The Highlanders' Removal

By the spring of 1838 the dispute between the Scottish settlers and the company had reached an impasse. Over the next few months, the company spent an estimated ₤4,000 to remove many of the Highlanders from their land. Some of them moved to Prince Edward Island, others to Canada, and still others to locations in New Brunswick.
A few Highland families, however, remained on their land. When Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Harvey visited Stanley, in August 1838, they petitioned him to investigate their grievances. Harvey complied with this request, and ordered W. H. Robinson and D. Ludlow Robinson, both of Fredericton, to look into the Highlanders' complaints.
Overall, their decision favoured the company. The settlers' arguments over repaying passage money and being overcharged for supplies were dismissed. The fact that the settlers had added to their difficulties by refusing paid company employment met with the investigators' disapproval. The Highlanders were granted only one concession. The company was required to reimburse them fully for the work they did to make their new homes livable. By 1851 only four families from the original Skye party remained in the Stanley area.