Section IL, 1897 [139 ] Traks. R. S. C. 



VI. — The Voyages of the Cahots. — Latest Phases of the Controversy. 



By Samuel Edward Dawson, Lit. D. (Laval). 



(Read June 23rd, 1897.) 



i. Preliminary. 1". The World Map of Juan de La Cosa. 



Î. Openinrj of the Question in 18-31. 11. The Bonarista Landfall. 



3. Recent Bevival of th". Controversy. 12. Sebastian Cabot. 



4. Methods of the Discussion. IS. Censorshi2) over Spanish Maps. 



5. Advocates of Cape Breton and La- U. The Maj) of 1544. 



brad or. lô. Dr. Grajales. 



6. The Cape St. John Landfall. 16. Caj^e Breton a Natural Landfall. 



7. The Labrador Landfall. 17. The Voyage of 1407. 



8. The Point of Westivard Departure. IS. The Island of St. John. 



9. Valuation of the Compass. 19. Date of the Landfall. 



20. Conclusion. 



APPENDICES. 



A. The Labrador Coast. D. The Climate of Cape Breton. 



B. The Seven Cities. E. The Tana is. 



C. Cape Race in June. F. Prince Edward Island, not Cabot's St. 



John. 



1. — Preliminary. 



The public commemoration of the four hundredth anniversary of the 

 landing of John Cabot and of the planting of the English flag in the 

 western world was an act of historical justice. The ceremonies which 

 then occurred have, not only rescued a great name from the danger of 

 utter oblivion, but have placed an event of momentous importance in its 

 true historical perspective. The question was first publicly raised by the. 

 Eev. Dr. Harve}^ of St. John's, Newfoundland, in a paper read before 

 the Historical Society of JSTova Scotia in 189H,^ and the inception of the 

 commemoration recently consummated will be found in the Proceedings 

 oftheEoyal Society of Canada in 1894. A letter from Dr. Harvey is 

 embodied in the report of the council, and the present writer contributed 

 to the Transactions the results of a long and careful study of the whole 

 subject. The progress of the movement may be folloAved in the Proceed- 

 ings of 189G (pp. xxiii.-xx.Kii.) and Transactions (sec. ii., p. 1), where a 

 second paper may be found, and its completion is recorded in the Proceed- 

 ings at the front of the present year's volume. It is reasonable to expect 

 that now, after the celebration is over, public interest in the subject will 

 begin to flag and, as the present writer, in his paper of 1894 (Trans. E.S.C. 



