ie 



to tht'ir owu rcsoxircos aud to the natural increase of the population. 

 "When I say " Lett to their owu resources " I only repeat the coaiplaint 

 which I have heard from the r.ur^s and merchants of each parish who 

 speak bitterly of the abandonment in which they have been left, purpo- 

 sely to all ai)pearan(;es, by the tory governments which have governed 

 the Province almost uninterruptedly during the twenty years preceding 

 your accession to powtu', as well as by the local membi-rs who appeared 

 in iheir midst only at election times. 



The back-country was completely without roads, without even rudi- 

 mentary colonization roads and consequently every developm"nt, every 

 kind of settlement would have become impossible if the. construction 

 of the Intercolonial had not compelled and rendered inevitable the settle- 

 ment of this part of the country. Without communications a country 

 remains like an embryo in its envelo])e. 



Iloads are like the arteri(\s and veins through which the blood Hows ; 

 withoutjcirculaliou life is impossible; the body becomes inert and paraly- 

 zed. In like manner agriculture without communications languishes 

 and dies, the farmers leave in num1)ers ; not only do they find themselves 

 unable to derive the slightest benefit from their farms but they even lose 

 hope, their lust sup[)ort and .supreme consolation. 



I have no hesitation in stating that it is owing to the absence or 

 insuificiency of communications and of real, elficient solicitude, diligently 

 and carefully devoted to colonization, that we have suifured for so many 

 years from the ever-increasing evil of emigration. When, as I have just 

 done, one sees the great ravages of that evil in young counties like that 

 of Matane, where everything invites the child to remain on the soil of his 

 forefathers, one remains stupelitd at the contagious want of intelligence 

 and care displayed by the governments which have preceded yours. 



This is not only the material but also the moral consideration upon 

 which I wish ro insist in the present report. 



Without active colonization carried on with all the resources at the 

 disposal of the. Provincial Government, our race may bid adieu to the role 

 whieh it may legitimately claim to play in the dt-stinies of the Conleder- 

 ation ; we may bid adieu to the management of our affairs by ourselves, 

 adieu to love of country and to all the strength, the resources and advan- 

 tages which an enlightened patriotism can confer upon us. 



I was surprised in many places to see the houses abandoned by their 

 inhabitants. Why should there be deserted houses in a country so young 

 and apparently so prosperous ? For, in truth, the farms in Matane are 

 remarkably fine and delight the eye of the trav(dler with their appearance 

 of fertility. It is because, now that the parishes are established, that the • 

 start has been made and each oue has assumed his place, what sulUced 

 twenty or tliirty years ago for the [)iimitive generation, does not suifice 



