The Loyalists

Year
1898
Month
5
Day
18
Article Title
The Loyalists
Author
Jessie Lawson
Page Number
1
Article Type
Language
Article Contents
THE LOYALISTS. Paper Read at St. George's Church Monday Evening by Miss Jessie Lawson. On the right a rocky promontory covered with thickets of cedar and spruce to the water's edge; on the left the heights (now Carleton); among the rocks below a few fishermen's huts; the ruins of Fort Frederick, or Fort La Tour, on the strip of land round which the river makes its abrupt turn; in front of the elevated post of Fort Howe; close to it a block house, a wood yard and a few houses and stores—the whole enveloped in fog. Such was the appearance of the harbor at the mouth of the river St. John as ships from New York entered it at daybreak, May 19, 1783, bearing hundreds of people, men, women and children, who had come to take up their residence in the rude huts that had been built for them, and who were destined to make of this seemingly desolate place a large and flourishing city. Who were they? Whence had they come? Why had they come? They were the Loyalists. They had come from the newly-organized United States of America. It was at the close of the Revolutionary war, that war which has been called the "mother of New Brunswick." Since 1700 the North American Colonies (with the exception of Canada) had been growing gradually discontented with British rule. They would have been perfectly satisfied to go on as they were if the British government had only treated them in a manner they thought just; that is, if Great Britain either had not taxed them, or also had permitted them to send representatives to parliament in return for being taxed. This wish was considered perfectly reasonable by many of the wisest Englishmen of the day, and these statesmen would have gladly consented to either of these measures, but King George III. and his advisers would not consent. Thus, the king was determined that the colonies should obey him, and the colonies were determined that they would not pay taxes unless they were allowed representation in parliament that they might have a voice in deciding what their taxes should be. There could be but one result. After the famous "tea party" in Boston harbor in December, 1773, war began in earnest. The British, through bad management, were severely defeated, and at last, in 1782, after the surrender of General Cornwallis at York-town, the obstinate king was obliged to acknowledge the independence of the United States of America. Thus did they obtain by war and bloodshed the object which Canada has gained by comparatively peaceful agitation and without breaking away from her allegiance to England. Among these colonists were many noble and upright men, true Englishmen, whose loyalty compelled reverence to the king, and who, with tears in their eyes, tried to persuade their fellow-countrymen to submit to him. And these men, having fought in the British army during the war, at its close found themselves, with their wives and families, penniless, stripped of their possessions and in the midst of exasperated foes, who threatened to take their lives. Then, determined to live under the British flag, they turned their eyes towards Canada. Favorable accounts reached them of the land here, especially in Ontario and Quebec, and along the rivers St. John and Kennebeccasis. So, Out from the lovely land that gave them birth, Our grandsires passed, a brave, determined band. Driven by hard fate. To plant with toll and pain Upon a distant shore and in a strange, wild land. A new and glorious State. About thirty thousand came to Canada, many of them to New Brunswick. Landing at the mouth of the St. John some of them journeyed up the river and settled at various places through the province. But most of them remained at its mouth and nothing daunted by the cheerless prospect, knowing full well that "Time and the hour run through the roughest day," they set to work. When the next 18th of May came round Parrtown, as they called it, was a flourishing town, and by the next 18th of May it was the incorporated city of St. John. It was the first and long continued to be the only incorporated town in British North America. And well-chosen was its motto: "O fortunati, quorum jam moenia surgunt"—"O fortu¬nate are ye, whose walls are now rising." Fortunate, indeed! and to-day, in 1898, after one hundred and fifteen years, as our eyes rest on this city of ours, we cannot but feel thankful to those pioneers of our race who endured the hardships that we might enjoy the comforts. Our own St. John! Dear is thy name! May He, whose every thought is love, Look on our city from above, To guide, and guard, and ever bless With peace, content and happiness.