[Raymond] THE FIRST GOVERNOR OF NEW BRUNSWICK 451 



been in the best interests of New Brunswick that the two races should 

 have coalesced so as to form a united people, speaking one and the 

 same language, is a matter that we need not here discuss. 



It has been the object of this paper to show that Governor 

 Carleton and his council endeavoured to deal kindly and justly with 

 the Acadians. But they were probably quite willing that they should 

 remove to another part of the province where they would not interfere 

 with the continuous settlement of the lower Saint John by English 

 speaking people. The Governor's interest in their welfare however, 

 did not cease with their removal to remote situations, and a token of 

 his continued interest is found in a letter to General Prescott, Governor 

 of Canada, written in 1798, in which he says: — 



"There is resident in this Province in the County of Northumberland, a 

 district bordering on the Province of Lower Canada, a Mons'r. Castanet, a 

 missionary appointed by the French Bishop of Quebec to the Acadians and 

 savages of that district, of whose character and conduct I have received very 

 favourable reports from the principal magistrates of the country, and I therefore 

 beg leave to recommend him to your Excellency as deserving of such counten- 

 ance and encouragement as may be allowed to other loyal and useful Mission- 

 aries in similar situations." 



The letter of the missionary to Carleton will be found in the 

 appendix to this paper. It breathes the language of friendly regard. 

 The governor left the province five years later. Since his day the 

 Acadians have multiplied amazingly and have attained a position 

 in the province of which neither Thomas Carleton nor his Council had 

 at the beginning of the last century the faintest conception. 



APPENDIX. 



Lettre de R. P. J. Castanet à Lt.-Gov'r. Carleton. 



Caraquet, 8 Janvier, 1798. 



Monseigneur, — L'été passé j'eus l'honneur de présenter mes 

 hommages à votre Excellence, et je me sentirais encore entraîné à 

 fredericton pour m'y acquiter du même devoir, si le foible état de ma 

 santé présente ne m'arrêtait. Je ne trouverais en effet rien de plus 

 flateur que d'aller, Monseigneur, vous présenter tous les ans le juste 

 tribut de mes respects et de mon obéissance. 



L'objet de cette lettre n'est pas de solliciter de nouveau une 

 pension. Je suis très convaincu, Monseigneur, de ce que vous me 

 dites, qu'il n'était pas en votre pouvoir de rien faire pour moy à cet 

 égard, mais vous eûtes la bonté d'ajouter que vous pensiez que mes 



