and children, their numbers were not far from four
thousand.

The arrangements which the government of Nova Scotia had
made for the reception of this vast army of people were
sadly inadequate. In the first place there was an
unpardonable delay in the surveying and allotment of
lands. This may be partly explained by the insufficient
number of surveyors at the disposal of the governor, and
by the tedious and difficult process of escheating lands
already granted; but it is impossible not to convict the
governor and his staff of want of foresight and expedition
in making arrangements and carrying them into effect.
When Joseph Aplin arrived at Parrtown, as the settlement
at the mouth of the river was for a short time called,
he found 1,500 frame houses and 400 log huts erected,
but no one had yet received a title to the land on which
his house was built. The case of the detachment of the
King's American Dragoons who had settled near the mouth
of the river was particularly hard. They had arrived in
advance of the other troops, and had settled on the west
side of the harbour of St John, in what Edward Winslow
described as 'one of the pleasantest spots I ever beheld.'
They had already made considerable improvements on their
lands, when word came that the government had determined
to reserve the lands about the mouth of the river for
the refugees, and to allot blocks of land farther up the
river to the various regiments of provincial troops. When
news of this decision reached the officers of the provincial
regiments, there was great indignation. 'This is so