Nova Scotia Archives

Acadian Heartland

Records of the Deportation and Le Grand Dérangement, 1714-1768

190

NOVA SCOTIA DOCUMENTS.

sorry to find in our government, persons, whom it is impossible to please, and upon whom our declarations have produced nothing but discontent, jealousies and murmurings. We must not complain of all the inhabitants. We know very well that there are ill-disposed, interested and mischievous persons among you, who corrupt the others. Your inexperience and your ignorance of the affairs of government and your habit of following the counsels of those who have not your real interests at heart, make it an easy matter to seduce you. In your petitions, you ask for a general leave. As it is impossible that you could all meet at a certain rendezvous in order to set out all together, with all your families, one must understand by the expression "conge general" a general permission to set out whenever you shall think proper, by land, or by sea, or by whatever conveyances you please. In order to effect this, we should have to notify all the commanders of his majesty's ships and troops to allow everyone to pass and repass, which would cause the greatest confusion. The province would be open to all sorts of people, to strangers and even to the savages. They have only to dress themselves like you in order to render it difficult to distinguish them from you.

The only manner in which you can withdraw from this province, is to follow the regulations already established. The order is, that all persons wishing to leave the province, shall provide themselves with our passport, to be shown to the vessels or troops they may meet. And we declare that nothing shall prevent us from giving such passports to all those who ask for them, the moment that peace and tranquillity are reestablished in the province.

In the present state of the province, we are astonished that you thought of asking for such leave.

You know that the savages are assembled at Chignecto furnished with everything and protected by a French detachment. You know that you will have to pass these French detachments and savages, and that they compel all the inhabitants who go thero to take up arms. I am to presume my friends that you pay no attention to this.

It is a demand which I can by no means grant. On the contrary, it is already some time past since we forbad all of his majesty's subjects to carryon any business whatever in the Bay of Fundy, and we have issued an order to seize all the English vessels that shall be found there.

Two schooners have just been seized in the Basin of Mines. I must also inform you of another important thing, which is,