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The total population of the
Colony at this time did not surpass one hundred and fifty families, and
these were settled here and there, generally near the sea-coast, just as
their notions of personal convenience would lead them to locate. About
one-third of the inhabitants were Roman Catholics, almost entirely made up
of French Acadians, of whom about fifty families lived principally in the
neighborhood of Malpeque in Prince County. Prior to the Conquest in 1758,
there had been a flourishing Parish in that locality, with a comfortable
Church and a resident Pastor. When the British troops attacked Fort LaJoie,
Malpeque, thanks to its distance, virtually escaped annoyance. The work of
destruction carried out in other places did not extend so far west, and
hence when the other Churches were given to the flames it would seem that
the Church of Malpeque remained intact, and whilst the other Clergy were
instantly deported to France, Father Dosquet, the Pastor of Malpeque, was
able to make his way to Quebec, where he spent the remainder of his life.
His parishoners, however, were in mortal terror, not knowing what might
happen from day to day, and many of them made their way to the mainland,
whilst others hid in the woods until they found all danger past, when they
returned to take up life anew amid the changed conditions that had fallen
upon them. From that time they had lived in comparative seclusion without
a Priest to supply their Spiritual wants, and anxiously awaiting the day
when the kind Providence of God would send them one to lighten the gloom
of their existence. This abandoned condition of the Acadian people had
been discussed by the immigrants before they set out from Scotland, and
was one of the motives that induced Father James to accompany them across
the sea. This we learn from a letter of Bishop Hay written on the 24th of
November, 1771, at the time that Captain John MacDonald was negotiating
for the purchase of an estate in Prince Edward Island. His Lordship writes
in part: "MacDonald of Glenaladale is here in order to treat of a place of
settlement with Lord Advocate, Henry Dundas, who has large tracts of land
in the Island of St. John, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a most excellent
soil and fine climate, and who, though a man so much of the Government, is
most willing to give them all encouragement, and their being Roman
Catholics is far from being an objection with him. There are, he says,
about fifty families of the old French inhabitants upon the Island, of
whom His Lordship has received a most favorable account, and he is glad to
think that this proposal may be the means of getting a Catholic Clergyman
to the Island for their benefit. Indeed a friend of mine, a Presbyterian
Minister, who went out there last summer as a teacher and factor, and who
is himself very well disposed towards us, wrote me this harvest a most
effecting letter about the poor French Catholics there, representing their
case in the most moving terms, and begging that I would see to get a
Catholic Churchman sent amongst them: Upon which I wrote about their
situation to Rome, to Reverend Robert Grant, desiring him to see and
provide one with a sufficient knowledge of the French language, and he
tells me he is in hopes of getting a very pious and good man. By this I
hope the French people will be supplied whether our people go out or not."
In view of these
considerations, the missionary heart of Father James went out in pity to
those long abandoned people, and he determined that on his arrival in the
Colony he would take up their case, and do whatsoever lay in his power to
add to their comfort, both spiritual and temporal. Accordingly, having
seen his friends settled at Scotchfort he set out for Malpeque, where his
advent was hailed with feelings of joy more easy to imagine than describe.
Here he spent his first winter in Prince Edward Island, and here he made
his first attempt to communicate with the Bishop of Quebec, an attempt
however, that failed, as his letter never reached its destination.
Before setting out for
Malpeque on this occasion, Father James directed the people of Scotchfort
to commence preparations for the erection of a house of worship for
themselves. The materials for the same were provided during the winter,
and in a short time they succeeded in putting up a little Church,
dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, and which served as a place of
worship for about thirty years.
It was a simple log
building covered by a roof of thatch, and though it fell far beneath the
modern ideas of Church architecture it was a veritable joy for the people,
who could worship within its walls in perfect freedom, without fear of
annoyance from any quarter. [The monument erected at Scotchfort points out
the site of this Church.] |
