COUNTRY AND HISTORY 151 



squabbles and trouble, even piracy having played its shame- 

 ful part. Incessant wars added to the difficulties of those 

 who attempted settlement of the land. Disputes arose 

 between England and France which have only recently been 

 finally settled. 



McGrath gives to Captain Richard Whitbourne, of 

 Exmouth, the credit of being the iirst to suggest the 

 possibilities of the island for farming purposes in 16 15, 

 when he published a book entitled " A Discourse and 

 Discovery of Newfoundland," " to induce Englishmen to 

 settle there and develop its fisheries and farming resources ; 

 describing its climate, soil and possibilities in terms now 

 abundantly confirmed. King James so highly approved of 

 this book that he ordered a copy to be sent to every parish 

 in the kingdom ; the Archbishops of Canterbury and York 

 commended it to the clergy and laity ; and to nobles and 

 commoners the name of the ' New Isle ' was familiar, so 

 that settlement there was widely discussed, as its fisheries 

 were extensively enterprised." 



For over a hundred and fifty years prior to the publication 

 of Captain Whitbourne's book the island was most bar- 

 barously governed by incompetent and selfishly interested 

 men, mostly owners of small vessels, who were bent on pre- 

 venting any permanent settlement being made. Drastic laws 

 were passed to this effect, such as the absolute prohibition of 

 any one spending the winter on the land, and the forbidding 

 of the landing of any woman. With such unheard-of 

 restrictions the " colony " had no chance to grow, and 

 the result of the unfair treatment accorded to would-be 

 settlers continued to have a bad effect for many years after 

 the conditions were changed for the better. 



To quote further from Mr. McGrath's book regarding 

 the obstructions against colonists : " The laws against the 



