Page 44 - Bishop Plessis Visits Cape Breton, 1815

ISSUE : Issue 55

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1990/8/1

The original barracks, Sydney before its conquest. There was another one at St. Peter's which will be mentioned in its own right. The lower plain that one leaves on the left when entering I'Espagnole, three leagues above Sydney, is remarkable by its block? house, a lodge and a company made up of a few soldiers whose du? ty it is to alert the town if anything alarming comes into the harbour. The last American war began and ended without the enemy having had any designs on this harbour, where it would have been much easier to penetrate than to pillage anything of value. June 23 - We needed almost the entire night in order to do those three leagues. At sunrise we found ourselves anchored near the wharves of the town. It looks very good on rather poor land. Its situa? tion is not without some merit, but when you reflect that it has been founded some 30 years ago, or perhaps more, and that it is the seat of the Provincial Government, one sadly notes that it has less popu? lation than the forts at La Prairie and Boucherville. It is hard to imagine why Colonel Desbarres chose it to be the capital of this province, unless he wanted to place the government in prox? imity to the coal mine, which the government was perhaps more in? terested in then than it is now. Once upon a time, the government oversaw the operations of the mine, and often spent far more than the profit it could expect. The mine is currently leased to Messrs Ritchie and Livers who pay 2000 pounds for their lease. This sum, added to some 1500 pounds from customs, gives the Crown a reve? nue of 3500 pounds. It is not a quarter of the sum needed to pay the salaries of the civil servants of the province because here, as every? where else, there is a chief justice, an attorney general, a registrar or provincial secretary, a surveyor general, etc. The governor is not in residence. The commanding officer of the troops is also the presi- dent of the Council which is made up, besides the president, of 4 BRICK WORK BLOCK WORK FIREPLACES CHIMNEYS 1101 Cow Bay Road Sydney, N.S. BIP 5P7 BRIMAC MASONRY COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL OVER 20 YRS. EXPERIENCE Brian Maclnnis Phone 539-5282 FREE ESTIMATES ('' Need a New Windshield? Your Local Auto Glass Company If we can save your windshield, your Insurance will pay the lull cost. 186 Prince St. Across from Belle Isle Lincoln Mercury 564-4527 members although the number can go to 8, and who cumulate the executive and legislative functions. There is no Legislative assembly. It should be noted that the powers of this small Legislature are ex? tremely limited. The Sydney garrison numbers approximately 200 men. They are lodged in a two-storey wooden barrack that is the most elegant build? ing in a town where none are to be found. A good fort, equipped with some 20 pieces of artillery ensure the security of the place. It is com? manded by Major General Swaine, who showed many courtesies and considerations for the bishop and the ecclesiastics who accom? panied him. This officer, though a Protestant, has a high regard for Mr. Lejamtel, which he expressed in most flattering terms during the first visit the bishop made to him. It must be admitted that this missionary has everything to command respect and esteem. A great simplicity, a fairly solid knowledge of Holy Scriptures, Church history, speculative and practical Theology, a spirit of mortification which is evident in spite of himself, an angeli? ca! fervour, a zeal for the salvation of his flock that ignores the weath? er and the most painful trips; those are qualities which are bound to make a pastor beloved by his flock and respected by strangers. Gen? eral Swaine is not the only Protestant who publicly praises the virtues of Mr Lejamtel. All those who have been in a position to observe him give the same testimony and, as far his Arichat parishioners are con? cerned, the nnost grievous thing one could do would be to deprive them of the services and good deeds of this virtuous cleric by trans? ferring him to another parish. There is an Anglican church in Sydney which no one attends and which does not even have a pastor since the Protestant bishop of Nova Scotia, within whose jurisdiction Cape Breton is, having re? called the last one, Mr. Twinin, because he was mistreated by the lo? cals, most of whom are Methodists or New Lights, the dominant sect in this part of the British Possessions. There is also a Catholic chapel of which a local merchant named Wil? son, a captain of militia, pretends to be the founder, although the oth? er Catholics maintain that he built it at their expense. In any event, no one will deprive him of the merit of having built it too small, with the wow VAN f 00 Restaurant A Warm Welcome OPEN DAILY 11 A.M. to 1 A.M. FRI. and SAT. till 2 A.M. 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