go. 3.

ﬁnances, in alluding to the Isle of France, re- peatedlycalled it one ofthe West Indianlslands, and commented upon its revenue as being such. Strange as it may appear, not one of the Ho- nourabble and enlightened members present corrected the mistake, and the Isle of France stands on the printed records of he House of )ommons as one of the West Indian islands. Many of our readers are aware that the ﬁrst cause of difference between the formerly British colonies, of the United States of Ame- rica and the mother country was, and always has been, attributed to the contempt and igno- rance the latter showed to the affairs of the then pressing British settlements.

THE BRITISH AMERICAN; , August 18, 1832.

WE have received London papers by Packet via Halifax. up to the 6th ult. furnishing us with intelli- gence only two days late r than our last No. contained: the contents ofwhich, are not ofthat importance as we might have expected, considering the existing state of affairs.

The Londonjournals teem with disﬁst and indigna- tion on the ruffianly attacks by the mob, towards the Duke of Wellington, and the treasonable and rash at- tempt on the person of his Majesty, at Ascot Races, by Collins the Chelsea pensioner.

Itis gratifying’ says the Globe, ‘ to learn that this execrable act of malevolence produced that spontane- ous sensation upon the spot, which must have been gra - tifying to a King who has shown so evident at disposi- tion to live in the hearts of his people.’

The German papers communicate no intelligence, except that the Duke of Reichstadt is dying.

The Bill for Parliamentary Reform in Scotland pass- ed the second reading in the House of Lords.

It is remarkable that this Bill attracts but little no- tice, and is but slightly opposed by the Anti-reformers; yet the change which will be produced by Reform in Scotland will be a complete revolution compared with . that of England. In England the fiction of electors has always been kept up : and it was necessary to do little more than to correct the corruption of the practice; but in Scotland, the representative system itself is to be created.

The Lord Chancellor, in his unanswerable speech last night, said. “ he believed. that in the whole history of the parliamentary constitution of Scotland, there was never, or scarcely ever, anything like the trace of a popular election to be found."

Indeed, to so high a point of perfection is the abuse in boroughs and corporations carried in the north, that to guard against all possible danger, from the interfe- rence of the existing scanty number of voters, these priviledged monopolists have the power of choosing their representatives only at secondhand; their business is to select four delegates, who, in the form or essence ofhoroughmongers, concentrate their monopoly in the person ofthe happy candidate distinguished by their patriotic approbation ! So much for Scotch Boroughs.

ith respect to the representation of counties in Scotland, the art of the few to mystify the many, and to reduce the force of county elections to the lowest possi- ble degree ofabsurdit .has been equally ingenious and not less successful. To this end a system of “ Superi- orities" has been felicitously invented. The effect of this curious contrivance is, that purchasers of these “Superiorities,” who may never have set foot in Scot- land. and without possessing an inch of land in that country, acquire the power of nominating Members for Scotch counties. The real proprietor—the resi- dent—the native born Scot. who bonaﬁde possesses the land, has no vote in the choice of his representative. The proprietor of the ‘- Superiority" supersedes the proprietor of the soil. The man who has the greatest right, and who is most interested in the matter, is lite. rally blotted from the political map.

But a change has come at last.-—And now that the beneficial improvement which it is the object of the Scotch Rform Bill to establish. is about to take lace, the wonder is how the deep-feeling inhabitants 0 Scot- land have been so long patient under this insulting de- privation of their constitutional rights. Let us hope shalt]. as they have won them hardly, they will use them '8 O

THE BRITISH AMERICAN.

COMMUNlt‘ATlON.

To the Editor of the British American . Sir,

As the question of Escheat, has been, and still continues, a subject ofgeneral opinion and discussion, not only with persons possessing pr perty and inﬂuence upon this Island, but al 0 witl. men, moving in the more humble sphere of life, and to whom as regards the lat- ter, the result may be of the most vital impor- tance, I feel desirous of giving the subject an impartial, but at the same time a fair and can- did examination; and I trust the remarks which I may make thereon, will be considered as founded on just and equitable terms ; and as itis my intention not only to pursue this enqui- ry, but also various other subjects, which as they regard the general welfare,and lhope will ultimately lead to the prosperity of this Island. This article will be continued, until the whole subject matter, has been fully investigated. It may be in the recollection of many of the advocates for the Escheat Bill, that in the month of September, 1818, during the time of Governor Smith, a Proclamation was issued, which, after referring to his Excellenc ’s Pro- clamation of the ﬁrst day of Apri 1816, relative to a new scale of quit-rents, his Excellency stated that his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, had been bountifully and graciously pleased to alter the rate of quit-rents, heretofore payable by the landed proprietors, to 23. per 100 acres, as related to Townships, but in giving so great an advantage to the proprietors, felt it just at the same time to express his intention, of rigidly enforcing the future payment of such quit-rent. It was the further pleasure of his Royal Highness, that an additional indulgence should be grant- ed, to such proprietors as should have, previous to the year 1816, more or less regularly paid the quit-rent on their respective grants. But it was clearly to be understood, that no altera- tion was to take place, relative to the tenure of town and pasture lots, in the respective towns and royalties, those were to continue un- der the terms of their original grants, with the exception of remitting the arrears of quit- rent. And it was the further pleasure of his Royal Highness, that the proprietors of town- ship lands, should be released from the obliga- tions imposed by their original grants, of settling them with Foreign Protestants, pro- vided that withinlo years f'romDecember,1816., the lands should have been settled with other persons, in the proportions speciﬁed in their original grants. Now on reference to the above proclamation it will be seen, that certain indulgencies have been granted from time to time, and that as far as regards town and pas- ture lots, thdse will not at all be subject or liable to forfeiture, provided the grantees have duly and regularly paid their quit-rents. But with reference to the township lands,those pro- prietors will stand on a very different footing, for should it appear, that within the period of ten years, that is to say, from the month of December 1816, or even taking it up to the present time, those lands have not been settled with other persons, in the proportions speciﬁed in their original grants, those lands must and will be subject to Escheat. Having now ﬁxed adate, from which a Court of Escheat might legally act, the next consideration is, how far the enforcement of such a law, on ht in justice to be carried into execution. 5 am by no means an advocate for general Escheat, but would rather be considered as meeting the question mid-way, because a general Escheat (although strongly advocated b many) would tend to create confusion, an from what I

know of many of the titles, of landed proprie- tors upon this Island, be unjust and oppressive ; and therefore, in viewing the question with a liberal eye, it may be necessary to consider, who are the persons most likely to be injured or beniﬁted,should the court of Escheat eventu- ally be established. As regards the absent proprietors of township lots, who with his eyes open, with warnings so repeatedly given, and indulgencies afforded, if he were to be made to feel the effects of such a court, can he com- plain? No! he might have averted the impend- ing consequences; but as to the innocent les- see, and tenants generally, holding under such a proprietor, they stand in a very different situ- ation, and have claims on Government, for a fair and equitable decision, particularly when it is Considered,that uponthe faith of their land- lord’s title, they have embarked their whole in making considerable improvements upon the estate. Many persons seem to think, that a general Escheat would be attended with bene- ﬁcial effects, and I am sorry to find, that in the West, there are several men, standing rather high as regards their oﬂicial situations, who have strongly advocated such ameasure, and have been partially instrumental in leading the ignorant astray, and who from such advice, have in many instances, refused to pay rent, where rents have been hitherto regularl paid for more than 20 years; to such men, I will candidly say, they are lending themselves to that which is unconstitutional, and unjust; it will be quite time enough for such persons to seek redress, when the Escheat Court shall have passed its final judgment. If there are large tracts of land, and that there are such, no one can doubt it, which upon investigation, should be proved to fall within the pale of the Escheat Law, then let the absent proprietors of such lots, suffer for theirdisregard to the terms, indulgencies and warnings which have been so re eatedly heaped upon them. What. I shoul recommend is, this, let the legislature ﬁrst take the matter into consideration, let a survey be made, and a report thereon, shewing what number of lots are clearly liable to for- feiture, and then and not before, let the Es- cheat Law come fully into eﬂ'ect. 1 am, Sir, Yours VERITAS. Charlotte- Town. Jugust 7, 1832. (To be continued.)

To the Editor oft/u British Jimertcan. Sta,

Having found it absolutely necessary to take up my residence in Charlotte Town, I beg through the medi- um of your paper. to inform the Inhabitants of the town and its vicinity, as also the public in general, I have engaged an Office at Mr. Mitchell’s, near the Custom- House, where I intend to conduct my professional Business. For the cenvenience of those Clients and Friends residing towards the Western district of the Is. land, who have hitherto favoured me with their conﬁ- dence, I intend during the Summer months, to Visit Saint Eleanors,Bedeque, and Malpeque, once a fort. night; and shall remain at the two former places the whole of Monday. and the latter part of Tuesday, when I shall return to town. unless unavoidably dc. tained.

I am. Sir, Your most obedient Servant. Wm..MU.MFORD. Charlotte-Town, 15th August, 1832.

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