History of Prince Edward Island Part 3

The most important act pa.s.sed in the session of 1830 was one "for the relief of His Majesty's Roman catholic subjects." The agitation for the removal of the disabilities under which the Roman catholics suffered in the old country resulted in catholic emanc.i.p.ation; and the British government recommended the adoption of similar measures in the colonies, which recommendation weakened unreasonable opposition to the change. The act now pa.s.sed provided that all statutes which imposed on Roman catholics civil or political disabilities should be repealed, and that all civil and military offices and places of trust or profit should be as open to them as to other portions of the King's subjects.

The agricultural society, which had been for some time in operation in the island, was active in accomplis.h.i.+ng the beneficent purposes for which it was established: it encouraged improved stock by an annual exhibition and premiums, and imported seeds. District societies were formed at Saint Eleanor's and Princetown. The governor took a practical interest in the operations of the society, of which the Honorable George Wright was president; the Honorable T. H. Haviland, vice-president; and Mr. Peter MacGowan, secretary and treasurer.

In August, 1830, intelligence of the death of King George the Fourth, which had occurred on the twenty-sixth of June, reached the island. The reign of His Majesty lasted about ten years and a half; but, including his regency, he was at the head of the government more than nineteen years. He was succeeded by William the Fourth.

The ignorance which in our days prevails in the old country respecting the American colonies is not quite so deplorable as that which existed at the period of the island history at which we have now arrived. It may amuse the reader to learn what the celebrated Cobbett thought at this time of Prince Edward Island, as a home for emigrants, and of the kind of business that was prosecuted there: "From Glasgow," wrote Cobbett, "the sensible Scots are pouring out amain. Those that are poor, and cannot pay their pa.s.sage, or can rake together only a trifle, are going to a rascally heap of sand, rock and swamp, called Prince Edward Island, in the horrible Gulf of Saint Lawrence; but when the American vessels come over with indian corn and flour and pork and beef and poultry and eggs and b.u.t.ter, and cabbages, and green pease, and asparagus for the soldier, and other tax-eaters that we support upon that lump of worthlessness,-for the lump itself bears nothing but potatoes,-when these vessels return, the sensible Scots will go back in them for a dollar a head, and not a man of them will be left but bed-ridden persons." If such are the doctrines which were taught to the people of Britain by men like Cobbett, what must have been the depth of ignorance respecting the North American colonies which pervaded the ma.s.ses? The very articles which the islanders were prepared to export to the states, if an inlet for them were permitted, were the articles which the foolish grammarian imagined they were importing. He little thought that in the capital of this island of "rock" a cargo of whinstones would be very acceptable, and find ready sale.

In September, 1831, Colonel Ready was relieved from the government of the island by the arrival of Lieutenant-Colonel A. W. Young. The departure of Colonel Ready was deeply regretted by the people. His administration was distinguished by activity, energy, and usefulness, const.i.tuting a striking contrast to that of his predecessor. During his retention of office there was a large increase of the population. From the year 1829 to 1831, eighteen hundred and forty-four emigrants had arrived, and new life was infused into the commerce and agriculture of the island.

In January, 1832, Governor Young met the house of a.s.sembly for the first time. There was a dread of cholera, now raging in Europe, which led to the pa.s.sing of a measure in the a.s.sembly "to prevent the spread of infectious diseases." A day of fasting was appointed in the month of May, and, happily, the island was not visited by a pestilence which, in other places, laid tens of thousands in the grave. In this year an act was also pa.s.sed to provide for the conveyance of the mails between Charlottetown and Pictou, by a steam vessel, a grant of three hundred pounds yearly having been voted for that purpose. The service was accordingly performed by the Steamer _Pocahontas_, which ran twice a week to Pictou,-the cabin pa.s.sage-money being twelve s.h.i.+llings currency.

In the following year the census was taken, from which it appeared that the population of the island, which, in 1827, had been twenty-three thousand, had increased to thirty-two thousand. An act was also pa.s.sed in this year by which the duration of the a.s.sembly was reduced from the period of seven to that of four years.

In May, 1834, Governor Young went to England, whence he returned in September, as Sir Aretas W. Young. In June of the same year died John Stewart, of Mount Stewart, at the age of seventy-six. He came to the Island in 1778. He was speaker of the house of a.s.sembly for a number of years, and was one of the most useful public men of his day. We have read much of his private and official correspondence, which has led us to form a high opinion of his integrity, industry, and zeal. His book on the island, published in 1806, is a reliable work, so far as facts are concerned, though not written with the grace and freedom which distinguished the letters of his contemporary, John Stuart, the London agent of the island.

A general election took place towards the close of 1834, and the new house met in January, 1835. A dispute arose between the a.s.sembly and the council, respecting the revenue bills, which led to the necessary supplies not being granted, but after a short interval the governor convoked the a.s.sembly in April, and as the result of a previous informal conference between the disputants, it was arranged that the revenue bill should be separated from the appropriation bill,-as a solution of the difficulty,-and thus the dispute terminated. In consequence of the illness of his excellency, the session of one week's duration was prorogued by a commission, who were desired to express to the a.s.sembly his excellency's pleasure at the satisfactory termination of its labors.

On Tuesday, the first of December, 1835, His Excellency Sir Aretas William Young died at his official residence in Charlottetown. At the age of seventeen he obtained an ensigncy, by purchase, in Podmore's regiment, and a company, by purchase, in the 13th foot, in 1796. He served with the 13th regiment, in Ireland during the rebellion, and was present with that corps, under the command of Sir Charles Colville, in every memorable action fought in Egypt under the gallant Sir Ralph Abercrombie, in 1801, for which he received a medal. He was subsequently employed for several years in Sicily and Gibralter, as aide-de-camp to General the Honorable Henry Edward c.o.x, the commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean. He was promoted, in 1807, to be major in the 97th regiment, then commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir James Lyon, and served with the 4th division, under Lieutenant-General Sir Lowry Cole, in the Peninsular campaigns of 1808, and in subsequent years was engaged in the battles of Vimiera, Talavera and Busaco, and in the first siege of Badajoz. Whenever the division was in movement, the light companies were entrusted to his charge, and during a part of the retreat of the army from the frontiers of Portugal to the lines of Torres Vedras, these companies were embodied under his command as a light battalion.

In an affair with the enemy at Tobral, near Lisbon, his horse was shot dead under him; and it has been remarked by a distinguished general officer that, on every occasion, in every difficulty and in many hours of trial, the example he set, the steps he trod, led the men cheerfully and fearlessly to do their duty. The 97th, owing to its thinned ranks, having been ordered to England, he was promoted, in 1813, to a lieutenant-colonelcy in the 3rd West India Regiment, stationed at Trinidad; and, with five companies of that corps, was sent to join the expedition against Guadaloupe in 1815, and received one of the badges of the Order of Merit, presented by Louis the Eighteenth. On his return to Trinidad, he was selected by Sir James Leith to command the troops in Granada; and, on leaving the regiment in 1815, received a letter, accompanied with a piece of plate, from the officers, expressive of their unfeigned feelings of regard and esteem for the comfort and happiness experienced under his command. On his being ordered back to Trinidad, in 1816, he was voted the thanks of the council and a.s.sembly of Granada, with a sword valued at one hundred guineas. During the absence, in 1820, of Governor Sir Ralph Woodford from Trinidad, he administered the government for four months; and in consideration of the advantage which the community had derived during that period by his being a member of the council, was requested still to continue a member,-to which he acceded, subject to the approval of the commander of the forces, who, in giving his consent, remarked, that in whatever situation Lieut.-colonel Young might be placed, the public service would be benefited. In 1823, in again giving up the government, which he had held for two years,-during a second absence of the same governor,-he was presented with four addresses, namely, one from the council, one from the Board of Cabildo,-with a vote of one hundred and fifty guineas to purchase a sword, and with the request that he would sit for his portrait, to be placed in their hall as a token of their sense of the efficient manner in which he had presided over that board, and to record their opinion of the moderation, steadiness, and ability which, on all occasions, marked his administration; one from the inhabitants, with a piece of plate, to record their grat.i.tude for the integrity and impartiality of his government; and one from the colored inhabitants, acknowledging their deep sense of the prudence, moderation, and humanity which distinguished his administration of the government.

On the final disbandment of the 3d West India Regiment, in the beginning of 1825, he was waited on by a deputation of the inhabitants of Trinidad, with a farewell address, and with the request of his acceptance of a piece of plate of the value of two hundred and fifty sovereigns. He was appointed in 1826 to the newly-created office of His Majesty's Protector of Slaves in the colony of Demerara,-the arduous duties of which he conscientiously performed for five years. He retired from the army, by the sale of his commission, in May, 1826, and was allowed by His Majesty, on the recommendation of the commander-in-chief, to retain the local rank of lieutenant-colonel in the West Indies, in consideration of the value of his services, and of the zeal, intelligence, and gallantry with which he had discharged every duty. He was gazetted, as already stated, to be governor of Prince Edward Island, on the twenty-fifth of July, 1851; and in consequence of the favorable opinion entertained by the King of his merits, communicated in a despatch from Lord Stanley, His Majesty conferred on him, on the ninth of July, 1834, the honor of knighthood.

At the period of his death he was in the fifty-eighth year of his age, and had thus terminated an honorable career of forty-one years in the King's service.

CHAPTER VI.

George Wright, Administrator-Court of Escheat refused-Central Academy-Severe Frost in September-Death of William the Fourth-Educational Condition of the Island-Forcible Resistance to Rent-paying-Rebellion in Canada-Able Report of Committee of Legislature on Land Question-The Coronation of Queen Victoria-Mechanics' Inst.i.tute formed-Lord Durham on Land Question-The formation of an Executive, separate from a Legislative Council ordered-Mr. Cooper a delegate to London.

On the death of Governor Young, the Honorable George Wright was sworn in as administrator of the government until the appointment of a new governor. In February, 1836, Colonel Sir John Harvey was appointed governor, and arrived in the island in August, when the usual addresses of welcome were presented. There had been a popular agitation for some time for the establishment of a court of escheat, and despatches were received from the colonial secretary intimating that the prayer of certain pet.i.tions, presented to His Majesty on the subject, could not be granted. As we intend to devote, at a more advanced stage of the narrative, a chapter to the elucidation of the land question, we refrain at present from any lengthened remarks on the subject.

In January of this year the Central Academy was opened. Its first teachers were the Rev. Charles Loyd and Mr. Alexander Brown, formerly teacher of the grammar school. Mr. Loyd, having retired on account of ill health, was succeeded by the Rev. James Waddell, son of the Rev.

John Waddell, of Truro, N. S.

The governor made a tour through the island for the purpose of becoming acquainted with its princ.i.p.al inhabitants, and observing its capabilities and resources. He was received everywhere with that degree of respect to which his position ent.i.tled him; and, in replying to the numerous addresses presented, expressed himself as highly gratified by the hospitality of the people, and the indications of progress manifested.

On the seventh of September, 1837, a frost of unprecedented severity for the season set in, by which the potato crop was greatly injured, and cereals were much damaged. Thus the prospect of a plentiful harvest was blighted in a night throughout the entire island. The loss thus sustained was referred to by the governor on opening the a.s.sembly in the spring following; and he called attention to the expediency of granting pecuniary aid for the purpose of supplying seed-grain and potatoes to such of the sufferers as required them.

In March, 1837, Colonel Sir J. Harvey, after being promoted to the rank of major general, was appointed Governor of New Brunswick, for which province he left towards the close of May. After the departure of the governor, the Honorable George Wright, as senior member of the council, took the oath of office, as administrator of the government until the arrival of Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, who was appointed to succeed Sir John Harvey. The new governor arrived in June.

On the twentieth of June, William the Fourth died. Intelligence of His Majesty's death reached the island towards the close of July. On the twenty-first of July, Queen Victoria was proclaimed in London.

The first official visitor of schools was appointed this year, in the person of Mr. John McNeill, who, in his report for the year, gave the number of schools in the three counties as fifty-one, and the number of scholars as fifteen hundred and thirty-three. In his report, Mr. McNeill gives us an interesting peep at the educational condition of the country at this period, specifying the various causes to which the extreme deficiency of the educational machinery was attributable. In many of the settlements the inhabitants were poor, and having to struggle with numerous difficulties in procuring subsistence for their children, their education was regarded as a matter of secondary importance. Little encouragement was, in most cases, held out to teachers of character and qualification, and the precarious mode in which their salaries were paid operated powerfully as a bar in the way of educational advancement.

Hence it not unfrequently happened, when the necessary literary attainments were wanting, that it was only persons of s.h.i.+pwrecked character, and blasted prospects in life, who had a.s.sumed the important office of schoolmaster. "I must also mention," reported Mr. McNeill, "another practice which is too prevalent in the country, and which, I conceive, is exceedingly injurious to the respectability of the teacher in the eyes of his pupils, and, consequently, hurtful to his usefulness,-that is: receiving his board by going about from house to house; in which case he is regarded, both by parents and children, as little better than a common menial." Mr. McNeill's suggestions, by way of reformation, were judicious and well put. He held the situation of visitor for ten years, and seems to have been well qualified for the post. When he vacated the situation, in 1847, there were one hundred and twenty schools, of all grades, and over five thousand scholars.

The new governor visited all the princ.i.p.al districts of the island, and, as the result of his inquiries and observations, addressed a circular to the proprietors of land, in which he advocated the granting of important concessions to the tenantry, with a view of allaying the agitation for escheat, and removing any just grounds of complaint. The governor stated to the proprietors that it was impossible for any one, unacquainted with the local circ.u.mstances of a new colony, to form a correct estimate of the difficulties and privations which the past settlers on wilderness lands had to encounter. He said it was a long series of years before he could obtain from the soil more than a bare subsistence for himself and his family, notwithstanding the most unwearied perseverance and industry. It ought not, therefore, to be matter for surprise that, although he might be ready and willing to pay a fair equivalent, either in rent or otherwise, for the land occupied, he should feel dismayed at the prospect of being deprived of the hard-earned fruits of the labor of the earliest and best years of his manhood, whether from an acc.u.mulation of heavy arrears of rent, which he was unable to realize from the land, or from the refusal of the proprietor to grant him a tenure of sufficient endurance to ensure to his family the profits of his industry; and this, probably, in the decline of life, with a const.i.tution broken, and health impaired by incessant toil. In these circ.u.mstances it could not be matter for surprise that he should be discontented with his lot, or that he should instil hostile feelings into the minds of his family, and be ready to lend a willing ear to proposals, however fallacious, which held out a hope of relief.

After alluding to the fact, that the high sheriff of King's County had been recently resisted by a considerable body of armed men, while engaged in enforcing an execution on a judgment obtained in the supreme court for rent, and had his horses barbarously mutilated, he recommended, as a remedy for the evil, that land-agents should have a discretionary power to relieve tenants of arrears of rents, in cases where it was impossible they could ever pay them; and that long leases should be granted at the rate customary in the colony, the rent to be payable in the productions of the soil at the market prices. He also recommended that, in cases where long leases were objected to, the tenants should be allowed to purchase the fee simple at twenty years'

purchase, or that payment for their improvements, at a fair valuation, should be ensured on the expiration of their terms.

The governor forwarded a copy of the circular containing these reasonable suggestions to the secretary of state for the colonies. This mode of dealing with the tenantry, it may be here remarked, had already, in numerous instances, been acted upon with the best results, so that the efficiency of the change recommended in securing harmony between landlord and tenant had been most satisfactorily tested.

Towards the close of 1837, a rebellion broke out in Canada. The insurgents mustered in considerable numbers, but without sufficient organization, and their leaders-utterly incompetent and cowardly-were the first to escape after a few shots were fired. The militia of the island offered their services in vindication of the King's authority; but the troops in Canada were quite sufficient to extinguish the rebellion, ere it had attained to any formidable dimensions.

The colonial secretary, Lord Glenelg, transmitted to the governor the copy of a memorial from the proprietors of land, protesting against the royal a.s.sent being given to an act of the legislature of the island for levying an a.s.sessment on all lands in the island, and demanding an opportunity of stating their objections to it, by their counsel, before the judicial committee of the privy council. This doc.u.ment was referred to a joint committee of the legislative council and a.s.sembly, who, in April, 1838, produced an able and elaborate report in justification of the law. The committee, of which T. H. Haviland, R. Hodgson, John Brecken, Joseph Pope, Edward Palmer, and others were members, showed that the local expenditure of the government for the last twelve years had been 107,643, of which 27,506 had been expended on roads and bridges, to the great advantage of the property of the memorialists; 13,556 on public buildings and wharfs; and 66,562 for other local purposes. And of these large sums, the whole amount contributed by the proprietors of the soil had been only 7,413, leaving the balance of 100,000 to be borne by the resident consumers of dutiable articles. The committee fortified their position by extracts from despatches sent by Lords Stanley and Glenelg, and completely justified the imposition of a tax of four s.h.i.+llings currency on wilderness lands. The report, when printed, occupied upwards of five newspaper columns, set in minion type, and bore striking evidence of the industry and ability of its framers.

It appears from a despatch from Lord Durham, then governor general of British North America, which we found at Government House in Charlottetown, and which was not published either at the time or subsequently, that Lord Glenelg forwarded this able report, along with other doc.u.ments bearing on the subject of escheat, in September, 1838, to his lords.h.i.+p, for the purpose of obtaining his special opinion on the subject, for the guidance of the home government. It is scarcely necessary to premise, before giving this important state doc.u.ment, that Lord Durham is considered the highest authority on those colonial subjects of which he treats in his celebrated report,-a doc.u.ment which will stand for successive generations as a lasting monument of his ability as a statesman, and which has been and is now recognized as embodying the most masterly exposition of colonial questions which has ever been published.

"Castle of Saint Lewis, Quebec, 8th October, 1836.

"My Lord,-I have had the honor of receiving your despatch of the fifth October, whereby you desire that I will express to you my judgment on the whole subject of escheat in the Island of Prince Edward. After perusing the voluminous doc.u.ments with your lords.h.i.+p's despatch, I do not feel that it is in my power to add anything to the very full information on the subject which these doc.u.ments comprise. The information before me is now so ample that upon no matter of fact can I entertain a doubt. Nearly the whole island was alienated in one day by the Crown, in very large grants, chiefly to absentees, and upon conditions of settlement which have been wholly disregarded. The extreme improvidence-I might say the reckless profusion-which dictated these grants is obvious: the total neglect of the government as to enforcing the conditions of the grants is not less so. The great bulk of the island is still held by absentees, who hold it as a sort of reversionary interest which requires no present attention, but may become valuable some day or other through the growing want of the inhabitants. But, in the meantime, the inhabitants of the island are subjected to the greatest inconvenience-nay, the most serious injury-from the state of the property in land. The absent proprietors neither improve the land themselves, nor will let others improve it. They retain the land and keep it in a state of wilderness. Your lords.h.i.+p can scarcely conceive the degree of injury inflicted on a new settlement hemmed in by wilderness land, which has been placed out of the control of government, and is entirely neglected by its absent proprietors. This evil pervades British North America, and has been for many years past a subject of universal and bitter complaint. The same evil was felt in many of the states of the American Union, where, however, it has been remedied by taxation of a penal character,-taxation, I mean, in the nature of a fine for the abatement of a nuisance. In Prince Edward Island this evil has attained its maximum. It has been long and loudly complained of, but without any effect. The people, their representative a.s.sembly, the legislative council, and the governor have cordially concurred in devising a remedy for it. All their efforts have proved in vain. Some influence-it cannot be that of equity or reason-has steadily counteracted the measures of the colonial legislature. I cannot imagine it is any other influence than that of the absentee proprietors resident in England; and in saying so I do but express the universal opinion of the colony. The only question, therefore, as it appears to me, is whether that influence shall prevail against the deliberate acts of the colonial legislature and the universal complaints of the suffering colonists. I can have no doubt on the subject. My decided opinion is, that the royal a.s.sent should no longer be withheld from the act of the colonial legislature.

"At the same time, I doubt whether this act will prove a sufficient remedy for the evil in question. It was but natural that the colonial legislature-who have found it impossible as yet to obtain any remedy whatever-should hesitate to propose a sufficient one. Undeterred by any such consideration,-relying on the cordial cooperation of the government and parliament in the work of improving the state of the colonies,-I had intended, before the receipt of your lords.h.i.+p's despatch, and still intend, to suggest a measure which, while it provides a sufficient remedy for the evil suffered by the colonists, shall also prove advantageous to the absent proprietors by rendering their property more valuable. Whether the inhabitants of Prince Edward Island prefer waiting for the now uncertain results of a suggestion of mine, or that the act which they have pa.s.sed should be at once confirmed, I cannot tell; but I venture earnestly to recommend that Her Majesty's government should be guided by their wishes on the subject; and in order to ascertain these, I propose to transmit a copy of the present despatch to Sir Charles FitzRoy, with a request that he will, after consulting with the leading men of the colony, address your lords.h.i.+p on the subject.

"With respect to the terms proposed by the proprietors, I am clearly of opinion that any such arrangement would be wholly inadequate to the end in view.

"I am, &c., "Durham.

"Lord Glenelg."

The reference in the closing paragraph of the despatch is evidently to a memorandum of terms proposed by the proprietors for the sale and settlement of land in the island, and forwarded to Lord Genelg by Mr. G.

R. Young, their talented solicitor and counsel, in January, 1838.

The very decided opinion expressed by Lord Durham led to the confirmation by Her Majesty of the act pa.s.sed in 1837 for levying an a.s.sessment on all lands in the island, which confirmation was effected at a meeting of the privy council, held on the twelfth of December, 1838; but his lords.h.i.+p's despatch was not communicated to the a.s.sembly by the governor. Its publication would have gratified the inhabitants of the island, and mightily strengthened the agitation which had been prosecuted for so many years with so comparatively little success.

Lord Durham, in his report, has repeated many of the arguments contained in the despatch which we have given, and the valuable evidence given by John W. Le Lacheur, Robert Hodgson,-now Sir Robert,-Sir Charles FitzRoy, George Wright, Thomas Haviland, John Lawson, and G. R. Goodman is published as a portion of the appendix to His Lords.h.i.+p's report,-evidence which presents a clear and most reliable account of the land question, and exhibits within a moderate compa.s.s, with startling effect, the evils which had their origin in the reckless disposal of the island to non-resident proprietors, who disregarded the conditions on which it had been granted.

The coronation of Her Majesty the Queen took place on the twenty-eighth of June, and the event was celebrated in Charlottetown in a manner becoming the loyalty of the inhabitants. The prison doors were thrown open and the debtors set free. A plentiful repast was provided for the poorer cla.s.ses, of which they joyfully availed themselves. The city was illuminated in the evening, and large bonfires kindled. At a county meeting, held in the court-house, a congratulatory address to the Queen was adopted, and forwarded to London by the governor.

Towards the close of the year 1838, a Mechanics' Inst.i.tute was established in Charlottetown, mainly through the instrumentality of Mr.

Charles Young,-now the Honorable Judge Young, LL. D. The introductory lecture, which was subsequently published in the _Gazette_, was delivered by that gentleman. The Lieutenant-governor, Lady Mary FitzRoy, the chief justice, and a large number of the leading people of the town were present. A course of lectures was thus inaugurated which for many years furnished entertainment and instruction to those who availed themselves of the privilege of attendance. In Charlottetown, as well as in other towns, there is a good deal of latent talent which might be beneficially elicited in the delivery of lectures during the winter evenings. It not unfrequently happens that lecture-committees apply for lecturers in quarters where more able ones than can be found with themselves do not exist.

"'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view."

In the year 1838, the chief of the Micmac tribe presented a pet.i.tion to the governor, praying for a grant of land to his tribe, which he represented as consisting of five hundred souls. This number seems to have been exaggerated; for the governor, in writing to Lord Glenelg, in reply to an application for information, states that the number of Indians on the island did not exceed two hundred. The governor recommended a grant of Lennox Island-the property of Mr. David Stewart-to the tribe.

Two sessions of the a.s.sembly were held in 1839. Whilst the first was proceeding with the public business, a despatch arrived ordering the governor to form an executive, separate from a legislative council. He immediately prorogued the house, and made the necessary nominations to both the councils. The house again met in March, in order to complete the business which remained unfinished at the recent prorogation. During the short interval which had elapsed since the termination of the late session, intelligence had reached the governor that active measures had been taken by the State of Maine to enforce by arms their alleged claims to the territory in dispute between that state and the province of New Brunswick. The season of the year did not admit of any active a.s.sistance being rendered in the emergency; but the island authorities determined to respond to the feelings and sentiments expressed by the council and a.s.sembly of the neighboring province of Nova Scotia.

W. Cooper was the speaker of the house of a.s.sembly in 1839, and was sent as a delegate to London on the land question. Three propositions were made on the subject, namely, the establishment of a court of escheat; the resumption by the Crown of the rights of the proprietors; and a heavy penal tax on wilderness land. The home government rejected the project of escheat, and did not feel at liberty to recommend the advance of two hundred thousand pounds from the treasury. With respect to the third proposal, Lord John Russell, the colonial secretary, expressed his unwillingness to adopt it at the moment, so soon after the imposition of a tax of the same description, and until it had been clearly proved that no remedy was to be expected from the imposition of that tax, and from the disposition of the proprietors to come to an equitable arrangement with the tenantry. The colonial secretary declined to discuss the question with Mr. Cooper, and made his decision known, through the governor of the island, in a despatch dated the seventeenth of September, 1839, in which he expressed his approval of the terms proposed by the proprietors, through their agent, Mr. Young, recommending them as the basis on which Her Majesty's government desired that the question should be arranged.

CHAPTER VII.

Marriage of the Queen-Education in 1842-Foundation-stone of the Colonial Building laid-The Governor withdraws his patronage from Public Inst.i.tutions-Dispute between the Governor and Mr.

Pope-Election disturbances in Belfast-The Currency Question-Responsible Government discussed-Governor Huntley succeeded by Sir Donald Campbell-Earl Grey's reason for withholding Responsible Government-The death of Sir Donald Campbell-Ambrose Lane, Administrator-Sir A. Bannerman, Governor-Responsible Government introduced-Temperance movement-The loss of the "Fairy Queen"-Dissolution of the a.s.sembly-Governor Bannerman succeeded by Dominick Daly-The Worrell Estate bought by the Government-J. Henry Haszard perishes in the Ice Boat-Census of 1855-A loan wanted-The Imperial Guarantee promised, but not given-Resolutions praying for a Commission on the Land Question-Charles Young, Administrator-Biographical Sketch of Bishop McDonald,-Death of James Peake.