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to have taken place at the time of passing this grant when the lands upon the river St. Johns were considered as of very little value, and there could be no inducement to such a step. All the conditions of the Grant have been fully complied with in a manner to have saved from forfeiture a much greater number of acres."
This opinion of Ward Chipman was furnished at Governor Carleton's request early in the year 1785, and was furnished in his official capacity as Solicitor General of New Brunswick. Supplemented by Hon. William Hazen's personal influence as a member of the council, it no doubt sufficed to prevent any further steps being taken in the matter. Had there been at this time a Laughlan Donaldson in the mayor's chair it is hard to tell what might happened.
The argument of Donaldson and Ansley is quite too long to be stated in detail, besides being too technical for a magazine article; a few extracts must suffice.
Referring to the description of the first grant they observe:
The starting point is indefinite . . it is allowed, however, that "his house meant James Simonds' house at Portland Point. . . From that point of upland, opposite to Mr. Simonds' house, the line was to run east until it meets with a little cove, or (not and) river—and thence bounded by said cove till it comes to Red Head on the east side of the cove. To accomplish this the Surveyor had only to run east two or three rods, and when he came to the cove, round its shores until he came to the Mill Pond, or to York Point Hill, there being not only a Red Head on the east side of the said cove but a chain of them.
The words of the Grant strictly give this reading, and the "little cove" with the Red Head on the east side of the cove are at once found, and being found and the line run to the Kennebecasis, the full quantity of land stated in the Grant, with full allowance for roads and bad lands will be found within the line. . .
By our reading of the Grant, the gentlemen have fully their quantity of Land. No arm of the sea is monopolized and shut out from the use of His Majesty's subjects. No peninsula is crossed, as none is mentioned in the Grant. . . The Red Head is found to be actually in a little cove, in place of being a great projection on the Bay of Fundy where there is no river.
Commenting on the words of the second grant Donaldson and Ansley observe: