Note 438 — Chapter XV

"In the year after the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, the land forces of Great Britain were reduced to little more than 18,000 men; those in Minorca, Gibraltar, and the American plantations, to 10,000; while the sailors retained in the royal navy were under 17,000."—Commons' Journals, Nov. 23, 1749, and Jan. 19, 1750.

"From the large number both of soldiers and seamen suddenly discharged, it was found that they might be either driven to distress or tempted to depredation. Thus, both for their own comfort and for the quiet of the remaining community, emigration seemed to afford a safe and excellent resource. The province of Nova Scotia was fixed upon for this experiment, and the freehold of fifty acres was offered to each settler, with ten acres more for every child brought with him, besides a free passage, and an exemption from all taxes during a term of ten years. Allured by such advantages, above 4000 persons, with their families, embarked under the command of Colonel Cornwallis, and landed at the harbor of Chebuctow. The new town which soon arose from those labors received its name from the Earl of Halifax, who presided at the Board of Trade, and who had the principal share in the foundation of this colony. In the first winter there were but 300 huts of wood, surrounded by a palisade; but Halifax at present deserves to be ranked among the most thriving dependencies of the British crown."—Lord Mahon's History of England, vol. iv., p. 6.