Charles Lawrence entered the English army in 1727 an ensign, became a captain in 1742 , and major in 1747. He was serving with the English infantry in 1749 and 1750. In 1749 he had been made a member of the council of Nova Scotia and was determined that the Habitants were to be subjected to his rule. He took over the administration of government when Hopson retired. He became lieutenant-governor in 1754 and governor in 1756.
Habitant is a French word used to describe the permanent settler of Acadia and New France. The word has no English equivalent, and should not be translated. The word is an acceptable English term found in both Webster's and the Oxford dictionaries. Webster's states: Habitant: a settler or descendant of a settler of French origin belonging to the farming class in Canada. While it is often translated as inhabitant, to do so is an error. Some authors have translated it as peasant and that is an even greater error. An Habitant was a member a privileged class who, on becoming a settler, received a land grant and if he cleared four arpents (three year's labour for one man) enough money to build a house, furnish it with essentials, and live for one year. But the real attraction was that Habitant could engage in the fur trade and hold senior positions in the military, especially the militia. Habitants must not be confused with the peasants of France who could not own land, had no opportunity to engage in commerce, and served as the lowest ranks in the military. Habitants often not only became highly successful from a financial point of view, but also enjoyed many of the amenities of life and social status that, in France, were reserved for the nobility. Members of French aristocracy, who came to New France as visitors, often recorded their surprise and bewilderment at the way their Canadian peers held the Habitants in such high regard. They were even more dismayed at the way the Habitants expected to be treated with respect. I expect such nobility either soon changed their views or didn't get very far, because the Habitants, as independent entrepreneurs, pretty well controlled the means of "public" transportation, whether it was horse and carriage, canoe, sailboat, etc.
Thomas Peregrine Hopson was appointed governor of Nova Scotia in 1752 and retired in 1753.