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" Fled on private property, and we believe are about removing to the Guysborough road according as they can obtain the means to do so, one or two of these families have managed to keep themselves from suffering but all the rest are miserably poor, five families are settled on the new road to Guysborough and these appear to be the best situated among them, although they are a long distance from market and have the difficulties of a bad road to contend with.

From the experience of past years it appears to use quite [impossible?] that the people of colour settled at Preston can ever maintain themselves in such a body and in such a poor district, their proximity to the town of Halifax induces many to visit it twice a week in summer and as often as they can in winter, whereby time is lost which should be employed in cultivating their land and providing for the severities of so cold a climate, the district is too soon to afford them employment as labourers and quite too many are settled in one spot. They are entirely averse to removal to a warm climate, offers having already been made to them to that effect which they have uniformly rejected entertaining fears for their civil and religious liberties which it seems [impossible?] to overcome.


Under all the circumstances and knowing that as they now are situated we have nothing to expect but a yearly recurrence of their claims upon the public for relief, which when granted is at the best but extremely temporary among so many, we take the liberty of suggesting their removal
[where?] families to each.