[29] P.T. M'Grath, "Newfoundland in 1911" (London, 1911), p. 46.




CHAPTER V

THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE


In the reign of Charles I. a duty of five per cent. had been imposed
on the produce of all foreign vessels engaged in the Newfoundland
trade. Twenty-five years later the French under Du Mont, then
proceeding to Quebec with a contingent of soldiers and colonists,
established a settlement at Placentia, on the southern coast,
fortified it, and made it the seat of a resident Governor. They
continued, however, to pay the duty in recognition of English
sovereignty. Charles II. abolished the duty to oblige his French
patron, and with the abolition began the history of French aggression.
Very soon after their establishment the French settlers repudiated
England's sovereignty over the south parts of Newfoundland, and from
time to time strengthened their colony by bringing over bands of
French immigrants. It was clear to many that the extension of French
power in Canada and Newfoundland was a serious menace to the English
fisheries and settlements: leading statesmen, however, refused to
recognize the danger, and believed that if any really existed, the
system of convoys would obviate it. The convoy-captains, enlarging
the sphere of their regular activities, saved the colony, and during
their intermittent visits took upon themselves the functions of
governors, and effectually prevented the diffusion of anarchy. The