held as a part of his creed the wise aphorism, so often quoted in the
present day, '_Vox populi vox Dei_;' but held steadily on in the teeth of
opposition, vexation, and disappointment, until after about fifteen years
of unremitting labour and privation, it became so notorious in the
province, that even the executive government at York became aware that
there was such a place in existence as the Talbot settlement, where roads
were cut, and farms in progress:--and hereupon they rejoiced,--for it held
out to them just what they had long felt the want of,--a well-settled,
opened, and cultivated country, wherein to obtain estates for themselves,
their children, born and unborn, and their whole kith, kin, and allies.
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