Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-11-11
THE ACADIAN NEUTRALS
SUPPOSED ORIGIN OF LoNGFEL-
Lows POEM OF "EvANGELlNE."
A Pathetic Story of Exile and Suffering.
Frightened By the Charity of Hugue-
not Quaker-Burial Place of Evange-
line and Gabriel.

line and Gabriel.
Longfellow's 'Evangeline" has a pecu-
liar interest to us as Pennsylvanians, for
the author laid the leading events of the
story in Philadel phia. 1t is there Evange-
line and Gabriel landed, and to that city
Evangeline returned after her fruitless
search for Gabriel:
In that city also they die, and tradition
points out the little Catholic church,
Trinity, at the northwest corner of Sixth
and Spruce streets, where they were buried.
Whether Evangeline or Gabriel ever
really existed, except as we find them in
the ina gination of the poet Longfellow
in this story, we know not; but that many
of the Acadian neutrals or exiles, as they
are often called, arrived in Philadelphia is
we'll authenticated by many acts of our
provincial assembly. Perhaps short refer
ence to their history will enable us better
to understand and enjoy this poem, which
is certainly as pat hetic and sweet as any in
the language.
DRIVER FROM HOME
A French Catholic settlement of about
1000 souls had long existed in Nova Sco-
tia, located on the Bay of Fundy When,
in 11lS, that country was surrendered to
the English, it was stipulated by the treaty
of Utrecht that one year be granted the in
habitants to remove their effects, but they,
not being willing 10 lose the fruits OF many
years labor. chose to remain and become
subjects of Great Britain, on condition
that they might be exempt from bearing
arms against France. This request they
understood to be granted on taking the
oath of fidelity to Queen Anne, and it was
also renewed some years after to King
GaC-ora III Uhn aCain allowed 81
exemption.
They rendered assistance, however, to
the English government on all occasions,
heing willing to erect forts, make roads,
build bridges, etc. The only thing they
could not do was to bear arms against
their countrymen and destroy with their
own hands relations and friends In this
way they lived in this secluded corner of
America, inoffensiye and peaceable farm
ers, until the French and Indian wars
broke out and stirred up strong feeling
against them as Catholics. When the Eng
lish government, which was smarting no
doubt from reverses, including Brad
docks defeat, which occurred on our own
soil of Pennsylvania in July, 1i55, gave the
order, for state policy no doubt, but yet
unfeeling, to remove them from the coun-
try, the reader to make the new popula-
ton that was flowing in more loyal and
English in character. On the 5th of Sep
TENDER, 1855, about 1900 in all-say 500
men. $50 women and l $50 children-were
by this order taken from their farms and
homes, put on ship board, and 255 houses,
216 barns, les outho Uses and II mills were
burned.
The population was distributed among
the English colonies Some were landed
in New England, but not quite half OF
them on the 10Th OF November, 1865, say
two and a half months after their embark
alton, arrived in the Delaware river in
three sloops, the Hannah, the Three
Friends and the Swan. Five days after
Governor Robert Hunter Morris made
their arrival the subject of n special mes
sage to the assembly, then in session,
which was tinctured with the prevailing
anti-French and Catholic feeling of that
day-feelings which our late reverses had
intensified and engendered, and he ad-
vised that they should not land in the city,
and did guard them on Province island,
below the city; they numbered over 800.
FRIEND INDEED.
The assembly fortu 1ately was composed
of many Friends or Quakers, and those
beautiful features Of their character
charity, liberty of conscience and tolera-
tion-were on this occasion nobly displayed,
and Anthony Benezet, Huguenot Quaker,
who had a prosperous school for the educa-
ton of young women, and after whom a
street was named, was appointed by the as
sembly to at once purcha blankets. shirts,
stockings and other necessaries, which
amounted to over 81 1000, and this was
charged to the public account. A few
of the neutrals, rather than lose their ma
tionslity, took the military road across the
mountains of our state, reached the Ohio,
and constructing fat boats foated down
the Ohio and Mississippi and joined their
French countrymen in Louisiana.
In February, 11j6, bill was introduced in
the assembly and approved March the same
| year, to disperse the neutrals into the coun-
ties Of Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester and
| Lancaster, TO give theIl Us the act recites,
an opportunity of exercising their own
| labor and industry. Ii does not appear
| that many left, for Watson, in his Annals
of Philadelphia" says: "These poor peo-
| pie became completely dispirited. They
| wept over the story of their wrongs and
| described the comfortable farms and homes
| from which they had been dragged with
| bitter regrets
Anthony Benezet was their kind friend
| He educated many of their daughters and
| his charities were constan and unreInit-
IiHS- lucy were prov III a
| long range of one story wooden houses,
| built on the north side of Pine, between
| Fifth and Sixth streets and there made a
| French town in the midst of our society,
| and lived spiritless and poor, and became
| finally burden, so that the authorities to
awaken them in 1857 ordered the overseers
| of the poor to have their children bound
| out. Our record to them is good, for IL APP
| pears that from the time of their arrival in
November, 1865 to the termination of our
colonial government, or the commence
| ment of the Revolution, 1716, 1880. or
81, 600, was expended and charged to the
| public account, and when to this is added
private charity, always large in our ia
vored. land, we may wei feel proud, espe-
cially as it was to the French Catholics,
with whom we were then at war for the
possession apparently of our homes.-A. F.
N. in Philadelphia Ledger.
1 Mo,