88 PAST AND PRESENT OF

the new brick structure in contemplation here and so Summerside became the county town.

One event of importance transpired in Summerside in the early days. The circum- stance is thus related by a descendant 'of George Tanton who was shot:

“On October 23, I844, a small schooner lay in Bedeque Harbour opposite Green’s shore. She had come in a few days before to buy oysters. which were then plentiful in the harbor. At that time John Morris. of St. Eleanor’s, was a magistrate of the county. Going down to the shore on the day named. he was informed that a vessel which was in the stream and pointed out to him, was trading for oysters against the law (which limited the quantity to IO bush- els for export), not having a permit. The vessel was several days in port, and was known to have a much larger quantity on board. Mr. Morris on receiving the infor- mation went home, looked up the law, and considered it imperative on him to issue a warrant against the party in question. Act- ing on these convictions, he made out the warrant and sent for Isaac Scales, an old constable, to serve it on Hiscox, the captain of the vessel. Scales, it appears, was afraid he would not be able to serve it alone. He probably knew more about Hiscox than the magistrate. Under these circumstances Mr. Morris applied to his neighbors getting the consent of George Tanton, John Tanton and one Taylor to go with them. On arriving at the shore a distance of two miles from the village they borrowed a boat from a vessel at the wharf called the ‘British Lady.’ Three of this ship’s sailors also agreed to go with them. The whole party, viz., John Morris, George and John Tanton, Isaac Scales, Taylor and three sailors manned the boat and left for the schooner.

Mr. Morris in his subsequent evidence before the COurt in Hiscox’ trial gave the follow— ing account of what then occurred:

“ ‘When we got nearly alongside I hailed the schooner, they answered; I told my name and office; and that I had a con- stable and others, and was coming to see if they had oysters. Some one answered, ‘I’ll be damned if you shall come on board.’ We went near, some one I believe said he would shoot. There was a good deal of threatening. The sailors said to those on board, ‘For God’s sake do not shoot.’ The sailors pulled away, we were about twenty yards from the schooner. The boat then returned to the ‘British Lady,’ put the sailors on board, where they met Messrs. Green and Broad, who consented to go in their place. Again the magistrate and his party pro- ceeded to the schooner, which was at this time slowly moving down the stream. When about forty or fifty yards from the schooner, Hiscox fired into the boat. George Tanton and Scales fell and Green was wounded. Under these circumstances the boat again made for the shore, where George Tanton and Scales were taken to the old farm house of Joseph Green. About a week after this George Tanton died.’ ”

The schooner continued on and reached the Straits but in a few days she was cap- tured by the authorities from Charlottetown and towed into the harbor. Hiscox was brought back to St. Eleanor’s and indicted for murder, but the jury brought in a ver- dict of manslaughter, and the Judge, Chief Justice Haviland, sentenced him to three years in jail at hard labor. But in about a year afterward Hiscox made his escape and worked his way home to Boston.

Port Hill was a place of considerable im- portance in pre—railway times and yet has, in a business sense, declined since then.