INTRODUCTION.

The object of this pamphlet is the presentation in convenient form of such facts and statistical information as will enable persons, who contemplate settling in New Brunswick, to form a correct idea of the present condition and future capabilities of the Province. It is also intended as a handy book of reference on all points of general interest respecting the Province. No similar compilation of information relating to New Brunswick has ever been attempted, although the ground was, to some extent, covered by the late Moses H. Perley in his hand-book, published in 1857. In the period of upwards of a quarter of a century, which has elapsed since Mr. Perley's book was issued, so many changes have taken place in the Province, so many new industries have engaged the attention of the people, population and the area of settled land have so increased, and the construction of railways and other causes have contributed so much towards altering the circumstances of residents and the opportunities open to new settlers, that the whole field. embraced in these pages may be regarded as new. Under these circumstances the obligation to accuracy becomes the the more imperative, and the writer hopes that he has been able to meet all reasonable requirements in that regard. Official statistics have been used whenever they have been procurable, and every effort has been made to obtain information from the most reliable sources.

The first authentic record of a visit by Europeans to the country, now embraced within the limits of New Brunswick, is that of the voyage of Jacques Cartier, who explored its northern shore in A. D. 1534. He discovered and named the Baie des Chaleurs, and sailed up the estuary of the Miramichi. He found quite large settlements of Indians at several points, and his observations gave him a very favorable impression of the country. We have no account of any exploration of the southern coast of the Province before that made by Champlain in A. D. 1604. He established the first permanent settlement in the Province, on a small island in the mouth of the St. Croix; and he also explored the lower portion of the river St. John. In A. D. 1630 a permanent fort, called after its builder, La Tour, was erected at the mouth of St. John. This was for some time one of the most important points in Acadia, as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were then called. The French, who were the first European owners of this part of America, established numerous other settlements here, and Acadia was the scene of many stirring events previous to the year 1755, when the French population was expelled. By the treaty of Utrecht in A. D. 1713, France had ceded Acadia to England, but the French population not having submitted to their new rulers, the expatriation of thousands was deemed necessary by the British Government. Many of the exiles wandered back again, others found a refuge in remote districts, and their descendants to-day form no inconsiderable part of the population of the Province.

The first permanent English settlement made in New Brunswick was in A. D. 1761, when a colony of about 800 persons came from Massachusetts and located themselves at Maugerville, on the River St. John. At the close of the American Revolution a large number of loyalists from the United States and disbanded soldiers settled on the St.

John river and at other points in what then formed a county of Nova Scotia, and was called Sunbury. In 1785, Sunbury was erected into a separate Province and called New Brunswick.

The settlement of the Province proceeded with considerable rapidity, as the following will show :

New Brunswick continued to be a separate Province until the year 1867, when it united with Nova Scotia and the old provinces of Canada, to form what is known as the Dominion of Canada, which has since been extended until it embraces all the British possessions in North America, except Newfoundland and the West Indies.

Among the countries, containing a sufficient area of unoccupied land to afford a home for a large number of new settlers, few possess as many, and none more, features to recommend them than does New Brunswick. Whether the Province is considered in regard to the fertility of its soil, the healthfulness of its climate, the extent and perinanent character of the domestic market for farm produce, its convenient position as respects a foreign market for its products, its adaptability for agriculture, cattle and sheepraising, or for manufactures, its system of self-government, of education and of laws-in whatever respect it may be regarded, New Brunswick will be found well worthy of

consideration by those who contemplate settling in America. The proximity of the Province to Europe is not the least of its recommendations. It is nearer England than any other colony having large areas of good farming land available for settlers. The cost of removing from the old home to the new is, therefore, in the case of settlers in New Brunswick, reduced to a minimum; and to those engaged in cattle or sheep-raising for the English market, this proximity is of the utmost importance, as the land carriage of exported live stock is little more than nominal.

New Brunswick is especially adapted for mixed agriculture. A farmer in this Province does not "have all his eggs in one basket"; a total failure of crops is a thing unknown,. and if, from exceptional circumstances, a partial failure of one or more crops occurs, there is usually a compensating increase in others. 1

The cost of land in New Brunswick is comparatively low and the tenure secure. In the rural districts, practically speaking, every man owns the land he lives on. Improved as well as unimproved farms can be obtained at reasonable prices.

The Province affords excellent facilities for the investment of capital on good security at remunerative rates of interest. In a religious, educational and social point of view, the Province ranks with the foremost countries. The facilities for internal communication are so great and settlements have extended in so many directions, that a settler will enjoy from the day he comes to New Brunswick all the advantages of a progressive and enlightened civilization.