The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1878-03-23

Cecil county. The Barban family wished
to migrate to Quebec, in Canada, and, lik
the others, they wanted some tobacco t
enable them to defray their expenses. II
these palmy days of the colony, Tobacco
was plenty and it is impossible to imagine
their business without it. Long befor
this time, it was the legal currency, and it
value per pound was regulated by the Co
lonial legislature. Neatly folded up inside
of Barban's petition was certificate from
the clerk of Kent county, "humbly certi
flying that none of the French Neutrals
which have removed from Cecil county
have any allowance given them from Ken
county, as they were not originally resi-
dents thereof" Among the papers was
one almost identical with the first one we
found, which the court had given to Eliza
beth Brassa and Eneas Heber, and which
had this Endorsement upon the back of it
" The 9th April, 1867. Received of James
NJ. Lacklan, a sum Of money equal to the
within allowance of 2400 pounds of tobacco,
granted me by Cecil county court for the
purpose within mentioned.
Her
ELIZABETH I BRAssEy.
mark.
Witnesses: -Archibald Wright,
Cyrus Copper
Then there was a letter from James VI
Lacklan, dated at Georgetown, the 29th of
November, 1867, and addressed to the wor-
shipful justices of Cecil county, in which
he stated THAT his health did not permit
him to wait upon them in person with the
inclosed paper, and asks them to be good
enough to levy the tobacco, which they had
promised for the transportation of their
Neutrals, which, by the indorsations, they
would see he was entitled to-
The petition of the orphan children of
John Baptist Granger. which was one of
the papers before referred to, contained a
touching narrative of their misfortunes and
sufferings From it we learned that othe +
French Neutrals living at Newtown, Kent
county, (Newtown was the name then APP
piled to Chestertownl had received aid
from the court of that county, and expect
ed to start for Canada in about a month;
that they the Changers had been in cap
tivlty for twelve years, and were DESTROYS
to remove to Canada; and that several of
them had had the small pox. They also
speak in terms of admiration of the GOV
of His Gracious Majesty. George
Ill, King Of Great Britain, France and
Ireland. There is great room to doubt the
sincerity of their professions of loyalty, as
the reader will learn after awhile, but they.
10 doubt. thought this was the readiesI
way to obtain the relief they needed,
and probably they were not to blame fol
the falsity of their professions, if false
they were. They conclude their petition by
asserting that they are the most necessitous
of the French people in the county, and
beseeoh the worshipfui council for the love
of God Almighty to hear their petition and
promise ever to pray for the conservation of
The worshipful council
We are sorry to say that we met with no
record to show that these poor orphans re
ceived the aid they sought, but let us hope,
for the credit of the court, that they order
ed the tobacco to be levied for them and
that they went 18th their friends and coun
trymer to Canada. From the aforemeu-
toned bundle of old papers we learned
little more than what the reader already
to forty of the French Nentrals, and thar
The court had levied c43 los. worth of to
bacco to pay the expense of removing two
families OF them to Louisiana and two
were they called Neutrais? How camo
they to be in Cecil county? Why were
they transported to Louisiana and Canada
at the public expense? Many times we
asked ourself these questions, and many
times we asked for information from others.
ill our brain grew weary thinking of them,
and we were almost ready to relinquish the
investigation of the subject in despair Of
ever finding satisfactory answer to the
pe:plexing question that had annoyed IL.
so much, when we Numbered upon an old
history of Lancaster county, wherein we
found the information we had been III
search of. The good people of that county
mad had some of the French Neutrals
living with them at the same time they.
hal
brain so much, were living mere, and the
author Of The above history of that county
had devoted several pages to the elucida-
ton of the subject that had perplexed US
SO much. From information derived from
The aforementioned history and from sew
sral other sources, we are warranted IN
saying that the French Neutrals Of whom
we write were part of thu a oadians who
were SO wrcngsGliy and cruelty exiled
froa Nova Scotia in 100. 1t is not within
our province, nor is it our intention, to
write all the history OF all these exiles, but
we may be allowed to state that in the ever
changing fortunes of the several nations
that coutended with each other for the pos
session of different portions cf the eastern
of North America, Nova Scotia,
originally settled by the French, had been
ira nsferred or ceded to England by the
treaty of Utrecht, in 11l3, and that the in
habitants had taken the oath of allegiance
to the British government, with immunity
of not bearing aims against their country
men. They appear to have been . frugal,
and persevefing people, and,
were prosperous and happy.
But the French and Indian war broke out
in 1154, and the Acadians were accused of
furnishing arms and provisions to the
French cruisers, in violation of their oaths
of allegiance to Great Britain. Just pre-
vious to the departure of the unfortunate
General Braddock upon his i'll fated expe
dition against Fort Du Quesne, he and the
colonial governors held a consultation at
Va. The result Of the confer
ence was that . warhke expedition was
sent against the Acadians, and, as is al
ways the case when individuals or nations