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 NOVA SCOTIA

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NOVA SCOTIA

mouth of the St. Croix Rivpr. The rompanions whom he left at Port-Royal returned to France. The follow- ing year de Monts and the survivors of his party at St. Croix returned to Port-Royal. Tlii.s was the be- ginning of European settlement in Canada, and the eolony thus <'stal>li.-iluMl i^ tlic oldest lOuropean .settle- ment in North .\iiierica with (he exception of St. Au- gustine in Florida. The colony was temporarily aban- doned in lt)07, but in UiU) the French returned and remained in undisturbed po.sscssion until 1613, when a freebooter from X'irginia named .Vrftall made a descent upon the colony and totally ilestroyed it.

In 121 King James 1 gave a grant of Acadia to Sir William Alexander and changed the name to Nova Scotia; but the efforts of Sir William Alexander to build up an English settlement were of little avail. After the cajjture of Quebec by David Kirke, peace was maile between France and Great Britain by the Treaty of St-Germain-en-Laye (16.32), and Quebec and Nova Scotia were given back to France. But in 1654 Cromwell sent out a fleet to capture the Dutch eolony at Manhattan, and a portion of his fleet sailed into Annapolis Basin, and Port-Royal surrendered to them. After the accession of Charles II, by the Treaty of Breda, Nova Scotia was again restored to France. In 1690 Sir William Phips took command of a naval force from Massachusetts, and he easily took Port- Royal, but he left no garrison there and the French soon reoccupied it. After several years of war terms of peace were again arranged between Great Britain and France by the Treaty of Ryswick (1679) and Nova Scotia was once again placed under the rule of France. The final capture of Port-Royal took place in 1710 when the French surrendered to Colonel Nichol- son, who named the settlement Annapolis in honour of Queen Anne. The long warfare between the two coun- tries for the possession of Nova Scotia proper was brought to a close by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which provided that the peninsula should belong to England and the Island of Cape Breton to France. Annapolis became the capital of the colony and the only other English settlement was at Canso. Very few settlers arrived in the country for nearly forty years. The French to regain their position strongly fortified Louisbiirg on the south-east coast of Cape Breton. War again broke out and in 174.5 a force was sent from Massachusetts under Colonel William Pep- perell. After a siege of seven weeks the Governor of Louisburg was obliged to surrender. To recapture Louisburg the French in the year following sent out a powerful fleet under d'Anville. This expedition was unfortunate. The fleet encountered bad weather and after the remnants of it arrived at Chebucto (Halifax) Harbour, the commander and many of the men died; those who sun'ivtd returned to France. Great Bri- tain held Louisburg for three years after the first cap- ture; and then terras of peace were arranged by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) and Louisburg was given to France. To strengthen the position of the EngUsh in Nova Scotia it was determined to establish a permanent settlement on the shores of Chebucto Harbour. Accordingly in June, 1749, Colonel Corn- wallis arrived with a number of settlers and founded the town of Halifax. The seat of government was tran.sfcrrcd from Annapolis to the newtown, andCom- wallis selected a council to assist him in the adminis- tration of the colony. Six years later occurred the cruel expulsion of the Acadians from their fertile lands along the Bay of Fundy. Several thousands of these people were banished from Nova Scotia and scattered in the English colonies from Massachusetts to Louis- iana. In many cases families were separated and the event remains a dark blot on the reputation of the English governor of that day.

From 1749 to 17.58 the governor of the colony ad- ministered its affairs with the assistance of a council, but there were no representatives directly chosen by

the people. In the latter year the lirst representative Assembly was convened in Halifax. By the laws of that time Roman Catholics were disqualified from holding seats in the legislature.

In 1756 began the famous Seven Years' War; two years later the final capture of Louisburg, under Gen- eral Amherst, took place. The siege lasted for seven weeks and at hust the l''rencli governor was obliged to surrender unconililionally. By the Treaty of Paris (1763) France ceded Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, and Canada to Great Britain, and the long duel in North America between the two great Euro- pean powers came at last to an end. Cape lireton and Prince Edward Island became a part of Nova Scotia; but in 1770 Prince Edward Island severed its poHtical connexion, as in 1784 did Cape Breton and New Brunswick. Cape Breton was reannexed to Nova Scotia in 1819. During the Revolutionary War Nova Scotia remained loyal to Britain. Many people in the United States who did not approve of the war migrated to the British provinces. These were known as Linited Empire Loyalists. In the province to which they removed they received free grants of land and they formed a valuable accession to the scant popula- tion.

At the first session of the Legislature of Nova Scotia a law was passed requiring all Catholic priests to leave the country; and any person who harboured a priest was liable to payment of a large fine. These laws were subsequently repealed. In 1827 a Catholic was permitted, for the first time, to take his seat as a member of the Assembly. While Nova Scotia had representative government as early as 1758, the exec- utive was not in any way responsible to the people; affairs were so administered for about seventy years. Then arose a strong agitation under the brilliant leadership of Joseph Howe. After several years of dis- cussion and negotiation, in 1848, responsible govern- ment was secured and thereafter the tenure of office of the government was made to depend upon the support of the representatives of the people in the Assembly. The next twenty years were years of continued prog- ress. Steam communication was established with England; railways were built; and a revival of trade took place. In 1867 the Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario were confeder- ated as the Dominion of Canada, under the provision of the British North America Act. The legislative functions of the Dominion and of the provinces were separated, and subjects of local cc mcern were assigned to the several provinces. Among the latter may be men- tioned education and municiiial institutions, solemni- zation of marriage, and property ami civil rights. Among the powers assignetl to the Dominion are the postal service, census and statistics, military and naval service and defence, navigation, banking, copy- rights, marriage and divorce, and the regulations in regard to the Indians.

IV. Church and State. — The relations between Church and State do not give rise to nmch complaint. There is no state religion, and all religious denomina- tions are placed on an equality by the law. The school system is undenominational. The Catholics have no separate schools, but in centres of population where they are numerous and in country districts where they predominate, they are permitted by usage to have teachers of their own belief. There is perfect freedom of worship in every respect.

V. Division into Dioceses, Population, etc. — The Province of Nova Scotia is divided into two dio- ceses: the Archdiocese of Halifax, which embraces the eleven westernmost counties of the province; and the Diocese of Antigonish, which embraces the four coun- ties on Cape Breton Island, and the Counties of Guys- borough, Pictou, and Antigonish on the peninsula. According to the last official census there were 54,301 Catholics in the Archdiocese of Halifax, and 75,277 in