ernor
of Cape Breton.

Whilst Le Borgne was preparing to attack La Tour, the English appeared
on the scene of action. By this time the civil war had been fought in
{107} England, the King beheaded, and Cromwell proclaimed Lord
Protector of the Commonwealth. In 1653 very strong representations
were made to the latter by the colonists of New England with respect to
the movements of the French in Acadia, and the necessity of reducing
the country to the dominion of England. Peace then nominally prevailed
between France and Great Britain, but we have seen, as the case of
Argall proved, that matters in America were often arranged without much
reference to international obligations. A fleet, which had been sent
out by Cromwell to operate against the Dutch colony at Manhattan,
arrived at Boston in June, 1654, and the news came a few days later
that peace had been proclaimed between the English and Dutch.
Thereupon an expedition was organised against the French under the
command of Major Robert Sedgewick of Massachusetts. Le Borgne at Port
Royal and La Tour on the St. John immediately surrendered to this
force, and in a few days all Acadia was once more in the hands of the
English. Denys was almost ruined by these events and obliged to retire
for a time from the country. La Tour was now far advanced in years,
and did not attempt to resist the evil destiny that seemed to follow
all the efforts of France to establish herself in Nova Scotia. No
doubt the injuries he had received from his own countrymen, together
with the apathy which the French Government always displayed in the
affairs of Acadia, were strong arguments, if any were needed, to induce
him to place himself under the protection of the English. The
representations he {108} made to the Protector met with a favourable
response, and obtained for him letters patent, dated August 9, 1656,
granting to him, Sir Charles La Tour, in conjunction with Sir Thomas
Temple and William Crowne, the whole territory of Acadia, the mines and
minerals alone being reserved for the government. Sir Thomas Temple, a
man of generous disposition and remarkably free from religious
prejudices, subsequently purchased La Tour's rights, and carried on a
large trade in Acadia with much energy. La Tour now disappears from
the scene, and is understood to have died in the country he loved in
the year 1666, at the ripe age of seventy-four. He left several
descendants, none of whom played a pro