Chapter XXII: Appendix: Halifax, 5th August, 1763

Sir,--We beg leave to trouble you with a memorial of a number of
officers and disbanded soldiers, who came from New England, and
are settled on St. John's River. We were sent to them lately as a
Committee of Council, by order of the Lieut.-Governor, to inform
them that they could have no Grant of the Lands they were upon,
and that they must remove therefrom, as these Lands were reserved
by His Majesty for disbanded Troops. However, we are very
apprehensive that their case must by some means or other have been
misrepresented to the Lords of Trade, or not clearly understood.

They are chiefly American soldiers, officers or privates; they
have sold their Farms in New England, and have transported
themselves at their own expense; they have brought considerable
stock with them, and their Families, and if it is the intention of
the Ministry to settle disbanded Troops on that River, we are of
Opinion these people will be of use and service, as it cannot be
expected that English Soldiers can bring any great stock with
them. The removing these people now they are settled, will be
their utter ruin, the particular circumstances of which they have
set forth in their Memorial to the Lords of Trade, which we beg
the favor of you to present to them, and are with great Respect,

Sir, your most obedient and very Humble Servts.,

Chas. Morris,
Henry Newton.

Joshua Mauger, Esqr.

MEMORIAL.

To the Right Honourable and Honourable the Lords of Commissioners
of Trade and Plantations:

The Memorial of Francis Peabody, John Carlton, Jacob Barker,
Nicholas West and Israel Perley, late officers in the American
service and now Disbanded, In behalf of themselves and others
disbanded from the said service and now settled at St. John's
River in Nova Scotia, Humbly Sheweth:--

That your Memorialists, previous to their entering into his
Majesty's Service, among other Encouragements were induced thereto
by a Proclamation of his late Majesty promising that at the
Expiration of the service they should be entitled to a Grant of
Lands in any of his Majesty's colonies for them to Settle upon.
That they have many of them been in Service during this Present
war, and as Americans are not intitled to half pay, as his
Majesty's British Troops are, and therefore expected no other
Recompense than a Donation of Land agreeable to his late Majesty's
Promise to them.

That having been sollicited to settle in Nova Scotia, by Colonel
McNutt, who appeared to us to be authorized by your Lordships,
having produced to us an Instrument Signed by your Lordships and
under seal promising a Right of Land to each Settler equal to
those already Granted to Horton, Cornwallis and Falmouth, we were
induced to come into the colony of Nova Scotia, and accordingly
sent a Committee of us to view Lands proper for a Settlement. That
our Committee accordingly viewed several Tracts of Lands in Nova
Scotia at our Expense and advised us to settle upon St. John's
River about seventy miles from the Mouth in one of the Extreme
parts and Frontiers of Nova Scotia, that we therefore applyed to
the Governor and Council of Nova Scotia for a Grant of the Lands,
not doubting of having the same confirmed to us, as they had
Granted several Townships in this Province of Nova Scotia to other
New England Proprietors who had not been in the Service. That the
Governour and Councill of Nova Scotia gave your Memorialists
encouragement, by telling your Memorialists that the Lands about
St. John's River were reserved by your Lordships for disbanded
Troops and that they would refer your Memorialists' Petition to
your Lordships.

In confidence of this, and being ourselves Soldiers, we
apprehended we might with great safety prepare ourselves for
settling the Lands we Petitioned for, and accordingly sold our
Estates in New England, and have at near a Thousand Pounds
Sterling expence Transported ourselves, Families and Stock, and
are now Settled to the number of one Hundred persons, on St.
John's River seventy miles from the Mouth; and a large number of
disbanded officers and soldiers in confidence of the same
Encouragement have now sold all their Possessions in New England
and are hiring Vessels to Transport themselves and Settle among
us.

We were not a little astonished when we were informed by his
Majesty's Governor and Council here that we could not have a Grant
of the Lands we have settled ourselves upon.

We therefore humbly apply to your Lordships to Lay our Cause
before his most Gracious Majesty for whose service we have often
exposed our lives in America, that he would be pleased to direct
the Governor and Council here to Grant us these Lands, we are now
settled upon, as the Removal therefrom would prove our utter Ruin
and Destruction. We have been at no expence to the crown and
intend to be at none, and are settled two hundred miles from any
other English Settlement.

And your Memorialists as in duty bound shall ever pray.

Recd. & Read Decr. 16, 1763.