to
remain in such an unsatisfactory condition. An appeal was made to the
House of Lords, and the judgment of the Scottish Court of Session was
reversed in 1769. Archibald Douglas was, therefore, declared to be the
son of Lady Jane, and the heir to the dukedom of Douglas.

ALEXANDER HUMPHREYS--THE PRETENDED EARL OF STIRLING.

The idea of colonizing Nova Scotia found great favour in the eyes both
of James VI. and Charles I., and the former monarch rewarded Sir
William Alexander of Menstrie, who actively supported the project,
with a charter, dated 12th September 1621, in which he granted to him
"All and Whole the territory adjacent to the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
thenceforward to be called Nova Scotia;" and constituted him, his
heirs and assignees, hereditary Lords-Lieutenant. The powers which
were given to these Lords-Lieutenant were little short of regal; but
before the charter could be ratified by the Scotch Parliament his
Majesty died. In 1625, however, the grant was renewed in the form of
a Charter of Novodamus, which was even more liberal than the original
document. These deeds were drawn out in the usual form of Scottish
conveyances, and were ratified by the Scotch Parliament in 1633.

In accordance with their terms Sir William despatched one of his sons
to Canada, where, acting in his father's name, he built forts at the
mouth of the St. Lawrence, and acted as a petty king during his stay.
Still the project did not flourish: colonists were scarce and shy,
and, in order to make colonization more rapid, King James hit upon the
expedient of creating Nova-Scotian baronets, and of conferring this
distinction upon the leading members of those families who most
actively engaged in the work of populating the land. His successor
Charles I., who had an equal desire and necessity for money, converted
the new order into a source of revenue by granting 16,000 acres of
Canadian soil to those who could pay well, by erecting the district
thus sold into a barony, and by attaching the honours of a baronet of
Nova Scotia thereto. The order was afterwards extended to natives of
England and Ireland, provided they became naturalized Scotchmen.

Sir William Alexander, by unfortunate speculations, was reduced to
want; his affairs became involved, and he ultimately sold his entire
Canadian possessions to a Frenchman named de la Tour. The original
Scotch colony depended upon the crown of Scotland: it was ceded to
France by the Tre