160 | To Jeffery Amherst

    Castle William Sep. 26 1762

    Sr.

    I this morning received yours of the 19th inst & soon after that of the 21st.615

    I am much obliged to you for your order for Louisburg coal which I shall transmit to the commanding officer there & hope it will not come too late. I shall make use of the liberty you give of permitting the Man of the Artillery company to remain here: it will be a great help to him & his family; and he will remain answerable to Col Williamson.616

    I have given orders for reenlisting the Men for the Winter service; which I persuade myself will succeed fully at the places of their stations. As I shall not be able to attend to the french Cartel ship, I have recommended to Mr Hancock to send her with the Soldiers to NYork, from whence He may take his departure as shall be there determined. I have given him a certificate for all the Men except the soldiers, for which I have referred him to you.

    I am sorry I could not prevail upon the Assembly to let the Acadians land here. As it is, I cannot act contrary to their resolution, especially as the Council afterwards joined in it. I cannot apply for a reconsideration, as I prorogued them the morning after I received this Message. The cheif Apology I have to make for them is, that this province has allready spent near £10,000 in maintaining Acadians & tho’ they have often sollicited a reimbursement, they have never been able to attain it

    I set out tomorrow on a short Voyage to the Eastern parts of the province in the province Sloop: from whence I hope in a fortnight to return. Your orders in the mean time will be received by the Secretary & taken proper care of.617

    I am, with great regard, Sr Your most obedient & most humble Servant

    Fra Bernard

    His Excellency Sr Jeffry Amherst.

    ALS, RC WO 34/26, f 221.

    After refusing Capt. Brookes’s request to dock the transports, FB referred him to Thomas Hancock and Lt. Gov. Belcher for further orders. Brookes duly returned the refugees to Halifax. FB to Brookes, Castle William, 26 Sept. 1762, BP, 2: 279; Selections From the Public Documents of Nova Scotia, 323-338; see also the source note to No. 155. Six French soldiers, who were among the Acadian refugees, petitioned FB to be allowed to join the Le Dorothée when she put in to Boston; permission was granted shortly before the ship left for New York. FB to Brookes, Castle William, 27 Sept. 1762, BP, 2: 282.