The Rev. Dr. Burke was at this time Roman Catholic Vicar General of Nova Scotia under the Bishop of Quebec; he afterwards administered the Episcopal office in Halifax as Bishop of Zion. Dr. Burke was a gentleman of education and highly esteemed in the community.
The death of a very aged inhabitant, John Murphy, occurred this year. He was 90 years of age, and had been one of the first settlers of the town. He had acquired a large property in fields in the south suburbs, where he kept a large number of cows, and for a great many years supplied the principal inhabitants with milk and butter. The fields extending northward from Smith's tan yard to the corner house formerly occupied by the late Sheriff Sawyer, were known formerly as Murphy's fields.
1803. The following is an account of the butchers' meat sold in the Halifax market for six months commencing July 1st and ending December 31st, 1802.
| Sheep. | Calves. | Oxen. | Pigs. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July | 785 | 264 | 157 | — |
| Aug | 964 | 147 | 186 | — |
| Sept | 1409 | 91 | 273 | 21 |
| Oct | 1017 | 85 | 224 | 76 |
| Nov | 928 | 78 | 465 | 407 |
| Dec | 883 | — | 614 | 692 |
| Total | 5986 | 665 | 1919 | 1196 |
The above is exclusive of the meat issued under contract for the Navy, but it is to be assumed it included the Army contract.
1804. This spring the House of Assembly recommended that the old market house should be taken down and a new building erected on the ground for the purpose of a County Court House and police office. This was the brick building lately used for city purposes. An Act was passed in 1804 with that object.
The trade of the port was much depressed this season by the number of captures made by the enemy, and from the low prices obtained for fish in the West India market, where the merchants of Halifax were undersold by U. S. fishermen.
Among the events of the year was the arrival of several distinguished prisoners, among whom was General Brunet and suite, who put into Halifax on their way to England, having been made prisoners at St. Domingo. Governor Wentworth assigned them the old Rockingham Inn, near the Prince's Lodge on the Basin, as a place of abode while here. They were shortly after removed to England.
In the autumn General Boyer, commandant of the garrison, undertook to try the metal of the Haligonians by causing a false alarm of invasion. The report was spread early in the morning that the French were off the harbor. Before 10 o'clock, A.M., about 1,000 militia men were embodied and at their respective posts. Two hundred of them were artillery men. The dress companies were all in uniform and fully equipped. Among the first who appeared on the parade ground with their guns were Parson Wright, head master of the grammar school, and the Solicitor General, James Stewart, better known as Judge Stewart.
1805. Press warrants were granted by the Council on the 6th May to Vice Admiral Sir Andrew Mitchell, then in command of the station, for fourteen days. He afterwards demanded an extension of his warrant for six months, which was refused by the Council at their meeting on the 18th. In their reply to the Admiral they mention that the number of seamen engaged in the West India trade, etc., had been so reduced by captures, imprisonment and other causes that there were not sufficient in the port to man the vessels, and that all the seamen to be found in the town would not now be enough to meet half the demand for one sloop-of-war in the fleet. Moreover, that there were many at the time in French prisons whose families were supported by charity in the town. This, together with the high rate of wages in the United States, had reduced the commerce of the port to the greatest necessity. Finally, that the execution of impress warrants on shore were attended with much disturbance and annoyance to the laboring poor and others not fit for service, and the Council were of opinion that it should only be resorted to on the most urgent occasions and when advantage from it was to be reasonably looked for.