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THE COUNTY OF MATANE. 



Honour ABTiE H. Mrrcier, 



Premier of the Prorince of Quebec. 



Sir, 



I have tho honour to submit tho following report of a special explo- 

 ration which I have just made in the new county of Matauc, with a view 

 of asctn'taining the (-ondition of that region generally and, at the same 

 timt!, the reasons which justify or rather imperatively necessitate the 

 constru(^tion of a branch of the Intercolonial between a point on the 

 latter line, either at Saint Octave de Metis Station, or its vicinity, and the 

 port of Mataue. 



I stopped in each of the parishes on the line of the projected branch, 

 I carefully examined tht! localities, consulted everyone who was in a 

 position to give me the best information, such as the cur6s, merchants and 

 intelligent farmers, and I must say that the considerations which arise 

 from th(! prospect of this undertaking, which is apparently only of a 

 secondary character since it is only a branch line of about thirty miles, 

 are so important and so numerous that they require a circumstantial and 

 careful statement instead of a mere summary report, such as that which I 

 am to-day obliged to submit, in order to make you acquainted as ^oon, as 

 possible, with a pressing want. 



I will therefore content myself with establishing a basis and setting 

 forth the conditions which are essentially inherent to the subject. 



The projected branch will cross one of the finest regions which is to 

 be found in any part of the world, one of the re ;ions most favoured by 

 Nature, a region, finally, which by means of communications and the 

 developments to which they would give rise, would be one of the most 

 prosperous and most productive of the Province. It is barely thirty five 

 years since this region has been settled and already eight ranges of con- 

 cessions are occMpied, new parish<\s have been formed at four or five 

 leagues from the s(!a-shore in the vicinity of the Intercolonial and the 

 parishi^s first established on the sea-shore, such as Sandy Bay, Riviere 

 Blanche! and Saint Jerome Je Matane, which are now looked upon 

 as old parishes, have increased to degree unheard of for places left 



