1200 white pine cut.

Fines for cutting pine.

1. A census of the Island of St. John carried out on 21 July 1768 by Justice Isaac Deschamps (Superintendent for the settlement of the Island) at the order of Lt. Governor Francklin of Nova Scotia, lists a ’Wm. Lavingston’ as residing on Lot 59 (along with one other male in his household) and in possession of a schooner. Lot 59 comprises the land on the south side of the Montague River, fronted on the east by Cardigan Bay. Lavingston claimed to be there on behalf of the grantees, who are listed in Clark (1959) as the merchants Hutchison Mure and Robert Cathcart, and Captain David Higgins. The nearest Acadians to the Three Rivers area are listed at Bay Fortune (one adult male) and St. Peters (fifteen adult males) — but

that he the deponent, together with the other said Acadians, cut down and felled upwards of twelve hundred white pine trees; and that two hundred of the said trees were more than two feet thro' at the butt where they were cut, which was about two and a half feet from the earth; and that the rest of the said pine trees were upwards of twelve inches over. And he, the deponent, further saith, that all the said pine trees, so cut and felled, grew within less than one hundred and ﬁfty yards of the high water mark. his (Signed) JEAN X LEBLAND Mark. TRURO, November 19th, 1768

He then includes a further sworn statement from Jean Lebland that the above declaration, ”is true to the best of his knowledge and belief”, and a declaration of W. Nesbitt, N. P. (notary public) 2, dated 2 December 1 768 at Halifax, that the ”above writing is a true and perfect copy of the original declaration and affidavit”.

Of what importance the preservation of these white pine trees is looked upon by our government, may be best judged by the fines the persons would have been subject to; for what was destroyed in this declaration, had they been convicted, the fines would have amounted to twenty-three thousand pounds sterling; however, I never received any the least reward for my services this way, no salary being annexed to a deputy, and it was with great difficulty I recovered the money | expended in paying the men’s hire who went with me, to preserve what remained for his Majesty’s use *.

* Persons who do not know me, may imagine I ventured my life in an open boat of eighteen feet keel, at that season of the year, in expectation of recovering the fines—Nol—l knew when the information was made, that it was out of time, by the law, to recover the fines; but a sense of my duty would not let me see the whole of such a fine grove entirely destroyed, as it in all probability would have been the ensuing winter—My zeal for securing future masts for the navy, or my knowledge where the white pines grow, avail little, as I have no party nor parliamentary interest.

[pp. 40-43, from a photocopy of an original copy held by the Nova Scotia Legislative Library]

their names are not recorded.

REFERENCES: Warburton, A. B. (1923) A History of Prince Edward Island. Barnes & C0,, Saint John, N. B. p. 147. Clark, A. H. (1959) Three Centuries and the Island. University of Toronto Press. pp. 52, 55, 268. Web reference for the census: www.is|andregister.com (see 1768 census).

2. For the career of William Nesbitt, lawyer and office—holder, see Kernaghan, L. (1979) Dictionary of Canadian Biography, W: 581-82.