Reply to the Moneyless Patient.

SIR,-When you see a fellow-creature in distress relieve him as far as your abilities will allow; and in so doing you will discharge the debt you

Owe to

Otonabee,

1830.

JOHN GILCHRIST.

In 1832, a school was opened in Keene by Mr. Thomas Dennehy, and continued by him for several years. In 1833, the official returns place the attendance at this school at 20 children; and in that taught by Mr. William Coulter, in the section now known as no. 5, at 21. In 1835, neither the schools nor the attendance appears to have greatly increased; as by the returns made, Mr. Dennehy's school at Keene had an attendance of 24, and Mr. William Donaghy's 23.

Grants were made by the Legislature from time to time for the improvement of the roads; and from 1830 to 1840 such items as the following occur frequently in the Appendix to the Journals of the House :-On the road from Rice Lake to Peterborough, £80; on the road from Keene towards Asphodel, £25; on ditto towards Crook's rapids, £50; on boundary between Otonabee and Douro, £50. The sums thus granted were laid out under the superintendence of commissioners named in the Act, the most prominent among whom were Captain Rubidge, William Whitlaw, Thomas Carr, James Hope, Esquires, and others. But besides these occasional grants, a very large amount of work was voluntarily performed gratis, by the residents, in order to improve their roads.

The first who ministered to the spiritual wants of the people in this township was the Rev. Samuel Armour, Episcopal clergyman of Peterborough. It was his custom to hold service once a month at the house of Mr. John Nelson, Sr. The Wesleyan Methodists came next, and among the earliest of these, was the Rev. Mr. Evans, missionary to the Rice Lake Indians, and the Rev. Daniel McMullen, of the Cobourg circuit. These gentlemen or their co-laborers, preached once a month at the houses of Mr. John Fife, Jr., and subsequently at those of Mr. John Stewart and Mr. George Howson. The first Presbyterian minister who visited Otonabee was the Rev. Archibald Colquhoun, about the year 1834. He resided about five years among his parishioners there, and then, a difference arising between him and his hearers, he removed to Dummer. The Rev. Mr. Wallace succeeded him; but his health was infirm, and on his retirement, the Presbyterian body was supplied for some years by missionaries, until

the induction of the Rev. Mr. Andrews, who still resides at Keene. The present Methodist and Presbyterian churches, at Keene, were the first erected in the township, many years ago, but the precise date we have been unable to ascertain.

Since the erection of mills at Keene and Peterborough, in 1825-6, and the influx of population which then took place, the substantial progress of this township has been marked, and almost uninterrupted. It is not within the scope of the present work to enter largely into the details of the census, or of the general statistics of the townships, as these have been made public from time to time, and are easy of access. The following summary, compiled from official returns, will, however, be interesting, as shewing the gratifying progress and development made by this township during less than a single generation:

It must be borne in mind that the estimated valuation in the above table, is that adopted by assessment for the purpose of levying rates, and is much below the full actual value of the lands in question.

The county rate alone, for the year 1866, is $3207,-a figure in marked contrast to even the entire taxation of former years.

In 1853-4, the Cobourg and Peterborough railway was completed, and passed through the heart of this fine township, which was furnished with station accommodation. By private enterprise, chiefly, a line of telegraph wire was, at the same time, erected from the station to the village of Keene, a distance of about four miles; and an impetus was given to the growth of that village, which, unhappily, has not been sustained; although it is still the centre for the transaction of a large amount of local business.

Since 1860, the railroad, with its huge embankments, its rusting irons, and empty and deserted station grounds, remain, silent monuments of the mutability of human hopes; and from the repose of their solitude, unbroken now by the roar of wheels, or the rush of the iron steed, they serve to remind us, that great natural obstructions, do, sometimes, for a time at least, bid defiance to the genius and the power of man.

That this solitude may yet be broken, and this fine road resume its former usefulness, is still ardently desired, and by many believed to be among the probabilities of the future.

Notwithstanding the present disadvantage from the closing of this road, -the proximity of the Town of Peterborough on one hand, and the facilities for steam communication on Rice Lake, during the summer season, on the other, place Otonabee in a position leaving little to be desired in the way of speedy transit, and give advantages to it, of which any township might well feel proud, and before which those of few would be preferred.

The last census (in 1861) showed the population of Otonabee to be made up of the following nationalties:-Ireland 759, England 289, Scotland 412, United States 37, Upper Canada 2684, Lower Canada 30, other countries 10.

By the same official returns, the adherents of the several churches were as follows:-Church of England 669, Roman Catholic 1232, Wesleyan Methodist 922, Episcopal Methodist 6, Bible Christian 80, Free Church 1105, Church of Scotland 122, Baptists 7, other Methodists 30, other churches 48,

The total population was then set down at 4221, of which 2230 were males and 1991 females. During 1860, there were 40 deaths, 116 births, and 862 children attending school.

Wardens, Otonabee has had the honor of contributing two Wardens to the County Council, who have very worthily presided over the deliberations of that body. These gentlemen are William Lang and Evans Ingram, Esquires, the former of whom held that important position in 1860, and the latter in 1866, with credit to themselves and advantage to the county.

LOCAL SUPERINTENDENTS FOR OTONABEE.

The first Local Superintendent of Schools for Otonabee was James Anderson, Esq., who was appointed to that office in 1844. He was succeeded by Adam Stark, Esq., in the following year. After the office of County Superintendent had been dispensed with, the Rev. E. Roberts was appointed Local Superintendent of Schools for this township in 1852, and continued so to act until 1855, in which year the Rev. Francis Andrews, of Keene, received the appointment, and retained the office until 1866, when the Rev. David Cantlon, of Peterborough, was appointed Local Superintendent for this township.

The village of Keene, for some years, has had an excellent school, and throughout the township generally the work of education is successfully progressing.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE TOWNSHIP OF DOURO.

The first settlers in Douro arrived in the autumn of 1822,-a date prior to the survey of the township, which was made in the following year. The enterprising men who, with their families, thus dared the perils of the bush, were the Hon. Thomas Alexander Stewart, M. L. C., and Robert Reid, Esq., both of whom not only triumphed over the difficulties of the situation, but in after years found their toils rewarded by wealth and affluence. Both were created Justices of the Peace, and filled many other important offices of trust and emolument in the settlement and amid the community they were the first to found. Indeed so high was the estimation in which Mr. Stewart was held, both for his personal qualities and the services he had rendered by example and influence, in furthering the interests of the country, by the promotion of actual settlement, that in the