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At a Council held by order of the Honble Paul Mascarene Esq President of His Majesty's Council at the house of John Adams Esq in the Lower Town of Annapolis Royal on Saturday the 2nd of August 1740 at nine of the clock A. M.
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PRESENT His Honor the President
William Shirreff Esq
Erasmus James Philipps Esq
John Handfield Esq
Edward Amhurst Esq |
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Being met according to adjournment the President acquainted the Board that the Petition that was read last Thursday and referred to their further consideration was presented to him by two of the Petitioners to whom he gave for an answer that there was time enough to consider it before winter as their Petition related to that time and that he would accordingly lay it before the Council at their session in July – the two Petitioners saying that in the meantime they were going a fishing along the coast as they had done before to get something to support their families, he allowed of it, as indeed none were hindered from doing so, it being only a duty when any of them went a fishing to acquaint him with their intention but he was surprised to hear a day or two after that two shallops were gone carrying several families in order to settle at Tibogue and that it was given out that it was by the President's leave, that he therefore had immediately issued the order bearing date the 12th July 1740 to be published by the Deputies and it was given by the Secretary to one of the French inhabitants to carry to the place where their families were gone, – that having heard some of them were returned and seen them he had told them he would call them before the Council, and had accordingly ordered one of the Deputies to summons them and the rest of the Petitioners to be ready here this morning to answer for their conduct before the Board.
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Whereupon such of them as were returned were called before the Board and being asked what moved them to go and settle themselves and their families at Tibogue before leave was first granted them by His Honor the President and His Majesty's Council as they desired in their Petition, to which the two people that presented the Petition owned that His Honor told them it was time enough to consider of it before winter and that he would lay their Petition before the Council for an answer and acknowledged that they did not acquaint the President of their intention of carrying their families and that they were going only a fishing as usual, which Petition of theirs and their above answer being considered and compared with what His Honor represented to the Board, it was judged that their removing their families before they got any answer to their Petition was very contemptuous and their whole conduct insolent and their answers prevaricating, because they might have gone there and fished without their
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