Political power was in the hands of the English elite. The Acadians like all Island Catholics did not receive the right to vote until 1830. In most cases, however, this right could not be freely exercised. The proprietors or their agents were usually candidates in the elections, and, fearing reprisals, the tenants felt obliged to vote for them. From 1860 the Acadian community began to come out of isolation. The women whose traditional way of dress had been ridiculed for years, began to adopt the dress style of the times. With the Free Education Act of 1852, more interest was shown in educating the children even to the acceptance of learning English. The land question was finally settled in 1875, enabling farmers to buy their own lands. More interest was taken in public affairs. The development of lobster fishing in the 1870's attracted many Acadians, especially those of North Rustico . They found employment either in fishing boats or factories. This did not, however, increase their economic prosperity. In his pamphlet, "What Fishermen Can Do|' Bertram A. Blacquiere gives a very good account of the lot of the fishermen prior to their union in 1937: "Under the old system the village merchant, sheltered from the rigors of storm and sea, sold the fish for which he received a profit, and then sold the supplies to the fishermen, receiving also another profit. In addition, he was paid a salary for managing the factory. After the union was formed, the fishermen did these things for themselves, hired their own men and took the profit!' The development of the Fisherman's Co-operative and the Credit Union was a great help toward mak¬ ing the fishermen masters of their own destiny. At first North Rustico was an integral part of St . Augustine's Parish, South Rustico , and it was not until 1920 that a chapel was built in North Rustico and in 1936, North Rustico was named a Parish under the title Stella Maris (Star of the Sea). Of course the parish takes in more than the village as can be seen from the census at the latter part of this book.