iol 
iiis consent readily, exclaiming, u So God have my soul, ’tis an 
honest trade, ’twas the Apostle’s own calling.” Having thus 
obtained the Royal sanction, the Puritans left the old for the 
new world. After much tribulation they came, they saw, they 
conquered,—they made Plymouth Rock the corner stone of the 
great republic, and the result is before the world. 
The British government has always been partial to the u home 
merchants,” even at the expense of its colonial subjects. The 
heroic pioneers who planted the first settlements in America 
were seldom cared for, their best interests having often been 
sacrificed in behalf of the home pets. In the early colonization 
of Newfoundland the shore boat fisheries were destroyed in the 
belief that such destruction would help the home fleet on the 
banks. This ruin spread broadcast for several years, entailing 
much hardship and distress among the hardy islanders. 
The British government extended little protection to the 
New England settlers. In their wars with the neighboring In¬ 
dian tribes they relied wholly on their own resources; they 
“ feared God and kept their powder dry,” and maintained whole¬ 
some government at every hazard. The French Acadians on 
the borders were fast increasing in prosperity and power,—an 
“ irrepressible conflict ” existed between the races, and disputes 
were common, often ending in sanguinary broils. The heroic 
fishermen of Massachusetts determined to clean their old en¬ 
emies out of American waters entirety, and the capture of Lou- 
isburg was planned. In 1745 the merchants of New England 
combined into a league for a final struggle for supremacy. 
They furnished vessels and the sinews of war. The fishermen 
manned the fleet; mechanics, lumbermen and farmers joined the 
ranks. The expedition was conducted by Win. Peperell, a 
fisherman from Maine. “ A more undisciplined body of men 
never embarked to attempt the reduction of a walled city. The 
squadron commanded by Warren, and ordered to co-operate 
with Peperell, arrived in time to share in the perils and horrors 
of the siege. The colonial fleet and the ships of the royal 
navy kept up a close blockade. The colonists on shore, w ithout 
a regular encampment, lodged in huts built of turf and bushes ; 
with straps across their shoulders they dragged cannon in 
sledges over morasses impassable with wheels. Making jest of 
military subordination they fired at marks, fished and fowled, 
raced and wrestled, and chased after the balls shot from the 
