Trade and Commerce 27

Speaking before the Land Commissioners Court held in Georgetown in the summer of 1860, he said:

My brother and I going and settling on this place and improving it, led a large population to that part of the Township. Of course the proprietor was benefitted by our enterprise, for in addition to the rent, he received forty shillings for every lease which he granted. We erected mills, not in charity of course, but the proprietor rendered us no assistance. We have found that the exporting of grain without being ground has injured this country for many years—for the freight absorbs half the profit...FH-om my knowledge of the tenantry in the district where I live I believe that for the last nine years, not a single individual has paid nine pence of his rents which did not come from other source than his farm.

Transportation:

In 1825, Governor Ready and his party rode into Souris West on horse- back and left by sailing ship for Fortune, the next stop on their eastern tour. The blazed trail and the waterway were to be the highways in Lot 44 and 45 for many years.In 1806, the Government estimated the cost of putting the following roads in good condition, that is, ten feet wide: Head of Fortune to Rollo Bay Settlement 7 miles, and from Rollo Bay to Colville Ferry 3 miles at ten pounds per mile. Road Commissioners for the vicinity at that time were William Creed, William Douglas and Angus McEachern.9 Road overseers were supplied with numerous instructions by Charles Wright, Chief Over- seer of roads in 1820: “No placing ropes across road when working it. No illegally stopping travellers to obtain rum. The overseer is to cause to be removed all fences, swinging gates, bars or other obstructions placed in the thild'hlait the expense of the offending party, causing him to be fined forty 8 Es.»

Work on the roads was done by the settlers in lieu of taxes and, to be fair, each family was to supply one of the following: a team of horses 3 eight-hour days, one man six days’ work or two men three days’ work.10

What was probably the Island’s first traffic regulation was passed in 1827 in an act to regulate driving carts, carriages, sleighs and carrioles on the highway: “that every person driving same coming in opposite directions pass his adversary on the left, whip in right hand next to the right or whip hand of such opposite driver...and the same rule shall be observed by persons on horseback.”11

In the early years, Souris River was called The Harbour as indeed it was a haven for all vessels in the area those days. Larger ships anchored out in Colville Bay were safe from all but a strong southerly wind. Besides numer- ous bustling shipyards, there were several jetties or wharves along the river shore where sailing vessels unloaded their precious cargoes of rope, canvas, salt, molasses, tea and, of course, Jamaica rum and took on such mundane things as lumber, fish, potatoes and grain.

In 1848 the people of Souris West sent a petition to government requesting a bridge. It was signed by William Macgowan, Alexander Leslie and 586 others. It was rejected. Instead in 1849 tenders were let for a new ferry service: “One or more flat-bottomed boats not less than 16 feet to be manned