First Century Afterthe Expulsion 95 
     
    
   
   
    
     interested in having their children learn English at school. In the 
     
     1810s, they had their own system of primary education in which the 
     
     English language occupied a very minor position'®*. As devout Catho- 
     
     lics, the Acadians entrusted their educational system to the clergy in 
     
     whom they obviously had great confidence. 
     
    

    
     The Acadians could be distinguished visually from the other 
     
     Island settlers by the way they dressed. They were deeply attached 
     
     to their traditional costume, a legacy from France. In addition, the 
     
     social control exercised in their villages prevented changes in clothing 
     
     styles or other customs, as witnessed by the English writer, John 
     
     McGregor, who lived for several years in the colony: 
     
    
   
   
    
     The dread of being exposed to the derision of the rest, for attempting to 
     
     imitate the English inhabitants, and the want of an education that would 
     
     conquer prejudices, are the principal causes that prevent individuals among 
     
     them, who would willingly alter their dress and habits, from doing so.'”’ 
     
    
   
   
    
     We have already seen how attached the Acadians were to their 
     
     traditional farming practices. Consequently, they hesitated a long time 
     
     before adopting the more advanced agricultural methods of their 
     
     English, Scottish or other neighbours. 
     
    

    
     Their values were profoundly different from those of Anglo-Pro- 
     
     testants who not only respected work and wealth but regarded them 
     
     as priorities, while leisure activities played a minor part in their society. 
     
     The Acadians were practising Catholics and conscientiously observed 
     
     their numerous religious holidays. One can understand, therefore, 
     
     why they were severely criticized by English observers like S.S. Hill 
     
     who wrote in the 1830s: 
     
    
   
   
    
     They are in fact a careless and light-hearted people, with the improvidence of 
     
     Indians, ever preferring the passing enjoyments of the hour, to the solid pursuits 
     
     of industry; so that, reckoning saints’ days, on every one of which they make 
     
     holyday, and the time they occupy in shooting and other amusements, they 
     
     probably lose about a fifth of the year.'® 
     
    
   
   
    
     The author hastened to add, however, that the Acadians were 
     
     happy people and content with their lot. He also noted that they had 
     
     plenty of all the necessities of life'’’. Others wrote that the French 
     
     on the Island were eager workers and hard to outdo, but that they 
     
     did not manage to prosper because they were involved in too many