Father Allard Requests More Lots
As the plight of families throughout Gloucester County worsened, Father Allard was flooded with requests for lots. For many of them, the land offered their only hope of survival. In December 1933 Allard wrote now Premier L. P. D. Tilley, asking that 50 or 60 more lots be surveyed immediately and stating that hundreds of people in the county were still homeless and, consequently, a burden to friends and families housing them.
The government, however, failed to comply with his request. Allard was convinced that this was primarily due to the politicians' fears of lost forest revenues and their support of the wealthy lumber merchants. Alternatively, the government sent fish and supplies to relieve the suffering. The municipality of Gloucester, reversing an earlier decision, offered direct relief to the most needy. Generally, during winter months, the colonists received direct aid in the form of foodstuffs, which was continued in other years.