With the deportation of the Acadians came peace with the Indians. In 1761, Argimoosh, the great witch,x' and his braves buried the hatchet in Halifax and washed the war paint from their bodies. Now for the first time set tlers were safe outside the pickets of the city; and the country began to fill up. Emigrants from Connecticut occupied the waste lands of the Acadians. Highlanders from Caithness and the Western Isles settled about Pictou harbor. Presbyterians from the north of Ireland found homes in Colchester. Before and after the Revolutionary War, thousands of devoted Loyalists came to the province, some to remain, some to pass on. Shelburne, a city of these exiles, numbering 10,000 at one time, passed away like a gipsy encampment. The long wars of peace began with countless inroads upon the wilderness. In a century the Acadians had scarcely cleared 300 acres. Now farms and set tlements were eating into the forest, and ham lets were springing up beside the empty harbors. Before the end of the century, the great indus tries of shipbuilding and the fishery were in their vigorous infancy. The American Revolu tion left few marks on the history of the province: efforts were made to bring the colony into revolt with the rest; one daring man planned the capture of Halifax, and some sym pathizers with the rebels were tried for treason. There was even something like a tea riot in Halifax; but the conservative forces held the province firm. Halifax prospered, as it always did in war-times, through supplying the army and navy, and the sale of the many prizes brought to port. With the return of peace, the tide of prosperity promptly ebbed. In three great wars since its founding, Halifax was a nest of privateers, which brought large returns to their owners.
Colonial government was at first military. All power was vested in one man, the governor, or his lieutenant-governor, who was usually a soldier. To advise him, he had a council, and his instructions contemplated a legislative as sembly. As the Acadians were incapable of representative institutions, they were governed through their deputies. Members of the old council were sworn into the new one by Corn wallis, when Halifax became the seat of gov ernment. His large instructions empowered him to summon assemblies and make laws; but the first assembly was not elected until 1758. From this time, the chief power passed from the governor to the council, a small coterie of Halifax officials and merchants, appointed for life, who sat in secret session and were not responsible to the people. The powers of the assembly were curiously limited, and friction between the two bodies was constant. Gov ernor succeeded governor, almost always an army officer with high Tory views of preroga tive and military conceptions of his office. He was gently guided through his unfamiliar civic part by permanent officials in the council like Richard Bulkeley, who came out as aide to Cornwallis and died provincial secretary in 1800. The tone of society as well as govern ment was conservative, not to say reactionary. This state of things lasted until well into the fourth decade of the 19th century. With its large niilitary and naval population, and the mer chants who lived by supplying Halifax was in many respects an English garrison town in America. In the first session of the House
of Assembly, the Church of England was estab lished by law; the first college was modeled on Oxford, and its statutes required subscription to the Thirty-nine Articles both at matriculation and on taking a degree.
The agitation for reform began outside, for the country was pitted against the city. Jotham Blanchard, editor of the Colonial Patriot, was perhaps the first critic of the existing order. The Rev. T. McCulloch, the Scottish ((Seceder* missionary, who founded Pictou Academy and became the first president of Dalhousie College (q.v.), was another early reformer. But the man who brought reform to pass was Joseph Howe (q.v.), Nova Scotia's darling son, per haps the most interesting personality in Cana dian history. He was born at Halifax in 1801 of Loyalist stock. His father was King's printer, and, after some scanty schooling, he was apprenticed to his father's trade. In 1835 he was editor and owner of the Nova Scotian newspaper. On New Year's day it contained a letter signed People,* accusing the Halt fax magistrates, in plain terms, of pocketing ' public money. Their indignation was extreme and they began a libel suit against the daring editor. If truth is libel, Howe had no case; and no lawyer would undertake it. Howe conducted his own defense, and by a brilliant address to the jury secured a triumphant acquittal. From that hour he was the idol of the people, whose cause he had espoused. On the other hand, several hot upholders of the existing order chal lenged him; he fought one duel, and, having proved his courage, wisely declined further argument by pistol. Howe was a good example of the popular tribune, emotional, eloquent, social, with the faults of such a nature, but pos sessing tact withal and the statesman's insight into great problems far beyond the ken of pro vincial politicians. On such questions as the union of the remaining British American colo nies, communication between them, the feder ation of the empire, Howe was far in advance of his time, and his ideas were formative. Henceforth, his career was in politics, rather than in journalism. Elected member for Hali fax in 1836, he at once attacked existing abuses in a series of resolutions, which served chiefly as a program of reform. Soon afterward he began an important correspondence with Lord John Russell, the colonial secretary, on the diffi culties of local government. As a result, the latter instructed Sir Colin Campbell, the gover nor, to introduce certain of the changes sug gested by Howe. This Sir Colin refused to do, and Howe began an agitation which led to his recall. He was succeeded by Lord Falkland, whose remedy for the trouble was coalition in the council. Four of the old council were dis missed, and four Liberals, Howe among them, took their place. But the two interests were ir reconcilable: Howe and his friends soon re signed, and began to lay before the people the evils of the irresponsible system. In the elec tion of 1847 Howe and his party swept the country. The new assembly passed a vote of want of confidence in the council, which there upon resigned in disgust. A cabinet was formed of the triumphant Liberals and the principle of responsible government was established.