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Dartmouth March 9th 1837

Sir,

In compliance with your request we have taken charge of and distributed a quantity of Indian Meal provided for the relief of the black population at Preston, Musquodoboit, L.Gugo borough road, We have also made a visit to the settlement at Preston and ablamed all the information we could respecting the situation and prospects of these people, it appears that there are about 150 families settled at Preston and all with very few exceptions are miserably poor, and from the small quantity of land they occupy, the destruction of all wood & timber at their command, and the extreme poverty of the soil, there is not in our opinion any hope of their ever being able to maintain themselves. They must in evibably suffer severe privations and become a burden on the public every season, some few indeed say about six or seven families have kept themselves very comfortable, and every season make good crops, but the number of distressed beings who surround them are continually begging of their substance drawback to their industry, _____ About twelve families are settled on the old Musquodobort road, they have by some mistake been set