for control of the policies regarding trade, commerce, and taxation. Desserud shows that John Day, elected to the assembly in 1774, called for Montesquieu-type fundamental reforms that would balance political power among the three branches of government. Day argued that taxes should be assessed according to actual wealth, and to discourage patronage there should be term limits for all officials. He thought members of the Executive Council should own at least £1000 of property to connect their personal interest in the welfare of the colony as a whole. He wanted the dismissal of judges who misused their offices. These reforms were not as yet enacted, but they suggest that politicians in Nova Scotia were aware of the demands being made by Americans, and hoped their moderate proposals would reduce possible tensions with the British government. Scottish settlers In 1762, the earliest of the Fuadaich nan Gàidheal (Scottish Highland Clearances) forced many Gaelic families off their ancestral lands. The first ship loaded with Hebridean colonists arrived on "St. John's Island" (Prince Edward Island) in 1770, with later ships following in 1772 and 1774. In 1773, a ship named The Hector landed in Pictou, Nova Scotia, with 169 settlers mostly originating from the Isle of Skye. In 1784, the last barrier to Scottish settlement—a law restricting land-ownership on Cape Breton Island—was repealed, and soon both PEI and Nova Scotia were predominantly Gaelic-speaking. It is estimated more than 50,000 Gaelic settlers immigrated to Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island between 1815 and 1870. Scottish clans In the Scottish Highlands, the traditional clan system was ended after the failed Rising of 1745. However, Ommer shows that the Scottish settlers reconstituted clan settlements in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, that persisted into the early 20th century. The clan system was tribal, involving an extended kin group that held land in common. Property was typically owned by the whole kinship group. In Scotland, clansmen rejected feudal claims of landlordship. The pioneers to Cape Breton sought out their own kin and settled alongside them. Farms passed from one branch of a family to another through succeeding generations but continued to be occupied by members of the same clan. Clan members helped each other with communal barn raising and shared labour and tools. In Nova Scotia, the system was maintained through arranged marriages, mutual aid and communal tenure. The system enabled survival and efficiency in a harsh pioneering environment.