] Two months later they sent a petition to the Marquis
de la Jonquiere, the governor of Canada, actuated, they
said, by the love of their country and their religion.
They had refused to take the oath requiring them to bear
arms against their fellow-countrymen. They had, it is
true, appeared attached to the interests of the English,
in consequence of the oath which they had consented to
take only when exempted from bearing arms. Now that this
exemption was removed, they wished to leave Nova Scotia,
and hoped that the king would help them with vessels, as
they had been refused permission to build them. Great
offers had been made to them, but they preferred to leave.
[Footnote: Ibid., p. 301.]
In the spring of 1750, unable to obtain permission from
Cornwallis to take a restricted oath, the Acadians almost
unanimously decided to emigrate. On April 19 deputies
from several settlements in the district of Minas--the
river Canard, Grand Pre, and Pisiquid--appeared before
the Council at Halifax and asked to be allowed to leave
the province with their effects.
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