# Public School History of England and Canada/Canada/Chapter 7

Layout 2
pages 257–261
CHAPTER VII.
NOVA SCOTIA AND NEW BRUNSWICK.
1. Nova Scotia.—We have now to trace the history of a new and larger Canada. Henceforth it is the Dominion of Canada about which we must speak. We must, also, drop the old names Upper Canada and Lower Canada, and use instead for these provinces—the new names, Ontario and Quebec. For when Nova Scotia and New Brunswick joined in the Confederation, it was decided, to prevent confusion, to change the names of the provinces of Old Canada. In many respects the history of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is very similar to that of Upper and Lower Canada. As in Lower Canada, the first settlers of Nova Scotia were French, the first settlement being made by De Monts, in 1605, at Port Royal (now Annapolis), a little earlier than that at Quebec by Champlain. The Cabots, it is said, first discovered the country, and on that ground ​Nova Scotia was claimed as an English possession. The little colony of Port Royal did not prosper, and in 1614 an English expedition from Virginia took the fort, destroyed it, and then sailed away. At that time the province was called Acadia, and included the present provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but in 1624 it was given by England to Sir William Alexander, and he named it Nova Scotia. Between 1624 and 1713 Port Royal changed ownership many times, belonging alternately to the English and the French until the treaty of Utrecht, when it passed finally into the possession of the English.
At this time its name was changed to Annapolis, in honor of the English Queen Anne. Not only Port Royal, but all Acadia was by this treaty given to the English. English settlers slowly found their way to the Province, and the city of Halifax was founded in 1749. But the French inhabitants and the Micmac Indians were not satisfied with the change of ownership, and plots against British rule were entered into between the French inside and the French outside the Province. All efforts to get the Acadians to take the oath of allegiance to the British king failed, and as the English settlements in the Province were in constant danger of attacks from the neighboring French and their Indian allies, it was decided to remove the Acadians from their homes and carry them to a French colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. This severe sentence was carried out in 1755. The sad story of the Expulsion of the Acadians is told in the beautiful and pathetic poem “Evangeline,” by Longfellow. The constant fear of attacks from the French was removed when, in 1758, the strong fortress of Louisburg, in Cape Breton, was captured by Wolfe. The conquest of Canada and the Peace of Paris followed, and Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island were surrendered to the British. Until 1784, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton formed one Province. Then New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton became separate Provinces, but the last named was.again joined to Nova Scotia in 1819. A Constitution was given to Nova Scotia in 1758, so that it had representative institutions many years before Lower Canada. It was to be governed by a joint Executive and Legislative Council, appointed by the Crown, and by an Assembly elected by the people. This form of Government did not succeed ​much better than the similar form in the two Canadas, and for the same reason.
The Revolutionary war of the United States caused some discontent and excitement in the province, and efforts were made to turn the people over to the side of the revolting colonies; but without success. After the war many U. E. Loyalists settled in Nova Scotia; and soon the new settlers began to agitate for a more just and liberal form of government. The agitation was carried on in much the same fashion as in Upper Canada, but it did not lead to rebellion. The same abuses existed as in Upper and Lower Canada, and after a severe political struggle, in which Joseph Howe played an important part, Responsible Government was granted in 1848. Nova Scotia had made considerable progress by this time; her fisheries, forests, mines, and fertile lands being sources of wealth. Her inhabitants were remarkably strong, vigorous and intelligent people, many of them being of U. E. Loyalist and Scotch descent. Her schools and colleges were generously supported by the Government, and education, before Confederation, had become practically free to all her people. Of her colleges, King’s, Windsor, was founded in 1788, and Dalhousie, Halifax, in 1820.
Railways were gradually introduced, but not to the same extent as in Upper Canada’ and an Intercolonial Railway between the different British Provinces of North America had often been suggested. This, in brief, was the state of affairs when Nova Scotia through her delegates at the Quebec Conference consented to become part of the Dominion of Canada. These delegates, however, did not represent the opinions of the people of Nova Scotia, and a bitter agitation against Confederation began under the old Reform leader, Joseph Howe. In vain the Province, through its Assembly, petitioned against the Union, and sent Howe to England to oppose the passage of the British North America Act. The British Government would not listen to the appeal, and Nova Scotia entered Confederation in much the same fashion as old Scotia entered the Union with England over one hundred and fifty years before. Let us hope that our Confederation may have the same happy results as the Union of 1707.
2. New Brunswick.—Until 1784 New Brunswick was a part of Nova Scotia, and its history to that time is therefore the history of ​Nova Scotia. Its earliest settlements were at the mouth of the St. John River, and, like the settlements at Port Royal, were made by the French. After the American Revolutionary War, thousands of United Empire Loyalists settled in the province; many of them in the neighbourhood of the present city of St. John. These new settlers were dissatisfied because they were not given fair representation in the Legislative Assembly, and petitioned to have a new province formed independent of Nova Scotia. In 1784 the Home Government granted their petition, and the result was the formation of the present province of New Brunswick, with a government similar to that of Nova Scotia. Fredericton became its capital, although its chief town was St. John. The people of this province did not pay the same attention to farming as the settlers of the other provinces, because the very valuable timber and fisheries of the country made it more profitable to engage in lumbering and fishing than in tilling the soil. In 1809, Britain laid a tax on timber brought from the Baltic, and in this way encouraged the timber trade of New Brunswick.
Its ports became noted not only for their timber trade, but also for ship-building. After the war of 1812-14, many disbanded soldiers settled in the province, and, as in Upper Canada, received liberal grants of land. But a: serious disaster in 1825, checked the prosperity of the province. The summer of this year was very hot and dry, and bush fires raged fiercely. On the 7th of October, a terrible wave of fire swept over the country, from Miramichi to the Bay of Chaleurs. Five thousand square miles of forest and farm, village and town, were made desolate, and hundreds of lives were lost. The political atmosphere, too, was troubled for many years. The struggle for Responsible Government took place in this province as elsewhere in British America, and New Brunswick had its Family Compact as well as Upper Canada. But, unlike Upper Canada, its rights were won without rebellion and bloodshed. In 1837, the control of the revenue was given to the Assembly, and in 1848, responsible government was fully conceded. In these struggles for freedom to manage its own affairs, Lemuel Allan Wilmot took a prominent part as a champion of the people. The dispute about the boundary line between Maine and New Brunswick kept the province in a state of alarm and uncertainty for years; and at one time it was ​feared that the quarrels along the border for possession of the disputed territory would lead to war. The Ashburton Treaty, in 1842, resulted, as we have seen, in taking away from New Brunswick a large territory which rightfully belonged to it. In the twenty years before Confederation, by means of railways and steamboats, great progress was made in opening up the country; in extending the trade of the province, although the timber trade was threatened with injury by the removal of the duties from timber exported from the Baltic to England; and in improving the educational system of the province. Good public schools were established; and among other colleges, the University of Fredericton and Mt. Allison College at Sackville, were founded. The former is a state college, the latter is connected with the Methodist denomination. The story of the Union with the other provinces has already been told. As in Nova Scotia there was strong opposition to Confederation, and in the first election held after the Quebec Conference, the Confederation party was badly beaten at the polls. For a time it seemed as if New Brunswick would refuse to proceed any further with the scheme, but the Home Government was anxious for Confederation, as also were the Governor and the Legislative Council. These influences, aided by the alarm caused by the Fenian invasion, helped to bring about a change in the popular feeling, and another election being held the Confederation party was successful. Union resolutions were now passed, and delegates sent to London to aid in framing the British North America Act.