160 NEWFOUNDLAND . spirit of determination to become mistress of all Ame¬ rica; and the fisheries of Newfoundland , as appears fully by the celebrated marine ordinance of Louis XIV ., drawn up under the great Colbert, were not the least objects of her ambition. In 1690, the statute 10 and 11 William and Mary, cap. 25, entitled, " An Act to encourage the trade of Newfoundland ," passed ; but as the substance of this act appears to embody the policy of former times, it tended to no purpose other than to legalize misrule, and the capricious will of ignorant men, invested accidentally by it with authority. These persons were distinguished by the dignified titles, or rather nicknames, of admirals, vice-admirals, and rear-admirals. The master of the first fishing- vessel that arrived, was the admiral; the next, vice- admiral ; and the third, rear-admiral, in the harbours they frequented. Few of these men could write their own names; and from this circumstance alone the absurdity of investing them with power must be apparent. The report made in 1701 by Mr George Larkin , who went to the American settlements to make ob¬ servations for the information of government, contains many remarks that deserve attention. He found Newfoundland in a very disorderly and confused condition. The woods were wantonly destroyed by rinding the trees. The England men (as is their custom now, in 1828, in many of our harbours) sold their commodities cheap, in general; but con¬ strained the purchasers to take certain quantities of 2