1829- Petition by James Lulan for title to land at Moodie Point

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1829- Petition by James Lulan for title to land at Moodie Point

Metadata (MODS)
Titles	1829- Petition by James Lulan for title to land at Moodie Point:
Name	James Lulan
Name	Sir Peregrine (Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia)
Name
Type of Resource	text
Genre	Petition
Abstract	Petition from James Lulan, asking for title for a piece of land at Moodie Point, which the Mi'kmaq in Pictou had cleared and planted for the last 50 years (not to mention had used for thousands of years prior to white settlement). The settler who pre-empted the land, Mr. Moodie, asked for them to be removed from the land. Lulan asked for this land to be granted or for a similar tract of land somewhere else, but insisted that it be near the town of Pictou. The letter also asked for relief to help them as they would not be able to rely on their spring planting as they had no access to land.
Form	text
Note	“Pictou 2 March 1829 To His Excellency Sir Peregrine Maitland. H.C.B. Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief in and over His Masgesties [sic] Province of Nova Scotia and its dependencies etc. etc. etc. The Petition of James [Lulan] an Indian of the Micmac tribe, residing in the District of Pictou on behalf of himself and others of said Tribe, most humbly and respectfully shewith: That for upwards of fifty years the fathers of your petitioners and your petitioners themselves have been in the possession of a piece of land at the mouth of the harbour of Pictou and have made a considerable clearing there. That at the commencement of last spring your petitioners were prevented from planting as usual by the proprietor Mr. Moodie to whom it has been granted and have since been ordered to leave said place. That the hardships of the case of your petitioners must appear respectfully plain to your Excellency, and that your petitioners will be deprived of the small piece of ground they usually used for the purpose [pg.2] [of] planting potatoes and corn. They therefore must earnestly pray that your Excellency will afford them some relief either by granting them some piece of ground near the town or that the piece that they have occupied so long may be purchased for them. Your petitioners would also beg leave to represent that said tribe is suffering considerably at this inclement season of the year, in consequence of the want of food aid that they now are enduring privations which would hardly be imagined they would be able to suffer. We therefore beg that your Excellency would appropriate a small portion of the contingent fund to enable them to purchase food for their immediate wants, and also to procure seed for the ensuing spring. And your petitioners will ever pray, James Lulan [His Mark] We beg leave to certify that the Petitioner James Lulan is a sober, honest, and industrious man and is acknowledged as the Chief of the Indians at Pictou – that the facts stated in the petition are true, and that should any money be [] to the Petitioner it will be faithfully spent and accounted for. Halifax 6 March 1829 Geo. Smith [] McDonald Tho. [Dickson] [McKean]
Note	James Lulan is a guess as the name is hard to read in the old petition.
Note	James Lulan, Chief of Pictou, to Sir Peregrine, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, March 2 1829, Public Archives of Nova Scotia, Vol 430 (Indian Commissioner Series), File 168.