When Governor Parr wrote to Sir Guy Carleton, commending
in such warm terms the advantages of Shelburne, he took
occasion at the same time to disparage the country about
the river St John. 'I greatly fear,' he wrote, 'the soil
and fertility of that part of this province is overrated
by people who have explored it partially. I wish it may
turn out otherwise, but have my fears that there is scarce
good land enough for them already sent there.'

How Governor Parr came to make so egregious a mistake
with regard to the comparative merits of the Shelburne
districts and those of the St John river it is difficult
to understand. Edward Winslow frankly accused him of
jealousy of the St John settlements. Possibly he was only
too well aware of the inadequacy of the preparations made
to receive the Loyalists at the mouth of the St John,
and wished to divert the stream of immigration elsewhere.
At any rate his opinion was in direct conflict with the
unanimous testimony of the agents sent to report on the
land. Botsford, Cummings, and Hauser had reported: 'The
St John is a fine river, equal in magnitude to the
Connecticut or Hudson. At the mouth of the river is a
fine harbour, accessible at all seasons of the year--never
frozen or obstructed by ice... There are many settlers
along the river upon the interval land, who get their
living easily. The interval lies on the river, and is a
most fertile soil, annually matured by the overflowing
of the river, and produces crops of all kinds with little
labour, and vegetables in the greatest perfection, parsnips