reference thereto, the causes, or some of them, that entailed the
loss of time and attendant expense. For some time a doubt has
existed whether the Chief, nominally at the head of the Indians of
the Indian settlement, possessed the good will and confidence of
that band; and I thought it advisable to require that the several
bands of Indians should select such Chiefs as they thought proper,
and present these men as their authorized Chiefs, before anything
was said as to the terms of a treaty. The Indians having acquiesced
in this proposal, forthwith proceeded to such election; but the
proceeding apparently involved discussion and consideration amongst
themselves, and two days elapsed before the men chosen were
presented for recognition, and the business of the meeting
commenced.

When the peculiar circumstances surrounding the position of the
Indians of the Province were pointed out, the future of the country
predicted, and the views and intentions of the Government explained
by the Lieutenant-Governor and myself, the Indians professed a
desire for time to think over what had been said before making any
reply; and when their answer came it proved to contain demands of
such an exorbitant nature, that much time was spent in reducing
their terms to a basis upon which an arrangement could be made.

Every band had its spokesman in addition to its Chief, and each
seemed to vie with another in the dimensions of their requirements.
I may mention, as an illustration, that in the matter of reserves,
the quantity of land demanded for each band amounted to about three
townships per Indian, and included the greater part of the settled
portions of the Province. It was not until the 3rd of August, or
nine days after the first meeting, that the basis of arrangement