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Transcribed by Dave Hunter - [email protected]

On September 18th, 1848, the Brig "Lulan," arrived at Pictou carrying 186 people. of which 121 were Highland Immigrants on their way to Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. Small Pox had broken out on the vessel, and those aboard were quarantined in Pictou. 24 people died of the disease, but 72 of these people after their recovery wanted to join family and friends in Prince Edward Island. This is their story and the passenger list of those who survived the outbreak and went on to P. E. I., and the letters pertaining to the incident. They finally arrived in Georgetown aboard the Schooner "Dolphin," Peter Maclaren, Master, on the 18th of November, 1848. The greatest significance of this list, is that it gives us a completely accurate listing of those arriving at Pictou aboard the "Lulan," who actually settled on P.E.I.

The many and varied reasons leading to the preservation of the few known passenger lists for P.E.I. are complex - this one was saved as a result of a debt incurred on behalf of the immigrants by the Government of P.E.I.

We have Don Lowe to thank for this list. Today, he gave me the Journal of the House of Assembly it came from. As I get time, I will be transcribing more from this volume and making it available to you.

The Passenger List of the Schooner, "Dolphin" to Georgetown, Nov. 18, 1848

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Appendix
(i.)
Immigrants

Note: From Appendix I, Journal of the House of Assembly, Prince Edward Island, Third Session of the 17th General Assembly, Charlottetown, 1849.

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Pictou, Nova Scotia,
11th November, 1848.

Sir:

I am directed by the Board of Health of this place, to state to you, for the information of His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor of P.E. Island, that on the 18th August last there arrived in this port from Glasgow, G. B., in the Barque "Lulan," Seventy - two Immigrants, destined to join their friends in the neighbourhood of Georgetown, P.E. Island, but that small pox having made its appearance among them, they have been detained in quarantine till this date.

All of them have had the disease, and are now completely recovered, and the Board have been authorised by the Provincial Government to forward them to their destination; but on making application to the master of the Georgetown Packet, he has placed in my hands a copy of an Act passed by the Island Legislature, by which it appears they are subject to a head tax of Twenty-five Shillings each, before they can be permitted to land.

I am, therefore, instructed by the Board, to request that you will have the kindness to inform me as early as convenient, whether His Excellency, the Lieutenant Governor of the Island will, under the circumstances, feel himself authorised to remit the Tax, which, if insisted on, will be an insuperable obstacle to these poor people in their desire to join their friends.

The Comptroller of Customs and Navigation Laws of this Port, will, of course, furnish the necessary Certificate as to his having collected the head money imposed by the law of this province.

I have, &c.,

(Signed) W. JAS. ANDERSON,
Sec'y Board of Health.

The Hon. T. H. Haviland,
Provincial Secretary, P.E. Island

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Secretary's Office,
Charlottetown, Nov. 14, 1848.

Sir:

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 11th instant, reporting the arrival in Pictou, in the month of August last, of Seventy-two Immigrants from Glasgow, in the Barque "Lulan," destined to join their friends in this Island, but that Small Pox having made its appearance among them, they had been detained in Quarantine to the above date; that they have all had the disease, and being now completely recovered, the Board of Health, whether His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor of this Island will, under the circumstances, feel himself authorised to remit the head tax to which Immigrants are subjected before they can be permitted to landing this Island, a similar tax having been paid by them under a law of the Province of Nova Scotia.

Having laid your communication before the Lieutenant Governor, I am desired by His Excellency to inform you, that the law of this Island relating to Emigrants, does not authorized the Executive Government to exercise any discretionary power in cases of the nature to which you refer, and that he is consequently unable to remit the tax to which the Immigrants by the Barque "Lulan" will be subjected, before they can be permitted to land on this Island.

I have, &c.,

(Signed) T. H. HAVILAND, Secretary,

W. J. Anderson, Esq.,
Sec'y to Board of Health, Pictou.

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Government House,
Halifax, Nov. 15, 1848.

Sir:

The Barque "Lulan," George MacKenzie, master, arrived in Pictou on the 18th September, having on board 186 souls, of whom 121 were Highland Immigrants, on their way to Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. The Small Pox having broken out on the voyage, the vessel was placed in quarantine, but the people were subsequently landed, put into hospital, and supplied with medical attendance, and all the necessaries required for their sustenance or restoration to health.

Twenty-four died, four or five still linger in hospital, but Ninety-seven of the Immigrants are reported as free from disease and ready to proceed to their destinations.

Seventy-two of these poor people are on their way to Prince Edward Island, where their friends and relatives are settled. Though the expenses already incurred, under my instructions, for their relief, has far exceeded the head money paid in Nova Scotia, I had directed the Board of Health in Pictou to hire a vessel and transfer them to Prince Edward Island, when I was made aware, that by the law of that Province Twenty-five Shillings, sterling, head money, would be demanded on their landing.

Under these circumstances, I am induced to bring the case to the notice of your Excellency, and to ask your interference to obtain a remission of a tax which these Immigrants are utterly unable to pay, and which it would seem unfair should fall on the Treasury of Nova Scotia, in addition to the expense already incurred.

If your Excellency takes the same view of the case, you will perhaps permit the Immigrants to land, without payment of head money, from the vessel in which I shall direct them to be conveyed over, leaving the question of liability open till the accounts can be finally made up. Should your Excellency not feel at liberty to do this, I shall direct your draft on the Treasury of Nova Scotia to be paid, and rely on your disposition, and that of the Island Legislature, to refund the amount, should it appear, on a review of all the facts, unreasonable to extract it.

I have, &c.,

(signed) J. HARVEY

His Excellency,
Sir D. Campbell, &c. &c.

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Government House,
P. E. Island, Nov. 17, 1848.

Sir;

I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your Excellency's communication of the 15th November instant, detailing the circumstances under which your Excellency had directed Seventy-two Immigrants landed at Pictou from the Barque "Lulan," in the month of September last, to be conveyed to this Island, and requesting me to permit these Immigrants to land without payment of the head money to which they are liable, under an Act of the Legislature of this Colony.

I regret to say that the Law of this Island relating to Emigrants, a copy of which I enclose for your Excellency's information, gives no discretionary power to the Executive Government to remit the head money to which all Immigrants are subjected before they can be permitted to land here. Cases have occurred during the present season, in which Immigrants destined for this Island, upon merely landing at Pictou and remaining there for a few hours, have had to pay a tax under the Provincial Statute of Nova Scotia, and have been compelled to pay a similar tax upon their arrival here, yet I was restricted from affording any relief [ See info on the occurence referred to by the Lt. Governor ]. In the present instance, I shall be under the necessity of availing myself of the alternative proposed by your Excellency, of drawing upon the Provincial Treasury of Nova Scotia for such an amount as shall be equal to Twenty-five Shillings sterling, per head, upon the number of Immigrants who may be landed in this Island from the vessel in which your Excellency has directed them to be conveyed from Pictou; at the same time, it will afford me much satisfaction to bring the case of these poor Emigrants under the consideration of the Legislature, in the next Session, and I have the fullest confidence that upon a review of the facts connected with it, every disposition will be evinced to act equitably towards the Province of Nova Scotia.

I have, &c.,

(Signed) DONALD CAMPBELL,
Lieut. Governor.

His Excellency Lieut. General,
Sir John Harvey, K. C. B., &c.

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Government House,
P. E. Island, Nov 24, 1848.

Sir;

In compliance with the authority conveyed in your Excellency's communication of the 15th November instant, I have this day drawn on the Treasurer of Nova Scotia for the sum of Ninety Pounds, British sterling, being the amount payable by law, by the master of the Schooner, "Dolphin," which vessel arrived in the harbour of Georgetown, in this Island, on the 18th instant, with Seventy-two Immigrants sent over from Pictou by direction of your Excellency.

I transmit for the information of your Excellency a copy of the list and description of the Immigrants furnished by the master of the "Dolphin," to the Collector at the Port of Georgetown.

I have, &c.,

(signed) DONALD CAMPBELL,
Lieutenant Governor.

His Excellency Lieut. General,
Sir John Harvey, K. C. B. &c.

See Below the Passenger List to See the Resolution of the "Financing Problem"

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(Affidavit of the Captain of the Schooner, "Dolphin.")

I Peter Maclaren, Captain of the Schooner Dolphin, maketh oath and sayeth, that the foregoing is a true and correct list and return of each and every Passenger or Immigrant on board the Schooner Dolphin, of which Deponent is master, and that no other Passenger or Passengers hath or have been landed in this Island, or on the coasts thereof, from the said Vessel, with Deponent's knowledge or consent.

(Signed) PETER MACLAREN.

Sworn by me at the Impost Office, in Georgetown, this 20th day of November, 1848.

HUGH MACDONALD,
Collector of Impost.

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Government House,
Halifax, Nov. 30. 1848.

Sir:

I have the honour to acknowledge your Excellency's Despatch on the 17th instant, and to acquaint you that your draft was promptly paid. I need not, I trust, assure your Excellency, that I have the most entire reliance upon the equitable disposition of the Legislature of Prince Edward Island, should it appear, on a review of the facts connected with the case of the "Lulan," that this Province has a fair claim to be reimbursed the sum now advanced.

I have, &c.,

(Signed) J. HARVEY

His Excellency,
The Lieut. Governor of P. E. Island

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From Page 23 of the same Volume: the Reports of the Assembly, Saturday, March 3, 1849

The Order of the Day for the House in Committee, to take into consideration the correspondence between Lieut. General Sir John Harvey, and His Excellency Sir Donald Campbell, on the subject of a certain amount of Head Money for several Immigrants from Great Britain, who were forwarded in November last, from Pictou to Georgetown, being read;

The House accordingly resolved itself into the said committee.

Mr. Speaker left the Chair.

Mr. Fraser took the Chair of the Committee.

Mr. Speaker resumed the Chair.

Mr. Fraser reported, that the Committee had gone into the consideration of the matter to them referred, and had come to a Resolution thereupon; Which Resolution being again read at the Clerk's Table, was agred to by the House, and is as followeth:

Resolved, That there does not appear to this Committee any equitable grounds sufficient to induce the House of Assembly to reimburse the Government of Nova Scotia in the sum of £111 10s., paid by order if His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor of that Province to the Government of this Colony, as Head Money for certain Immigrants from the Port of Glasgow, in Great Britain, who were forwarded in the month of November last from Pictou, in Nova Scotia, to Georgetown, in this Island, by order of the Government of that Province, inasmuch as the Authorities in that Province exacted from the said Immigrants the amount of Head Money payable by the laws of Nova Scotia; and it appearing to this Committee, that the detention of said Immigrants in Nova Scotia was occasioned as a precautionary measure for the safety of the Inhabitants of that Province, from infectious disease, and that many of such Immigrants are aged and indigent persons, have become permanently setled in this Colony, and several of them have already made application to the House of Assembly for their necessary support.
[ See the 1849 Pauper's Report, Kings Co. 2nd, 3rd District and Georgetown ]

Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing Resolution be communicated to His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor, together with an Address on the same subject.

Ordered, That the Hon. the Solicitor General, Mr. H. Macdonald and Mr. N. Conroy be a committee to prepare the said address.

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From Page 25 of the same Volume: the Reports of the Assembly, Saturday, March 3, 1849

The Hon., the Solicitor General, from the Committee appointed to make an Address to His Excellency, the Lieutenant Governor, on the subject between Lieut. General Sir John Harvey, and His Excellency Sir Donald Campbell, on the subject of a certain amount of Head Money for Several Immigrants from Great Britain, who were forwarded in November last, from Pictou to Georgetown, presented to the House the draught of an Address, as prepared by the Committee; which, being read again at the Clerk's Table, was agreed to by the House and is as followeth :-

To His Excellency Sir Donald Campbell, Baronet, Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-chief in all and over Her Majesty's Island Prince Edward, and the Territories thereunto belonging, Chancellor, Vice Admiral, and Ordinary of the same, &c., &c., &c.

May it please your Excellency;

The House of Assembly having given full consideration to the correspondence between your Excellency and Lieutenant General Sir John Harvey, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, on the subject of a certain amount of Money paid to the Government of that Province as Head Money for certain Innigrants from Great Britain, who were forwarded last November from Pictou to Georgetown, have come to a resolution thereupon, a copy of which they respectfully beg leave to submit to your Excellency herewith.

Ordered, That the said Address be engrossed.

Ordered, That the same Committee who prepared the Address, be a Committee to wait upon His Excellency with the same.

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Page 32, same Volume, Thursday, March 8, 1849.

The Hon., the Solicitor General, from the Committee appointed to wait upon His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor with the Address, together with the copy of the Resolution adopted by the House on the subject of the payment of the Head Money to the Government of Nova Scotia, for several Immigrants from Great Britain, who were forwarded in November last from Pictou to Georgetown, reported to the House that their Address and accompanying Resoloution had been presented to His Excellency.