May 7th . . . Went in the boat to St. Peters with Mr. Lawson and slept that night in Mr. Urquhart 's house. May 8th . . . Returned this day to Stanhope . May 10th . . . Left Stanhope in Lawson's boat stopped at Hostice, went on to Grand Hostice ( Rustico ). Left there at 5 p. m. came five miles about Little Harbour and slept that night in the woods. May 12th . . . Quartered with Mr. Davidson . Preached this day in Mr. Kern 's house. This whole day clear and fine weather. As noted by Harvey in his Introduction to Voyage to the Island of St. John's, the population of the Island prior to 1770 was very small. After the Island became a British possession, immigrants had arrived slowly. The first were those interested in the fisheries. Accord¬ ing to a return of July 21, 1768, the total Population of the Island, exclusive of a small garrison, was 271, of whom twenty-four families comprising sixty-eight persons were British and forth-one families of two hundred and three persons were Adadians. The British were New Englanders or adventurers from the British Isles with New England conaections; and they employed most of the Acadians in the fisheries... In 1769, on petition of the pro¬ prietors, who prophesied a great future for the Island in both agriculture and the fisheries and agreed to provide for the expenses of government by their quit-rents, the Island was made a separate colony with its own govenor and council, who were authorized to summon an assembly as soon as circumstances would permit. Captain Walter Patterson , one of the proprietors was made Govenor and John Duport a member of the of Nova Scotia , was appointed Chief Justice . Both arrived in the Island in 177Q» When the assembly was summoned in 1773, the area of Stanhope and Covehead was well represented. The names of David Lawson , William Lawson and John Lawson , appear among those who met at Charlottetown on July 7, 1773. The third election for the assembly was held in 1779 when among the eighteen names appear those of David Lawson and Cornelius Higgins . 22