clergy was partly remedied by a number of itinerant
Methodist preachers or 'exhorters.' These men were
described by Bishop Mountain as 'a set of ignorant
enthusiasts, whose preaching is calculated only to perplex
the understanding, to corrupt the morals, to relax the
nerves of industry, and dissolve the bands of society.'
But they gained a very strong hold on the Loyalist
population; and for a long time they were familiar figures
upon the country roads.

For many years communications both in New Brunswick and
in Upper Canada were mainly by water. The roads between
the settlements were little more than forest paths. When
Colonel Simcoe went to Upper Canada he planned to build
a road running across the province from Montreal to the
river Thames, to be called Dundas Street. He was recalled,
however, before the road was completed; and the project
was allowed to fall through. In 1793 an act was passed
by the legislature of Upper Canada 'to regulate the laying
out, amending, and keeping in repair, the public highways
and roads.' This threw on the individual settler the
obligation of keeping the road across his lot in good
repair; but the large amount of crown lands and clergy
reserves and land held by speculators throughout the
province made this act of little avail. It was not until
1798 that a road was run from the Bay of Quinte to the
head of Lake Ontario, by an American surveyor named Asa
Danforth. But even this government road was at times
impassable; and there is evidence that some travellers
preferred to follow the shore of the lake.