HASZARD'S GAZETTE. MARCH 30.

Your Petitioners also beg to auto that those of the Tenantry on the said Estate who have long leases, and who have been longer in session of them, are in squall unfavourable cirosmahassa, as those ' , es aoeounl alzonunt of arreavp; is eizlpiqunfl of

a hr ngdi me soon- inulatin , fiysalso having commenced to clear the land under the axis unfavorable circum-

s ,-as those first mentioned: And, there- tzras aha pray 0:): h. tII;ciO‘l:I;‘ of their ar- rnr-H rshdioa prescn ii .

Your Petitioners further wish to make _known (through your Honorable House) Pro- prietor, that, being situated in an intensely cold climate, and all the crpps they can raissuu ir i.:i‘provements, not being more, in man pases,

‘ . Ir whorls sulctearfiir sesblnlngthe r muti- liss durrpg the long winter :, that often, since

. the failure of the ‘cops, and in re of scarcity, as of late, mapio of the Tenantry have to sur- mount greatd ulties in procuring seed—cfteu

a the blue

depending upon leglslafive aid during the Sum- p

iner. Hence their inability to flilfil their liabilities to their Proprietor. and their great necessit lmving their arrears of‘ rent cancelled and nt yearl rent , which would secure mgllonoi-a le Proprietor their cheerful efiirui in future to fulfil such new engagements as may

to em.

four Petitioners. therefore, humbl hope and earnestly pray that ur Honorable ones will be leased to lake eir very embarra _aud depressed condition into or serious consider- ation, their grievances be g such as call loudly for legislative interference; and through_ Honorable House, the hope their Proprietor, the hrl of Selkirk wil be informed of such ex- isting grievances aforssaid,—that such mea- sures may be adopted as shall_lessen the evils complained of : And your Petitioners, as in du- und, will ever pray.

Here follow‘ the Si aturcs, as Mr. Davin shted, of 260 Leaseho ders.

Hr. Davin. The Petition which had just been read was signed b 260 leascholders, of whose circumsmnces of di culty and distress, it contained s shtemcnt, by no means exa ra-

' ted, but which, on the contrary—froin his own rsonal knowledge of the circumstances of the stitioners gencrally—he could say was very much short of the reali These persons had emigrated to this country under a most mista- ken idea of its climate, and of its actual state and condition, both as respected its natural ca- pabilities and its actual improvement. 'l‘hat these had been unfiiirly represented to them, by interested parties, befiire ey left the old coun- try, he would not say; but it was an undeniable fact that they had been influenced to e i te to this Isldnd. by the belief, however induced, that its climate, its resources, its condition. the facilities for the prosecution of agricultural is- ur, ts commerce, and its markets, would af- ford them op rtunitieste improve their circum- stances, mm: more desirable than any they had experienced, or could hope to experience in the Ol Country. Their pecuniary means, as was stated in the Petition, and as hon. members might well su pose their state an condition in the Old Country. and after payment of their passage-money, were vs limited indeed; and, on their arrival here, even althoggh their eyes had been suddenly opened to e real state of things. as they re- spected the tenantry of the country in general, and the had been enabled to foresee the diflcul- ties andydistreu, in which their becoming too- ants on the toms ofiered them would inevimbly involve them, the knowledge of these things would have some too late for their benefit. n their pecuniary circumslauoes—circumstances very little above those of actual destitution—the step which they had taken was irretrievable: the were here—here obliged to remain; and, w‘ a view to their future subsistence, they had no course left but to accept of lands, on whatever terms they could be obtained. The tsrias on which they obtained lands were such as those conhined in the copylof a Lease which accompanied the Petitiui. that Lease, the term is 21 years, the quantity of land leased is 85! acres, and the Rents reserv , ’lloo Pmusds er annum for the first three years, and live ounds Fourteen shillin and four peace for the residue of the term—l years--the tenant being bound, at the same time, to extend his improve- ments, every year, at least so far as the clear- ing. cultivating. and fencing of Two Acres of land; and, lastly, the lease contains a cove- nant and agreement with the Tenant, to the ef- fect that he, his heirs and assigns shall have the privilege of purclnsing the said tract of land, at an time durin the continuance of the 'gh -five ounds and fifteen shil- current money of Prince Ed- nd. Many of the tenants in this Colo- those whose cruel bondage was set forth in the Petition which he had just present- ed, had, he was too well aware, t, very t reason to complain of the bur of their lgeiiou obliptions, rm, to the credit of the island Proprietors in to

O ‘W

E

their tenaiitry conditions so oppressive as those contain in t Lease. As the brtsnsts individuals who ted leaies on suchoterms, a ties of r i orance of tb realstats of the Ouloay,of the e genes of

'r circumstance, and of die impossl ility of fieir doing any tflng also. under such circum- stances, was quite sulleint to show and ex- lain, to honorable members, how these mista- haa and deceived iaen hd

tsr into ts and en tsrmaofwgsli--under is

ll!-

2 ii:

in a consideration of

then oppressed them, and the heart-sickenig pect before them. They had been uiiable to pay their renta—tlie fruits of_ their toil had scarcely been sufiicient for their bare subsist- ..op—tlisir sons who had grown up, ssein no pectofsuoceedin to the houie-steeds of t ieir mere, or of their 'ng, thereon benefited at an future period. either by the labors of their falters, or that of their own hands, is search of remunerative employments, to the United &tes, or elsewhere-and, in their dys- cliniugj years and strength, they were ,lclt-. gloomi y and hopelessly to drug out a miserable existence, under t e o preserve sense of heavy obligations which they not the most distant psctcf ever bein able to discharge; and H‘r:l.Il which they ha not even the ability to remove themselves. Still however, they were patient, and willing to do_ their utmost_; _and, could their lsindlord be induced to anti to the weight of their burdens, and reasonably to modify the terms of their s, they would, rostra as the were, take fresh coprage, and cheerfully en eavour to meet all his fair demands in future. He (the hon. member) was well aware that the House possessed no yvcr authoritatively to deal with the comp suits of the Petitioners, and that no legislative action could relieve them from the pressure of their ievous obligations; still that consideration Erad not, for a moment, disposed him to decline bringing the distrsssin circumstances of the Petitioners before the ouse ; for, although he knew them to be powerless to redress the griev- ances cnmplained of. by direct interposition be- tween the Petitioners and their Iandlord, he

= 5‘

[1] entertained a stron hope that a declaration of

condemnatory opin on, on their part, concern- ing the ini ition, upon tenants,of obligations so 0 press ve and unjust, as those which had just ii exposed to them, could not fail to have some saluhry ififiuence, and might indirectly, operate for the benefit of those who, whol unable, by any exertions of their own, to extri- ca niselves from the dilliculties which op-

essed and bound them, had ap led to them gr syienpathy and assistance. he hon. meni- ber t n concluded by moving that the Resolu- tion he referred to a select Committee to report thereon to the House.

Mr. Wioii-nus. The condition of the Peri- tioneru was undoubtedly one which could not fail to awaken the kindly and compassionate sympa- thies ofthst House. It was one which loudly, in- deed, calldd for redress; yet he was obliged to confess, Ihst he knew of no measure or means, b the adoption of which the House would have it in their power to afford direct relief to the Peiilioners ss respect! to the grievances of which they com- pJl‘a.ined. Most, if all of the Tenants Iociiied on

use’s Road, (by which name scerisin portion of one ofthe estates of the Earl of Selkirk in this lslsnd, was known.) had. he believed, no longer It tenure than twenty or twenty-one years; and. of that, about twelve years were. in most cases. expi- red. He had a pretty intimate knowledge of the condition and circumstances of most o those settlers ; and he was satisfied ihat, generally speak- iag. they had paid little or no rent : ‘he fact, in- deed, was that they could not pay it. They had been given possession of their lands—wilderness lauds. it was to be remembered-—-on terms so dis- advantageous, and when their small pecuniary means had been almost wholly exhausted. that it was not so much to be wondered at that they had paid little or no rent, as it was that they had been able (so beset with dilficullies of every kind) to earn even the scanty subsistence which had been the only rscoinpence of their industry and parse- verance. And whatwas the prospect which. after twelve years of indusiry, toil, and sullcring, lay before them! Not that they would be allowed to hold and enjoy as their own, the improvements which, in spite of almoslunconquersble difiiculties, they had made: but that, by the iron hand of the law. at the will of the Proprietor or his Agent,

they would be driven forth, from the houses they had built, and the lands which they had cleared and improved-not for their own future comfort. but lhe proprielor’s prospective benelit—a set of houseless, pennyless. exhausted, and enfeebled men, wholly unable to rscommsnce their war with the forest. and with no he for s morsel of bread, beyond the individual charity of their fellow-men. Such calamity ought nor. to overtake honest and industrious men; and there was undoubtedly some- thing very far wrong in that state of things, out of which misery so undeserved could naturally srrise. How the Legislature could rem y it however. he was truly sorry to say he did not

n so concerned had he been for the situation and dificuliiss in which those poor men were pla- ced. that, at different times, he had taken opportu- aities of calling the attention of the Agent, Mr. Douse, toil, in the hope that he would be induced to make some endeavours, on his part, for the al- levialiori of their grievances. To all his (Mr. W's) representations concerning those unfortunate men. it was due to Mr. Douse to state that he had replied is a very kindly spirit. He said that he was willing to take aymeiit of rent from them in any shape they coo d offer it to him. in juniper knees, or whatsoever else they could most easily procure, and he would. for every thing they ofi‘er- ed, allow them ibe highest price; but iliai. it may did not come forward and iiiske reasonable pay- ments of some kind. he would be obliged to have recourse to harsh mesrures.

Ia. Davias_ross again, and said—lt was due to Mr. Douse tootsie that there existed rsiuch good feeling between him and the tenants generally, on ihe estsies under his management, and that they did not look upon him as a harsh and rigorous Agent. with respect to each ofilie isnaniry ofibe li‘.srl of Selkirk. -h. trul deplorable circumstances of whom were then be are that House. he would take Eve to say that. indepsadenil of the consi-

the devotion of tl_ios_e circumstances of a most hopeless

genes, which all must admit enti- most kindly sympathies of com- , they had, he thought, elairns of pe- eulias wslg I sad force upon the favorable esosideveiioa ofiheivasble landlord. lie and brothers of any of these mes had shed their blood aodlsid down their lives, as Highland sol- diers, on the leld of battle, for the preservation of the rights and properties of the English Aristocra- ;ssd, sorely even if tlll diependng with the rvsassol ilih law of dolsg eats others as we would he done by, esuld ever he ssesessfully de- fenses. it soiild not lie by a British Peer, wiih respect to men, whose fathers and brothers had served sad order. an expense of their blood and lives. How sosld he. how easld any man, to whose hosois gratitude mid tisisssliy were not strangers

hear to contemplate the soadiiiss ofah slavery sad misery. to watch ihasossssd ofsoias ho snhshvsvssrssd-ssifslihfsld of

the Crown, ihebsunreensy, lsdepsabiiee of

. were wilesrsess. without as fault of their own he sold lsdrvidssl, from w

he in meat ratsfsl asdgsseross tins jssilse. humanity. sad grllltwde was sei- vsgsdeyssehessdssr; sad the essdliles slmeii

qr hasdesd enslaved, is a free ssuntry, was, if ’ ls, worse than that of positive and ssksow- . gsd"sblIy'lfl. to was ties ltvalght he

Ibwsbllfillri or cm ‘W! ‘Iii bysvwlo

um thus. mu, however oiherwyse opprelletl. were not forced to remain in the grievous Clfllllln‘ siiiuces in which they had uiilorluiiiiiely boo.-ii placed ; and iliiii they were at perfscl liberty l0'll0 elsewhere, and try to beuer their ciiruliiiou. this remark, whether it might be thougbilessly or uiifeelingly made, his reply would be that It will I (also sasumption: ‘l'liese men, whose iiiosl. willing, iillliough feeble. advocate he was, were, by their poverty. inusielfeciually bound down and clisiiied to their iiiisershlc condition. By no ellorls ol Ilierr own. could they disengage or smancipuie them- selves; and, bssiiles, their uiily hopes of prolong- ing a wretched existence depended upon their re- muiiiiiig where they were. They were, however wholly at the mercy of their Landlord. or that of his Agent; and. so precarious were their tenure, and dependence upon it as a means for prucuringa scanty and wretched subsisuuice, that they might be turned out of their houses. and ejected from their l'arnis.alaliiiusl amomeul.'s warning. Should proceedings so rigorous and cruel be employed against them, hr was of opinion, however. that their adoption would provoke resistance: they would norbe tamelysiibniilted to. But should they bedesll fairly with, there was not, he believed.one among them who would not willingly do his very uimcst lo comply with ilielerms ofa new and equitable agreement. To be secured in |llCll' improvements, they would, he believed, consent to pay as high a rent as they could possibly afford ; and oneshi ling currency. per acre. per annum. would not, he thought, he objected to by any ofthem. Altliouuh the House certainly could not mitigate the griev- ances oftlie Peiiiioners by legislative enactments; yet he thought, its interference, in some way, was positively demanded ; and that such a course might be adopted as would result in some measure of relief to men who, not knowing in what other quarter to look for aid. had, under the dire pres- sure of their bondage, applied to them for protec-

ea -

on. Holy. Ms. WAIB('R10N. The manner in which

wilderness lands had been loosed to the Potion- crs, and the terms und conditions imposed upon them, by their leases, were not simply uii air and unreasonable; the were sittvely unjust, oppressive,and cruel. Flint settlers in this 00- lony, were so dishoncstly dealt with, b any Pro rietors, or their Agents, he did not now unti lately. lie was certainly very well aware that leases were frequently granted, for such short periods as twenty-one ears, in the Old Country; but there, where urine at the com- mencement of such losses. were in a bi h state of improvement,and where the dwelling- ouses, burns, stables, &c. were all in complete repair, there was no greater hardship or injustice, con- sequent to tenants, upon such a leasing, than to an individual who, for a very short term, should lease a house and garden in thorough ir. The ouse, however, was widely difierent with respect to tho Iciisin oflunds in a wilder- ness state, the value ofw ich, as farms, could arise onl from an expenditure of labour and capital, in the clearing, in the first instance, and then, subsequent] , in the cultivation of the soil. Nothin cou d be said in defence or in cxtenuation 0 such injustice as that com- plained of by the Petitioners. The taking ad- vanta of a man’s ignorance and necessities, to bind im in cruel and hopeless bondage, for the best years of his life, at the expiration of which to take possession of his iin rovemcnts, and to cast him forth upon the wor d, destitute and helpless, was a species of kidnapping of the most detestable character. It was well in-

deed that so un'ust and cruel a s stem had

been brought un er the notice of the ouse. It

most impcratively demanded their most serious

consideration; and d mi ht result from it,

although it should e icit not iin , within their

own body, beyond their decide reprobation.

Ms. Yno. lie had,in a friendl way,rcnionstra- ted with Mr. Douse on the su ject of the tcrins

‘I 5

reuetsd his interests and those of his rsncs

and conditions of the ws which were com- plained of b the Pctitoners; with the view of proving to im that it would be quite impos- sible for the tenants to fulfil the obligations to which they were, thereby, bound: but Mr. Douse assured him, that he ha had no choice in the matter ; that he had inerel acted in con- formit with his instructions; on tliat,howevcr rd t e conditions of the s might be, it had not been in his povier to nt any of a less objectionable character. or his (Mr. Yeo’s) own part, he thought it disgraceful, both to a Pro rietor and an Agent to grant such Leases. here was, liowever,scarcel Proprietor in the Island, he believed——iu ecd he hoped there was not one, who, when petition- ed by 'n tenants, in times of scarcity, of unusual di culties, or after failure or destruc- tion of crops, would not willingl make an ahasement of their otherwise just demands for rent; but, with respect to e Petitioners who, it was stated, had, from the first, payed little or no rent, it was difiicult to see how the could, with any propriety, petition their land ord for indul nce or remission of his claims. The Petitioners were, no doubt, in a very pitiable condition; but he could not help thinliin that they themselves had been very much to for it. They voluntarily took upon themselves obligations of which, if they were at all capable of refiection,as e so were, they must have known they could never acquit them- selves. The circumstances of these men ought to shew the Government the futility of their scheme for convertin leaseholders into firec- holdcrs, as it was cm died in the I4nd-Pnr- chase Bill. If the tenants of the Earl of Sel- kirk who had mken Leases of’ wilderness lands for 21 cars, with liberty‘: purchase, at any time w thin that term, not been able pg even their rents; how, he would like to ow, cou d the Government expect that men, purchasing such lands, and sgrsein to pay for them, in a similar way, under that ll, would be able to do so! On Lot 81 some individuals had entered into agreements to p i derness lands in a similar way. They did so

8

fathers in a to of the best and most earnest advice be

con it give them ; and the consequence was that they had not been able to pay any portion of the purchase moneys, or even e rents.

Hon. Mr. Wassuaroir. The utter inslillty of iaea—lisving no oihsr resources on which to rely, than those of their own iasaual labour-to such conditions, wss.sssily sososnled for. In their laudable desire to become frssholdovs. they overrated their own powers of sxeniiin end ends- At first, actuated by the meat prsiasworihy motives. and or ted b the most lively hopes. they commenced the a node task ofelsaring the

§

forest; bar when. flailing llllt the very iiinosi l

they could efi'ecI, by the most unrsmiiilsg It excessive toil, would set enable them is support themselves sad pay even the resist’ the land, or interest of. the purchase Ilene , sssisg ihsiaselves. as it wess,“aloigeibsr . and

I Mslrd. W I esmplsis y esilsgai i y as rea- snd as-hosrbd and

dsavesrs, hussie. is fast, hrd spiritlsssinss. He know well how in wasfersiasiitopsyreatfessaewfa erases land, from its esmmsseemest by Iris fruits sfbis labour thereon; and his of leasing wilderness lauds wss,is Isl, four years free. fess sure at four pause. or years at 'liipsses, -the residesslatermofflw

It ..g ‘M. Iflffl, mode

‘I years at ess shilling currency, per auaeia, per

- whatever, whic

acre. Such terms give a man due sucoursgeineui, iiiiil iillonleil him a renuniilile and cheering pros-

ci of success. When rent, for such farms, was demanded lruiii the first, inuii soon lumame broken- lisaried sud spiutlesu, and took the first uppurIuni~ Iy to abandon their hopeless underislriogs.

Mr. MACAULAV. Culariiiiy. toil, and sufiring, were coiumon to the greater portion of the human race. in every, clirne and country ; and their fate was to contend with dillicullinii sud privalions on every side. This fact, however, whilst, on the one hand, from the sons of toll, it demanded uncessing perseveriiiica and indomitable courage ; on the other. as forcibly demanded. fvoni the possessors of wealth. a generous syinpatliy for the siilferiugs and endurance of those from whose labours their allluence and case were derived ; and in no relation. subsisting between lhe properried and the labour- ing classes. was the propriety and duty of this generous sympathy more obvious, than in that which ought to unite the landed proprietor and his tenant, and render the former, if only for his own sake, the watchful guardian and promoter of the interest- of the Inner. The duties of that relation. in its most iimisble features. should, every where, and under all circumstances, whether of prosperity or adversity, he acknowledged and act- sd upon, towards honest and iiiduslriuus tensnls.by their landlords; but in no country did circumstan- ces inorc demand their acknowledgement and lul- lilmenl, than in a newly settled country like Prince Edward Island, where all that awaited a settler in the woods. for the first three or fiiiir years at least, even nllhougli he should have no rent to pay, was a life of squalid poverty. His obser- vation had enabled him to estimate. with some correctness, most of lhe difiiculiies which were to be encountered, and a great deal of the misery which was in be endured. by the man who under- took to wage war with the forest. and how out, for himself, a home and ii clearance in the wilder- ness; and deeply did he regret that Proprietors in general were not as well acquainted, as he himself was, with the nature of those dillculties and the amount of that misery: for, ifihsy were, he fell assured, they would instruct their agents to grant much more indulgent terms in their leases for the future, and direct them at once io cancel lliose op- pressive obligations and conditions, now subsisting, which reason and justice alike condemned. Wiih respet to the condition of the Petitioners and their obligations to their landlord, he, for one, would willingly lend is aid in remonslraling with the Proprietor concerning the oppressive. dishearten- ing, and impracticable obligations and conditions. imposed upon them by their Leases; and in earn- estly rccommendlng to him the propriety of can- celling iheir leases, and granting them others on terms more in accordance with the principles of reason and equity. If not out of order, he would move a Resolution to that efieci, which he had just prepared. The hon. member then read as follow '