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them, and for years their inglorious expedition was spoken of with bitter sarcasm by the Loyalists and their descendants, particularly in times of political strife.

During the year 1776 the situation of our little colony at Portland Point was a very unenviable one. The general business of the company, after the commencement of hostilities, gradually diminished, and ere long in a great measure ceased, and it was thought best to divide the stock that remained among the partners. A vessel that was in the course of construction at the Point at the time of Mr. Hazen's arrival, was burned upon the stocks by a party of marauders.

Two facts of interest connected with the year 1776 may be noted in passing, the first was the laying out of a road at Portland Point running northerly between the houses of James Simonds and William Hazen—this is now known as Simonds street and is the oldest street in the city of St. John—the second is that the earliest known reference to the place as "Portland" occurs in this year. Up to this time all correspondence, etc., is dated at "St. Johns" or "St. John's River," but from this time forward the use of "Portland" becomes more frequent. The name was in all probability given in honor of the third Duke of Portland, an eminent British statesman.

Although the settlers at Portland Point were kept in a state of disquietude after the outbreak of the Revolution, it does not appear that they were personally molested until the spring of the year 1777. This may be accounted for. William Hazen's relatives in New England were zealous supporters of the American congress and hopes were entertained that Mr. Hazen himself would eventually cast in his lot with the "patriots" also. It is true that Hazen, Simonds and White had declined to affix their signatures to the Maugerville