Still the public troubles increased; until it was ordered that horses and cattle should be impounded. Then peace by midnight and safety by day rested over the Island. For it was even resolved "that all dogs of six months old and upward should be considered of sufficient age to pay the tax"; but in what manner they were compelled to offer their own excuse for being remains unsolved. Perhaps no legal quibble was ever raised concerning the wording of the statute.
=Bridges.= Admiral Owen was not only the magistrate for animals, but a builder of bridges, letting out the work "at the rate of $1.12-1/2 per man per day, the day being ten hours of good and conscientious work for man or yoke of oxen."
=Nomination Day.= Very graphic is an account of "Nomination Day," given by Mr. William H. Kirby, in the "Eastport Sentinel" of June 10, 1885. On the results of this day depended honors and duties. "Four members are to be chosen. Among those put in nomination is the Honorable Captain William Fitz-William Owen, of Campobello, representative of the Island and champion of the fisheries.
A poll being demanded, the real contest is postponed to a late day; starting at St. Andrews, and proceeding from parish to parish, gathering the votes of each neighborhood, until at the end of a fortnight Indian Island is reached, and the voters of West Isles and Campobello have their turn. This affords a good opportunity for curious Eastporters to look in upon the time-honored election processes of the British Empire.
The surroundings of the hustings are rude and characteristic. On a platform made by spreading a plank on the top of fish hogsheads the sheriff of the county has established himself, with his clerks, the candidates and their representatives ranged along. As this is Captain Owen's own precinct, special efforts have been made to bring up his vote, which has somewhat lagged in other parishes; some of the free and independent electors, arriving by the numerous boats which line the beach, wear badges with the motto, "Owen Roads and Bridges," and there are signs that open houses are kept somewhere in the neighborhood. With staunch friends, the Captain has bitter opponents. For the purpose of increasing the income from his Island, he had not long before established a system of pasturage which included a small annual sum for geese, and it is said that at St. Andrews the other day a goose was borne aloft in derision of his candidacy.