28 .S'mr‘mx on UN” [fr/go

1854, Tignish men were not slow to come forward for election. The first was Stanislaus Perry, a grandson of Pierre, one of the leading founders. Initially a school teacher in the area, he turned to politics at the very first election, and became the member for Egmont Bay, a largely Acadian area some forty miles to the southwest. This was the beginning of a political career which took him to Ottawa in 1874, and eventually to the Senate.

Soon after, another Tignish schoolteacher, Fidele Gaudet, briefly represented his community. Nevertheless it was Nicholas Conroy, a second—generation member of the only family of gentlefolk to settle in the district, who did the most for his area politically. First, he was an early member of the colonial govemment and, after the Island joined Canada in 1873, became a member of the provincial one. Elected at an early age, he served almost uninterruptedly until his death in 1879. He also held various govemment appointments such as a collector Of customs when Tignish was an official port. As he was trusted by the Acadians, he was able to be a true representatixr'e of both of the area’s main ethnic groups. This could not have been easy, especially over a long period, and suggests diplomatic, as well as political abilities.

With the opening of the roads, commerce began to move from sea to land. As early as the 18305, a few local men had opened stores and taverns in the Tignish area. We know nothing of them except that their names were all Irish or English.

Soon afterwards, the fishing industry began to make Tignish its centre on the Island. Captain Holland’s note about the quantity of cod available off North Cape shores had not been followed up commercially by Islanders. American vessels, however, were catching good cargoes at least as early as the founding of Tignish. At the same time and throughout the nineteenth century, the colonial and provincial government promoted