue of Her Majesty's letter patent."
The passage in which Captain Hayes describes the Newfoundland of his
day must be of such interest to its present inhabitants that it is
worth while to set it out in full:
"That which we doe call the Newfoundland, and the Frenchmen Bacalaos,
is an island, or rather (after the opinion of some) it consisteth of
sundry islands and broken lands, situate in the north regions of
America, upon the gulph and entrance of the great river called S.
Laurence in Canada. Into the which navigation may be made both on the
south and north side of this island. The land lyeth south and north,
containing in length betweene three and 400 miles, accounting from
Cape Race (which is in 46 degrees 25 minuts) unto the Grand Bay in 52
degrees of septentrionall latitude. The iland round about hath very
many goodly bayes and harbors, safe roads for ships, the like not to
be found in any part of the knowen world.
"The common opinion that is had of intemperature and extreme cold that
should be in this countrey, as of some part it may be verified, namely
the north, where I grant it is more colde than in countries of Europe,
which are under the same elevation: even so it cannot stand with
reason and nature of the clime that the south parts should be so
intemperate as the bruit hath gone. For as the same doe lie under the
climats of Briton, Aniou, Poictou, in France, between 46 and 49
degrees, so can they not so much differ from the temperature of those
countries: unless upon the out coasts lying open unto the ocean and
sharpe winds, it must in neede be subject to more colde, then further
within the lande, where the mountaines are interposed, as walles and
bulwarkes, to defende and to resiste the asperitie and rigor of the
sea and weather. Some hold opinion, that the Newfoundland might be the
more subject to cold, by how much it lyeth high and neere unto the
middle region. I grant that not in Newfoundland alone, but in Germany,
Italy, and Afrike, even under the Equinoctiall line, the mountaines
are extreme cold, and seeldome uncovred of snow, in their culme and
highest tops, which commeth to passe by the same reason that they are
extended towards the middle region: yet in the countries lying beneth
them, it is found quite contrary. Even so all hils having their
discents, the valleis also and low grounds must be likewise hot or
temperate, as the clime doeth give in Newfoundland, though I am of
opinion that the sunnes reflection is much cooled, and cannot be so
forcible in the Newfoundland nor generally throughout America, as in
Europe or Afrike: by how much the sunne in his diurnall course from
east to west passeth over (for the most part) dry land and sandy
countries, before he arriveth at the West of Europe or Afrike, whereby
his motion increaseth heate, with little or no qualification by moyst
vapours, where on the contraire, he passeth from Europe and Africa
unto America over the ocean, from whence it draweth and carrieth with
him abundance of moyst vapours, which doe qualifie and infeeble
greatly the sunne's reverberation upon this countrey chiefly of
Newfoundland, being so much to the northward. Neverthelesse (as I sayd
before) the cold cannot be so intollerable under the latitude of 46,
47, and 48, especiall within land, that it should be unhabitable, as
some doe suppose, seeing also there are very many people more to the
north by a great deale. And in these south partes there be certain
beastes, ounces or leopards, and birdes in like manner which in the
sommer we have seene, not heard of in countries of extreme and
vehement coldnesse. Besides, as in the monethes of June, July, August,
and September, the heate is somewhat more than in England at those
seasons: so men remaining upon the south parts neere unto Cape Rece,
until after Hollandtide, have not found the cold so extreme, nor much
differing from the temperature of England. Those which have arrived
there after November and December have found the snow exceeding deepe,
whereat no marvaile, considering the ground upon the coast is rough
and uneven, and the snow is driven into the places most declyning, as
the like is to be seen with us. The like depth of snow happily shall
not be found within land upon the playner countries, which also are
defended by the mountaines, breaking off the violence of the winds and
weather. But admitting extraordinary cold in these south parts, above
that with us here: it cannot be so great as that in Swedland, much
less in Muscovia or Russia; yet are the same countries very populous,
and the rigor of cold is dispensed with by the commoditie of stoves,
warme clothing, meats and drinkes; all which neede not to be wanting
in the Newfoundland, if we had intent there to inhabite.
"In the south parts we found no inhabitants, which by all likelihood
have abandoned those coastes, the same being so much frequented by
Christians: but in the north are savages altogether harmlesse.
Touching the commodities of this countrie, serving either for
sustentation of inhabitants, or for maintenance of traffique, there
are and may be made; so and it seemeth Nature hath recompensed that
only defect and incommoditie of some sharpe cold, by many benefits:
viz., with incredible quantitie and no less varietie of kindes of fish
in the sea and fresh waters, as trouts, salmons, and other fish to us
unknowen: also cod, which alone draweth many nations thither, and is
become the most famous fishing of the world. Abundance of whales, for
which also is a very great trade in the bayes of Placentia, and the
Grand Bay, where is made trane oiles of the whale. Herring, the
largest that have been heard of, and exceeding the alstrond herring of
Norway: but hitherto was never benefit taken of the herring fishery.
There are sundry other fish very delicate, namely the bonits,
lobsters, turbut, with others infinite not sought after: oysters
having pearle but not orient in colour: I took it by reason they were
not gathered in season.
"Concerning the inland commodities as wel to be drawen from this land,
as from the exceeding large countries adioyning; there is nothing
which our east and northerly countries doe yeelde, but the like also
may be made in them as plentifully by time and industrie: namely,
rosen, pitch, tarre, sope, ashes, deel boord, mastes for ships, hides,
furres, flaxe, hempe, corne, cables, cordage, linnen-cloth, mettals,
and many more. All which the countries will aford, and the soyle is
apt to yeelde.
"The trees for the most in those south parts, are firre trees, pine
and cypresse, all yielding gumme and turpentine. Cherrie trees bearing
fruit no bigger than a small pease. Also peare trees, but fruitlesse.
Other trees of some sorts to us unknowen.
"The soyle along the coast is not deepe of earth, bringing foorth
abundantly peason, small, yet good feeding for cattel. Roses, passing
sweet, like unto our mucke roses in forme, raspases, a berry which we
call harts, good and holesome to eat. The grasse and herbe doth fat
sheepe in very short space, proved by English marchants which have
caried sheepe thither for fresh victuall, and had them raised
exceeding fat in lesse than three weekes. Peason which our
countrey-men have sowen in the time of May, have come up faire, and
bene gathered in the beginning of August, of which our generall had a
present acceptable for the rarenesse, being the first fruits coming up
by art and industrie, in that desolate and dishabited land.
"We could not observe the hundredth part of these creatures in those
unhabited lands: but these mentioned may induce us to glorifie the
magnificent God, who hath superabundantly replenished the earth with
creatures serving for the use of man, though man hath not used the
fift part of the same, which the more doth aggravate the fault and
foolish slouth in many of our nation, chusing rather to live
indirectly, and very miserably to live and die within this realme
pestered with inhabitants, then to adventure as becommeth men, to
obtaine an habitation in those remote lands, in which Nature very
prodigally doth minister unto mens endeavours, and for art to worke
upon."
The story of Gilbert's disastrous expedition and voyage home is well
known; how some of his men sailed off in a stolen vessel, some ran
away into the woods, and others falling sick were sent home in the
_Swallow_; how he set sail on August 20th (that is, after a stay on
the island of only a fortnight) with his three remaining vessels,
overloaded and under-manned as they were; how his vessels, after the
wreck of the _Delight_ off Sabre Island, were reduced to the _Golden
Hind_ and the _Squirrel_; how in a prodigious hurricane he refused to
transfer himself from the tiny _Squirrel_ to the larger vessel; and
how he died encouraging his ill-fated company--"We are as near heaven
by sea as by land." Though the expedition ended in disaster, and the
intention to found a settlement failed utterly, the bold enterprise
could not but exert a salutary influence on the hearts and souls of
other adventurers and promotors of colonization. As has been well
said:[22] "a halo of real enthusiasm illumines this foolish founder of
the greatest colonial empire in the world, and where a hero leads,
even though it be to ruin, others are apt to follow with enthusiasm,
for tragedies such as these attract by their dignity more than they
deter." More particularly, Gilbert's voyage is of great interest,
because we may reasonably associate him with the colonial ideas of his
greater half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh. The slow and difficult
process was beginning which was to make Newfoundland a permanent
settlement instead of the occasional resort of migratory fishermen.
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES:
[14] Rogers, _op. cit._, pp. 18-19.
[15] The name Labrador is derived from the Portuguese word
"llavrador," which means a yeoman farmer. The name was at first given
to Greenland, and was afterwards transferred to the peninsula on the
assumption that it was part of the same territory as Greenland. The
origin of the name itself is due to the fact that the first
announcement of having seen Greenland was a farmer ("llavrador") from
the Azores.
[16] Compare such names of places as Frenchman's Arm, Harbour Breton,
Cape Breton, Spaniard's Bay, Biscay Bay, Portugal Cove, Cape Race,
Port-aux-Basques, etc.
[17] _Cf._ Purchas, "Pilgrims," vol. xiv. pp. 304-5.
[18] Hakluyt, "Principal Navigations," vol. viii. p. 3.
[19] Hakluyt, _op. cit._, vol. iii.
[20] _Cf._ J. Latimer, "History of the Society of Merchant Venturers
of Bristol" (1903).
[21] "A report of the voyage and successe thereof, attempted in the
yeere of our Lord 1583 by Sir Humfrey Gilbert Knight, with other
gentlemen assisting him in that action, intended to discover and to
plant Christian inhabitants in place convenient, upon those large and
ample countreys extended Northward from the cape of Florida, lying
under very temperate climes, esteemed fertile and rich in minerals,
yet not in the actuall possession of any Christian prince, written by
M. Edward Haie gentleman, and principall actour in the same voyage,
who alone continued unto the end, and by God's speciall assistance
returned home with his retinue safe and entire." See Hakluyt (ed.
1904), vol. viii. pp. 34 seq.
[22] Rogers, _op. cit._, p. 40.
CHAPTER IV
EARLY HISTORY (_continued_). BEGINNING OF A PERFECT ENGLISH COLONY
We have seen that many nations shared in the profits of the
Newfoundland trade, but the English and French soon distanced all
other competitors. The explanation lies in the conflicting interests
which these two great and diffusive Powers were gradually establishing
on the American mainland. It is worth while anticipating a little in
order to gain some landmarks. In 1609 the colonization of Virginia
began in earnest; a few years later sailed the Pilgrim Fathers in the
_Mayflower_, to found New England. In 1632 Lord Baltimore founded
Maryland, to be a refuge for English Roman Catholics. Meanwhile,
France had not been idle in the great northern continent. The intrepid
Champlain trod boldly in the perilous footsteps of Cartier, and Port
Royal was founded in 1604, Quebec in 1608. Later still came the
splendid adventure of La Salle, who forced his way--a seventeenth
century Marchand--from the sources of the Mississippi to the Gulf of
Mexico, thus threatening to cut off the English settlers from
expansion to the west. A glance at the map will reveal the immense
strategic importance of Newfoundland to two Powers with the
possessions and claims indicated above. No doubt a consciousness of
deeper differences underlay the keenness of commercial rivalry.
The hardy sailors, mainly from the west country, who carried on the
trade for England, came when the season began, and sailed away with
its close, returning in the following year to the portion of the beach
which each crew had pegged out for its own operations. A feeling of
proprietorship soon sprang from uninterrupted user, and signs of
jealousy appeared of any attempt at permanent settlement. This local
feeling, combining with interested influence at home, did much to
stunt the growth of the colony; the old colonization theory inherited
from Spain was still powerful, for the American Revolution had not yet
revealed the handwriting on the wall.
In 1585 English vessels and sailors were seized in Spanish waters
under the pretext of a general arrest. Accordingly, by way of reprisal
Gilbert's plan of 1577 (which has already been referred to) was
revived by Walsingham, and Sir Walter Raleigh, then vice-admiral of
the western counties, was instructed to despatch vessels for the
purpose of intercepting Spanish fishermen proceeding to the
Newfoundland waters. A flotilla under the command of Sir Barnard Drake
(cousin of Sir Francis) sailed to Newfoundland, and took a
considerable number of Spanish and Portuguese prizes and prisoners.
The disaster to the Spanish Armada in 1588 was a drastic blow to
Spanish power at sea, a signal for England's maritime ascendancy, and
an impetus to more rational, consistent, and practical methods of
colonization, in which great Companies and great fleets
participated--fleets that prepared the way for the establishment and
development of our incomparable Navy, the mighty bulwark of our
Empire. The turning-point at the close of the sixteenth century is
thus indicated by Mr Rogers: "Large creative ideals, the usual
delusions about Cathay, gold, and silver, and a desire to retaliate
against Spain, inspired both Raleigh's and Gilbert's efforts; and
after their failures the history of colonization turned over a new
leaf. There were no more colonies founded in anger, the old delusions
about Cathay and gold and silver melted into thin air, and the large
Elizabethan ideals were accompanied by small projects, which after a
time dimmed and obscured them."[23] With James I. and the wise
influence of Bacon came an increased interest in the "plantations,"
and God's silly vassal (as a justly irritated divine called the King
to his face) does not suffer in this respect from a comparison with
his contemporaries.
After the colonization of Virginia and Maine had begun, Sir John
Popham, who had done much to set on foot the schemes relative to these
American settlements, recollecting the attempts that had been made to
colonize Newfoundland, suggested to the merchant adventurers of
Bristol that they should make new efforts to establish colonies on the
island. The King's support having been promised, funds were raised,
and a royal charter was granted to a company on April 27th, 1610,
designated "The Treasurer and the Company of Adventurers and Planters
of the City of London and Bristol for the Colony or Plantations in
Newfoundland." London and the West of England were thus associated, as
they had been in the Virginian Company of 1606. There were forty-six
members, including the Earl of Northampton, Sir Francis Bacon, Thomas
Aldworth, Mayor of Bristol, John Guy and Philip Guy of Bristol; and
the territory granted to them comprised the lands from Cape St. Mary
to Cape Bonavista. The same year John Guy, the first Governor, led out
the first colony to Newfoundland, landed at Conception Bay, and
selected for his capital Cuper's Cove (Port de Grave). Guy and his
companions then built a fort, a dwelling-house, a workshop, and a
boat, sowed corn, and made preparations for the winter. Next fishing
ordinances were issued by the Governor. "That struck the first note of
a conflict which was to last for 150 years, and of which the echoes
may yet be heard. The fishermen, merchants, and seamen who flocked to
the coast for the fishing season vehemently resented anything which
might seem to threaten their turbulent lawlessness, and the great
merchants in England, who were profiting by the fisheries, were
jealous lest the planters should in some way interfere with their
operations; but, for a time, the planters had sufficient influence
through the patentees in England to maintain themselves."[24] After a
sojourn of six summers--though only three winters--in Newfoundland,
Guy returned to Bristol, and spent the remainder of his life there in
his aldermanic dignity.
He was succeeded (1615) in the Governorship by Captain John Mason who,
together with Sir Ferdinando Gorges, founded New Hampshire and Maine.
Mason stayed six years in the island; he explored it, prepared a map
of it, encouraged the growth of corn successfully, and with less
success endeavoured to establish commercial intercourse with the Red
Indians.
In 1618 appeared the "Briefe discourse of the New-found-land by
Captain John Mason." After a discerning account of the attractions of
his theme, the writer concludes:
"I might hear further discourse of our discoveries ... but these may
suffice as _verbum sapienti_; being of sufficient trueth to remouve
errours ... also to take away malicious and scandelous speeches of
maligne persons, who out of envy to God and good actions (instructed
by their father the Devill) have sought to despoil it of the dewe and
blamish the good name thereof."
Disorders having occurred after Mason's arrival, Sir Richard
Whitbourne, an Exmouth sea-captain who had had many years fishing
experience in the Newfoundland waters, was despatched to investigate
the disputes between the settlers and the fishermen. He reported that
250 sail of English fishermen, and 400 of "French, Portugals, and
Biscaines" resorted to the coast. His mission failed, owing to the
dilatory nature of the inquiry and the difficulties in getting the
contesting parties to attend, as they were in scattered places. Then
the merchants, having an eye to their own profit, proceeded to divide
the occupied territory into a number of shares, which the recipients
afterwards resold.[25] "The colony from time to time shed portions of
itself, division led to sub-division, and new characters appeared upon
the scene."[26] Other companies were thus formed, charters granted,
and settlements made, most of which were confined to the peninsula of
Avalon. With these enterprises several distinguished names were
connected: for example, Sir William Vaughan, who sent out colonists in
1617 and 1618: Henry Cary, Lord Falkland, who bought land on the east
coast, called it South Falkland, despatched a number of emigrants, but
did not himself visit the island; Sir George Calvert, a leading Roman
Catholic, who took out co-religionists.
In 1627 Sir George Calvert, better known as Lord Baltimore, was
granted by charter the fancifully named Province of Avalon (after
Avalon in Somersetshire), which embraced a considerable portion of the
island's area. Calvert established himself at Ferryland--the name
being a corruption of Verulam, so called after the great
Chancellor--and stayed only long enough to infuse a tenacious Roman
Catholic strain into the island. Finding the climate too cold,
however, he applied for a more southerly colony for himself and forty
companions. In reply, the King said that the climate was not too cold,
but that Sir George Calvert was too soft, and had better return home.
But he had in the meantime transferred himself and his forty followers
to the milder climes of the south, and there established Maryland,
whose capital, Baltimore, was named after the founder's family title.
Perhaps the turbulence of his surroundings, and the troubles with the
French, were not to his taste. Law and order were indeed far to seek,
and there were neither civil tribunals nor military forces. We may
suppose that the "Fishing Admirals," authorized by the Star Chamber
and confirmed in their authority by 10 and 11 William III., c. 25,
had already asserted a _de facto_ jurisdiction on the spot, for it is
hardly credible that the mere wantonness of legislative invention can
have produced such a tribunal. To anticipate for a moment: the Act
provided that the master of the first ship arriving from England with
the season should be admiral of the harbour; to the masters of the
second and third in order were given the titles of vice-admiral and
rear-admiral. To this tribunal were committed fishing disputes in
general, and the maintenance of peace among sailors and fishermen. It
may be supposed that these rough sailors were both corrupt and
inefficient. "I must be a pretty sort of a judge if I could not do
justice to myself," said one west country sailor, when charged with
delivering an interested judgment. At the close of the season the
judges disappeared, together with their cargoes of blubber and cod.
In spite of all these drawbacks the island was gradually increasing in
reputation. Writers, as well as returned "planters" and visitors, did
much to make it known. Thus Sir Richard Whitbourne, to whom reference
has already been made, wrote in his "Discourse of Newfoundland"
(1622): "Divers worshipful citizens of the City of Bristol have
undertaken to plant a large circuit of that country, and they have
maintained a Colony of his Majesties subjects there any time those
five years who have builded there faire houses, and done many other
good services, who live there very pleasantly, and they are well
pleased to entertaine upon fit conditions such as wilbe Adventurers
with them." And he quotes from a letter from Captain Wynne of August
17th, 1622: "At the Bristow Plantation there is as goodly rye now
growing as can be in any part of England; they are also well furnished
with swine, and a large breed of goates, fairer by farre than those
that were sent over at the first."
In 1628 Robert Hayman, who accompanied the above-mentioned expedition
of 1610, published a book entitled "Quodlibels, lately come over from
New Britaniola, Old Newfound-Land," etc. Among the "epigrams" are a
number of verses, in which he pays a tribute to leading North American
colonizers, sets out the advantages offered by the new colony, and
makes many apt and wise observations regarding colonization. The
reader will no doubt welcome a few passages, which he may regard--to
use Livy's phrase--as "deverticula amoena" in this account of our
subject.
_To the Worshippful Captaine John Mason, who did wisely and worthily
governe there divers yeeres._
The aire in Newfound-land is wholesome, good;
The fire, as sweet as any made of wood;
The waters, very rich, both salt and fresh;
The earth more rich, you know it is no lesse
Where all are good, fire, water, earth, and aire,
What man made of these foure would not live there?
_To all those worthy women, who have any desire to live in
Newfound-land._
Sweet creatures, did you truely understand
The pleasant life you'd live in Newfound-land,
You would with teares desire to be brought thither:
I wish you, when you goe, faire wind, faire weather:
For if you with the passage can dispence [= bear]
When you are there, I know you'll ne'r come thence.
_In praise of my Newfound-land._
Did some know what contentment I found there,
Alwayes enough, most times somewhat to spare.
With little paines, lesse toyle, and lesser care,
Exempt from tanings, ill newes, lawing, feare....
_To the first Planters of Newfound-land._
What ayme you at in your plantation?
Sought you the honour of our nation?
Or did you hope to raise your owne renowne?
Or else to adde a kingdome to a crowne?
Or Christ's true doctrine for to propagate?
Or drawe salvages to a blessed state?
Or our o're peopled kingdome to relieve?
Or shew poore men where they may richly live?
Or poore mens children godly to maintaine?
Or aym'd you at your owne sweete private gaine?
_To some discreet people who thinke anybody good enough for a
plantation._
When you doe see an idle, lewd, young man,
You say hee's fit for our plantation.
Knowing your selfe to be riche, sober, wise
You set your owne worth at an higher price.
I say, such men as you are, were more fit,
And most convenient for first peopling it:
Such men as you would quickly profit here:
Lewd, lazy lubbers, want wit, grace, and care.
_To the famous, wise and learned sisters, the two Universities of
England, Oxford and Cambridge._
Send forth your sons unto our new plantation;
Yet send such as are holy, wise, and able.
The same writer submitted to Charles I. a remarkable "proposition of
profitt and honour," in which he unsuccessfully called for the King's
help and patronage in regard to the colonization of the island.[27]
In 1637 the Commissioners of Foreign Plantations, who had been
appointed three years before, resolved that the old colonial grants
had lapsed, and transferred them to new patentees, prescribing, under
the new fishing rules made by the Star Chamber (1634), one system and
area of control for settlers, and another for fishermen, and
restricting their respective activities. The first Governor under this
régime was Sir David Kirke, who established himself at Ferryland
(1638) with a number of settlers variously estimated at from thirty to
one hundred persons. His charter was a liberal one, embracing the
whole island, and was the reward of his gallantry in the capture of
Quebec. He introduced the practice of levying rent, imposing licence
fees, and exacting an excise of 5 per 120 fish on alien fishermen. The
convulsions of the Civil War were felt even in Newfoundland, and Kirke
paid for his Royalism by the loss, under the Commonwealth, of his
noble possession (1651).
What has been described as a period of repression in the history of
Newfoundland began with the reign of Charles I. and continued to the
end of the eighteenth century. As a recent writer observes: "In the
fairy story it is the youngest sister, but the eldest sister is the
Cinderella of colonial history. If Newfoundland had experienced only
the healthful neglect under which the other colonies prospered, she
too would have grown into vigorous life. But a strong and influential
class in England was interested in harassing the settlers, in
depreciating the resources of the island, and in throwing every
obstacle in the way of permanent settlement. This policy came in with
Charles I. and continued down to the very commencement of the
nineteenth century. Captain Mason, Sir William Vaughan, and Captain
Whitbourne had written favourably of the island; but from their day
down to 1842, when Sir Richard Bonnycastle wrote his book, every
writer described it as barren; in summer gloomy with perpetual fog,
and in winter given over to excessive cold and blinding snowstorms.
The west country people of England, generation after generation, drew
from the fisheries of Newfoundland enormous profits, upon which
prosperous mercantile establishments and noble families were built up
and sustained in England. They considered and called them 'their'
fisheries, and their interests required that there should be no
resident population to compete in their monopoly, to share the best
fishing rooms, and to grow up to be dangerous rivals in foreign
markets. The influence of this class upon the government was
incessantly exercised in framing regulations and laws to choke the
growth of the colony.
"The confused annals of this period can only be understood by
remembering the existence of two antagonistic parties, the 'planters'
and inhabitants on the one hand, who, being settled there, needed the
protection of a government and police, with administration of justice;
and the 'adventurers' or merchants on the other, who, originally
carrying on the fishery from England, and visiting the island only for
the season, needed no such protection for themselves, and had various
reasons for preventing its being afforded to the others.
"If the Mother Country had only forgotten the island it would have
prospered; but in 1633 the English merchants succeeded in procuring
from the Star Chamber rules and regulations drawn solely to advance
their own private interests, and these rules were supplemented always
in the same direction, by the same oppressive agency."[28]
At this time the resident population of the island cannot have
exceeded a few hundreds, and every step was adopted which a vicious
political economy could suggest to keep the numbers down. It was made
penal for a settler to dwell within six miles of the shore, for a
planter to cut down wood or plant within six miles from the shore, for
any planter or inhabitant to take up the best positions in the
harbours before the arrival of the fishing-fleet in the spring; and
every master who sailed with a crew to Newfoundland was under
bond--lest here and there a permanent settler should filter
through--to return with his exact complement of hands. Their Lordships
of the Committee of Trade and Plantations were not superior to the
prejudices of the day, and they resolved in 1675, "That all
plantations in Newfoundland should be discouraged ... or that the
western charter should from time to time be put in execution; by which
charter all planters were forbid to inhabit within six miles of the
shore from Cape Race to Cape Bonavista." Equally considerate and
attentive were the efforts of the home country to cope with crime in
the island. The Star Chamber ingeniously provided that persons charged
with homicide, or with stealing to the value of 40s., should be
brought home and submitted to the judicial experience of the Mayors
of Southampton, Weymouth, and other specified towns. The
discrimination may also be admired which prohibited stealing _from the
fishing nets_. It must be supposed that time hung heavily on the hands
of the settlers in the intervals of the fishing, for we find at the
period much time and industry wasted on petitions to the Committee of
Trade, who possibly treated them as Grenville's predecessors are said
to have treated the American despatches. The Board of Trade, which
inherited the duties and the incompetence of the Committee, proved
more complaisant, and was indeed prepared to tolerate permanent
settlers to the number of one thousand. A struggle was imminent, if
only they had known it, when the presence of a few thousand resolute
settlers in Newfoundland would be of high moment to the interests of
England.
The life of such as were allowed to remain must have been wild and
strange, alternating between the populous alacrity of the fishing
season and the hand to mouth struggle of the long winter months.
Perhaps the amenities of life were not missed because they can hardly
have been known; but the restrictions on building and the absence of
local authority must early have given rise to bitterness and
discontent. Certainly we must admire the constancy of men who were
content to live, a solitary cluster, on the coast, with an unexplored
interior and savage inhabitants behind them, and with no more secure
prospect of material progress than a process of undetected squatting
on the forbidden ground.
* * * * *
With regard to the plantations that have just been mentioned,
reference may be conveniently made here by way of parenthesis to the
survival in Newfoundland of certain terminology and customs, which
form an interesting connecting-link between the early enterprises and
modern usage and practice. In the words of a writer[29] fully
conversant with the present conditions of the island: "Because of its
early 'plantations,' the word 'planter' is still current in the
insular vocabulary, and the 'supplying system' still prevails, the
solitary links which connect with these bygone days. A 'planter' in
Newfoundland parlance is a fish trader on a moderate scale, the
middleman between the merchant, who ships the cod to market and the
toiler who hauls it from the water. 'Plantations' are yet interwoven
with local tradition, and show on ancient maps and charts. The tenure
of some has never been broken; the names and locations of others are
perpetuated in the existing fishing hamlets which dot the shore line.
Under the 'supplying system' the merchants and planters 'supply' the
fisherfolk each spring with all the essentials for their adequate
prosecution of the industry, and when the season ends, take over their
produce against the advances, made them six months before. The
'merchants' are the descendants of the early 'merchant adventurers'
who exploited the new-found Colony."
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES:
[23] _Op. cit._, p. 42.
[24] Stanford's "Compendium of Geography and Travel" (new issue):
North America: vol. i. Canada and Newfoundland. Edited by H.M. Ami
(London, 1915), p. 1009.
[25] See Rogers, _op. cit._, pp. 59 _seq._
[26] _Ibid._, p. 59.
[27] See article by G.C. Moore Smith, in "English Historical Review,"
vol. xxxiii. (1918), pp. 31 _seq._
[28] Stanford's "Compendium," pp. 1010, 1011.
[29] P.T. M'Grath, "Newfoundland in 1911" (London, 1911), p. 46.
CHAPTER V
THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE
In the reign of Charles I. a duty of five per cent. had been imposed
on the produce of all foreign vessels engaged in the Newfoundland
trade. Twenty-five years later the French under Du Mont, then
proceeding to Quebec with a contingent of soldiers and colonists,
established a settlement at Placentia, on the southern coast,
fortified it, and made it the seat of a resident Governor. They
continued, however, to pay the duty in recognition of English
sovereignty. Charles II. abolished the duty to oblige his French
patron, and with the abolition began the history of French aggression.
Very soon after their establishment the French settlers repudiated
England's sovereignty over the south parts of Newfoundland, and from
time to time strengthened their colony by bringing over bands of
French immigrants. It was clear to many that the extension of French
power in Canada and Newfoundland was a serious menace to the English
fisheries and settlements: leading statesmen, however, refused to
recognize the danger, and believed that if any really existed, the
system of convoys would obviate it. The convoy-captains, enlarging
the sphere of their regular activities, saved the colony, and during
their intermittent visits took upon themselves the functions of
governors, and effectually prevented the diffusion of anarchy. The
Governors of the French colony made their presence felt more than the
English settlers could tolerate; they interfered with them unduly,
engaged in privateering expeditions and land forays against them,
destroyed their property, and burned down their houses. Indeed, more
than one French Governor conceived the notion, with the sanction of
the King of France, of putting an end entirely to English colonization
in the island. "The encroachments of the French," said William III.,
in his Declaration of War, "on His Majesty's subjects trading and
fishing there, had been more like the invasions of an enemy than
becoming friends, who enjoyed the advantages of that trade only by
permission." With the outbreak of war came in sharp succession the
attacks of Chevalier Vesmond, and of Burrill, beneath the latter of
which all the island but Bonavista and Carbonier succumbed.
The Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 was signed before the French had been
dislodged. Under its terms the invaders surrendered their conquests
and retired to the territory in the south-west, of which they were in
occupation when the war began. The anomaly of their claims, passed
over in silence by the Treaty, was certain to be the source of
mischief. In the language of Mr Pedley, "Over a territory of some 200
miles in extent, belonging to the British sovereignty, they had built
up imperceptibly an almost undisputed dominion." Five years after the
Peace of Ryswick war broke out again. An English squadron under
Admiral Sir John Leake destroyed a number of French fishing-vessels
between St. Pierre and Trepassey (1702), and in the following year
Admiral Graydon failed to reduce Placentia, owing to sickness, bad
weather, as well as want of resolution. In January 1705 the French in
retaliation surprised and captured St. John's. From this point they
overran the English settlements, Carbonier once again weathering the
storm, and abandoned themselves to depredation and devastation, as
they had done in the conflict a few years before.
The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 found the French still in possession.
The provisions of this Treaty require careful consideration. Full
sovereignty over the whole of Newfoundland and the neighbouring
islands was declared to belong to England. Placentia was to be handed
over. Article XIII. of the Treaty contains the following provisions:
"Nor shall the most Christian King, his heir and successors or any of
their subjects, at any time hereafter lay claim to any right to the
said island.... Moreover, it shall not be lawful for the subjects of
France to fortify any place in the said island of Newfoundland, or to
erect any buildings there, besides _stages made of boards, and huts
necessary and useful for drying of fish_, or to resort to the said
island beyond the time necessary for fishing and drying of fish. But
it shall be allowed to the subjects of France to catch fish and to dry
them on land in that part only which stretches ... from Cape Bonavista
to the northern part of the said island from thence by the western
side as far as Cape Riche."
The fishing concession to France herein contained was wholly
inexcusable. The latter country was in no position to refuse terms,
and an absolute reservation of all fishing rights should have been
insisted on in the interests of the colony. A culpable Ministry,
short-sightedly regarding Newfoundland as little more than a
fishing-station, chose rather to make a graceful concession, and we
inherited the consequences in our Newfoundland Fisheries controversy
with France, which lasted for nearly two centuries. However, the half
century following the Treaty of Utrecht--an important turning-point in
the history of the colony--marks a period of progress; and after
another Anglo-French conflict, from which the English emerged
victorious, we find in the ensuing half century the establishment of a
definite policy of colonial permanence.
The abuses connected with the admirals' jurisdiction had been
partially corrected by the authority, on appeal from them, of the
King's commanders stationed off the island. Still, the evils were very
real, and extorted recognition even from the gang of west country
monopolists who strangled for so long the growth of the island. We
find a recommendation offered by them to the Board of Trade with
astounding assurance, that the 3000 odd men, women, and children, who
by this time composed the population of Newfoundland, "should be
encouraged to settle in Nova Scotia--as they might be of service
there, where inhabitants were wanted."
The colonists themselves had other and better remedies. A
spontaneously elected Assembly passed ordinances which attest the
sincerity of the general desire for reform. In 1728 the informing zeal
of Lord Vere Beauclerk elicited a decisive step from the Board of
Trade, and Captain Henry Osborne was appointed the first Governor of
Newfoundland (1729), with authority to appoint justices of the peace.
Even at such a moment the cloven hoof of prejudice peeped through, and
Osborne and his justices were explicitly warned to interfere in no way
with the privileges of the admirals, as defined by 10 and 11 William
III. Governor Osborne addressed himself to his duties with great
energy. He appointed justices and constables, carved the island into
districts, and erected prisons and stocks. His influence was weakened
by his departure when the season ended, for till the nineteenth
century the governors, like the fish, were migratory. A tedious
quarrel followed between the justices and the admirals as to the
limits of their respective jurisdictions; the admirals, whose wits
seem to have been sharpened by judicial practice, insisting that their
own authority was derived from statute, whereas that of the justices
merely rested upon an Order in Council.
In 1749 the great sailor Rodney, then a commander in the Navy, was
appointed Governor. He distinguished himself by a humane consideration
for the interests of the fishing servants. His answer to a petition
from the merchants for permission to lower the contract rate of wages,
in view of the badness of the season, has often been quoted, and is
pleasant to read:
"Mr Drake and myself would be glad to ease the merchants in all that
lay in our power, but we are by no means capable of acting as desired,
to serve any people whatever. I have only one question to ask, namely:
'Had the season been good in proportion as it has proved bad, would
the merchants or boat-keepers have raised the men's wages?'"
In 1750 came another advance. Commissioners of Oyer and Terminer were
appointed for the island; that is to say, persons authorized to "hear
and determine" on capital felonies committed in Newfoundland. This
change ended the costly farce by which such persons were sent to
England for trial. Seven years of development followed, to be broken
by the long struggle between England and France, which the splendid
genius of Pitt inspired and directed. He not only "conquered America
in Europe" by the prodigal carelessness with which he poured subsidies
into the treasury of Prussia, but he conceived and delivered in
America itself a death-blow to French ambition. In 1758 Amherst and
Wolfe, with a fleet of 150 vessels, were sent to attack Cape Breton,
and after assaulting Louisbourg, the capital, received the submission
of the island. In 1759 came General Wolfe's night assault on Quebec,
and the unforgettable battle in which he lost his life. The only
French success was gained at the expense of Newfoundland, for St.
John's surrendered to an adventurous French expedition under Count
d'Haussonville in June 1762. Admiral Lord Graves, the Governor, who
was on his voyage from England, received the news in time to prevent
him from landing. He vigorously concerted a plan of attack with
Admiral Lord Colville, who was in command at Halifax, and after a
lively investment the French garrison, numbering 700 or 800 strong
surrendered on terms (September 20th, 1762), but the French Navy
managed to escape, thanks to a fog.
The Treaty of Paris in 1763 brought the war to an end. Its course had
afforded one more opportunity of simplifying the condition of the
fishing industry. The English Ministry, under the nerveless guidance
of Lord Bute, omitted to seize it, and the Newfoundland clauses of the
Treaty of Utrecht (which had granted to the French fishery and drying
rights on the coasts between Cape Bonavista and Point Rich) were
confirmed, notwithstanding the fact that the English settlers had
extended their occupation as far north as Twillingate, and French
fishermen had not for three decades previously been further south than
Fleur-de-Lys and White Bay. One clear, protesting voice was heard. "I
contended several times in vain," said Pitt, "for the whole exclusive
fishery, but I was overruled--I repeat, I was overruled, not by the
foreign enemy, but by another enemy."
The House of Commons, under George III., was a corrupt and discredited
body; and the Treaty of Paris was affirmed by 319 votes to 65. It had
fallen to the lot of Governor Palliser--a fine reactionary in the view
he took of his charge--to frame local orders for carrying out the
provisions of the Treaty of Paris. His orders were clear and
unambiguous. The French right of fishing within the permitted area was
declared to be concurrent. The English jurisdiction was affirmed
except in disputes between French subjects.
Between the capture of French America and the revolt of the older
English colonies a few years of peace intervened. Cook, the great
discoverer, who had served under Lord Graves in Newfoundland in 1762,
spent the four years from 1763 to 1767 in an invaluable survey of the
island, wherein he showed for the first time its correct shape, and
glancing inland foretold for it a great mining future. The annexation
of Labrador, affected by the proclamation of October 7th, 1763, added
to the area and importance of the colony.
It would be unreasonable to look for religious enlightenment in the
early history of Newfoundland. "Coelum non animum mutant qui trans
mare currunt": there was little tolerance in the England of the
eighteenth century, and even the New England settlers had shamed their
faith by outrages on the Quakers. In Newfoundland religious feeling
ran high, as it has so often done when Roman Catholics and Protestants
live side by side. The Roman Catholic element in Newfoundland, though
a minority, was considerable in numbers: for the sorrows of Ireland
had brought many of her children from one sorely tried island to
another. The Protestant majority, forgetting the tradition of Lord
Baltimore, abused their supremacy. Heavy fines were inflicted on
priests for holding services, and the scenes of their ministrations
were burned to the ground. Mr Pedley quotes a letter, written by
Governor Dorrell, to a bench of magistrates in 1762:
"Whereas I am informed that a Roman Catholic priest is at this time
in Harbour Grace, and that he publicly read Mass, which is contrary to
law, and against the peace of our Sovereign Lord the King; you are
hereby required and directed, on the receipt of this, to cause the
said priest to be taken into custody, and sent round to this place. In
this you are not to fail."
Mr Pedley quotes a letter from Governor Bonfoy to certain justices,
which grimly illustrates the prevalence of crime in the eighteenth
century:
"Whereas I think, for the good of this island in general, that gallows
should be erected in the several districts, in order to deter from
their robberies a parcel of villains, who think that they can do what
they please with impunity.... You are, therefore, hereby required and
directed to cause gallows to be erected in the most public places in
your several districts, and cause all such persons as are guilty of
robbery, felony, or the like crimes, to be sent round to this place in
order to take their trial at the annual assizes held here, as I am
determined to proceed against all such with the utmost severity of the
law. Given under my hand at St. John's, the 12th of October, 1754."
Newfoundland was naturally affected by the rebellion of the American
colonies. Of these Montcalm, in 1758, had written with rare insight:
"The several advices I daily receive assure me England will one day
lose her colonies. As to the English colonies, one essential point
should be known: it is, that they are never taxed. The Mother Country
should have taxed them from the foundation; I have certain advice that
all the colonies would take fire at being taxed now."[30] The
expulsion of the French from America had already lessened the
dependence of the colonies upon the home country, when the House of
Commons directed its corrupt and blighting attention to the English
colonial system. The Stamp Act was passed in 1764, and repealed in
1766. In 1768 came Charles Townshend's mischievous duty on tea; and
the American Congress met at Lexington in 1774. At this time the
resident population of Newfoundland amounted to over 12,000[31] and it
was soon realized that the colony would be gravely affected by the
outbreak of war. Congress at once prohibited all trade with the
English colonies. The seriousness of this blow was extreme, for
Newfoundland was largely dependent upon the American trade for the
necessaries of life. Want and tempest worked together for ill, and the
year 1775 is one of the blackest in the history of the colony. The
treaty with France in 1778 brought to the American colonists a success
which their resources and, it must be added, their resolution could
hardly have won alone, and once more exposed Newfoundland to European
attacks. It was protected by the energy and resource of Governor
Montague.
In 1775 came the very important Act known as Palliser's Act. This
statute was based on the old selfish and restrictive view that
Newfoundland should be a training ground for the Navy, and a place of
trade, not a permanent settlement. Bounties were given to the fishing
industry, and stringent measures were provided to ensure that masters
trading to the island should return with undiminished crews. The
privilege of drying fish was to be enjoyed only by such of the King's
subjects as sailed to Newfoundland from Great Britain, or from one of
the British dominions in Europe.
An interesting light upon the economic condition of the colony is
thrown by the following figures:
Estimate of the sums necessary to pay the salaries of the Governor and
Civil Officers in the Island of Newfoundland from April 1st, 1787, to
April 1st, 1788:
£ s. d.
Salary of the Governor 500 0 0
The Governor's Secretary 182 10 0
The Judge of the Admiralty 200 0 0
The Naval Officer 100 0 0
The Agent 100 0 0
On Account, for Fees on Receipt and Audit 100 0 0
£1,182 10 0
It will be of interest to give here a few figures as to the growth of
the English population in order to show that colonial developments
were proceeding in the right direction. "Residents grew apace, as the
increase of women and children from 612 in 1710 to 1,356 in 1738, and
to 2,508 in 1754 attested. Heads of families accounted for a third
more, so that in round numbers permanent residents were 800 in 1710,
1,800 in 1738, and 3,400 in 1754. The ship's crews of English ships,
for whose sake the older theorists taught that the fisheries primarily
existed, numbered 3,600 in 1738 and 4,500 in 1754, so that they
outnumbered residents, in the strictest sense of the word residents.
But if residents included all those who wintered on the island, they
outnumbered ship's crews during this half-century. On the other hand,
if passengers were added to ships' crews, the visitors outnumbered the
settlers, except when there were war scares....[32] Between 1764 and
1774 residents for the first time continuously outnumbered visitors.
During these years the winter residents, including male hangers-on as
well as settlers, averaged 12,340; and visitors, including
'passengers' as well as ships' crews, averaged 11,876; or excluding
male hangers-on from the one side and passengers from the other side,
residents averaged 5,660 and visitors 5,435. Figures no longer yielded
an uncertain sound. The Rubicon was only just crossed, but was
indisputably and irrevocably crossed. Thenceforth the living-rooms
were larger than the corridors, and political arithmetic pointed at
the permanent occupants as the men of destiny. In 1764 the new tilt of
the balance struck the law officers of the Crown, who wrote that it
was 'disgraceful to suffer' the Act of 1699 'to remain in the Statute
Book' as circumstances had so much changed. This disproportion
increased; and the 12,000 inhabitants of 1764-74 swelled to 17,000 in
1792, 20,000 in 1804, and 52,000 in 1822, without any corresponding
increase on the part of those who appeared every spring and faded away
every autumn, like leaves or flowers."[33]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES:
[30] Quoted in Egerton's "History of British Colonial Policy."
[31] But see the end of the present chapter in regard to the character
and fluctuations of the population.
[32] For example, in 1745, 1746, 1757.
[33] Rogers, _op. cit._, pp. 122-123, 137-138.
CHAPTER VI
THE ENGLISH COLONIAL SYSTEM AND ITS RESULTS
The War of American Independence forms a convenient point at which to
examine for a moment in passing the English colonial system, of which
Newfoundland was in some sense a victim. It may then at once be stated
that in the English view, as in the Spanish view, a "plantation" was
expected, directly or indirectly, to contribute to the wealth of the
Mother Country. If it contributed much, it was a good colony; if
little, its consequence was less. Hence the English legislation
throttling colonial manufacturers in the supposed interests of English
merchants, and confining colonial trade to English channels. Hence the
disregard, persistent and unashamed, of Adam Smith's immortal saying:
"To prohibit a great people from making all that they can of every
part of their own produce, or from employing their stock and industry
in the way that they judge most advantageous to themselves, is a
manifest violation of the most sacred rights of mankind." Long before
Smith, the wisest of Englishmen had sounded a clear note of warning
far in advance of his age. Bacon wrote in his essay on plantations:
"Let there be freedom from custom, till the plantation be of strength:
and not only freedom from custom, but freedom to carry their
commodities where they make their best of them, except there be some
special cause of caution."
Any stick has been thought good enough to beat those who lost America,
but we must not suppress the little that may be urged on their behalf.
Here again may be cited the dispassionate opinion of Adam Smith:
"Though the policy of Great Britain with regard to the trade of her
colonies has been dictated by the same mercantile spirit as that of
other nations, it has, upon the whole, been less illiberal and
oppressive than that of any of them." To the same effect Mr Lecky: "It
is a gross ... misrepresentation to describe the commercial policy of
England as exceptionally tyrannical." In fact, the expense of
protecting Newfoundland and America against French attacks was serious
and constant. That the colonies owed contribution to that defence is
clear, for it would be involved in any other view that an American
enjoyed a natural right to be protected against France at the charges
of a Londoner. In the face of all this the colonies were conspicuously
and notoriously unable to agree upon any principle of allocating
grants. In this respect Newfoundland was no better than the American
colonies. "We should be extremely concerned," wrote a merchant
officially consulted on the point, "to see any species of taxes
introduced into this island which would inevitably be burdensome and
inconvenient to the trade and fishing in general, and we trust that in
the wisdom of His Majesty's Ministers no such innovation will take
place."
The attempt, then, to tax from home was defensible, and Chatham was
clearly wrong in denying its legality. On the other hand, to persevere
in the attempt was the folly of weakness, mistaking obstinacy for
strength.
It must be remembered, as a partial extenuation of English selfishness
in Newfoundland, that the long arm of England was ever extended for
the colony's protection, and that the charges therefor were defrayed
by the English taxpayer. Hence the view followed, naturally but
unfortunately, that the island was an asset to be exploited
commercially in the interests of the home country.
In 1783 the Treaty of Versailles revised the French rights conferred
by the Treaty of Utrecht. The French boundary was contracted from Cape
Bonavista to Cape St. John on the east coast, and was extended from
Point Riche to Cape Ray on the west. The whole subject of the French
claims will be examined in a separate chapter,[34] but a very
important undertaking set forth in the Treaty of Versailles must not
be omitted:
"His Britannic Majesty ... that the fishermen of the two nations may
not give cause for daily quarrels, was pleased to engage that he would
take the most positive measures for preventing his subjects from
interrupting in any measure by their competition, the fishing of the
French during the temporary exercise thereof which is granted to them
upon the coasts of the island of Newfoundland, and that he would for
that purpose cause the permanent settlements which should be formed
there to be removed, and that he would give orders that the French
fishermen should not be incommoded in the cutting of wood, necessary
for the repair of their scaffolds, huts, and fishing boats."
In the time of Governor Milbanke, in 1791, an Act of Parliament
tardily created "the Court of Civil Jurisdiction of our Lord the King
at St. John's in the island of Newfoundland," which Court was
empowered to try all civil cases except those relating to land, and
which usually began actions by the peremptory procedure of arresting
the defendant and attaching his goods. The following year a supreme
Court of Civil and Criminal Judicature was instituted which superseded
the Court erected the previous year, put an end to the authority of
the "fishing-admirals," of the Courts held in summer by surrogates
(naval commanders visiting the island) and of the Courts of Session
held in winter by local justices of the peace, and was empowered to
try all persons charged with criminal offences and determine civil
suits, including those relating to land, and to make arrest and
attachment in civil suits discretionary and alternative. The
jurisdiction of the Court was renewed annually, then triennially; and
John Reeves, to whose history all writers on Newfoundland owe so much,
was appointed the first Chief Justice; but he remained in the island
only till 1792, when he was succeeded by ex-surgeons, collectors of
customs, and merchants. In 1809 a perpetual Act was passed, which
purported to abolish definitely the diverse and sporadic
jurisdictions; but such is the force of old customs and practices that
it was not till 1824 that the old Session Courts, Courts of Surrogates
and of fishing-admirals were finally extinguished, and at the same
time two assistant judges were appointed to aid the Chief Justice, and
all three judges were to be English or Irish barristers. A Court of
Civil Jurisdiction was also created for Labrador. We may recall here
the observations of Chief Justice Reeves on the fishing-admirals:
"They are ever the servants of the merchants. Justice was not to be
expected from them; and a poor planter or inhabitant, who was
considered little better than a law-breaker in being such, had but a
small chance of justice in opposition to any great west-country
merchant. They considered that Newfoundland was theirs, and that all
the planters were to be spoiled and devoured at their pleasure." It
must be recorded that this most just and necessary reform in judicial
administration was vainly but bitterly opposed by the merchants at
home.
In 1793 came the war with revolutionary France, and Newfoundland was
once again in a bustle of defensive preparation. The Governor,
Vice-Admiral King, took possession of St. Pierre. The French, under
Admiral Richery, threatened St. John's, but desisted in face of the
vigour of the new Governor, Admiral Sir Richard Wallace (1796), who
raised volunteers, strengthened the forts, and prepared new batteries.
In 1797 the mutiny at the Nore broke out, provoked by real grievances.
As far off as Newfoundland the spirit of disaffection spread, and an
outbreak occurred on H.M.S. _Latona_, then lying in the harbour of St.
John's. It was quelled by the resolution of Captain Sothern; and
Governor Waldegrave (1797-1800), afterwards Lord Radstock, summoned
the mutineers before him and addressed them in the presence of the
Royal Newfoundland Regiment, whom they had tried to affect with
sedition. "I may venture to say," the Governor writes home, "my speech
was of much service." It was certainly of much vigour. "If I am to
judge from your conduct," he said, "I must think that the majority of
you are either villains or cowards. If the greater number of you are
against your officers, ... I have a right to say that you are
traitors.... If there are only a few bad men among you, which you
pretend to be the case, I maintain that you are a set of dastardly
cowards, for suffering yourselves to be bullied by a few villains, who
wish for nothing better than to see us become the slaves of France....
You were all eager for news and newspapers to see how your great
delegate, Parker"--the ringleader at the Nore--"was going on. I thank
God I have the satisfaction to inform you that he is hanged.... You
looked up to him as an example whilst he was in his glory. I recommend
you to look to his end as an example also.... I have now to tell you
that I have given orders to all your officers, that in case any
further signs of mutiny should appear among you, they are not to think
of confining the ringleaders, but to put them to death instantly; and,
what is still more, I have given orders to the officers commanding the
batteries, to burn the _Latona_ with red-hot shot, in case you drive
me ... to that extremity. I know in this case the officers must perish
with you; but there is not one of them but is ready to sacrifice
himself for the good of his country.... And now go to church, and pray
God to inspire you with such sentiments as may acquire you the respect
and love of your countrymen in this world and eternal happiness in the
next."
This speech, which was rescued from oblivion by the industry of Mr
Pedley, came clearly from a man of energy and resolution. In fact,
Governor Waldegrave proved himself to possess unusual resource and
vigour. He was the creator of the Newfoundland system of poor relief,
and he busied himself actively in the interests of religion. On the
latter subject it is pleasant to note a spirit of growing breadth in
the island. In particular, the loyal labours of the Roman Catholic
Bishop O'Donnell opened up a new era of tolerance for his followers.
To this Bishop was due the discovery, in 1802, of a plot among the
locally enlisted Royal Newfoundland Regiment, to loot St. John's and
then fly to the United States. The ringleaders were executed, and the
mutinous regiment was replaced by one from Halifax.
The war with France was for the time being terminated by the Peace of
Amiens (1802), whereby the conquered territory was to be restored--so
that St. Pierre and Miguelon were returned to France; and her fishing
rights were renewed on the same basis as was laid down in the Treaty
of Utrecht.
In 1802, by which time the population of the island amounted to about
twenty thousand persons, Governor Gambier (1802-1803), who was in
advance of his age in his views on government, as well as on the
education of the settlers, and the civilization of the Beothics,
proposed to Lord Hobart the establishment of a legislative power in
Newfoundland, similar to that which has been found necessary to the
prosperity and good government of other parts of the British
dominions. The suggestion was treated as premature, and probably was
so in fact. That it should have been made at all shows how far we have
travelled from the swaddling clothes of monopoly. However this may be,
two important civilizing agencies were introduced in 1805 and 1806--a
regular post office, and a newspaper (the _Royal Gazette_).
In 1810 began Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Duckworth's period of office,
which soon revealed a Governor of energy and intelligence. He
journeyed to the northern settlements and Labrador to learn the
condition and needs of the population; he tried to secure friendly
relations with the Red Indians of the country, and set up a hospital
in St. John's. Amongst other reforms he procured the passing of a
statute in 1811 (51 George III.) authorizing him to grant leases of
certain ships' rooms at St. John's then in public occupation.
Following up in this way the useful work of Governor Gower
(1804-1807), he used his leasing power to promote the building of
warehouses and wharves. The idea that the inhabitants of St. John's
had a right to make it habitable was slowly gaining ground. Duckworth
was an able and far-seeing man, and his report on the condition of the
island, furnished to the home authorities at the end of his
governorship, was a lucid and memorable document. His condemnation of
the building restrictions paved the way for the fearless agitation of
Dr. William Carson. A distinguished medical graduate of Edinburgh,
Carson incurred the dislike of Governor Duckworth, and his successor,
Governor Keats, by his outspoken pamphlets. Indeed, there was nothing
equivocal in Carson's views:
"The only remedy against the evils flowing from the present system
will be found in giving to the people, what they most ardently wish, a
civil Government, consisting of a resident Governor, a Senate House,
and House of Assembly."
Hitherto the population had possessed no voice in the administration
of their own affairs. The Governors exercised an absolute power, which
to progressive minds appeared to be an indifferent and unnecessary
despotism. So far as Newfoundland affairs were concerned they almost
invariably adopted an ultra-conservative attitude, and were hostile to
proposals for amelioration called for in the changing circumstances of
the colony. Thus the demand for self-government became more and more
general.
The Anglo-American War which began in 1812 ushered in a period of
great prosperity to Newfoundland. Fish were plentiful, prices good
beyond precedent, and wages high in proportion.
The Great European War was terminated by the Battle of Waterloo on
1815, and peace was restored by the Treaty of Paris. Under the latter
the French regained the right of fishing on the banks and shores of
Newfoundland. The privileges of Americans to fish in British waters
were also enlarged. In favour of their own fishermen, both the French
and American governments then established a system of bounties, and by
imposing high duties prevented the importation of Newfoundland fish
into their own markets. Thus the Newfoundland fishermen were obliged
to compete with their rivals on very unequal terms.
Governor Pickmore, who succeeded Governor Keats in 1816, was
confronted with a very difficult state of things. The high prices
which had ruled from 1812 to 1815 had attracted emigrants in large and
undesirable numbers. The commercial reaction and foreign competition,
aided by the bounties, hit the merchants hard, and in 1815 bankruptcy
trod fast on the heels of bankruptcy. In the following winter actual
starvation menaced the residents, and many owed their lives to the
generosity and energy of Captain David Buchan, commander of H.M.S.
_Pike_, who put his men on short rations for the relief of the
inhabitants. In an address of thanks, which was presented to him when
the crisis was past, his services were gratefully recorded:
"At this distressing crisis you afforded us from His Majesty's store a
supply in aid of our then alarming and terrible wants. You then, with
patriotic feeling, placed the company of the ship which you command
on reduced allowance, and yielded to the public distress every
alleviation which such means afforded."
The lean years were still further saddened by the terrible fire of
1817, which left more than a thousand persons houseless, in the full
severity of winter. The wooden houses and narrow streets of St. John's
made resistance hopeless, when the flames had once gained a hold. It
was estimated that the fire caused a loss of £125,000. The wealthier
inhabitants and the home Government gave what relief was possible, and
in 1818 the crisis yielded before brighter prospects.
Pickmore was the first Governor to reside continuously in the island
(where he also died), for his predecessors had sailed away with the
fishermen in October to reappear with the beginning of summer. In 1817
a Select Committee of the House of Commons was specially appointed to
consider the situation of Newfoundland. The merchants, full as ever of
vicious political economy, had two remedies to propose for the
admitted distresses. One was the concession of bounties to place them
on a level with French and American competition; the other was the
removal of the population (then numbering 17,000) to Nova Scotia or
Canada. Determined to omit nothing which might make them the derision
of history, they added an emphatic opinion that agriculture could
never thrive on the island.
On the appointment of Governor Pickmore, Lord Bathurst had given him
the following instructions:
"As the colony has of late years, from the rapid increase of the
population, assumed a character totally different from that under
which it had been usual previously to consider it, I am most desirious
of receiving from you your opinion as to the propriety of introducing
any and what change into the system of government which has heretofore
prevailed."
The seeds sown by Carson were beginning to bear fruit, and from 1821
onwards the desire for local government in the island grew
continuously stronger. As against the arguments of the opposition, it
was urged that all the British colonies, even the small Bermuda, had a
local government; that Nova Scotia was granted it as far back as the
middle of the eighteenth century; that the older American colonies had
always enjoyed self-government; and that the time had now come for the
extension of the same privilege to Newfoundland. The authority of
Governor Cochrane, who was appointed in 1825, and whose term of office
lasted till 1834, was limited by the appointment of a Council,
consisting of the Chief Justice, the two assistant Judges, and the
Military Commander at St. John's. Under this Governor roads were for
the first time laid out in the island. The irritation of the merchants
at home was intense, and the name of Peter Ougier, a west country
merchant, ought to go down to posterity. In his evidence before the
committee, he protested with real emotion: "They are making roads in
Newfoundland: next thing they will be having carriages and driving
about." Sir Thomas Cochrane was regarded as the best Governor ever
sent to Newfoundland. He was "the first real administrator and ruler
of the colony. An eminently practical man, he not only organized
improvements, he personally superintended their execution. His
activity was unbounded; in the early mornings he was out on horseback
inspecting the roads, directing his workmen, laying out the grounds at
Virginia, having interviews with the farmers, giving them practical
hints about agriculture; everywhere he impressed his strong
personality on colonial affairs. He was very sociable, and his
hospitality was unstinted." Indeed, the historian of the island can
point to only one mistake committed by the Governor, the bad taste
shown in the erection of Government House, which "looks more like a
prison than the Vice-regal residence ... it is a huge pile of
unredeemed ugliness."[35]
In England, in the early thirties, reform was in the air. The blow was
struck at the right time, and in 1832--the year of the great Reform
Bill--Parliament passed a measure creating in Newfoundland a
representative assembly. The island was divided into nine electoral
divisions, each of which was to have one or more representatives,
according to population. There were, in fact, fifteen members. The
first election passed off quietly in the autumn of the same year. Dr.
Carson, the father of Home Rule, stood for St. John's, and Mr Justice
Prowse has usefully noted that he was defeated. The fickleness and
ingratitude of the people were never more dramatically illustrated.
"He had been the pioneer of the new movement, had suffered in the
people's cause, and yet the public, 'that many-headed monster
thing--the mob,' were the first to cast aside their leader in the
fight for Home Rule, and to give their votes and support to a new and
untried man." It was said, however, that the defeat was due to an
electioneering trick, whereby a false report was spread as to the
attitude of the veteran in the liberal cause.[36] "The House of
Assembly of 1833 was the youngest constituent body in America, but it
was not one whit behind any of them in stately parliamentary pageant
and grandiloquent language. H.B. (Doyle) in London caricatured it as
the 'Bow-wow Parliament' with a big Newfoundland dog in wig and bands
as Speaker putting the motion: 'As many as are of that opinion
say--bow; of the contrary--wow; the bows have it.'"[37]
A nominated Legislative Council had been provided by the Constitution
of the Colony. The relations of the Chambers have always been delicate
in the British colonies, and in Newfoundland friction soon arose. The
Legislative Council, under Chief Justice Boulton--who improperly
called himself the Speaker instead of the President--set itself to
thwart and discredit the popular Chamber. On both sides the
controversies were petty, and were conducted in a petty spirit. The
popular assembly described itself as "the Commons House of Assembly in
Parliament assembled"; whereupon it was ordered forthwith to strike
out the word "Parliament." The Legislative Council appears to have
been the more cantankerous, and the less prone to compromise. At last
matters reached an _impasse_, for the Council began to throw out
Supply and Revenue Bills. In the first year of the Queen's reign, when
Canada was already full of trouble, delegates from the Newfoundland
House of Assembly arrived in London. Their mission was in the main
successful. The Council was recommended to adopt the Appropriation
Bill, and Chief Justice Boulton was summarily dismissed. "Boulton,"
says Mr Justice Prowse, "had undoubted ability, but he was the worst
possible selection for both the Council and the Bench. His views, both
of law and legislation, were most illiberal; as a technical lawyer he
was mostly right and sublimely independent, but his harsh sentences,
his indecent party spirit, and his personal manners caused him to be
hated as no one else was ever hated in this colony."[38]
In 1838 occurred the Kielly affair, which has added a leading case to
English constitutional law. Dr. Kielly assaulted, or was said to have
assaulted, Mr John Kent, who was a member of the Assembly. Mr Kent
brought the matter before the Assembly as a breach of privilege. The
House refused to hear witnesses on Kielly's behalf, treated the charge
as proved, and demanded that he should apologize at the bar of the
House. Kielly refused, adding that Kent was a liar and a coward. Then
followed an interlude of comic opera. Kielly was committed, whereupon
Mr Justice Lilly granted a writ of _habeas corpus_. This was not to be
borne by the imperious Assembly, and the Speaker promptly issued his
warrant for the re-arrest of Kielly, the arrest of the High Sheriff,
and of Judge Lilly. Nothing like it had been seen since the heyday of
the Wilkes litigation in England, when the House of Commons committed
the Sheriff of Middlesex to prison for carrying out the orders of the
Court of King's Bench.
In the unruffled atmosphere of the Privy Council the legal question
found its decision.[39] It was laid down that the Crown, by its
prerogative, can create a Legislative Assembly in a settled colony,
with the government of its inhabitants: but that it is highly doubtful
whether the Crown could, if it wished, bestow upon such an Assembly an
authority, such as that of committing for contempt, not incidental to
it by law. "The House of Assembly of Newfoundland," said Chief Baron
Parke, "have not, what they erroneously supposed themselves to
possess, the same exclusive privileges which the ancient law of
England has annexed to the Houses of Parliament."
In 1838 the members of the Assembly were elected for four years, and
this term has continued ever since.
The colony was destined to pass now through bitter trials. Having
secured freedom, after much suffering and oppression, it soon learnt
that freedom without common sense and moderation degenerates into
licence, and becomes a menace and a terror. The election of
representatives was accompanied by scenes of turbulence and disorder:
the sense of toleration and compromise was absent. Half of the
population were Roman Catholics of Irish descent, in whom rankled
memories of ancient wrongs; the other half were Protestants of English
descent, long used to ascendency, who were headed by a wealthy
commercial class. With the introduction of the new régime old
distrusts and hostilities were rekindled, and an unscrupulous press
fanned the flames. Religion became mixed up with the political
contention; and the evil passions that were aroused, and the outrages
that were committed held back for some time the progress of the
community and the political development of the colony.
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES:
[34] See _infra_, chap. x.
[35] D.W. Prowse, "History of Newfoundland," second edition (London,
1896), pp. 424, 425, 426.
[36] Prowse, _op. cit._, pp. 429, 430.
[37] _Ibid._, p. 431.
[38] Prowse, _op. cit._, p. 434.
[39] Kielly _v._ Carson (1842), Moore's Privy Council Cases, vol. iv.,
pp. 63, 88.
CHAPTER VII
SELF-GOVERNMENT
The political faculty in Newfoundland was so rudimentary at this
period that from 1841 to 1843 it became necessary to suspend the
Constitution. In the autumn of 1840 an election riot at Carbonear
occurred, which was of such a serious character that the sympathies of
the British ministry with Newfoundland affairs were alienated, and the
Governor was ordered to dissolve the Legislature. He did this on April
26th, 1841, and in his speech pointed out the reason for such drastic
action: "As a Committee of the House of Commons has been appointed to
enquire into the state of Newfoundland, before which Committee I shall
have to appear, I will on the present occasion confine myself to the
expression of my regret that such a proceeding should have become
indispensably necessary to the tranquillity and welfare of the
colony." Until 1849 the government was carried on by a General
Assembly--a makeshift Assembly--in which members of the House of
Assembly sat side by side with members of the Council, the latter
losing their distinctive functions.
Under Governor Prescott (1834) and Governor Harvey (1841) began
organized attempts to foster the agricultural interest. Liberal grants
of land were made to poor settlers, and considerable sums voted for
the construction of roads. This was indeed a period of healthy
activity, for the development of the seal fishery added in a variety
of ways to the prosperity of the island, and the invention of steam,
together with the establishment of a regular mail service, brought
Newfoundland very much nearer to the home country.
On June 9th, 1846, came the last great fire but one which has ravaged
the colony. By great misfortune it broke out when a high wind was
blowing, and spread with fatal rapidity all over the town. Buildings,
public and private, wooden and stone, were involved in a common
destruction, and the last touch of horror came when the large oil vats
fringing the harbour caught fire. The Custom House, the Church of St.
John's, the Courts and Gaol, the Theatre, the Bank of British North
America, the Colonial Treasurer's Office, and the Savings Bank, were
all destroyed. It was estimated that the aggregate amount of damage
done was £1,000,000, and that upwards of 12,000 persons lost their
homes. In this crushing affliction the spirit shown by all classes,
from Governor Harvey downwards, was admirable. At a representative
meeting of the citizens convened by the Governor it was resolved:
"That this meeting is aware that the well-established credit and
stability of the trade of St. John's, coupled with the natural and
inexhaustible resources of its fisheries, will speedily enable it to
recover its usual current, but that in the meantime it is necessary
that publicity should be given to the demand for provisions and
building materials which at present exists in this market."
Help from Canada was quickly forthcoming and a grant of £30,000 from
the home country combined with private efforts to meet the most
pressing needs of the moment. The building of wider streets, the
proscription of wooden houses, and the provision of an ampler water
supply, showed that the lessons of the past had not been thrown away.
That year, 1846, was to be an _annus mirabilis_, for a storm, fiercer
than the wildest within living memory, wrought havoc among the
shipping in St. John's Harbour, and overwhelmed many substantial
buildings inland. It seemed as if the malice of destiny had sent the
gale to destroy the little that had escaped the fire; for Natives'
Hall, which was being used to shelter the houseless, was blown to the
ground.
About this time--thanks to the currents of excitement spread
everywhere by the European revolutionary movements of 1848--began a
fresh agitation for responsible government, which had already been
granted to the other North American colonies, and which involved a
larger measure of self-government than had been conceded in the
constitution of 1832. The inhabitants became more and more anxious
that appointments within the colony should depend upon popular
approval--or, rather, on the choice of the party commanding a majority
in the Legislature--and not upon the Crown's nomination. The official
view at home on this demand was stated both by the Whig, Earl Grey,
and the Conservative, Sir John Pakington. The former wrote:
"Until the wealth and population of the colony shall have increased
considerably beyond their present amount, the introduction of what is
called responsible government will by no means prove to its
advantage.... The institutions of Newfoundland have been of late in
various ways modified and altered, and some time must unavoidably
elapse before they can acquire that amount of fixity and adaptation to
the colonial wants of society which seems an indispensable preliminary
to the future extension of popular government."
Similarly, Sir John Pakington, in a despatch of April 3rd, 1852,
observed:
"Her Majesty's Government see no reason for differing from the
conclusions at which their predecessors had arrived in the question of
the establishment of responsible government, and which were conveyed
to you by Lord Grey in the despatch already mentioned. I consider, on
the contrary, that the wisdom and justice of these conclusions are
confirmed by the accounts since received from Newfoundland."
The change came in 1855, a year after the Secretary of State for the
Colonies had informed the Governor that "Her Majesty's Government has
come to the conclusion that they ought not to withhold from
Newfoundland those institutions and that civil administration which,
under the popular name of responsible government, have been adopted in
all Her Majesty's neighbouring possessions in North America, and they
are prepared to concede the immediate application of the system as
soon as certain preliminary conditions have been acceded to on the
part of the Legislature." At the same time the numbers of members in
the Representative Assembly was, at the instance of the Imperial
Government, increased to thirty.
It was not long before the Empire had an instructive lesson in the
influence with which responsible government arms a colony. A natural
_rapprochement_ between France and England followed the Crimean War,
and a Convention was drafted dealing with the Newfoundland fisheries.
Against the proposed adjustment, involving a surrender by Great
Britain of Newfoundland fishing rights, local feeling was strong and
unanimous. Petition followed petition, and delegation delegation. "The
excitement in the colony over the Convention of 1857 was most intense
and widespread; the British flag was hoisted half-mast; other excited
citizens flew American flags; everywhere there was burning indignation
over this proposal to sell our birthright for a mess of pottage.[40]
The resolute attitude of those interested elicited from Mr H.
Labouchere, then Colonial Secretary, the welcome expression of a great
constitutional principle:
"The proposals contained in the Convention having been now
unequivocally refused by the colony, they will of course fall to the
ground; and you are authorized to give such assurance as you may think
proper, that the consent of the community of Newfoundland is regarded
by Her Majesty's Government as the essential preliminary to any
modification of their territorial or maritime rights."
So vital is the appreciation of this principle to an Empire
constituted like our own, that it is worth while to set out the
resolution of the Newfoundland Legislature which killed the
Convention:
"We deem it our duty most respectfully to protest in the most solemn
way against any attempt to alienate any portion of our fisheries or
our soil to any foreign power without the consent of the local
Legislature. As our fishery and territorial rights constitute the
basis of our commerce and of our social and political existence, as
they are our birthright and the legal inheritance of our children, we
cannot under any circumstances assent to the terms of the Convention;
we therefore earnestly entreat that the Imperial Government will take
no steps to bring this treaty into operation, but will permit the
trifling privileges that remain to us to continue unimpaired."
In 1858 took place a real advance in the relations between different
parts of the Empire, for in that year the east coast of Newfoundland
(Trinity Bay) was connected with Ireland by a submarine cable. The
messages then exchanged through Newfoundland between the Queen and the
President of the United States mark the most decisive point in what
has been called the shrinkage of the world. Eight years later a second
Atlantic cable was successfully landed at Heart's Content.
A constitutional crisis arose in 1860, which was followed by serious
political disturbances. The Government, in which Mr Kent was Premier,
introduced a measure to determine the colonial equivalent of imperial
sterling in the payment of officials. The judges forwarded to the
Governor, Sir Alexander Bannerman, a representation against the
proposal; Mr Kent thereupon in the Assembly accused the Governor of
having entered into a conspiracy with the judges and the minority in
the House against the executive. The Governor demanded an explanation
which Mr Kent declined to give, adding that in his judgment he was
not called upon to explain his utterances as a member of the
Legislature to the Governor. Sir Alexander Bannerman immediately
dismissed the Ministry, and invited the Opposition leader, Mr Hoyles,
to form an Administration. The election took place in April, 1861.
Political passions ran high, and the old feud between Romanists and
Protestants was most unhappily revived. At the Protestant Harbour
Grace the election could not be held at all, while at the Catholic
Harbour Main a riot took place in which life was lost.
The new Assembly was opened in May 1861, and showed a majority in
favour of Mr Hoyles. It soon became clear that the passions of the mob
in St. John's were dangerously excited; Sir Alexander was hooted and
stoned on his return from the Assembly, and a little later an
organized series of attacks was commenced upon the dwellings of
well-known Roman Catholics. The magistrates thereupon called on the
military, under the command of Colonel Grant. The soldiers marched
out, eighty strong, and confronted the mob, which then numbered many
thousands. Encouraged by their commander, the troops submitted with
patient gallantry to insults and even to volleys of stones. Finally,
it is alleged, a pistol was fired at them from the crowd. Then at last
the order was given to fire; several persons were killed and twenty
wounded. Among the latter, by great misfortune, was the Rev. Jeremiah
O'Donnell, who had bravely and patiently tried to calm the mob.
The whole incident was unfortunate, but it is impossible to accept the
contention that Sir Alexander Bannerman was guilty of an
unconstitutional exercise of the prerogative in dissolving the
Assembly. It will not seriously be maintained that the representative
of the Queen could have maintained relations with a Minister who
publicly insulted him in his public capacity, and then curtly declined
to explain or withdraw his charges. As to the sequel, it is sufficient
to say that the civil authorities would have been grossly wanting in
their duty if they had failed to call out the soldiers, and that the
mob were not fired upon until the extreme limits of endurance had been
reached. That innocent persons should have been involved in the
consequences is matter of great regret; but association with a lawless
mob, even when the motive is as admirable as that of Father O'Donnell,
necessarily admits this risk.
It cannot be doubted that deep-lying economic causes had much to do
with political discontent. From the first the financial position of
the colony had been unsound. The short prosperity of the winter months
had produced a vicious and widely-spread system of credit. Soon a
majority of the fishermen lived during the winter upon the prospective
earnings of the coming season, and then when it came addressed
themselves without zest to an occupation the fruits of which were
already condemned. In this way a single bad season pauperized hundreds
of hard-working men. Governor Waldegrave in 1797 had been struck by
the failure of the law to provide for the poor, and owing to his
exertions a voluntary system of poor relief was set on foot. By the
time of Governor Gambier, in 1800, these measures had been
discontinued and, indeed, permanence was not to be looked for in a
system which depended upon voluntary support. The difficulty was that
the Crown officers advised Governor Gambier "that the provision of the
Poor Laws cannot be enforced in Newfoundland; and that the Governor
has no authority to raise a sum of money by a rate upon the
inhabitants."
The evil grew worse rather than better, and by the time of the great
Governor Cochrane, in 1825, it had assumed the form of an inveterate
social disease. Many able-bodied applicants for relief were provided
with work in public employments, and the wholesome warning was added
that those who refused such work would under no circumstances be
entitled to relief. Governor Cochrane did not shrink from indicating
the real cause of the distress. "Those who are upon wages," he wrote,
"receive a sum during the summer months, which, if properly husbanded,
would, together with the produce of their own exertion after the
fishery has ceased, be fully adequate to the support of themselves
and families for the following winter. Yet I am led to believe that a
large portion of this is dissipated before many weeks or days have
elasped after the fishing season has terminated, and in consequence of
such profusion many families are left to want and misery."
The generality of the system destroyed in time that healthy dread of
pauperism which, as an economic factor, is of the highest national
importance. The receipt of poor relief lost the stigma assigned to it
with rough justice by Anglo-Saxon independence, and in 1863, out of a
total public expenditure of £90,000, the astounding proportion of
£30,000 was expended upon the necessities of the poor.
Far-seeing observers had long before pointed out that the remedy for
these disorders must be a radical one. Improvidence among the poorer
classes is familiar to economists in more experienced societies than
that of Newfoundland, and may be accepted as a permanent element in
the difficulty. The real hope lay in opening up, on remunerative
lines, industries which would occupy the poor in the lean months. Nor
was Newfoundland without such resources, if the capital necessary for
their development could have been found. A penetrating railway system,
by its indirect effects upon the mining and agricultural interests,
would have done much to solve the problem of the unemployed. The
difficulty was that the state of the public finances was in no
condition to undertake costly schemes of betterment. In a later
chapter we shall see the Government, after exhausting the resources of
loans, looking to a desperate remedy to conquer its powerlessness for
enterprise.
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES:
[40] Prowse, p. 473.
CHAPTER VIII
MODERN NEWFOUNDLAND
In 1869[41] took place a General Election, in which great Imperial
interests were involved. Governor Musgrave, in 1866, had advised
Federal union with the Canadian provinces--then about to federate
among themselves--and the election three years later was fought upon
this issue. The result was a complete rout for the Federal party; a
rout so complete that the question has hardly since reappeared within
the field of practical politics. The causes of this defeat were, in
the first place, economic considerations; secondly, Irish national
feeling and hostility to the union; and thirdly, a certain distrust
and dread of Canada. Judge Prowse, whose intimate knowledge of
Newfoundland entitles his opinion to special respect, thinks that even
in recent years there lingered some rankling memory of the days when
French Canadian raids terrified the colonists in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries.[42] However this may be, it is certain that the
outlying portions of the Empire hardly as yet felt the same community
with and loyalty to one another as they did with regard to the home
country. The relation of Newfoundland to the Dominion of Canada
resembles in many ways that of New Zealand to the new Australian
Federal system, and in each group of colonies there is a noticeable
drift towards centralization. Judge Prowse, who was a strong believer
in North American union both from an Imperial and from a Colonial
point of view, has fully indicated the difficulties. The Canadian
protectionist tariff, the greater attractions of the United States
market (inasmuch as the Dominion is a fish producer rather than a fish
consumer), the opposition which wide political changes unavoidably
excite--all these obstacles were formidable for the moment. It is
uncertain even now whether they will be strong enough to prevent,
indefinitely, the realization of the Confederate scheme. It is
possible that such a union would be followed by some disadvantages to
Newfoundland; but, on the other hand, the gain would be very great.
The politics of the colony would be braced by the ampler atmosphere of
the Dominion, and the tendency towards parochialism finally arrested.
The geographical difficulty ceased to exist when the United States
taught us how vast are the areas over which successful political
unions are possible. No one can fairly ask that Newfoundland should
take the step in the teeth of her own material interests; but,
assuming that union with Canada can be reconciled with those
interests, the Imperial issue holds the field. Its importance can
hardly be overstated. So soon as the several communities, which
together form the Empire, realize not merely their ties with the
Mother Country, but also their own organic interconnection, from that
moment the whole Imperial idea receives an immense accession of
strength.[43] But it is now elementary that Newfoundland, and
Newfoundland alone, can take this decision. She is the mistress of her
own destinies.
It is unfortunate that the Blaine-Bond incident in 1890 should have
excited ill-feeling against Canada in the older colony. In September
of that year a treaty of trade regulating the purchase of bait, etc.,
the shipping of crews, and transhipment of cargo (called, from the
delegates employed on each side,[44] the Blaine-Bond Treaty) was
informally negotiated between Newfoundland and the United States, and
a draft of a convention was prepared. In the following December this
draft was modified, but in January 1891, Mr Blaine submitted a
counter-proposal, which the United States were disposed to accept,
though they were not really anxious to effect the arrangement. The
treaty had been submitted to the Colonial Office, and approved by it;
but the ratification of the Imperial Government was refused at the
last moment. Probably the refusal would have caused less irritation in
the colony if it had sprung from Imperial considerations; as a fact,
it was procured by Canadian remonstrances against Newfoundland's
separate action in a matter concerning Canada also, and it was felt in
Newfoundland that the island had been sacrificed to the exigencies of
Canadian party politics. It may be added here that in 1902, another
separate agreement--the Hay-Bond Treaty--similar to the preceding, was
entered into, but was rejected by the United States Senate.
Accordingly the Newfoundland Government secured in 1905 the passing of
the Foreign Fishing Vessels Act which deprived the American fishermen
(more particularly those of Gloucester, Mass.) of the special
privileges hitherto conceded, leaving them the right under the
Convention of 1818. Disputes arose. The question was discussed at the
Imperial Conference in 1907. After temporary alleviation of the
difficulties by a _modus vivendi_, the British and American
Governments came to the conclusion that the best remedy lay in a
submission to the Hague Court of Arbitration: in 1909 the terms of
reference were agreed to, and on September 1910 the award was
given.[45] Newfoundland was thereby placed in a very favourable
position for dealing with the discrimination exercised against fish
exported to America by Newfoundlanders. The points decided were: (1)
The right to make regulations as to the exercise of the liberty to
take fish, under the Treaty of 1818, is inherent to the sovereignty of
Great Britain; (2) The United States has the right to employ
non-Americans in the fisheries, but they are not entitled to benefit
or immunity from the said Treaty; (3) While American fishing vessels
may be required to report at colonial ports when convenient, such
vessels should not be subject to the purely commercial formalities of
report, entry, and clearance at a Custom House, nor to light, harbour,
or other dues not imposed upon Newfoundland fishermen; (4) American
fishing vessels entering certain colonial bays, for shelter, repairs,
wood and water, should not be subject to dues or other demands for
doing so, but they might be required to report to any reasonably
convenient Custom House or official; (5) In the case of bays,
mentioned in the Treaty of 1818, three marine miles are to be measured
from a straight line drawn across the body of water at the place where
it ceases to bear the configuration and characteristics of a bay. At
all other places the three marine miles are to be measured following
the sinuosities of the coast.
To return to the period now under consideration. It saw a bold attempt
to deal with the Poor-law scandal. Relief to able-bodied persons was
discontinued in 1868. A succession of good fishing seasons, and the
development of the mining industry, lessened the difficulty of the
step. Seven years later came a still more momentous proposal. "The
period appears to have arrived," said Governor Hill, in his opening
speech to the Legislature, "when a question which has for some time
engaged public discussion, viz., the construction of a railway across
the island to St. George's Bay, should receive a practical
solution.... There is a well-founded expectation that the line of
railway would attract to our shores the mail and passenger traffic of
the Atlantic ... and thus would be secured those vast commercial
advantages which our geographical position manifestly entitles us to
command. As a preliminary to this object a proposition will be
submitted to you for a thorough survey, to ascertain the most eligible
line, and with a view to the further inquiry whether the colony does
not possess within itself the means of inducing capitalists to
undertake this great enterprise of progress."
It is easy to forget, in speaking of Newfoundland until 1875, how very
little was known of the interior. The Newfoundland with which we are
concerned consisted in fact of a few towns on the coast, with a great
and imperfectly explored interior behind them. Even down to the
beginning of the twentieth century very little was known of much of
the island. It is difficult to assign limits to the developments which
are probable when a thorough system of internal communication shall
have given free play to each latent industry.
The first proposal was that a railway should be constructed from St.
John's to St. George's Bay, but objections were made from England on
the ground that the line would end on the French shore. Then came the
proposal that it should run from St. John's to Hall's Bay, with
branches to Brigus and Harbour Grace, covering in all a distance of
about 340 miles. A joint committee of both Houses prepared a report,
which became the basis of the Bill (1880). One sentence is worth
quoting, because it states very clearly the difficulties which have
played so large a part in the history of Newfoundland:
"The question of the future of our growing population has for some
time enjoyed the earnest attention of all thoughtful men in this
country, and has been the subject of serious solicitude. The fisheries
being our main resource, and to a large extent the only dependence of
the people, those periodic partial failures which are incident to such
pursuits continue to be attended with recurring visitations of
pauperism, and there seems no remedy to be found for this condition of
things but that which may lie in varied and extensive pursuits.... Our
fisheries have no doubt increased, but not in a measure corresponding
to our measure of population; and even though they were capable of
being expanded, that object would be largely neutralized by the
decline in price which follows from a large catch, as no increase of
markets can be found to give remunerative returns for an augmented
supply."
The Act was passed, which empowered the raising of a loan of
£1,000,000 for the purpose of constructing the proposed railway. By
November, 1884, the line was completed as far as Harbour Grace; by
1888 a further instalment of some twenty-seven miles was ready between
Whitbourne and Placentia; soon afterwards it was decided to recommence
building the line northwards from St. John's to Hall's Bay, which has
been discontinued through the failure of the contractors, and to carry
out the scheme the Reid Contract was entered into.
We are now reaching a period when the leading parts are played by
persons still or recently living, and the story must therefore be
continued with the reserve proper to one who is not himself an
inhabitant of Newfoundland. Particularly is this true of the much
discussed Reid Contract, the circumstances of which are reserved, from
their great importance, for a separate chapter.[46]
It is unfortunate that the ensuing stage of this short narrative
should be marred by so much trouble, but, in fact, the last ten years
of the nineteenth century have been among the most disastrous in the
history of the island. In 1892 came the most destructive of all the
fires with which St. John's has been afflicted. The fire broke out in
a stable at five o'clock on the afternoon of Friday, July 8th, and
lasted until nine o'clock on Saturday morning. It came at the end of a
month's draught, was helped by a powerful wind, and found the town
with a depleted water supply. Arising in an eastern suburb, the flames
were carried right into the business centre of the town, and finally
reached the rich warehouses of Water Street. Eye witnesses describe
the heat as so intense that brick and stone offered little more
resistance than wood. A mile of wharfage was destroyed, and Water
Street completely gutted. "Over a vast area," wrote one who noted the
effects, "nothing is now to be seen but tottering walls and chimneys."
It was computed that 10,000 persons were left homeless, and that the
total damage exceeded 20,000,000 dollars, of which less than 5,000,000
dollars were covered by insurance. The Savings Bank, the Hospital, the
Masonic Hall, and the Anglican Cathedral, alike perished. To complete
the misery of the sufferers, it soon became known that the food supply
remaining was only sufficient for ten days. As in 1846, the sympathy
of Canada was promptly and warmly shown. The day after the fire 4,000
dollars' worth of provisions were sent over, and military tents
sufficient to shelter 1,200 people. In England, a Mansion House fund
was immediately opened by the Lord Mayor of London, and its final
amount fell little short of £20,000. Sir Terence O'Brien, the
Governor, and Lady O'Brien, happened to be in England at the time, and
they threw themselves warmly into the cause of the colony.
In 1894, a misfortune of a different kind happened. On Monday,
December 10th, the Commercial Bank, the Union Bank, and the Savings
Bank, which had all been long established, were compelled to suspend
payment. A widespread panic followed, and all business was paralysed.
Workmen were dismissed wholesale, no money being available for the
payment of their wages. To make the crisis graver still, the Union
Bank was to have provided the interest on the Public Debt, which was
payable in London on January 1st. The population feared that the crash
would bring about riots and other dread occurrences. In aggravation of
the risk the rumour spread that Newfoundland was about to be
incorporated into the Dominion of Canada as a mere province. The
Government telegraphed to the authorities in London for an immediate
loan of £200,000, and requested that a warship should be despatched in
view of imminent disturbances. The causes which led immediately to the
failure were well stated in a Dalziel telegram to _The Times_:[47]
"The immediate cause of the financial crisis which has overwhelmed
Newfoundland was the death of Mr Hall, a partner in the firm of Messrs
Prowse, Hall & Morris, the London agents of the firms exporting fish
to European markets. On his death the firm declined to meet further
exchanges until an investigation of their affairs had been made. Their
bills were protested, and the banks made demands on the Commercial
Bank of St. John's, which was the drawer of the bills, and which,
being unable to meet the demands made upon it, fell back upon its
mercantile customers. These could not respond, and the bank had to
suspend operations. The customers were compelled to make assignments,
and nearly every business house in the colony was crippled, so
interwoven are the affairs of one establishment with those of another.
"The situation was only possible under the peculiar business customs
of the colony. The fishing industry here is pursued under a system of
advances for vessels and equipments made by the merchants to the
fishermen, who gave the catch at the end of the season in exchange.
The merchants receive large advances from the only two banks doing
business here, the Union Bank of Newfoundland and the Commercial Bank.
By backing each other's bills the banks are enabled to carry on
operations, and then at the close of the year, when the produce of the
fisheries is realized, they are able to settle their overdrafts.
"The disaster happened at a most unfortunate time. If it had been
postponed for another month the merchants would have realized on most
of the fish, and the assets would have been far more valuable. At
present, 2,000,000 dollars' worth of fishery products are stored in
St. John's awaiting the means of shipment. Until financial aid from
the outside world is obtained, it is impossible to place the fish on
the market."
At this time the financial position of the colony was thoroughly
unsound. Its population numbered roughly 200,000 persons, and its
Public Debt amounted to 14,000,000 dollars, or nearly three million
pounds sterling. The Ministry of the day resigned, after an
unsuccessful attempt to form a coalition Government, and its
successors applied for Imperial help, an application which logically
involved the surrender of the Constitution. In fact, the unassisted
credit of the colony seemed hopeless, for in a year or two the railway
reckonings had to be met. The Government had issued bonds whereof
yearly interest was to become payable on completion, amounting to
almost a third of the total revenue of the colony.[48]
Such temporary measures as the nature of the crisis admitted were
taken locally. The Legislature passed two Bills guaranteeing a
portion of the note issue of both the Union Bank and the Commercial
Bank; while a loan of 400,000 dollars was procured from the Bank of
Montreal, and additional loans from the Bank of Nova Scotia and the
Royal Bank of Canada: thus "the financial sceptre passed to
Canada."[49] At the same time the manager and directors of the
Commercial Bank were arrested on a charge of having presented a
fraudulent balance sheet. Reuter's correspondent at St. John's noted
that in this time of trouble the idea of union with Canada gained
ground rapidly. How hopeless the position seemed to calm observers on
the spot may be gathered from the following vivid extracts from a
letter by _The Times_ correspondent at St. John's:[50]
"Twelve large firms controlled the whole export trade of the
colony--fish oils and fish products, valued at about 7,000,000
dollars. Of these twelve only two remain ... and these are sorely
stricken. These firms occupied the whole waterside premises of St.
John's, gave employment to hundreds of storekeepers, coopers,
stevedores, and others, beside some thousands of unskilled labourers
occupied in the handling of the fish. All these men are now without a
day's work, or any means of obtaining it. The isolation of the colony,
away out in the Atlantic with no neighbour, is its greatest curse.
People unemployed cannot emigrate, but must swell an army of
industrials depending on the Government for relief. The city is a
veritable aggregation of unemployed; it is a city to let. Every
business, factory, wharf, store, or shop employing labour has either
suspended business or has curtailed the number of its employees to the
lowest possible limit. It is not unreasonable to estimate the number
unemployed here to-day at 6,000, every one of whom must be without
work until spring opens."
It is not surprising to find that in this difficulty the minds of the
colonists turned towards the Imperial Exchequer. But the distinction
is vital between an Imperial grant in relief of a visitation of nature
and a grant in relief of financial disasters which may be the result
of improvidence or extravagance. The Imperial Exchequer is drawn from
complex sources, and cannot be diverted to irregular purposes without
injustice to large numbers of poor people. These facts were not
unnaturally overlooked in Newfoundland, for in trouble the sense of
proportion is apt to disappear. Thus on March 2nd, 1895, Sir W.
Whiteway, the Newfoundland Premier, in a letter to _The Times_, said:
"We have approached Her Majesty's Government, and solicited a mere
guarantee of interest to the amount of a few thousand pounds per annum
for a limited period, in order to enable the colony to float its loans
and tide it over the present temporary difficulties. Up to date the
people of this old, loyal colony have received no response. They have
been struggling against difficulties in the past, and if they still
have to trust to their own inherent pluck, and to the resources of the
country, they must only passively submit, although they may the more
bitterly feel the heartless treatment of the Imperial Government
towards them."
The touch of bitterness in Sir William Whiteway's letter was, perhaps,
unreasonable. Mr Goodridge was Premier at the time of the crash, and
his Government at once appealed for help to England, on the ground
that if it were not forthcoming the colony would be unable to meet its
obligations. A proposal was added that a Royal Commission should be
appointed to inquire into the whole political and commercial position
of the colony. Mr Goodridge was unable to keep his place, and his
Government was followed by that of Mr Greene. The new Government at
once inquired whether, if the Newfoundland Legislature acquiesced in
the appointment of a Commission, financial help would be immediately
forthcoming. They desired information also as to the scope of the
Commission and the terms on which assistance would be given. To this
the answer was inevitable, that all these points must depend upon the
findings of the Commission. In fact, the Colonial Government wished
for an unconditional loan and an assurrance that the Constitution of
the island would not be interfered with. Mr Greene, in turn, proved
unable to hold his ground, and was succeeded by Sir William Whiteway.
The latter substituted for the earlier proposals a request that the
Newfoundland bonds should be guaranteed by the Imperial Government;
the suggested Commission being ignored. This was the request referred
to in Sir William's letter. Now it is very clear that although the
amount involved was relatively small, a very important principle was
raised. Responsible government has its privileges and its obligations,
the latter of which flow logically from the former. The Imperial
Government charges itself with responsibility for the finances of a
Crown colony because it directs the policy and determines the
establishment on which the finances so largely depend. It is not
reasonable to ask that the British taxpayer should assume
responsibility for liabilities incurred by a colony with responsible
government. The _toga virilis_ has responsibilities. The case might,
perhaps, be different if there were no danger that the concession of
help might be drawn into a precedent. But it must never be forgotten
that the aggregate public debts of the self-governing colonies at
about that time exceeded £300,000,000.
The crisis of 1895 has been dealt with at some little length, because
it would be impossible otherwise to understand the occasion of the
great Reid Contract, which will form the subject of the next chapter.
It so happens that the last ten years of the nineteenth century have
been more momentous than any equal period in the history of the
colony.
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES:
[41] The census of this year showed that the population had increased
to 146,536.
[42] _Op. cit._, p. 495.
[43] This question of union was frequently raised--notably in 1906,
and during the Great War in 1916 and 1917 (see end of chap. ix.).
[44] Sir Robert Bond, the ex-Premier of Newfoundland; Mr J.G. Blaine,
the American Secretary of State.
[45] House of Commons Papers, Miscellaneous, No. 3, 1910, Cd. 5396.
[46] See chap. ix.
[47] December 14th, 1894.
[48] See General Dashwood's letter to _The Times_, December 18th,
1894.
[49] Rogers, p. 189.
[50] January 17th, 1895.
CHAPTER IX
THE REID CONTRACT--GENERAL PROGRESS AND RECENT HISTORY
The next few years may be dismissed briefly, for they were years of
unrelieved melancholy, from the point of view of the public financial
policy and the political development of the colony. Nor did the
disease admit of a readily applicable remedy. The experience of each
decade had shown more and more clearly that the colony had nothing in
reserve--no variety of pursuits to support the general balance of
prosperity by alternations of success. Potentially its resources were
almost incalculably great, but their development was impossible
without capital or credit. The colony had neither. Under these
circumstances took place the General Election of October, 1897. The
assets of the colony were not before the electorate, and there was no
reason to suppose that financial proposals of an extraordinary kind
were in contemplation. The result of the election placed Sir James
Winter in power. In six months the famous "Reid Contract" had been
entered into--a contract which must be described at some length in
these pages, partly because it throws a vivid light upon the
constitutional relations between the Mother Country and a
self-governing colony, partly because it appears to be incomparably
the most important event in the recent history of Newfoundland.
On February 22nd, 1898, Mr Chamberlain received a telegram from the
Governor, Sir Herbert Murray, advising him that a novel resolution had
been submitted to the Houses of Legislature by his responsible
advisers. A fuller telegram six days later, and a letter intervening,
explained the proposals in detail. To put the matter as shortly as
possible, the Government advised the sale to a well-known Canadian
contractor, Mr R.G. Reid, of certain valuable colonial assets. In the
first place, Mr Reid was to purchase all lines of railway from the
Government for 1,000,000 dollars; this amount was the price of the
ultimate reversion, the contractor undertaking to operate the lines
for fifty years on agreed terms, and to re-ballast them. If he failed
in this operation his reversionary rights became forfeit. For carrying
the Government mails he was to receive an annual subsidy of 42,000
dollars. Minute covenants by the contractor were inserted in the draft
contract, "in consideration whereof," it continued, "the Government
hereby covenant and agree to and with the contractor, to grant to him
in fee simple ... 5,000 acres of land for each one mile of main line
or branch railway throughout the entire length of the lines to be
operated: the expression 'in fee simple' to include with the land all
mines, ores, precious metals, minerals, stones, and mineral oils of
every kind." Besides these general concessions a particular grant of
mineral land was made. The areas of land near Grand Lake, in which
coal had been discovered, were transferred to Mr Reid, on condition
that he should so work the coal mines as to produce not less than
50,000 tons of coal per annum.
The contract then passed on to deal with the service of mail steamers.
Under this head eight steamers for various services were to be
provided by the contractor, and by him manned and equipped. In
consideration therefor the Government undertook to pay subsidies upon
an agreed scale. The docks were next disposed of. Under this head the
Government agreed to sell to the contractor the St. John's Dry Dock
for 325,000 dollars. The next available asset was the telegraph
service. Here the agreement provided that the contractor should assume
responsibility for all telegraph lines until 1904, in return for an
annual subsidy of 10,000 dollars, and after 1904, until the period of
fifty years was completed, should maintain them free of any charge to
the colony by way of subsidy or otherwise.
By a later section of the draft contract it was provided that the
contractor should not assign or sublet the contract, or any part or
portion thereof, to any person or corporation whomsoever without the
consent of the Government. The language of this prohibition is
curiously general, and is indeed sufficient in its terms to prohibit
assignments _mortis causa_, as well as those _inter vivos_. Such a
result can hardly have been contemplated.
By the last section it was recorded that "the Government undertake to
enact all such legislation as may be necessary to give full effect to
the contract and the several clauses and provisions thereof, according
to the spirit and intent thereof, and also such as may be necessary to
facilitate and enforce the collection and payment of fares and rates,
the preservation of order and discipline in the trains and stations,
and generally to give to the contractor all such powers, rights, and
privileges as are usually conferred upon or granted to railways and
railway companies for the purposes of their business."
Such, in barest outline, was the proposal of which Mr Chamberlain was
informed by Governor Murray. It certainly involved a sacrifice
incalculably grave of the colony's prospects, but those who brought it
forward no doubt reflected on the truism that he who has expectations,
but neither assets nor credit, must reinforce the latter by drawing in
some degree upon the former. In fact, it seems to have been doubtful
whether, at the time, the colony could by any device meet its
obligations as they became due. The force of these observations must
be frankly conceded; but it may still be doubted whether a less
desperate remedy was not within the grasp of resourceful
statesmanship. In his first telegram, sent on March 2nd, 1898, Mr
Chamberlain called attention to the more apparent objections:
"The future of the colony will be placed entirely in the hands of the
contractor by the railway contract, which appears highly improvident.
As there seems to be no penalty provided for failure to operate the
railways, the contract is essentially the sale of a million and a
quarter acres for a million dollars."
From the legal point of view the contract was a very singular one. The
Government of Newfoundland, in fact, assumed to bind its successors by
a partial abdication of sovereign power. Yet the same capacity which
enabled the then Government to bind itself would equally and evidently
inhere in its successors to revoke the obligation. Those who are
struck by the conscientious obligation which the then Government could
no doubt bequeath, may ask themselves how long a democratically
governed country would tolerate corruption or ineptitude in the public
service on the ground that the monopolist worker of them had inherited
a franchise from an ancestor who had known how to exploit the public
necessities. The virtual expropriation of the Irish landlords, which
was in progress in the United Kingdom, may have been right or it may
have been wrong; it is at least a far more startling interference with
vested interest than would be the resumption by a State of control
over heedlessly aliened public services.
Whatever be the force of these observations, the disadvantages of the
Newfoundland Government's specific proposals were patent enough. Nor
were they unperceived in the colony, and in particular by the enemies
of the Ministry. The islanders stopped fishing and took to petitions.
These were numerous and lengthy, and it is only proposed to consider
here the petition which was sent by dissentient members of the House
of Assembly, containing a formidable indictment of the proposed
agreement. The objections brought forward may be briefly summarized:
1. The electors were never consulted.
2. The Bill was an absolute conveyance in fee simple of all the
railways, the docks, telegraph lines, mineral, timber, and
agricultural lands of the colony, and virtually disposed of all the
assets, representing a funded debt of 17,000,000 dollars, for
£280,000.
3. While the Bill conveyed large and valuable mineral, agricultural,
and timber areas, amounting, with former concessions, to four million
acres, it made no provision for the development of these lands.
4. The conveyance embraced the whole Government telegraph system of
the colony.
5. It included a monopoly for the next thirty years of the coastal
carrying trade.
6. It included the sale of the dry dock, and the granting, without
consideration, of valuable waterside property belonging to the
Municipal Council of St. John's.
On March 23rd Mr Chamberlain answered the representation of Governor
Murray, and the profuse petitions which the latter had forwarded. Both
from the general constitutional significance of the reply, and its
particular importance in the history of Newfoundland, it is convenient
to reproduce the letter in full:
Mr Chamberlain to Governor Sir H.H. Murray.
Downing Street,
March 23rd, 1898.
SIR,--In my telegram of the 2nd instant I informed
you that if your Ministers, after fully considering the
objections urged to the proposed contract with Mr R.G. Reid
for the sale and operation of the Government railways and
other purposes, still pressed for your signature to that
instrument, you would not be constitutionally justified in
refusing to follow their advice, as the responsibility for the
measure rested entirely with them.
2. Whatever views I may hold as to the propriety of the
contract, it is essentially a question of local finance, and
as Her Majesty's Government have no responsibility for the
finance of self-governing colonies, it would be improper for
them to interfere in such a case unless Imperial interests
were directly involved. On these constitutional grounds I was
unable to advise you to withhold your assent to the Bill
confirming the contract.
3. I have now received your despatches as noted in the margin,
giving full information as to the terms of the contract, and
the grounds upon which your Government have supported it, as
well as the reasons for which it was opposed by the Leader and
some members of the Opposition.
4. I do not propose to enter upon a discussion of the details
of the contract, or of the various arguments for and against
it, but I cannot refrain from expressing my views as to the
serious consequences which may result from this extraordinary
measure.
5. Under this contract, and the earlier one of 1893, for the
construction of the railway, practically all the Crown lands
of any value become, with full rights to all minerals, the
freehold property of a single individual: the whole of the
railways are transferred to him, the telegraphs, the postal
service, and the local sea communications, as well as the
property in the dock at St. John's. Such an abdication by a
Government of some of its most important functions is without
parallel.
6. The colony is divested for ever of any control over or
power of influencing its own development, and of any direct
interest in or direct benefit from that development. It will
not even have the guarantee for efficiency and improvement
afforded by competition, which would tend to minimize the
danger of leaving such services in the hands of private
individuals.
7. Of the energy, capacity, and character of Mr Reid, in whose
hands the future of the colony is thus placed, both yourself
and your predecessor have always spoken in the highest terms,
and his interests in the colony are already so enormous that
he has every motive to work for and to stimulate its
development; but he is already, I believe, advanced in years,
and though the contract requires that he shall not assign or
sublet it to any person or corporation without the consent of
the Government, the risk of its passing into the hands of
people less capable and possessing less interest in the
development of the colony is by no means remote.
8. All this has been fully pointed out to your Ministers and
the Legislature, and I can only conclude that they have
satisfied themselves that the danger and evils resulting from
the corruption which, according to the statement of the
Receiver-General, has attended the administration of these
services by the Government, are more serious than any evils
that can result from those services being transferred
unreservedly to the hands of a private individual or
corporation; and that, in fact, they consider that it is
beyond the means and capacity of the colony to provide for the
honest and efficient maintenance of these services, and that
they must, therefore, be got rid of at whatever cost.
9. That they have acted thus in what they believe to be the
best interests of the colony I have no reason to doubt; but,
whether or not it is the case, as they allege, that the
intolerable burden of the Public Debt, and the position in
which the colony was left by the contract of 1893, rendered
this sacrifice inevitable, the fact that the colony, after
more than forty years of self-government, should have to
resort to such a step is greatly to be regretted.
10. I have to request that in communicating this despatch to
your Ministers you will inform them that it is my wish that it
may be published in the _Gazette_.
I have, etc.,
J. CHAMBERLAIN.
Some of the inferences set forth in the Colonial Secretary's lucid
letter were questioned by the Newfoundland Government, but
substantially his conclusions were not assailed. The decision of the
Imperial Government by no means stayed the voice of local agitation,
and the stream of petitions continued to grow. In a further letter to
Governor Murray, dated December 5th, 1898, Mr Chamberlain laid down
the great constitutional doctrine which is the Magna Charta of Greater
Britain. Every student of colonial politics should be familiar with
these passages:
"The right to complete and unfettered control over financial policy
and arrangements is essential to self-government, and has been
invariably acknowledged and respected by Her Majesty's Government, and
jealously guarded by the colonies. The Colonial Government and
Legislature are solely responsible for the management of its finances
to the people of the colony, and unless Imperial interests of grave
importance were imperilled, the intervention of Her Majesty's
Government in such matters would be an unwarrantable intrusion and a
breach of the charter of the colony.
"It is nowhere alleged that the interests of any other part of the
Empire are involved, or that the Act is any way repugnant to Imperial
legislation. It is asserted, indeed, that the contract disposes of
assets of the colony over which its creditors in this country have an
equitable, if not a legal claim; but, apart from the fact that the
assets in question are mainly potential, and that the security of the
colonial debt is its general revenue and not any particular property
or assets, I cannot admit that the creditors of the colony have any
right to claim the interference of Her Majesty's Government in this
matter. It is on the faith of the Colonial Government and Legislature
that they have advanced their money, and it is to them that they must
appeal if they consider themselves damnified.
"No doubt, if it was seriously alleged that the Act involved a breach
of faith or a confiscation of the rights of absent persons, Her
Majesty's Government would have to consider it carefully, and consider
whether the discredit which such action on the part of a colony would
entail on the rest of the Empire rendered it necessary for them to
intervene. But no such charge is made, and if Her Majesty's Government
were to intervene whenever the domestic legislation of a colony was
alleged to affect the rights of residents, the right of
self-government would be restricted to very narrow limits....
"The fact that the constituencies were not consulted on a measure of
such importance might have furnished a reason for its rejection by the
Upper Chamber, but would scarcely justify the Secretary of State in
advising its disallowance even if it were admitted as a general
principle of constitutional government in Newfoundland that the
Legislature has no right to entertain any measure of first importance
without an immediate mandate from the electors."
The passing of the particular Bill by no means brought the Reid
controversy to an end. In fact, the General Election in Newfoundland,
of which the result was announced in November 1900, was fought
entirely upon this absorbing question. The issue arose in the
following way. The contract contained a clause providing that Mr Reid
should not assign his rights over the railway without the consent of
the Government. Mr Reid applied to the Government of Sir James Winter
for such consent, but when that Government was defeated in February
1900, no answer had been received. Mr Reid wished to turn all his
holdings in the colony over to a corporation capitalized at 25,000,000
dollars, he and his three sons forming the company. On the properties
included he proposed to raise 5,000,000 dollars by debenture bonds,
this sum to be expended in development.[51]
A Liberal Ministry under Mr Bond, who had consistently opposed the
Reid arrangements, displaced Sir James Winter. Finding himself unable
to hold his own in the Assembly, Mr Bond formed a coalition with Mr
Morris, the leader of a section of Liberals who had not associated
themselves with the party opposition to the contract. The terms of
accommodation were simple: "The contract was to be treated as a _fait
accompli_, but no voluntary concessions were to be made to Mr Reid
except for a consideration." Consistently with this view, Mr Reid was
informed by the Government that the permission he requested would be
given upon the following terms:
(1) He should agree to resign his proprietary rights in the railway.
(2) He should restore the telegraphs to the ownership of the
Government.
(3) He should consent to various modifications of his land grants in
the interest of squatters able to establish their _de facto_
possession.
To these terms the contractor was not prepared to accede. It is
difficult not to feel sympathy with his refusal. I had the advantage
of hearing the contention on this point of a well-known Newfoundland
Liberal, who brought forward intelligible, but not, I think,
convincing arguments. The clause against assignment without the
consent of Government ought surely to be qualified by the implied
condition that such consent must not be unreasonably withheld. In the
private law of England equity has long since grafted this implication
upon prohibitions against assignment. If, however, the Government had
been content with a blunt _non possumus_, a case could no doubt have
been made out for insisting upon their pound of flesh. They chose,
however, to do the one thing which was neither dignified nor
defensible: they offered to assent to an assignment on condition that
Mr Reid surrendered his most valuable privileges. It is no answer to
say, as many Newfoundland Liberals did say: We opposed the contract
from the start, and it is therefore impossible for us to assent to any
extension of the contractor's privileges. In fact, such an argument
seems to betray an inability to understand the ground principle on
which party government depends. That principle, of course, is the
loyal acceptance by each party on entering office of the completed
legislation of its predecessors. To borrow a metaphor from the Roman
lawyers, the _hereditas_ may be _damnosa_, but the party succeeds
thereto as a _hæres necessarius_. Any other rule would substitute
anarchy for order, and an endless process of reversing the past for a
salutary attention to the present.
It must, on the other hand, be admitted that Mr Reid's conduct was not
very well chosen to reassure his critics. He threw himself heart and
soul into the General Election which became imminent, and displayed
little judiciousness in his selection of nominees to fight seats in
his interests. It is hard to suppose that independent men were not
discoverable to lay stress on the immediate relief to the colony which
the contract secured, and the inexorable necessity of which it might
plausibly be represented to be the outcome. Mr Morine was Mr Reid's
solicitor. He was a prominent Conservative and Minister of Finance,
and his influence in the Assembly (where his connection with Mr Reid
was apparently unknown) had been exerted in favour of the contract.
When challenged on the point, Mr Morine asserted that he advised Mr
Reid only on private matters, in which his interests would not come
into conflict with those of the colony. Compelled to resign, however,
by Governor Murray on account of the apparently incompatible duality
of his position, he was reinstated (April, 1899) by Governor M'Callum,
on an undertaking that his connection with Mr Reid should be suspended
during office. Mr Morine became leader of the Conservative party on
the retirement of Sir James Winter, reassuming at the same time his
business relations with Mr Reid. In concert with the latter he began a
political campaign in opposition to the Liberal party. His partner, Mr
Gibbs, fought another seat in the same interest. _The Times_
correspondent above referred to gives an amusing account of other
candidates:
"One of Mr Reid's sons has been accompanying him through his
constituency, and is mooted as a candidate. Two captains of Reid's bay
steamers are running for other seats. The clothier who supplies the
uniforms for Reid's officials is another, and a shipmaster, who until
recently was ship's husband for the Reid steamers, is another. His
successor, who is a member of the Upper House, has issued a letter
warmly endorsing Mr Morine's policy, and it is now said that one of
Reid's surveying staff will be nominated for another constituency."
It may easily be imagined that to the ordinary voter the Conservative
_personnel_ proved somewhat disquieting. Success at the polls would
have enabled Mr Reid to say, with Louis XIV.--"_L'Etat, c'est moi._"
Amid extraordinary excitement the election was fought in the autumn of
1900 on the sole issue of the Reid contract, and resulted in a
sweeping victory for the Liberal party, supporting Mr Bond in his
policy as to Mr Reid's monopolies.
The Reid Contract has been dealt with at this length at a sacrifice of
proportion which the writer believes to be apparent rather than real.
Newfoundland is newly emerged from infancy. The story of its childhood
is relatively uneventful, but the political experiments of its
adolescence must be of absorbing interest to all students of politics.
In 1901 an Act was passed giving sanction to a new agreement with Mr
Reid in regard to the railways, and incorporating the Reid
Newfoundland Company. Under the agreement the sum of one million
dollars was to be paid to him in consideration of the surrender by him
of the right to own the railway at the end of 1938; and 850,000
dollars instead of 2½ million acres of land to which he had become
entitled as a bonus for undertaking to operate the railway until 1938.
He still had, however, claims in respect of certain rolling-stock and
equipment that had been provided under earlier contracts; and also
claims arising through the surrender of the telegraphs. All these were
submitted to arbitration, resulting in awards to Mr Reid of 894,000
dollars and 1½ million dollars respectively. However, under the new
arrangement, Mr Reid ceased to be the virtual owner of the railway
system; and became merely a contractor for its operation. The Reid
Newfoundland Company, by agreement with Mr Reid, and with a capital of
25 million dollars, came into possession of over 2½ million acres of
land, with timber, mineral, and other rights thereon, and took over
all existing contracts for working the railway, and mail and steamboat
services of the colony, including St. John's Dry Dock and the St.
John's tramways, as well as powers for electric lighting in the
capital. The new Company commenced operations on September 1st, 1901.
With the beginning of the twentieth century was inaugurated an epoch
of political as well as economic progress in the history of the
island. The numerous and widespread activities of the new enterprise
gave a great impetus to the colony: it ensured the efficient working
of the railway, and gave employment at a good wage to an army of
working men in the various branches, and also in connection with the
flotilla of steamers that were run. Other spheres of activity were
gradually opened up, _e.g._ the establishment of a sawmill to furnish
the timber necessary for the various needs of the scheme, the opening
of a granite quarry to supply material for bridge building and paving
the streets of the capital, the development of a slate area and oil
boring, coal mining, the construction of a hotel in St. John's, etc.
The expansion of the undertaking increased from year to year, and
included such projects as the establishment of flour mills, pulp and
paper mills, etc. Next to the Government itself, the Reid Company
became the largest paymaster in the island.[52]
Other factors contributing to the material advancement of the country
were the development of the iron mines at Belle Island, and the
production of pulp and paper by the "Anglo-Newfoundland Development
Company," the initiators and controllers of which were Messrs
Harmsworth, the well-known newspaper proprietors. This company was
followed soon afterwards by the Albert Reed Company of London.
A few of the main events in the recent history of the colony may now
be referred to; these, taking us down to the Great War, will suitably
conclude the present chapter. First may be mentioned a curious
development in the political arena. In 1902 the Ministerial candidates
suffered a complete defeat in a by-election; and this result was
attributed to two causes--in the first place, deficient fishing
returns, and secondly, popular dissatisfaction at the monetary gains
secured by Mr Reid. The contest of 1904 was further complicated by the
formation of a number of factions in the ranks of the Opposition. The
latter eventually joined their forces under five leaders, and,
including all elements hostile to the party in power, took the field
against the Bond-Morris Government. But the sympathies of the people
were alienated from such an unusual combination, composed as it was of
antithetical constituents, and when it was in addition rumoured that
their aim was to effect a union with Canada, they suffered a severe
reverse at the elections. Only Mr Morine was returned for his
constituency; and he had no more than five followers in the Assembly.
In these circumstances it was thought that Sir Robert Bond's
administration was ensured a long term of office. But in July 1907 Sir
Edward Morris, then Minister of Justice, resigned through a
disagreement with the Premier on a question of the amount of wages to
be paid to the employees in the Public Works. The Opposition under Mr
Morison (succeeding Mr Morine, who had shortly before left
Newfoundland for Canada) co-operated with leading supporters of Sir
Edward Morris and invited him to become the leader of a united party.
He accepted the offer, and issued a manifesto in March 1908,
indicating his policy. The number of his adherents increased, as a
result of his efforts in the Assembly. In the following November the
quadrennial general election took place, which was vigorously--indeed
bitterly--contested; and the result was a tie, eighteen supporters
having been returned for Sir Robert Bond, and eighteen for the
Opposition--a unique occurrence apparently in the history of
self-governing colonies. The success of Sir Edward Morris was regarded
as remarkable, in view of several disadvantages from which he suffered
in the eyes of large sections of the population, _e.g._ his being a
Roman Catholic (every Premier during the preceding half century had
been a Protestant), his alleged sympathy with Mr Reid, and his alleged
support of union with Canada. The Governor, Sir William MacGregor,
having been requested by Sir Robert Bond to summon the Legislature,
was then required by him, on the very eve of the session, to dissolve
it, without giving it an opportunity to meet. The Governor refusing to
do this, Sir Robert Bond, conformably to usage, resigned along with
his cabinet. Sir Edward Morris was accordingly called upon to form a
ministry; but at the meeting of the Assembly the attempt to elect a
Speaker failed, owing to the opposition of the Bond party. The
Governor next endeavoured to obtain a coalition Ministry, but failed,
and a dissolution was granted (April, 1909). At the election in May
the Morris administration was returned with a substantial
majority--the new ministry for the first time in the history of the
island consisting entirely of natural-born Newfoundlanders. The course
adopted by the Governor, who had been charged by followers of Sir
Robert Bond with partisanship and unconstitutional conduct, was thus
vindicated by the election, and also approved by the Imperial
authorities. In a despatch from the Colonial Office, November 14th,
Lord Crewe observed:
"... It will be learned from my previous despatches and telegrams that
your action throughout the difficult political situation, which was
created in the colony by the indecisive result of the last general
election, has met with my approval, but I desire to place publicly on
record my high appreciation of the manner in which you have handled a
situation practically unprecedented in the history of responsible
Government in the Dominions. I may add that I consider your decision
to grant a dissolution to Sir Edward Morris--which has, I observe,
been adversely criticized in a section of the Newfoundland press--to
have been fully in accordance with the principles of responsible
Government."
In 1913 the growing prosperity of the fish trade was still further
increased by the passing of the new United States tariff law, which
admitted fish to the United States free of duty. Further, the opening
of the Panama Canal made possible the establishment of new markets.
Now we come to the next momentous event in the history of modern
Newfoundland, as it is in that of the modern world generally--namely,
the outbreak of the Great War in August 1914. The colony, like all the
other British dominions and possessions, was fully alive to the
justice of the British cause, and, like the others, was resolved as a
faithful and dutiful daughter to contribute to the military, naval,
and material resources of the Mother Country. This manifestation of
colonial association and unity was a remarkable feature throughout the
war, and will ever be memorable as a token of the undying bonds that
unite the scattered constituents of the British Empire, and of the
common feelings and ideals that inspire the various sections of the
British family. Despite doubt and solicitude as to the effect on
trade, especially on the fish markets, on which Newfoundland is so
much dependent, the colony devoted itself wholeheartedly to the
prosecution of the war.
In September 1914 a special war session of the Legislature was held,
and several measures were passed, making provision for the raising of
a volunteer force of 1,000 men, for increasing the number of Naval
Reserve from 600 to 1,000 men, and for raising a loan (which was
subsequently furnished by the Imperial Government) for equipping and
maintaining the projected contingents. It may be pointed out here that
about the end of the nineteenth century the colony, desiring to
participate in the obligations--and indeed privileges--of Imperial
defence, took steps to establish a Royal Naval Reserve. From 1900 a
number of men volunteered as reservists, and entered for six months'
training on one of the vessels of the North American and West Indian
squadron. In 1902 a training ship, H.M.S. _Calypso_, was stationed in
St. John's harbour, where the 600 men--the number proposed--might
duly complete their training. Before the war the Naval Reserve
establishment amounted to 580. There were besides local Boys'
Brigades, but no military force whatever.
In 1915 considerable efforts were made. By the end of the year a
military contingent of 2,000 men was raised, and the Naval Reserve was
enlarged to 1,200. In November a plebiscite was taken in regard to the
question of total prohibition, and a majority decided in its favour;
so that from January 1st, 1917, the manufacture, importation, and sale
of intoxicating liquors were prohibited.
In 1916 a battalion of the Newfoundland regiment took part in a good
deal of severe fighting in France; and it was maintained to full
strength by regular drafts from home.
In the meantime an Act was passed imposing restrictions on the killing
of seals in Newfoundland waters, the object being to prevent their
extermination.
A political question that especially engaged the attention of the
colony at this time was its relation to the Canadian Federation, but
no progress was made towards the solution of the long standing
problem. The following year it became again the chief concern (apart
from the war) of the island's electorate. In June the question was
raised in the Federal House of Commons at Ottawa; and members spoke in
favour of union, declaring that from information received it appeared
that the disposition of Newfoundland was becoming more and more in
favour of it.[53] In July a coalition Ministry was established, and a
Bill was passed prolonging the life of the Parliament for twelve
months, as it would normally have expired in October. In the early
part of this year, Sir Edward Morris, the Premier, was in London and
represented Newfoundland at the Imperial War Conference.
During the last year of the war the population found itself much more
affected by the world conflict than it had been in the preceding
years. Additions to the Newfoundland contingent under the voluntary
system were becoming inadequate: accordingly, the new Government, of
which Mr W.F. Lloyd was Premier, decided to introduce a Bill for the
purpose of establishing conscription. This was of a selective
character, that is, applying to all unmarried men and widowers without
children, between the ages of 19 and 39. The conscripts were to be
divided into four classes according to age, the youngest being called
up first. The Bill was passed, and the measure proved to be a
successful one.
After the conclusion of the Armistice in November, the Prime Minister,
the Right Hon. Sir William F. Lloyd, K.C.M.G., acted as the
representative of Newfoundland at the Paris Peace Conference (1919).
In concluding this chapter it will be of interest to give a few facts
and figures showing Newfoundland's effort and record in the war.[54]
(1) PERSONNEL
At the outbreak of war there was no military force in Newfoundland.
There was, however, a pre-war establishment of 580 Naval Reservists
besides local Boys' Brigades.
Newfoundland contributed to the fighting forces of the Empire 11,922
all ranks, consisting of 9,326 men for the Army, 2,053 men for the
Royal Naval Reserve, 500 men for the Newfoundland Forestry Corps, and
43 nurses.
The Royal Newfoundland Regiment furnished a battalion for the
Gallipoli campaign and sent 4,253 men to France and Belgium, suffering
the following casualties:
Killed in action and died of wounds 1,082
Died from other causes 95
Missing 18
Prisoners of War 152
Wounded 2,314
-----
Total 3,661
The following decorations were won by the Regiment:
1 V.C., 2 C.M.G., 4 D.S.O., 28 M.C., 6 Bars to M.C., 33 D.C.M., 1 Bar
to D.C.M., 105 M.M., 8 Bars to M.M., 1 O.B.E., 22 Mentions in
Despatches, 21 Allied Decorations, 3 other medals: Total, 234.
In the Royal Naval Reserve 167 men were killed in action and 124
invalided out of the Service.
3,000 Newfoundlanders enlisted in the Canadian and other forces
(outside Newfoundland), but there is no statistical record of
casualties regarding them, although it is known they were heavy.
(2) MONEY, ETC.
Total receipts, Cot Fund[55] $129,200
" " Aeroplane Fund 53,487
" " Red Cross Fund 151,500
" " Patriotic Fund 166,687
A War Loan of $6,000,000 was raised by Newfoundland.
A large quantity of Red Cross material, etc., was sent from the
Dominion during the war to the various organizations overseas, in
addition to many thousands of dollars worth of comforts for the
troops.
Newfoundland provided the pay and allowances of the Royal Newfoundland
Regiment (6,326 all ranks) and made up the difference in pay to bring
the Royal (Newfoundland) Naval Reserve to the same scale as that of
the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, besides equipping the Royal
Newfoundland Regiment before proceeding overseas.
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES:
[51] See a letter from the able correspondent of _The Times_ in
Newfoundland, November 6th, 1900.
[52] P.T. M'Grath, "Newfoundland in 1911," p. 24.
[53] This question has already been referred to several times in the
preceding pages (see especially beginning of chap. viii). It may be
added here that in March 1906, the Prime Minister of Canada stated
that the Government of Newfoundland was fully aware that the
Government of Canada was ready to entertain a proposal for the entry
of the island into the confederation.
[54] For the statement following the writer is indebted to Sir Edgar
Bowring, the High Commissioner of Newfoundland.
[55] Instead of maintaining a hospital overseas, Newfoundland
supported 301 beds in addition to 32 in Newfoundland.
CHAPTER X
THE FRENCH SHORE QUESTION
It has been impossible in the above pages to avoid reference to the
Anglo-French disputes in Newfoundland, but it seemed convenient to
postpone a detailed examination of the question to a separate chapter.
No apology is necessary for such a chapter even in a work so slight as
the present, for the French Shore question was chronically acute in
Newfoundland, and the French claims, like George III.'s prerogative,
were increasing, had increased, and ought to have been diminished. The
dispute is partly historical, partly legal, and can only be explained
by reference to documents of considerable age.
The French connection with Newfoundland was encouraged by the nearness
of Canada, and in quaint names, such as Bay Fâcheuse and Point
Enragée, it has bequeathed lasting reminders. For centuries the
French, like the Dutch, went on giving too little and asking too much.
By the time of Louis XIV. they had in fact established themselves--an
_imperium in imperio_--upon the south coast, and William of Orange in
the declaration of war against his lifelong enemy recited the English
grievances:
"It was not long since the French took licences from the Governor of
Newfoundland to fish upon that coast, and paid a tribute for such
licences as an acknowledgment of the sole right of the Crown of
England to that island; but of late the encroachments of the French,
and His Majesty's subjects trading and fishing there, had been more
like the invasion of an enemy than becoming friends who enjoyed the
advantages of that trade only by permission."
The Treaty of Ryswick, in 1697, contained no mention of Newfoundland,
and the French were, therefore, left in enjoyment of their possessory
claims. In 1710 the splendid genius of Marlborough had brought Louis
XIV. to his knees, and the arguments supplied by the stricken fields
of Blenheim and Ramillies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet, should have made
easy the task of English diplomacy. But from a corrupt political soil
sprang the Treaty of Utrecht, the first leading instrument in the
controversy of which we are attempting to collect the threads. The
merits of the dispute cannot be understood without a careful study of
Article 13 of the Treaty. It was thereby provided that:
"The island called Newfoundland, with the adjacent islands, shall from
this time forward belong of right wholly to Britain, and to that end
the town and fortress of Placentia, and whatever other places in the
said island are in possession of the French, shall be yielded and
given up within seven months from the exchange of the ratifications of
this Treaty, or sooner if possible, by the most Christian King to
those who have a commission from the Queen of Great Britain for that
purpose. Nor shall the most Christian King, his heirs and successors,
or any of their subjects, at any time hereafter lay claim to any right
to the said island and islands, or to any part of it or them. Moreover
it shall not be lawful for the subjects of France to fortify any place
in the said island of Newfoundland, or to erect any building there,
besides stages made of boards, and huts necessary and useful for
drying of fish, or to resort to the said island beyond the time
necessary for fishing and drying of fish. But it shall be allowed to
the subjects of France to catch fish and to dry them on land in that
part only, and in no other besides that, of the said island of
Newfoundland, which stretches from the place called Cape Bonavista to
the northern point of the said island, and from thence, running down
by the western side, reaches as far as the place called Point Riche.
But the island called Cape Breta, as also all others, both in the
mouth of the River St. Lawrence and in the Gulf of the same name,
shall hereafter belong of right to the French, and the most Christian
King shall have all manner of liberty to fortify any place or places
there."
The Treaty of Paris, in 1763, confirmed this arrangement, and twenty
years later the Treaty of Versailles contained the following provision
upon the subject:
"The XIIIth Article of the Treaty of Utrecht and the method of
carrying on the fishery, which has at all times been acknowledged,
shall be the plan upon which the fishery shall be carried on there; it
shall not be deviated from by either party; the French fishermen
building only their scaffolds, confining themselves to the repair of
their fishing vessels, and not wintering there; the subjects of His
Majesty Britannic on their part not molesting in any manner the French
fishermen during their fishing, nor injuring their scaffolds during
their absence." But for the boundaries prescribed by the Treaty of
Utrecht (viz. those limited by Cape Bonavista and Point Riche) new
boundaries were substituted, viz., those limited by Cape St. John
round by the north to Cape Ray. The coast thus indicated came to be
known as the "French shore."
As the declaration annexed to the above treaty was often relied upon
by French diplomatists, it may be conveniently set forth in this
place:
"... In order that the fishermen of the two nations may not give a
cause of daily quarrels, His Britannic Majesty will take the most
positive measures for preventing his subjects from interrupting in any
manner by their competition the fishery of the French during the
temporary exercise of it which is granted to them.... His Majesty will
... for this purpose cause the fixed settlement which shall be found
there to be removed, and will give orders that the French fishermen
shall not be incommoded in the cutting of wood necessary for the
repair of their scaffolds, huts, and fishing boats."
The title of an Act of Parliament passed in 1782 in pursuance of this
treaty was also pressed into the service of the French contention:
"An Act to enable His Majesty to make such regulations as may be
necessary to prevent the inconvenience which might arise from the
competition of His Majesty's subjects and those of the most Christian
King in carrying on the fishery on the coasts of the island of
Newfoundland."
No material alteration in the position took place from 1782 to 1792,
and the Treaty of Peace of 1814 declared that "the French right of
fishery at Newfoundland is replaced upon the footing upon which it
stood in 1792."
On these documents a very simple issue arose. According to the English
contention their cumulative effect was to give the French a concurrent
right of fishery with themselves upon the coasts in question. It was
maintained, on the other hand, by France that her subjects enjoyed an
exclusive right of fishing along the so-called French shore.
It may be said at once that the course of English diplomacy was almost
uniformly weak, and was in fact such as to lend no small countenance
to the French contention. Thus, for many years it was the policy of
the Home Government to discourage the colonists from exercising the
right which was always alleged in theory to be concurrent. Nor did the
Imperial complaisance end here. The French fishermen and their
protectors from time to time put forward pretensions only to be
justified by a revival of the sovereignty which was extinguished by
the Treaty of Utrecht. Thus, they attempted systematically to prevent
any English settlement at all upon the debatable shore. For
residential, mining and agricultural purposes this strip would thus be
withdrawn from colonial occupation. It is much to be regretted that
these claims were not summarily repudiated. The Imperial Government,
however, encouraged them by forbidding any grants of land along the
area in dispute. Under these circumstances the theoretical assertion
of British sovereignty by which the prohibition was qualified was not
likely to be specially impressive. The islanders acquiesced in the
decision with stolid patience, but, undeterred by the consequent
insecurity of tenure, settled as squatters in the unappropriated
lands. As recently as forty years ago their title was still
unrecognized, and the presence of thousands of settlers with
indeterminate claims had become a dangerous grievance. In 1881 Sir
William Whiteway, then Premier of the colony, paid a visit to England,
and his powerful advocacy procured recognition for the title of the
settlers to their lands, and brought them within the pale of the
Queen's law.
The French shore cod fishery was recently so poor compared with the
Great Bank fishery that French fishermen abandoned the former for the
latter; and, in fact, but for a recent development of the French
claim, it would have been possible to say of the whole question
_solvitur ambulando_.
The development referred to sprang from the growing lobster industry
along the French shore. In 1874 and the following years lobster
factories were erected by British subjects on the French shore, in
positions where there was no French occupation and there were no
French buildings. Here there was no violation of the Treaty of Utrecht
provision, for the French were in no way restrained from "erecting
stages made of boards, and huts necessary and useful for drying of
fish," nor was there any violation of the declaration annexed to the
Treaty of Versailles, that "His Britannic Majesty will take the most
positive measures for preventing his subjects from interrupting in any
way by their competition the fishery of the French during the
temporary exercise of it which is granted them." The "fishing" which
was not to be interrupted by competition was the fishery "which is
granted to them," a limitation which throws us back at once upon the
language of the earlier treaties. Now it is indisputably clear that
the only fishing rights granted to the French were concerned with
codfish. The lobster industry was then unknown; and the language used,
and in particular "the stages and huts necessary and useful for drying
fish" spoken of, are applicable to codfish and not to lobsters, for
the canning industry was only of recent date, and lobsters, moreover,
are not dried. No fishery other than that of the codfish could then
have been contemplated. That this must have been abundantly clear is
apparent from the memoirs of M. de Torcy, one of the negotiators of
the treaty, who uses throughout the expression "morue" (codfish)--the
liberty stipulated was "pêcher et sécher les morues" (to fish and dry
codfish). The French, however, not content with objecting to the
presence of English factories, erected factories of their own,
comprehending them, it must be presumed, within the description "huts
necessary and useful for the drying of fish." They contended,
furthermore, that their rights were a part of the ancient French
sovereignty retained when the soil was ceded to England. Such a claim
was inadmissible on any view of the treaties. In fact, there was much
to be said for the view that no _exclusive_ right of fishery of any
sort was ever given to the French, in spite of the language of the
celebrated Declaration. As Lord Palmerston wrote, some eighty years
ago, to Count Sebastiani, in his unambiguous way: "I will observe to
your Excellency, in conclusion, that if the right conceded to the
French by the Declaration of 1783 had been intended to be exclusive
within the prescribed district, the terms used for defining such right
would assuredly have been more ample and specific than they are found
to be in that document; for in no other similar instrument which has
ever come under the knowledge of the British Government is so
important a concession as an exclusive privilege of this description
accorded in terms so loose and indefinitive. Exclusive rights are
privileges which from the very nature of things are likely to be
injurious to parties who are thereby debarred from some exercise of
industry in which they would otherwise engage. Such rights are,
therefore, certain at some time or other to be disputed, if there is
any maintainable ground for contesting them; and for these reasons,
when negotiators have intended to grant exclusive grants, it has been
their invariable practice to convey such rights in direct,
unqualified, and comprehensive terms, so as to prevent the possibility
of future dispute or doubt. In the present case, however, such forms
of expression are entirely wanting, and the claim put forward on the
part of France is founded simply upon inference and upon an assumed
interpretation of words."
It was, in fact, as Lord Palmerston argued, a perfectly open
contention that on the authorities no exclusive right was ever given
to the French, but the demeanour of this country had been such as to
render the position difficult and unconvincing. We are, however, upon
much firmer ground when we come to close quarters with the French
claims to rights of lobster fishing. The claim was first clearly
advanced in 1888, that none but Frenchmen were entitled to catch
lobsters and erect preserving factories upon the French shore. This at
once elicited an incisive English remonstrance, in deference to which
French diplomacy had recourse to the evasion that the factories were
merely temporary. They were not, however, removed, and finally in 1889
further remonstrances by Lord Salisbury were met with the bold
contention that these factories were comprehended within the language
of the treaties. The English Government met this _volte face_ with a
feeble proposal to resort to arbitration--a proposal which the
islanders declined with equal propriety and spirit. The consequent
position was vividly and faithfully stated by Sir Charles Dilke, in a
passage which may be quoted in full:
"Instead of protecting British fishermen in the prosecution of their
lawful avocation, and resisting the new claim of the French, our
Government, after failing to enforce the claim of the French, tried to
go to arbitration upon it before a Court in which the best known
personage was to have been M. de Martens, the hereditary librarian of
the Russian Foreign Office, whose opinion on such points was hardly
likely to be impartial. Luckily, the French added a condition, the
enormity of which was such that the arbitration has never taken place,
and it may be hoped now never will.
"While British officers were backed up by the Government in most
arbitrary action on behalf of the French and against the colonists,
the theory continued to be that the French pretensions were disputed
by us. At the end of 1889 the Home Government sent for the Prime
Minister of Newfoundland, who came to England in 1890. A _modus
vivendi_ was agreed to preserving such British lobster factories as
existed, and the French Government agreeing that they would undertake
to grant no new lobster-fishing concessions 'on fishing grounds
occupied by British subjects,' whatever that might mean. But the
limitation was afterwards explained away, and the _modus vivendi_
stated to mean the _status quo_. The Colonial Government strongly
protested against the _modus vivendi_, as a virtual admission of a
concurrent right of lobster fishing prejudicial to the position of
Newfoundland in future negotiation; and there can be no doubt that the
adoption of the _modus vivendi_ by the British Government without
previous reference to the colony, and against its wish, was a
violation of the principle laid down by the then Mr Labouchere, when
Secretary of State in 1857, and by Lord Palmerston. Our Government
deny this, because they expressly reserved all questions of principle
and right in the agreement with the French, and that is so, of course;
but there can be no doubt about the effect of what they did.
"By an answer given by an Under-Secretary of State in the House of
Commons, the views of the Newfoundland Government were misrepresented,
it being stated that they 'were consulted as to the terms of the
_modus vivendi_, which was modified to some extent to meet their
views, although concluded without reference to them in its final
shape'; but the Newfoundland Government insisted that the terms of the
_modus vivendi_ had not been modified in accordance with their views,
as they had protested against the whole arrangement. The Home
Government quibbled and said that the answer showed that the
Newfoundland Government were not responsible for the _modus vivendi_
as settled. Plain people, however, must continue to be as indignant as
the colonists are at the misrepresentation and the breach of Mr
Labouchere's principle.
"The terms of the _modus vivendi_ accord to unfounded pretensions the
standing of reasonable claims, and confer upon the French the actual
possession and enjoyment of the rights to which these claims relate.
Mr Baird refused to comply with the _modus vivendi_. Sir Baldwin
Walker, commanding on the coast, landed a party of blue-jackets in
1891, and took the law into his own hands against Mr Baird, was sued
for damages, and twice lost his case.[56] There had existed an
Imperial Act under which Sir Baldwin Walker might have been protected,
but it had been repealed when self-government was granted to
Newfoundland. In the same year of 1891 a Newfoundland Act was passed,
under heavy pressure from the Home Government, compelling colonial
subjects to observe the instructions of the naval officers to the
extent of at once quitting the French shore if directed, and the Act
was to be in force till the end of 1893. The Home Government had
passed a Bill through the House of Commons, and dropped it, before it
received the Royal assent, only after the Prime Minister of
Newfoundland had been heard at the bar of both Houses and had promised
colonial legislation. The French Government have insisted that a
British Act should be passed; and Lord Salisbury, while declaring that
there ought to be a permanent Colonial Act, has always refused to
promise a British Act. To my mind, the Newfoundland people went too
far in giving up their freedom by passing the Act which I have named,
an Act to which, had I been a member of the Newfoundland Legislature,
nothing would have induced me to consent; and my sympathies are
entirely with the Newfoundlanders in their refusal to part with their
freedom, for all time, by making so monstrous a statute permanent."
The _modus vivendi_ treaty was periodically renewed by the Colonial
Legislature with a submissiveness which would have seemed excessive if
they had not been pressed with the shibboleth of Imperial interest. At
the same time, signs of restiveness were not wanting. The complaints
of the Newfoundlanders became more frequent, more insistent, and more
emphatic. They pointed out that the French virtually claimed a
monopoly of an 800-mile shore, which was entirely British of right,
that in consequence they interfered with the development of the mining
industry, and the extension of railways, and that thereby they were
seriously hampering the progress of the colony. The case put forward
by the colonists was historically strong, and there was much to be
said for the contention that they were entitled to everything they
claimed: on any view they could rightly complain of a cruel injustice,
so long as the indolence or incompetence of English diplomacy suffered
a debatable land to survive in the teeth of an undebatable argument.
In August, 1898, at the request of the Newfoundland Government, a
Royal Commission was appointed by Mr Chamberlain, and sent out the
following year, for the purpose of inquiring into the whole question
of French treaty rights. A good deal of evidence was given by local
colonists of acts of French aggression, and of consequent injury in
person and property. But the report remained unpublished. Such
aggression was in keeping with the instructions issued in 1895 by the
French Premier and Foreign Minister to the commanders of the French
warships on this station: "To seize and confiscate all instruments of
fishing belonging to foreigners, resident or otherwise, who shall fish
on that part of the coast which is reserved for our use"--instructions
that amounted to an arbitrary assertion of territorial sovereignty.
And yet the actual interests of France were very meagre: thus in 1898,
on a coastline where some 20,000 Newfoundlanders were settled in 215
harbours, there were only 16 French stations and 458 men on the
800-mile shore; in 1903 only 13 stations and 402 men.[57]
In 1901 when the vexed question came once again before the
Newfoundland Legislature, the Government declared that in renewing the
_modus vivendi_ for the following year, they did so only in
consideration of the obstacles then in the way of the Imperial
Government to securing a satisfactory settlement of the whole matter.
In 1904 the Newfoundland Government refused to relax the Bait Law any
more; and France then consented to enter into the notable agreement,
which once for all abolished the inveterate grievances and
difficulties arising out of the "French shore" question. In
consideration of certain territorial privileges in West Africa, France
agreed to relinquish her rights as to landing and drying fish on the
treaty shore, which had been recognized by the Treaty of Utrecht.
French subjects injured by this arrangement were to receive such
compensation from Great Britain as would be awarded by a tribunal
consisting of one representative of each contracting party, assisted
by an umpire if necessary. The French were to enjoy the same rights as
British subjects of fishing on the coast generally, and were permitted
to take bait, which they had been forbidden to do by the Newfoundland
Act of 1886. This convention did not affect the applicability of local
law as to bait in regard to the non-treaty coast.
Newfoundland was satisfied with this change. After the ratification of
the agreement, the new Governor, Sir William MacGregor, telegraphed to
Mr Lyttelton, the Minister for the Colonies, asking him to convey to
the King the people's acknowledgment of the "great boon" conferred by
the Convention, which His Majesty was chiefly instrumental in
initiating, and to the British Government for having safeguarded the
interests of the colony in negotiations involving so many
difficulties. That this view represented that of the population at
large was shown by the return to office (October) of Sir Robert Bond
and his colleagues with a very strong majority.
Soon afterwards an _entente cordiale_ was established between
Newfoundland and the French colony of St. Pierre and Miquelon.
Thus, "the Anglo-French chapter--some four centuries long--closed; and
the lobster, which darkened its closing paragraphs, ceased to be a
force in history."[58]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES:
[56] [See _Baird_ v. _Walker_, Law Reports, 1891, Appeal Cases, p.
491.]
[57] M'Grath, _op. cit._, p. 149.
[58] Rogers, _op. cit._, p. 225.
INDEX
Abandonment Suggested, 85, 106
Admirals, Fishing, 70, 71, 84, 85, 86, 98, 99
Amiens, Peace of, 102
American Independence, War of, 95
American prohibition of trade, 91
American Rebellion, 90
Area of Newfoundland, 8
Bacon, Sir Francis, 15, 66, 96
Baird, Mr, 182, 183
Bait Law, 185
Baltimore, Lord, 64, 70, 89
Banks Disaster, 135-142
Bannerman, Governor, 120
Basque Pioneers, 26, 47
Bathurst, Lord, 107
Beauclerk, Lord Vere, 85
Beazley, Mr Raymond, 30, 32, 35
Blaine, J.G., 128
Blaine-Bond incident, 128
Board of Trade, The, 78
Boeothics, 17, 102
Bonavista, Cape, 35
Bond, Sir Robert, 128, 162, 163, 186
Bond-Morris, Coalition, 155, 162
Bonfoy, Governor, 90
Bonnycastle, Sir Richard, 8, 19, 75
Boulton, Chief Justice, 110
Boys' Brigades, 166
Breton, Cape, Attack on, 87
Bristol, 30, 36, 67, 71
British indifference, 46, 76, 81, 84, 88, 91, 95, 176, 180, 182
Buchan, Captain, 105
Burleigh, Lord, 53
Burrill's Attack, 82
Bute, Lord, 88
Cables, Transatlantic, 7, 120
Cabot, John, 26-32, 35-6, 42-3
Cabot, Sebastian, 17, 28, 30, 39, 40, 43
_Calypso_, H.M.S., 165
Canada, 126, 129
Canada, Proposed Union with, 126, 135, 138, 162, 163, 166
Canadian Sympathy, 115, 134
Carbonier, 83
Carson, Dr William, 104, 107, 109
Cartier, 18, 50
Casualties in Great War, 168
Chamberlain, Mr, 144-154
Charles, I., 74, 75, 81
Charles II., 81
Cinderella of colonial history, 75
Climate, 9, 57
Coalition Ministry, 167
Cochrane, Governor, 107, 108, 123
Colonization, 45
Colville, Admiral Lord, 87
Columbus, Christopher, 26, 27, 41
Commercial Bank, 135
Commissioners of Foreign Plantations, 74
Committee of Trade and Plantations, 77
"Company of Adventurers and Planters," 67
Conscription, 167
Cook, Captain, Survey of, 89
Copper, 12
Cortereal, Gaspar, 47
Council, Governing, 107
Court of Civil Jurisdiction, 98
Courts of Session, 98
Crewe, Lord, 164
Customs, survival of, 79
Decorations won in Great War, 169
d'Haussonville, Count, 87
de Martens, M., 181
Dilke, Sir Charles, 180
di Raimondi, Raimondo, 31, 35, 43
Discovery, the age of, 22
Dorrell, Governor, 89
Drake, Sir Barnard, 65
Duckworth, Governor, Sir Thomas, 103, 104
Economic position, 20, 92, 122, 137
Edward VII., 186
Elizabeth, Queen, 54
Ericsson, Leif, 25
European War, (1914-19), 164-170
Exploits River, 11
Falkland, Lord, 70
Famine, 105
Financial crisis, 135
Fires at St John's, 106, 115, 134
Fishing industry, 8, 13, 37, 40, 45, 48, 52, 60, 86, 92, 136, 164-5, 173
Fishing regulations, 67, 74
Fisheries Commission, 1890, 15
Fisheries, Department of Marine and, 16
Foreign fishing vessels Act, 129
Foreign traders, duty on, 81
France, conflict with, 82, 83, 87
France, fishing concessions to, 67, 84, 175, 179
French aggression, 23, 81, 82, 96, 172, 185
French, agreement with, 185
French and fishing industry, 47, 84, 88, 105, 172-3
French claims, 171, 178, 184
French colonization, 64
French fishing interests, 98, 102
French settlement, 81
French shore question, 171, 186
French surrender, 87
French voyagers, 50
Gallipoli, 168
Gambier, Governor, 102
Gibbs, Mr, 158
Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, voyage of, 53-63
Goodridge, Mr, 140
Governor, first, 85
Gower, Governor, 103
Grand Falls, 12
Grand Newfoundland Bank, 14
Graves, Admiral Lord, 87, 89
Greene, Mr, 140
Grenville, Sir Richard, 53
Grey, Earl, 117
Guy, John, 67
Hague Arbitration, 16, 129
Hakluyt, Richard, 51, 53
Harmsworth, Messrs, 161
Harvey, Governor, 115
Hay-Bond Treaty, 129
Hayes, Captain Edward, 9, 55, 57-62
Hayman's, Robert, verses, 72
Henry VII., 24, 29, 42, 43
Henry VIII., 24, 48, 50
Hill, Governor, 131
Historians, 8
Hobart, Lord, 102
Hore's voyage, 51
Hospital, first, 103
House of Assembly, 109, 112
Hoyles, Mr, 121
Imperial War Conference, 167
Imports and exports, 20
Industries, development of, 124, 160, 161, 184
Iron mines, 161
James I., 66
Justices of the Peace, 85, 86, 90
Justice, Administration of, 77, 90, 98
Keats, Governor, 104
Kent, John, 111, 120
Kielly, Dr, 111
King, Governor, 100
Kirke, Sir David, 74
Labouchere, Mr H., 181
Labrador, 9, 35, 47, 89
Lakes, 11
La Salle, 64
_Latona_, H.M.S., mutiny on, 100
Laws, first, 56
Leake, Admiral Sir John, Attack by, 83
Lecky, W.E.H., 96
Legislative Council, 110
Legislative power, establishment of, 102
Lilly, Mr Justin, 111
Lloyd, Sir Wm. F., 167-8
Lobster fishery, 177, 180
Lyttelton, Hon. Alfred, 186
M'Callum, Governor, 158
MacGregor, Sir William, 163, 186
Mansion House Fund, 135
Markland, 25
Mason, Captain John, 68, 72
_Matthew_, The, 30
May March, 19
_Mayflower_, The, 64
Merchants, 23, 69, 76, 80, 86, 99, 105, 106, 108
Milbanke, Governor, 98
Mineral resources, 8, 12, 161
Montague, Governor, 92
Morine, Mr, 157-8, 162
Morison, Mr, 162
Morris, Sir Edward, 162, 163, 167
Murray, Governor Sir Herbert, 144, 149
Musgrave, Governor, 126
Native inhabitants, 17, 19
Native races, 16
Natural features, 8, 11, 57, 58
Naval Reserve, 165, 168, 170
Newfoundland Act, the, 183
Newfoundland forestry corps, 168
Newspaper, the first, 103
Norse explorers, 25
Nova Scotia, 85, 106
O'Brien, Sir Terence, 135
O'Donnell, Bishop, 102, 122
Osborne, Captain Henry, 85
Ougier, Peter, 108
Oyer and Terminer, Commissioners of, 86
Pakington, Sir John, 117
Palmerston, Lord, 178, 182
Palliser, Governor, 88
Palliser's Act, 92
Panama Canal, 164
Paper Industry, 161
Paris, Treaty of, 87, 104, 174
Parke, Chief Baron, 112
Parkhurst, Anthony, 52
Pasqualigo, Lorenzo, 31
Pedley, Rev. C., 83, 89, 101
Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, 32, 39, 42
Pickmore, Governor, 105-7
Pitt, William (Lord Chatham), 87, 88, 97
Placentia, Attack on, 83
Plantations, 18, 66, 74, 77, 79, 95, 96
Planters, 18, 68, 76, 77
Poor Relief, 102, 123, 124, 131, 139
Population, 20, 77, 91, 93, 94, 102, 126, 132, 137
Popham, Sir John, 67
Portuguese, 24, 47, 52, 54
Post Office, 103
Prescott, Governor, 115
Prohibition, 166
Prowse, Chief Justice, 8, 30, 35, 109, 126
Railways, 21, 124, 131, 132, 133, 159, 184.
(See also Reid Contract and Reid Newfoundland Company)
Raleigh, Sir Walter, 22, 53, 63, 65
Ramusio, 32, 39, 40, 42
Reeves, Chief Justice, 99
Reed, Albert, Company, 161
Reid Contract, 133, 143-159
Reid Newfoundland Company, 159-161
Religion and religious differences, 20, 70, 89, 102, 112, 121
Rent, first levied, 75
Revenue and expenditure, 20
Rivers, 11
Roads, first, 107
Roberval, 50
Rocky River, 12
Rodney, Governor, 86
Rogers, J.D., 8, 13, 66
Royal Commission, 184
Royal Newfoundland Regiment, 100, 102
"Royal Gazette," The, 103
Rut, John, 50
Ryswick, Treaty of, 82, 172
Salisbury, Marquis of, 180, 183
Savings Bank, 135
Seal Fisheries, 115, 166
Sebastiani, Count, 179
Self-Government demanded, 104, 107, 116
Settlers, 74, 77, 78, 102, 177
Shanandithit, 19
Shipping, 21
Smith, Adam, 95
Sothern, Captain, 100
Southampton, Mayor of, 78
Spain and Spaniards, 24, 29, 36, 45, 52, 54, 65
_Squirrel_, The, 54, 63
St George's Bay, 131
St John's, 7, 55, 83, 87, 103, 106, 116, 121, 134
St John's, Capture by French, 83
St John's, Surrender to French, 87
Stamp Act, 91
Star Chamber, 70, 74, 76, 77
Storm at St John's, 116
Taxation, 91, 97
Telegraphs, 7, 21, 120
Thirkill, 43
Unemployment Problem, 124, 138
Union Bank, 135
United States, 128, 130, 164
United States, Fishing Industry, 105
Utrecht, Treaty of, 83, 102, 172, 174, 176
Vaughan, Sir William, 69, 75
Verrazzano, 50
Versailles, Treaty of, 97, 177
Vesmond, Chevalier, 82
Vikings, 25
Volunteer Force, 165
Waldegrave, Governor, 100, 102, 123
Walker, Sir Baldwin, 182
Wallace, Governor Sir Richard, 100
Walsingham, 65
War Loan, 169
West Country merchants, 76
West Country, sailors of, 30, 38, 65, 67
Weymouth, Mayor of, 78
Whitbourne, Sir Richard, 10, 18, 69, 71
Whiteway, Sir W., 139, 141, 177
William III., 82, 171
Willoughby, Sir Hugh, 17
Winter, Sir James, 143, 155, 158
Wireless Telegraphy, 7
Wolfe, General, 87
* * * * *
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| Typographical errors corrected in text: |
| |
| Page 114: 'dissolve the Legislation.' replaced with |
| 'dissolve the Legislature.' |
| Page 143: incalulably replaced with incalculably |
| Page 147: inepitude replaced with ineptitude |
| Page 149: signficance replaced with significance |
| Page 190: Masou replaced with Mason |
| |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF NEWFOUNDLAND***
******* This file should be named 18636-8.txt or 18636-8.zip *******
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/6/3/18636
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.
*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
https://www.gutenberg.org/license).
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.
- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
of receipt of the work.
- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
[email protected]. Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at https://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact
For additional contact information:
Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
[email protected]
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
To donate, please visit:
https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
https://www.gutenberg.org
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
