The majority of the people of Nova Scotia opposed the entrance of the province into Confederation with New Brunswick and Canada in 1867. There was a bitter election campaign that summer. "A Backwoodsman" at St. Mary's wrote to the Morning Chronicle complaining that Dr. Charles Tupper and the Tories had given the road commissions to inexperienced men who were willing to vote for the Tories, and taken away the road contracts from experienced road makers who were anti-confederates. He declared that "by allowing confederation to be saddled on us, over 100,000 pounds of revenue will be taken out of Nova Scotian's pockets annually, and put into the pockets of Canadians; money here will become scarcer, and it will then be harder for us to get clear of these ledgers (book debts to merchants who had made advances on future deliveries of logs); therefore, the sooner we have to suffer the rigour of the law (for debt) the better, to get clear of them, and start anew."(123) Two anti-confederate candidates, J. J. Marshall and John A. Kirk, were elected. There were strong supporters of union with Canada living in Sherbrooke on July 1st, 1867 who did celebrate the first Dominion Day by flying the Union Jack and firing guns.(124) At dawn the people of Sherbrooke were awakened by the ringing of the bell in the Presbyterian church. This might be interpreted as welcoming the birth of the new Dominion, or as the tolling of bells "over the graves of our liberties". Bunting showing mourning for the death of Nova Scotia (which was supposed to have ceased as an independent province under the British Crown and be swallowed up by Canada) had been placed on a building owned by Mr. John McDaniel while the Union Jack flew proudly from the building of Mr. Irish. On the premises of Mr. McDaniel and on the store of John Cumminger, Esquire, J. P. and candidate for the Anti-Confederates, were flags flying upside down as a sign of mourning and yards of black crepe.