History of Halifax City

60

Among Field's portraits remaining in Halifax, are those of the Hon. Michael Wallace, Hon. Wm. Lawson, Hon. Andrew Belcher and Mrs. Belcher, Bishop Charles Inglis, Rev. Dr. Archibald Gray and Mrs. Gray, the late Andrew Wright, of the firm of Belcher & Wright, and his sister Mary, the Dr. W. J. Almon, and others. That of Sir John Wentworth, a full half length, the best performance of Field in this country, was removed from the Rockingham to Government House by Sir John after the club had been dissolved, and became Government property. It was afterwards removed to the Province Building, whence it was taken some years ago, and is said to have fallen into private hands, having been either lent or given away by order of one of the gentlemen who, some years ago, occupied the office of Provincial Secretary. It is to be hoped that ere long it will find its way back to its place in the Building.

That of Commissioner Inglefield, also a member of the club, hung for many years over the mantle piece of the committee room of the Legislative Council Chamber, but was afterwards presented to the late Admiral Inglefield, father of Sir Edward Inglefield, lately Admiral on this station.

61

Note. – After the Prince's departure Governor Wentworth occupied the Lodge on the Basin, which had been built on his land. He resided there for some time after retiring from the Government.

62

Col. Bayard retired from active service and settled in Annapolis County. He was the father of the late Dr. Bayard of St. John, and grandfather of the present Doctor William Bayard of that city.

63

Capt. Howe was a descendant of the Hon. Ed. Howe, one of Cornwallis' first councillors.

64

The building cost about £18,000.

65

Thomas Heath, who left a wife and two children in this town.

66

A report of these trials was published in 1810 by Mr. Bagnall at the office of the newspaper called the "Novator," taken from the notes of two students at law, Charles R. Fairbanks, afterwards Master of the Rolls, and Andrew W. Cochran, who for many years was Secretary of the Province of Lower Canada and member of Council.

67

This brig was the only vessel of war ever built at the Halifax Dockyard.

68

General Balfour was this year removed to New Brunswick, where he died Lieutenant Governor of that Province.

69

Commissioner Inglefield was grandfather of Vice Admiral Sir Edward A. Inglefield, lately in command of the Squadron at Halifax.

70

Brother of the late Dr. Samuel Head of Halifax.

71

Messrs. Piers were the grandsons of Mr. L. Piers, who came with Cornwallis in 1749. Descendants of Temple F. Piers still reside in Halifax.

72

This firm was Hon. Enos Collins and Joseph Allison, both of whom became members of His Majesty's Council. They succeeded to the business of Prescott & Lawson on the wharf afterwards known as Collins' wharf, where Mr. Collins, in 1823, built the range of stone stores, a part of which is occupied by the Halifax Banking Company.

73

Mr. Creighton was not related to Lieutenant Creighton, who afterwards settled in Lunenburg and was known as Col. Creighton. He came out, however, in company with him in the same vessel, being friends; they were both from the same part of England.

74

For many years Custos of the County.

75

Hon. Andrew Belcher, son of the first Chief Justice and member of Council. His partner, William Wright, was son of old Parson Wright of the Grammar School. Neither left male descendants in Nova Scotia.

76

Hon. Wm. Stairs, Sr., afterwards in Council.

77

William Bowie, killed in a duel with R. J. Uniacke.

78

Both brothers of the late Hon. Joseph Howe, Provincial Secretary, etc.

79

Hon. William A. Black of the Legislative Council.

80

Mr. Barry was afterwards in the House of Assembly for Shelburne; died at LaHave aged 80 years.

81

Mr. Bain married a daughter of the late Benjamin Salter and grand daughter of Malachi Salter, one of the first Members of Assembly for Halifax, the ancestor of Mr. Benjamin Salter of this city.

82

Mr. Black's daughter was the wife of the late Hon. Jas. B. Uniacke. Mr. B. built the handsome stone mansion near Government House in Hollis Street, afterwards the residence of Bishop Binney. The granite with which this house was built was brought from Aberdeenshire. Mr. William Black, his son, removed to Scotland.

83

The Hon. James Fraser married a daughter of Mr. DeWolf of Windsor, his eldest son James D. Fraser, was for many years member of Assembly for Windsor, and his second son was Dr. Benjamin D. Fraser, of Windsor. His eldest daughter married Hon. Chas. Gore, afterwards Gen. Sir Chas. Gore. G. C. B., and her daughter married the Earl of Errol, a Scotch peer. Another daughter became the wife of the Right Rev. Dr. Suther, Bishop of Aberdeen.

84

The Grand Parade as it is called, like other spaces reserved in 1749 for public purpose, such as the old burial ground, public landing, the common, etc., had been used for the purpose to which it was originally appropriated but the title had been supposed not to have passed out of the Crown. Towards the close of the last century it was thought advisable to vest all the public property in Trustees under several grants from the Crown for that purpose; accordingly a grant was made of the parade ground to certain public officials and their successors in office, to be held by them for the public purposes for which it had been originally reserved. This grant with all the others had been constructed under the supervision of old Attorney General Uniacke and of Chief Justice Blowers, but it having been afterwards discovered that none of the public officials to whom it was granted possessed the corporate powers and therefore had no succession in law, and the original incumbents at the time of the grant being all dead, it was concluded that the title had lapsed to the Crown. Lord Dalhousie, Mr. Wallace and a few others in their exuberant zeal for the erection of a college on the Scotch model, undertook to have another grant from the Crown passed of the whole or part of the parade ground to the Governors of the College, reserving, it is understood, certain privileges over a portion of the ground to the public.

The Governors of Dalhousie College claimed under this grant. The City contends that the old grant was not forfeited and that this space among other public property appertaining to the town was under the Act of Incorporation turned over to the city. That in order to create a legal forfeiture there must be process of Escheat gone through, and further, that though the public functionaries to whom it was granted were not possessed of corporate rights or had any succession of their offices in law, yet the fact of their having been by Royal patent constituted trustees of the property, by inference of law the Crown intended to make them a corporation for that particular purpose, and that their successors in the various offices they held, or the successor of any one of them, would possess the power of supporting the grant. Otherwise the object of the Crown in making the grant would be defeated, and as Crown grants are always constituted in law most favorably for the Crown, it might be inferred that the Crown intended to support its grant by constituting those public officers and their successors in office a corporation with succession for that special purpose. Later the dispute was settled by private arrangement.

85

Mr. Binney was a native of the town. He was the father of the late Edward Binney and Grandfather of the late Bishop of Nova Scotia. His residence was at the corner of Hollis and Salter Streets, opposite that of the late Honorable William Lawson. The old house was removed some years since to make way for a range of wooden three-story buildings, erected by Henry G. Hill, along the east side of Hollis Street. Mr. Binney was many years Collector of Imports and Excise at Halifax.

86

The building afterwards used as the City Hall was then called the Exchange.

87

This fine stone building has been since pulled down and a new building for the accommodation of the Merchants' Bank now occupies the corner.

88

Dr. Gray married a daughter of Dr. Michael Head and was father of the late James F. Gray, of the Halifax Bar, many years Clerk of the House of Assembly.

89

Governors had a voice in all appointments at this time.

90

We have seen that Governor Cornwallis, at the very commencement of the settlement, selected George's Island as the most eligible position for the fortification. Prisoners were sent here at a very early period.

91

Lately removed.

92

Mr. Tutty usually officiated on the parade in the open air until the church was sufficiently advanced to enable him to hold service in it.

93

This organ has been lately removed to Trinity Chapel, in Jacob Street.

94

Among the annual festivals of the old times, now lost sight of, was the celebration of St. Aspinquid's Day, known as the Indian Saint. St. Aspinquid appeared in the Nova Scotia almanacks from 1774 to 1786. The festival was celebrated on or immediately after the last quarter of the moon in the month of May. The tide being low at that time, many of the principal inhabitants of the town, on these occasions, assembled on the shore of the North West Arm and partook of a dish of clam soup, the clams being collected on the spot at low water. There is a tradition that during the American troubles when agents of the revolted colonies were active to gain over the good people of Halifax, in the year 1786, were celebrating St. Aspinquid, the wine having been circulated freely, the Union Jack was suddenly hauled down and replaced by the Stars and Stripes. This was soon reversed, but all those persons who held public offices immediately left the grounds, and St. Aspinquid was never after celebrated at Halifax.

95

Whether there was a passage for carriages across the Parade does not appear; probably not, as it was used for a public parade ground in 1749.

96

Probably employed at the Governor's gardens.

97

See Thomas' History of Printing in America.

98

The memorandum on the first page of the register of settlers makes the date of Cornwallis' arrival the 8th June – the writer of this letter may have been misinformed.

99

Father of the late Hon. Charles Prescott.

100

Afterwards Member of Council.

101

A Sicilian Nobleman, who came with a number of settlers from the West Indies. He was afterwards a Lieutenant of one of the companies of Rangers.

102

Leonard Lockman was a German. In early life he practised medicine. He afterwards held the rank of Major in the army, which he received for services rendered to the British Government. He came out with the settlers in 1749, and eventually settled in the North Suburbs. He died at Halifax, and was buried beneath the old German Church on Brunswick Street, where his monument still remains. Lockman Street was named after him.

103

Captain in the army.

104

Between Buckingham Street and the present Blowers Street.

105

At a previous meeting of the Council held on the 3rd of February, a public ferry was established between Halifax and Dartmouth, and John Connor of the latter place appointed ferryman, with the exclusive privilege for 3 years to keep boats constantly passing and repassing, between Sunrise and Sunset, every day in the week, except on Sunday, when the boats should pass only twice – the ferriage to be 3d., and 6d. after hours, for each Passenger, and a reasonable price to be paid for goods, other than baggage, etc., carried in the hand, which passed free.

106

The Honorable Edward Cornwallis was fifth son of Charles, third Baron Cornwallis, by Lady Charlotte Butler, daughter of Richard, Earl of Arran, and uncle to the celebrated Duke of Ormonde. He was born 22nd February, 1712-13. He was Member of Parliament for the borough of Eye in 1749, and in 1753, shortly after his return from Halifax, he was elected for the city of Westminster. He married, the same year, a daughter of the late Lord Townshend, but left no family. In 1759 he was made a Major General, and was afterwards the Governor of Gibraltar. General Cornwallis was twin brother of Dr. Frederick Cornwallis, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, and uncle of the Lord Cornwallis who defeated General Gates at Camden, South Carolina, in 1780, and afterwards surrendered at Yorktown, to the Revolutionary General Lincoln. —Collins' and Debrett's Peerages.

107

John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, was appointed Secretary of State in 1747-8 and resigned the office in 1751. He was afterwards Minister Plenipotentiary to France. He died 1771. —Collins' Peerage.

108

Col. Mascarene was the Lieut. Governor of Annapolis; Capts. How and Gorham were two of his councillors. Mr. Green was secretary to Governor Hopson at Louisburg. Messrs. Salisbury and Davidson came out with Governor Cornwallis. Mr. Steel, afterwards added to the Council, was one of the settlers from England.

109

North-west Arm.

110

These Rangers came from Annapolis; they had been enlisted in New England and were chiefly composed of Indians of half blood.