When this idea, so creditable to the paternal feelings of these worthy
gentlemen was intimated to the Colonel, he could not be brought to see the
fitness of things in an arrangement which would confer on the next
generation, or the next again, the fruits of the labour of the present;
and accordingly, though his answer to the proposal was not couched in
terms quite so diplomatic as might have been wished, it was brief,
soldier-like, and not easily capable of misconstruction;--it was in these
words, 'I'll be ---- if you get one foot of land here;' and thereupon the
parties joined issue. On this, war was declared against him by his
Excellency in Council, and every means were used to annoy him here, and
misrepresent his proceedings at home; but he stood firm, and by an
occasional visit to the Colonial Office in England, he opened the eyes of
ministers to the proceedings of both parties, and for awhile averted the
danger. At length, some five years ago, finding the enemy was getting too
strong for him, he repaired once more to England, and returned in triumph
with an order from the Colonial Office, that nobody was in any way to
interfere with his proceedings; and he has now the pleasure of
contemplating some hundreds of miles of the best roads in the province,
closely settled on each side by the most prosperous farmers within its
bounds, who owe all they possess to his judgment, enthusiasm, and
perseverance, and who are grateful to him in proportion to the benefits he
has bestowed upon them, though in many instances much against their will
at the time.
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