Commercial 61 given a Dominion Government Grant of $30,000 to be spent on their break¬ water. That was the turning point, as predicted by John Boyd , Chief Rail ¬ way Engineer, in his reply to the Swinyard Report in 1875.31 There he stated: "It is quite possible that the whole plan may be found to require rearrangement when the site of the breakwater is determined."32 In summary, it may be said that no matter the location of the terminal, all of benefited from the use of the railway for many years. One of the enjoyable fringe benefits was the excursion train that took travellers to and from such events as tea parties, civic celebrations and sports events. As might be expected, after the breakwater and railway were built, Souris East and West received special attention. In the summer of 1877, the Exa¬ miner recorded a land sale of one hundred building lots in Souris East in July and another sale of various properties in Souris West in October. Both times, a special excursion train came out from Charlottetown bringing such dignitaries as Judge Hensley , Hon. W.W. Lord , Richard Heartz , B. Warbur- ton and others. Later Merchants and Other Occupations: with its new railway and breakwater, obtained largely as a result of Confederation, naturally looked forward to continued expansion and prosperity. The farmers knew there would be some reverses but these would be overcome as they had been in the past: the early frost of September, 1836, potato blight and insects in the years 1846 to 1848, lack of rain in 1867. Work on the farm was not easy in the 1870s but farming methods were continually improving. Grist mills, run by water power, replaced the hand quern; and horse-powered threshing machines replaced the flail. In 1845, the Islander of August 15, wrote that the annual business at the Souris Fair held on (formerly called ) was increasing every year. As an added attraction that year, imported American horse rakes ($7) and seed sowers ($6) were on sale. Later, the Reciprocity years 1854 to 1866 gave impetus to agricultural development. During that period the production of oats on the Island increased by 95% and potatoes by 105%.3:1 In these prosperous years, the Island exported to the United Kingdom: timber, wheat and ships; to the : boards, oats, pickled fish, dried fish and barley; to sister Colonies ( Nova Scotia , New Brunswick , and Newfoundland ): potatoes, cat¬ tle, oats and ships; and to the fishermen and lumbermen of these colonies, wearing apparel such as woolen shirts and drawers, boots and cloth. Imports to the Island at this time were: iron, tools, molasses and rum, dry goods, tobacco, cotton warp and salt.34 Shipbuilders, general merchants and tradesmen came to the seaport village seeking their fortune. New houses, hotels and commercial buildings sprang up to accommodate the increasing population. One of the first merchant families to arrive in Souris after the middle of the nineteenth century was that of Caleb Cushing Carlton (1834-1904). He, and his wife and four year old son of the same name, came from Massachu¬ setts on Captain Edward Saville 's ship in 1859.35 Like many other merchants of the time, Carlton Sr . began with a peddler's license in June, 1859. He later built his first store, north of