S4 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
plans for settling townships. Uneasy at his absence they had 
written, “You must be sensible what a loss it must be to carry in our 
Settlers late in the season when they have no time to provide themselves 
against the winter, and as we can do nothing till we hear from you, 
we intreat vou will write us fully on receipt of this what you have done 
and when you think your business will be finally settled, so as we may 
know when to expect you here. The sooner you can get to this side 
it will be vastly the better.” 
MeNutt claimed in 1763 to have already introduced 2,000 families 
into Nova Scotia and to have contracts existing for transporting 16,000 
more, who had been procured by above thirty of his agents. 
To still further diversify the sphere of his operations this extraor- 
dinary man became interested in sending French Protestants to America. 
He requested the Lords of Trade to obtain for him at least six more 
townships, as many for the next year, and so on for every year their 
Lordships should choose to continue the undertaking. In connection 
with his colonization schemes he claimed to have expended £1,400 in 
explormg and surveying lands in Nova Scotia. 
A rather curious proposition was made by McNutt to the Lords of 
Trade early in 1763. He offered at four weeks’ notice to provide 
vessels, properly fitted and victualled, to transport Foreign Protestants, 
without any cost to the Government, to South Carolina, on considera- 
tion that he should receive for every man, woman and child embarked 
at the rate of 50 acres of land on the Island of St. John (Prince Edward 
Island). The people he had in mind it seems had come into England 
in consequence of encouragement given them by the Archbishop of 
Canterbury, and the English Government thought themselves in some 
degree bound to provide for them. The Lords of Trade were not 
disposed to grant so large a quantity of land on the Island of St. John 
to one individual, as it might tend to a monopoly inconsistent with the 
public interest. They therefore offered the Colonel the grant of a tract 
in Nova Scotia, free from the payment of quit rents for ten years, in 
proportion to the number of people he should carry to Carolina. In 
consequence of the engagements entered into McNutt at the close of 
the year submitted a memorial to the Lords of Trade stating that he 
was entitled to 10,000 acres of land and desired to have a grant on 
-ach side of Indian Bay, in the Island of Cape Breton, with Cape Sher- 
burne and such other parts as he might choose upon Spaniard’s Bay 
or Harbor. 
In September, 1763, Montague Wilmot was appointed Governor 
of Nova Scotia. He arrived at Halifax from Quebec about the date 
of his appointment. The period of his governorship was marked by 
the most prodigal land grants known in the history of Nova Scotia and 
