In
the evening there was a dinner given by Captain Mowat on
board the _Sophie_; and the next evening there was another
dinner at the house of Justice Robertson, followed by a
ball given by the citizens, which was 'conducted with
the greatest festivity and decorum,' and 'did not break
up till five the next morning.' Parr was delighted with
Shelburne, and wrote to Sir Guy Carleton, 'From every
appearance I have not a doubt but that it will in a short
time become the most flourishing Town for trade of any
in this part of the world, and the country will for
agriculture.'
For a few years it looked as though Shelburne was not
going to belie these hopes. The autumn of 1783 brought
a considerable increase to its population; and in 1784
it seems to have numbered no less than ten thousand souls,
including the suburb of Burchtown, in which most of the
negro refugees in New York had been settled. It became
a place of business and fashion. There was for a time an
extensive trade in fish and lumber with Great Britain
and the West Indies. Ship-yards were built, from which
was launched the first ship built in Nova Scotia after
the British occupation. Shops, taverns, churches,
coffee-houses, sprang up. At one time no less than three
newspapers were published in the town. The military were
stationed there, and on summer evenings the military band
played on the promenade near the bridge.
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