[s. E. DAWSON] THE VOYAGES OF THE CABOTS 27 



be true that the named coastline on that map is the southern coast of 

 Labrador, then it is also true that, in the strictest sense of the words, 

 John Cabot was the discoverer of Canada, and Cartier followed along a 

 coast where the English ûag had been planted thirty-seven years before. 

 The coast of southern Labrador was an integral part of old French 

 Canada ; it was claimed up to latitude 55° N., and concessions were 

 made by the Grovernment at Quebec and were occupied and worked, 

 beyond the Strait of Belle Isle, as tishing stations, under licenses from the 

 French Crown and, to the present day, the coast of Labrador as far east 

 as Blanc Sablon forms part of the province of Quebec. To a simple 

 student of histoiy the landfall is a matter of indifference, saving as a fact 

 to be ascertained, but those who have imported national feeling into the 

 matter and who, without due consideration, are defending the renown 

 of Jacques Cartier, Avhich no one has impugned, are, in pressing their 

 arguments for Labrador, unconsciously betraying the very cause they 

 fancy themselves to be supporting. 



The Transactions of this society contain raan}^ original and very 

 valuable papers upon Jacques Cartier's voyages. In relation to the 

 present discussion it has onl}^ to be noted that Cartier did not commence 

 to give names to the places he visited until he had passed Brest ; a port 

 in the Strait of Belle Isle well known to fishermen. He left his ships 

 there for awhile and explored further westward in his boats and it was 

 then he met the ship from Rochelle. He says : '^ 



" Estans en ce fleuve nous advisasmes une grande Nave qui estoit de 

 '' la Rochelle, laquelle avoit la nuict précédante passd outre le port de 

 " Brest, où ils pensoyent aller pour pescher, mais les mariniers en sçavo}^- 

 " ent où estait le lieu. Nous nous accostâmes d'eux, et nous mismes 

 " ensemble en un autre port, qui est plus vers Ouest," ***>;=* 



It should be observ^ed here that Brest was undoubtedly within the 

 present limits of the province of Quebec, and yet it was a place frequent- 

 ed by French fishermen ; from that point Cartier's discoveries commence ; 

 all farther west was new. 



In like manner when, on his second voyage, he returned home south 

 of Xewfoundland he speaks of Cape Lorraine, the north point of Cape 

 Breton. He remained for some days at St. Pierre Miquelon whei^e he 

 found some French fishing vessels, Cartier's simple and unassuming 

 narrative convinces every reader that all the country inside, from Esqui- 

 maux Bay on the Canadian Labrador round to Cape North in Cape 

 Breton, was explored first by him, and all the coast outside of these two 

 points, that is outside the G-ulf of St. Lawrence, was well known before 

 him. 



APPENDIX F. 



Liturgical Method op Tracing Discovekies along a Coast. 



This ingenious method, suggested first by Mr. Harrisse, will not work 

 out satisfactorily in practice. Beyond question, when a discovery was 

 made on any important festival it was frequently named in commemo- 

 ration of the da}' ; but, although usually religious men, these early 

 explorers were sailors and not ecclesiastics with the Breviary constantly 

 in their hands. They had sweethearts and wives, like the sailors of our 

 day, and remembered them in the same human way. Thus Cartier 



