Cape Bretons independence movement is gathering steam

To the editor,
Under the 1763 Treaty of Paris, Cape Breton Island which was then a separate French colony known as Ile Royale, with its capital in Louisbourg, was ceded to the British colony of Nova Scotia and given one magistrate to represent the entire island. No one living in Cape Breton at that time could own land and they were required to pay taxes and serve in the militia. Indeed, it was "taxation without representation."
The Seal of Cape Breton Island came from King George III. In 1784, George III granted Cape Breton separate status, with a Lieutenant-Governor, Executive Council, and a House of Assembly. With a substantial increase in the population of the island as Scots and others emigrated, the population called for the House of Assembly, in order to begin raising money from taxes to support island infrastructure for new roads and bridges. The House of Assembly however was, in fact, never called.
Facing the possibility of the loss of tax income and the rights to Cape Breton coal, the British Colonial Office considered their options and decided that the island's House should be part of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. And so, on October 9, 1820, the island was annexed to Nova Scotia by Britain.
Nine petitions were sent to the British government, based on the argument that once a House of Assembly is given in constitutional law, it cannot be removed. Petitioners argued that the King simply did not have the right to annex Cape Breton to Nova Scotia.
The first 25 years following union with Nova Scotia saw consistent separatist petitions, meetings, travels to England, legal wrangling, and election debates. By 1845, the British government threatened to send war ships into Sydney Harbour to quell the unrest. The following year, 1846, the Privy Council of Britain met to discuss the issue of Cape Breton separatism; no minutes were kept, and the decision was made that despite constitutional improprieties the annexation would stand.
Sources: Beaton Institute notes and Dr. Bob Morgan, Early Cape Breton, From Founding to Famine, 1784 - 1851, Breton Books, 2000.
Mark Macneill
Chair, CBI Provincehood Campaign
www.provinceofcapebreton.com