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The United Empire Loyalists : A Chronicle of the Great Migration by W. Stewart Wallace
page 86 of 109 (78%)
CHAPTER XI

COMPENSATION AND HONOUR

Throughout the war the British government had constantly
granted relief and compensation to Loyalists who had fled
to England. In the autumn of 1782 the treasury was paying
out to them, on account of losses or services, an annual
amount of 40,280 pounds over and above occasional payments
of a particular or extraordinary nature amounting to
17,000 pounds or 18,000 pounds annually. When peace had
been concluded, and it became clear that the Americans
had no intention of making restitution to the Loyalists,
the British government determined to put the payments
for their compensation on a more satisfactory basis.

For this purpose the Coalition Government of Fox and
North appointed in July 1783 a royal commission 'to
inquire into the losses and services of all such persons
who have suffered in their rights, properties, and
professions during the late unhappy dissensions in America,
in consequence of their loyalty to His Majesty and
attachment to the British Government.' A full account of
the proceedings of the commission is to be found in the
_Historical View of the Commission for Inquiry into the
Losses, Services, and Claims of the American Loyalists_,
published in London in 1815 by one of the commissioners,
John Eardley Wilmot. The commission was originally
appointed to sit for only two years; but the task which
confronted it was so great that it was found necessary
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