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Looking Back, Moving Forward: Documenting the Heritage of African Nova Scotians

Appendix 4: Mr. Theophilus Chamberlain to Hon. Charles Morris, Surveyor General, relating to Black settlement at Preston: their condition and prospects
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expect payment of from your private Purse. A survey of the Land intended for them in order to the laying convenient Roads through them has already been made — the Roads necessary have been marked out — upwards of Two hundred Lotts have been set off — and the division Lines of a number of them have been in part run and must before they make improvements upon their Lotts be all of them traced out or they will fail into confusion.
             A Store at Dartmouth to receive Provision for them for the Winter, was likewise indispensibly (sic) necessary, which could not be obtained but by hire — and the transporting of their Provisions to Preston which was done for the first Settlers of it among whom there were nothing like the proportion of children, that are among these, was a thing without which there could be no rational prospect of their building Houses in so late a Season of the year sufficient for covering them. Nearly Six Hundred People a greater number of them children than there are of men — placed in the Woods of Nova Scotia in the months of Octr. and Novr. to have their weekly allowance to carry eight or ten Miles on their backs could not in my humble opinion be expected to build houses sufficient to prevent many of them from perishing in the Woods. — I cannot therefore but think His Excellency will see the necessity of having their provision brought up to Preston and to be here issued to them — and I will readily undertake the conveying it hither with my own Teams at Ten per Cent below the usual price of Carriage to be estimated by any of the neighbours who use their Teams on the roads and would rather do it at a rate still lower than risque the consequence of what they would otherwise be exposed to suffer.


        I have the Honour to be
Sir Your Obedt Humble Servt,
T. Chamberlain

Honl. Charles Morris
Sur. General


Date: 11 November 1815

Reference: Nova Scotia Archives RG 1 volume 419 number 41

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