36 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
finitely to his allowance for every settler placed by him on 50 acres, 
whether of the Colonel’s land or the Crown Land. The Executive 
Council intimated in 1817 that under his contention he could go on 
claiming forever in geometrical progression 150 acres for every 50 acres 
on which he might place a settler. At this time he had actually 
received in all 15,800 acres under the scheme of settlement. The Exe- 
cutive recommended accordingly that without waiting for him to com- 
plete his settlement, 4,200 acres additional should be selected by him “ in 
the reserved townships of Dunwich and Aldborough to make up the full 
allowance for 100 settlers as originally arranged, and that the remainder 
of the land should be thrown open to ordinary settlement.” They 
mention that half of the townships named had been left at his selection, 
equal to 61,000 acres; that these surveyed townships were lying idle, 
whilst the ingress of settlers from the United Kingdom called for fresh 
surveys. As a result of the war, United States settlers were hereafter 
to be prohibited, and the source of supply, according to Talbot’s original 
plan was therefore cut off. They added the remark, “ When the emi- 
grant possessing an authority to receive 100 acres of land, finds himself 
limited to the possession of 50, and that the Government actually bestows 
on a stranger 200 acres on that account, no reasoning can remove the 
impression of something worse than mere absurdity.” Talbot did not 
wait to argue, but immediately proceeded to England, and the Colonial 
Secretary, whilst upholding the construction placed by the Provincial 
Cabinet on the original grant, was induced by him to direct the latter 
to vary the terms of it by extending the period for completion for five 
years from 26th February, 1818. All those portions of the two town- 
ships, which were vacant at the commencement of the Talbot Settle- 
ment, were for this period to be reserved at Colonel Talbot’s disposal, 
all settlers authorized by statute were to be counted for the purpose of 
his claim, not merely those mentioned in the plan of settlement as 
originally agreed; and fees were not to be exacted until the patents 
were called for. On account of the poverty of many of the settlers 
this last point was specially insisted on by the Colonel, contrary to the 
views of the provincial executive, who desired payment of survey fees 
to be made at the time of location. 
In January, 1820, Talbot formally notified Sir Peregrine Maitland 
that he had completed the location of the lands especially put under 
his direction according to the orders from the Imperial Government 
above referred to. In. March, 1821, he submitted a list of 185 settlers 
located. Sixty other names are mentioned in his papers. This would 
entitle him at most to 49,000 acres. What pretext or justification there 
was for going beyond this amount it is impossible to ascertain. No 
