settle Halifax ; which the French looking upon with jealousy, they made frequent incursions through our country, in order to annoy that settlement, whereby we came exposed to many straits and hardships ; yet, from the obligations we were under, from the oath we had taken, we were never under any doubt, but that it was our indispensable duty and interest, to remain true to your Government and our oath of fidelity, hoping that in time those difficulties would be removed, and we should see peace and tranquillity restored ; and if, from the change of affairs in Nova Scotia, Your Majesty had thought it not inconsistent with the safety of your said Province to let us remain there upon the terms promised us by your Governors, in Your Majesty’s name, we should doubtless have acquiesced with any other reasonable proposal which might have been made to us, consistent with the safety of our aged parents, and tender wives and children ; and we are persuaded, if that had been the case, whereever we had retired, we should have held ourselves under the strongest obligations of gratitude, from a thankful remembranee of the happiness we had enjoyed under Your Majesty’s administration and gracious protection. About the time of the settlement of Halifax, General Cornwallis, Governor of Nova Scotia, did require that we should take the oath of allegiance without the exemption before allowed us of not bearing arms ; but this we absolutely refused, as being an infringement of the principal condition upon which our forefathers agreed to settle under the British Government.
And we acquainted Governor Cornwallis, that if Your Majesty was not willing to continue that exemption to us, we desire liberty to evacuate the country, proposing to settle on the Island of St. John, where the French Government was willing to let us have ; which proposal he at the time refused to consent to, but told us he would acquaint Your Majesty therewith and return us an answer. But we never received an answer, nor was any proposal of that made to us until we were made prisoners.
After the settlement of Halifax we suffered many abuses and insults from Your Majesty’s enemies, more specially from the Indians in the interest of the French, by whom our cattle was killed, our houses pillaged, and many of us personally abused and put in fear of our lives, and some even carried away prisoners towards Canada, solely on account of our resolution to maintain our oath of fidelity to the English Government ; Particularly Rene LeBlanc — our public notary — was taken prisoner by the Indians when actually travelling in Your Majesty’s service, his house pillaged, and himself carried to the French fort, from whence he did not recover his liberty but with great difficulty, after four years, captivity.
We were likewise obliged to comply with the demand of the enemy, made for provisions, cattle, etc., etc., upon pain of military execution, which we had reason to believe the Government was made sensible was not an act of choice on our part, but of necessity, as those in authority appeared to take in good part the representations we always made to them after anything of that nature had happened.
