of undetected squatting
on the forbidden ground.

* * * * *

With regard to the plantations that have just been mentioned,
reference may be conveniently made here by way of parenthesis to the
survival in Newfoundland of certain terminology and customs, which
form an interesting connecting-link between the early enterprises and
modern usage and practice. In the words of a writer[29] fully
conversant with the present conditions of the island: "Because of its
early 'plantations,' the word 'planter' is still current in the
insular vocabulary, and the 'supplying system' still prevails, the
solitary links which connect with these bygone days. A 'planter' in
Newfoundland parlance is a fish trader on a moderate scale, the
middleman between the merchant, who ships the cod to market and the
toiler who hauls it from the water. 'Plantations' are yet interwoven
with local tradition, and show on ancient maps and charts. The tenure
of some has never been broken; the names and locations of others are
perpetuated in the existing fishing hamlets which dot the shore line.
Under the 'supplying system' the merchants and planters 'supply' the
fisherfolk each spring with all the essentials for their adequate
prosecution of the industry, and when the season ends, take over their
produce against the advances, made them six months before. The
'merchants' are the descendants of the early 'merchant adventurers'
who exploited the new-found Colony."

* * * * *

FOOTNOTES:

[23] _Op. cit._, p. 42.

[24] Stanford's "Compendium of Geography and Travel" (new issue):
North America: vol. i. Canada and Newfoundland. Edited by H.M. Ami
(London, 1915), p. 1009.

[25] See Rogers, _op. cit._, pp. 59 _seq._

[26] _Ibid._, p. 59.

[27] See article by G.C. Moore Smith, in "English Historical Review,"
vol. xxxiii. (1918), pp. 31 _seq._

[28] Stanford's "Compendium," pp. 1010, 1011.

[29] P.T. M'Grath, "Newfoundland in 1911" (London, 1911), p. 46.

CHAPTER V

THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE

In the reign of Charles I. a duty of five per cent. had been imposed
on the produce of all foreign vessels engaged in the Newfoundland
trade. Twenty-five years later the French under Du Mont, then
proceeding to Quebec with a contingent of soldiers and colonists,
established a settlement at Placentia, on the southern coast,
fortified it, and made it the seat of a resident Governor. They
contin