The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-09-11
CLAIMING TWO COUNTRIES.

<<hi I W V Nco AN isiiNC'
 A Boston Man Thinks Nova Scotia and
 New Brunswick Belong to Him-One
 of the Most Extensive Land Claims
 Ever Made and its Basis.
 One of the most extensive land claims ever made by any individual in the an- nals of American history is that which a Boston man, Frederick Gregory For syth, Vicomte de Fronsac, is at the present time filing before the Supreme court at Halifax, N. S.
 If he succeeds In proving the validity of his claims to the title and the an- cient land grant he will be the richer by half billion dollars, and the whole population of New Brunswick and Mo- va Scotia, numbering almost eight hundred thousand, will be deprived of the right to or interest in seventy thou- sand square miles, or 45,222, 900 broad acres, which will revert to Forsyth as the rightful heir. MT. Forsyth is by no means dreamer, but man of educa- tion and intellect and refinement. He Is about thirty-five years of age, of very attractive appearance and a man justly proud of his ancient family tree. He has been educated in one of the leading French universities in Canada, was an officer in the English army, and he passes his time between Boston, Portland and Montreal.
 Though there are several branches of l the family, the present claimant is said to be the rightful one There are oth- CTS of the same family in Boston, but the only one who is backing or encour- aging the litisant in any way is MT. J. B. Forsyth, of the Boston Betting com pany, who is distant relative.
 | The Forsyth family is one of the old- est families in Europe, the head of the | line, Count Forsyth de Fronsac, being | descendant of Charlemagne, the castle | fortress Forsaith, on the Dodogne river, | in Aquitania, having been bestowed on Forsyth de Fronsac with the title of count in the ninth century. This title was retained by the family until the English invasion. It then passed to the heirs of the female line. and in 1850 was conferred on Nicolas Denys by Louis XIV Together with the title, Nicolas Denys, then royal Governor of Acadia, was enrolled as one of the no- bility of New-France (Canada).
 l governor upon the death of his preda- cessor, Commander de Razilli. By the kings orders he was appointed to rule over the whole extent of the great Gulf of St. Lawrence and the isle adja- cent from Cape Canseau to Cape Ros- iers by nomination of the company of NewF France"
 He formed two settlements. Cheda- bouctor (Guysborough) and St. Pierre est. Peter's) in Cape Breton. The strait of Canseau, then known as Fronsac, was named for him. Shortly after talk l ing possession of his office he, being a Huguenot, incurred the enmity of a French officer by the name of Le Borgne, who secretly planned an am- bush against him, and, with others, captured him alone, and carried him a prisoner to Port Royal (Annapolis).
 He obtained, however the aid of the Protestant English, with whom he was forced to form an alliance for his own safety, and they released him by armed intervention. In the mean time he had opened the country to colonists, fos- tered trade with New England, built ships, established the town Of Gaspe as his capital had fort on the Straits of Canseau to protect his treasures, which were on the Cape Breton shore, from the spoliation of his enemies. His enc mics next proceeded to petition the king for his removal from the govern orship. They succeeded in getting Cir audiere appointed, and De Fronsac re- tired into his own territory The new governor, with the aid of the kings ships and troops, made war on De Fronsac, seized the ships by which he traded with New England, besieged and drove him from the fort at Canseau, got his treasury at Cape Breton and finally drove him from the country. But in 1863 he so far recovered the au- thority that the king appointed him lieutenant-general for Acadia. and In 1867 his claims on the title of Viccount de Fronsac were recognized and enreg- Iistered by order of Louis XIV.
 The extensive government and lands remained with the De Fronsacs down
 to 1732, when the entire family of the then Governor of Acadia died of an ep- idenic. When the English gained con- trol of Canada, however, the claims o1 the De Fronsacs were declared invalid
 But according to article 37 of the treaty
 made in Paris in 1763, all titles of nobil- ity conferred by the kings of France or
 borne under royal French recognition in Canada are recognized by the Brit ish government in Canada at the pres.
 ent time, and by such recognition al
 titles of French origin in Canada take
 precedence of English titles which have
 since been created. It is probably or
 this clause that the present heir bases
 his claim. The papers relating to his
 claim of the province of New Bruns.
 wick will be filed at Fredericton.
 Besides taking a prominent part ir
 the history of France and Canada, the
 De Fronsacs gained great renown for
 the deeds of prowess performed by one
 of the family in Scotland. During the
 reign of Robert Bruce, King of Scot. 1 land, or rather while he was fighting
 for his crown against King Edward o1
 England, alliances were made with the
 French king. One of the knights whc
 came over to fight for Bruce and Scot.
 land at this epoch was Ocbert, son O.
 Robert de Forsyth. who, for "fealty, i. received from the king "one hundred