Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Headlines from the Daily British Colonist from 150 years ago

I am a history geek and I love how much stuff is now available online.  One interesting source is the Daily British Colonist.   The paper was only four pages long, though there were no pictures in it.

Here are the headlines and tidbits from 150 years ago today:

700 Slaves Escaped in Virginia - worth not less than $500,000 and now held by the US government as war contraband

An add from the Colony of Vancouver Island stating they are seeking tenders to build a road from Victoria to Esquimalt.  2000 pounds were set aside for the tender.

Scorgie, Bolton & Co have opened a new ship building yard on the Indian Reserve.

On page 2 there is a long discussion of the merits of the 1861 Incorporation Act  - the big sticking point was who would be allowed to vote and how often?  The issue was that some people might be able to vote multiple times because they would get one vote per property.  At the same time, property owners were proposed to be the only source of taxes for the City.

The ship the Marcella had obviously recently come into port given all the adds from merchants with goods to sell from this ship.

On page 3 there is an account of 200 "elite of our colored population" celebrating the 25th anniversary of emancipation from slavery in the West Indies.  First with a picnic at Cadboro Bay and then a ball in the evening at the Hall of the African Rifles.   I find the article interesting because it gives me a sense of large the black community was at the time.   The total Victoria population was no more than a few thousand.

The African Rifles were the first military unit formed in BC and was only formed in July 1861, the drill hall was the social centre for the black community in Victoria.

On page 4 there is an ad from the sale of the Cadboro, the brig that was used by the HBC for years on the coast and was the ship that brought James Douglas to the Victoria area for the first time.   No price is listed.

From time to time I will post more exerts from the Daily British Colonist

No comments: