-HALLADAY

a ae

STANDARD» x Le

HE FIRST AND ONLY SELF-REGULATING WINDMILL

ees

The Examiner. »;

: : ; i a ha Aldous,; On taking a more extended view, it must} tion was accordingly with¢rawn. Mr. L. Ring lhe concede oom ears back : : cal ° : assisted by Owen Curtis, Esq, ap to April, | be conceded that for some years pars te li. Davies from the Comittee appoint-

1 1867 | depar ; branches, has dragged

oe. 1 Re i Aorii| 1867, to | department, in ail its brane , Tos : , 1867; Joseph Ball, 1 ee tig from Oct., | heavily along, and bas been quite unequal | ed to enquire lato the manoer in which Ssd., iro , ,

from | to the demands made upoa it, and conse-

ubje It was, As Surveyor General, Hon. CV. .

of branch railways. iid. hardly to he expected that he \

‘to grant the prayer of the pe-| Oct, (870, Owen Curtis,

po : , >rovines are b

: 70. to Oct., 1872; Hon. Francis Kelly, o re ; the educational laws of the Provinee are be- itioners, when he saw Mr. Welsh —whose o "ie 72 oN ~ "1875: Owen Curtis, Esq., | quently the accumulation of work now to be |. + ‘ ital ~<a en | Uct., 13/2 to NOV., 1540, It is possible that | ing administered, presented a voluminous

seme i 107 | performed is very great. | S weottnents were among > petitioners— | acting Surveyor sinve Noy., i/o. oe ; yY8 ee . thie or atitecnts wore aquamgy soe pews As Ass sabe in the office since April, {857, | legislative and other public duties which

Charloiietown, Muy

‘ r | py : . report. At six o'clock, Iiis Honor the | I ever offercd to to the |

the railway. He (Mr. Haviland) believe |

and defaced as to be hardly intelligible.

The practice of issuing Deeds to assignees |

Linwiae hot and eold upon the scheme ;j ,,**? : : cola | have devolved upon some of the incumbents ] | markets of the worid, and when material used power, workmauship and dorabii LEQIST A Dy SUMYUARY : i ? iM B bs ; » oficial rod = oan "7 oe ts is the Statute of the Land Office, may have prevented their Lieutenant Governor came down to the | are considered, it is acknowledged to be ! ebility bide asd 44 i are re ae . . »% ~~ 9 eli j » . e ¥ t $ my LahES , J: : 1 he re EF. D. stadia : oo rr a ; ! riving the ts duties which was : ". . whieh principally regulates the sale and | giving that attention to its ¢ : ‘| Council Chamber, assented to the Bills . : oi of the railway, declare that the main trunk | Which principally regulates, cuted’ lal’ ander an Geen, ari hambe : a The Cheapest Wind Mill Now in Use! : WO » ) , on * Anage ue o He ruol sasha ; : , al 18se § scss t 0 rue The areion - “otypere tn a LHE work »> week has been a thee labels” lib alia a a Sa b Plans (au absolute neces- circumstances the staff could scarcely be | passed this session, and prorogued the The ance rsigned are the only manufactur re ja the world who have been successful jy portant. On \ tl oo A weep oy on eantn ets. ae believed | sity ina I and Office) are in a deplorable | considered as sufficient for the eifective | Legislature with the following speech : — introdacing seif-regalatiag Wiadmilis of large diameter . is , lieve Sity a Li uce) aie t : E ae : ; eee Sipe Rn merle " = Sullivan moved the second reading of the | ™ hoodwink the people. He believer condition, end many of them im their torn | Management of such extensive and widely | ay. President end Maaanible Gentleman eft FOR RUNNING CUSTO Mi G RI wn oy Civil S Ref, Bill } : Mr. Gregory’s scheme a delusion and a} anq mutilated stale exhibit the marks of | — ae bl f time U hief Legislative Council : ¥ WVU UN IN LING ; . x Ss MILLS ivil Service Keform Sill-—the provisions + 4 ‘early » care “or a considerable space ct time wae chiel | er ' " ; ane ' ’ I es : acw | hard usage, and show clearly that little care | : : J : J - that make as high a grade of flour as can be produced by any ste ° . ’ enere » ranches jus managcs ae oe’? : j a ‘ —_"? ™ Aer), . , caems . we and . ' 20 ) b a : } y team or of which we have already explaine ) — All the branches must be 7, | bas been bestowed upon their preservation, | part of the labor and responsibility seems to | Mr, Speaker an] Gentlemen of the House of and for purping large quantities of whte "=e mill, Rall j } , connevtion with the main trunk, | Some plans are incomplete and others in-, bave devolved up: the Assistant, Mr. Wad. | Assembly : Sie is ss . = . ” li qVSssen ilter a yarn ‘ } o . ? 7 " ro i il . 4 } i a ; 5 ‘ er ‘ he ma A oo ‘i i | “—" « os e i passed afte warm d BON aa eture cranted the preyer of | accurate, and the plan of (hat very valuable | man, who—in aidition to attending to the | me public business of the Session having | FUR SUPPLYING SwALL VOWS ARD RAILWAY WATER STATION Tuesday a Bill enlare the power of th uf the ee 50 — | Township, No. 19, (though fair in appear~ | accounts and ordinary business of theofilce | Ucen brought to a conclusion, | am enabled : a, a 4 : Qe: : uM wen >} he felt that it would be dos ince) is looked upon by the incumbents of | —in order to satisfy the demand for Deeds, to relieve you from further attendance on | The SMALLER SIZES of our Mills are used on nh rr rye ; t t ma ‘ : 4 jis ) - : ’ “ : d c ag ‘ ‘ = : Saisie 4 » , ‘ . tipendiary JMacist Chariott : ALT a ee . -| the Lond Office as affording very little reli- | appears to have devoted a large part of his | © > 1 in sin mation stock Farms and for Ornamental . V 2". } j ) uN the people a grievous wrong. + ’ | time to drawing plansand descriptions for the JOU: 508 on. } se, Was carried through Committee, Ui ’ <a . able information. os. oe f I noti ith isfacti have! 77 ° vee —pP, . “ ° ; ab or ; notice, with satisfaction, that you have | 7 aE; a F# / , , ; ae ’ ' : " losing uey now is possible , me are referre > ir | purchasers’ Deeds which cannot be looked : ’ : ’ ; | 2.’ d. fea NJtHE AR EINRD COMPAR Palavic y Wednesday 9 Bi] veducing the number igh losing money | - I Many of the plans are re¢ none " ee — meek ae part “ his duty. Mr. Wadman’s | P**sed @ measure for further securing the | g mh ORS » ta, Lllinois, , .. are he « c e itle . ' romet as Weil as 10 } ) § J nus at 2 ‘ oi ¢ . 3 » i of men compris a A aemeeutin Senin: tuame t in a few years, the main trunk ine | titl Deeds | a een foria part of | statement is also appended to this Report. | independence of the General Assembly. ; WILLIAM MURPHEY, Gas Works. : ‘ he worked toa profit But the indi- — s aes ‘ i es a ‘ coal ae ine | There are some matters, however,necessary to The Act to amend “The Land Purchase Charlottetown, May J, 1876.—3m Agent for Prince Edward Island | twelve oO seven AsAct , ’ ’ the title to the lands. On this acc alone } Jere ¢ SOME MANS, f vor,s : we 9) : ‘ . a > ’ oe I ’ rofits of the railway are now felt by avert aime their general utility—they | be remarked upon, which are not consequent Act. 1875, I have reserved for the Assent = — ES On Thursday evening last. the H een eee et re ' s! : a he ee erved as Public Records and | upon any lack of assistance in the office, and | of His Excellency the Governer General, as ry t Pa.) EN AF re "2 , ; } } r . 2G. noul B 9s ast 4 > ‘ i vi s ee . . ; ey 3 . Mr. Brecken submitted the the people to be so great, that 1 the ques from the rae destruction now pending | must be referred to other reasons, but which | &!so the Act to vest a certain portion of hk Ss i >) £ a tA © 7 - Bill = oe mm were put to the people to morrow, a over them ' ~ } time and the incompletd state of the investi- | Gevernment House Farm in the City of | a il providing for the rexistration of ~ wie, tee : ‘ 'p. as at wenn ad , plans have already | gation will only permit allusion to in this Charlottetown. 3 & . ? r Se al ao sonle wo! susté arts of some of the plans have already @ y | j voters He said the introduction of | 2"S° ™0"% of the people would sustain | disappeased, and other portions are so worn | preliminary report—such as :— | he several other Acts that you have ma. | N be 4 Se \ ; ee ee : tured, relating to the Land Question, 1 ws J trust will have the desired effect of furthers | &

the Bill had been delayed by the Gov- ernment because it provides that the lists of voters shall be revised by the Judges of the County Courts, and it was not cer- tain, until the amended County Courts Act had been passed or thrown out by the Legislative Council, whether the County Courts would, in future,be held quarterly or bi-monthly. That point having been settled by the rejection of the County Courts Bill, the Government had conclud ed to submit the measure to the Legisla- ture ; and as it could not come into oper-— ation in time for the next general election to have it printed and circulated for the informaticn and criticism of the people.

Mr. Brecken explained the provisions of the Bill; but as they will not be of im mediate interest to our readers, and as the Bill will coon be published ia full it is not necessary to give an outline of his remarks. More interesting to the in habitants of Murray Harbor, Belfast. Kast Point, Uape Traverse, New London | aad other settlements will be a summary of the debate on the petitions asking for | a subsidy of $5000 per mile to a company to build branch railways. The debate was opened by the Hon. Mr. Owen, who simply stated that “the Government was not prepared to do anything at present.” | Mr. Welsh followed with quotations from the of Hon. Messrs. Pope, | Brecken and Haviland on the railway | question during the session of 1971. These gentlemen would, he trusted, apply | the arguments to which they then gave | utterance to the question of according to

speeches

. - | his constituents t'\e great boon of railway | accommodation. Then they freely grant- ed $16,000 a mile to build the railway ; |

now they were only asked to rant $5000. | He relied on them for a favorable answer | to the prayer of the petitioners, who | were paying for a railway the benefits of which they could not enjoy. For his| own part he was in the position of a law- yer advocating the couse of his client. | His opinions respecting the construction of a railway inthis Island had not changed. Hon. Mr. Brecken said that lawyers never publicly ackuowledge dis— belief in the goodnes< of the cause they Plead. Mr. Welsh could hardly expect the Legislature to look favorably upon « proposition, of the soundness of which he was himself skeptical. He (Mr. Brecken should ever feel proud that he was a a member of the Government which gave to Prince Edward Island a railway ; and | he heartily sympethized with the people of Belfast and Murray Harbor in their effirts to obtain railway accommodation. | But they had lost their opportunity ; and

i j

the scheme of subsidizing a company was net, under present circumstances, feasible. | Mr. B. Davies thought the Government might with perfect safety grant the prayer of the petitioners. He felt sure that no company could be organized to build and maintain branch railways in consideration of a subsidy of- $50" per mile. The railway, he said, had sun no less than $65,000 since it was opencd. Mr. Rowe said that nincteen-twentieths of the people are now in favor of the rai! way. Hon. Mr. Pope agreed with Mr. B. Davies that no company could be found to build a branch railway for a subsidy of $5,000 per mile. Then, why fool the people by granting the subsidy? The | people had been deceived and hoodwinked before; why should their own represen- tatives try to deceive and hoodwink them again. The only course to pursue is to regain possession of the main trunk line and then build the branches to tap it. The idea of having separate staffs, work- shops, rolling stock, ete., for every line of branch railways required, is simply ri- diculous. No company of sane capitalists would adopt it. He (Mr. Pope) thought the railway could be regained without much trouble—and an annual subsidy amounting to the yearly loss in connection with the road under its present nianagement along with it. Under good management, with low freights, second-class cars, etc., he believed the road would pay well. If it were leased to a company the shillings would be saved; the road worked ata profit; and the Government would have property to offer in security for the amount required to build the branches, These latter could be managed in con~ nection with the main trunk, The staff and workshops uf the one would suflice for the other; and the advantages of the railway would be extended to the people who are yet with@ut those advantages. Mr. L: U. Davies thought it was no wonder the people had been deluded int the belief that the branch railways might be built, if a subsidy of $4,000 per wile were paid by the Local Government:

| were over their heads.

| others, also speke.

'ettention to the importance of the Bill,

| but sharp

' the House

registration of the voters eutitled to send

| Domivion Government should have pro-

| election of

| B. Davies, Campbell, Callbeck and others

| force efter a measure providing a regis-

/into Committee on a Bill permitting the

'them to purchase, even

Mr. Gregory had published throughout the length and breadth of the Island, that | a company of capitalists were prepared to | build and maintaia branch lines of rail-| way on that condition. The Dominion | Government might possibly build brauch | lines, if those lines were largely subsidiz- ed by the Local Government ; otherwise. we cannot hope to have branch railways, exc« pt at a sacrifice which would be ruin- cus. Mr. Pope’s scheme he character- ized as ten fold more dangerous than that of Mr. Gregory. He defended the present mansgement of the railway. Second-cluss cars would not be generally patronized by our people. No farmer who had any respect for himself, would take bis wife and daughters to ride io them more than once. On Friday evens ing while the House was in Committee,

ed the Dominion Government would, ere long, see that it was its duty to build a branch to Cape Traverse, and that they would also extend the line from Aulac to | Cape Tormentine. The building of these branches is of intercolonial importance ; and if built and supplemented by a steam- er to ply between the Capes—they would be of .incaleulable benefit to the Island. He quoted from the debates of the Legis- lative Council fur 1871, and showed that he had then predicted that people from all parts of the Couatry, would be petition- ing for branch railways before five years a This prediction had been fulfilled to the letter He would not, however, be a party to the perpetra- tion of a Legislative fraud upom the peds ple ; and he would not give his vote in favor of granting the prayer of the pe- MeNeill, Welsh and

A resolution to the effect that the prayer of the petitioners could not be granted, was carried.

On Friday, Hon. Mr. Brecken moved the second reading of the Bill to provide for a registration of voters and for the introduction of the ballot. The motion was about being carried without a dis-

Hon. Mr. Haviland called

tition. Messrs.

cussion when

and expressed his surprise that it should A short arose. It

be allowed to pass unopposed. discussion then

turned upon the nefarious attempt of Hon. D Laird and his co-representatives to disfranchise nearly half of the voting population of the Island. Hon. Messrs. Brecken, Haviland and Pope denounced the attempt. Mr. Haviland showed that of Commons and the Senate were alike led, by the Hon. D. Laird, to believe that there was in this province a

representatives to the Legislative Council ; and that the Bill—which would disfran- chise our-young men—would have passed had he not explained the true state of the case. Mr. Pope maintained that the vided the machinery necessary for the members of the House of Common-, and that they had no right to call upou this Province to do so. Messrs. excused Mr. Laird on the ground that the law attempted to be passed in the Domini- on Parliament would have been of no

tration of voters had been passed in the Local Legislature. The Bill introduced by the Attorney General passed through Committee, and a thousand copies were ordered to be printed for circulation.

On Friday afternoon the House went

Government to sell to tenants the farms they held, at prices which would induce though they should Le lower then the price paid by Go- vernment, Hon. Mr. Sullivan argued that as the expenses connected with the Land Commission would be enormous, and as some of the awards were exceed- ingly high, to resell the land at prices which would render the estates self-sus- taining would be unfair to tenants and hopeless. His honor the Speaker sub- mitted an amendment to the effect that Government might, at its discretion, re- duce the price on all lands sold to the Government at a higher pricethan $3 per acre. He instanced the case of the people of Lot 19, which had been purchased for 20s. an acre. He thought some consideration should be shown the people of Lot 19 as well as the people whose farms were on estates purchased under the Land Com- mission. The $800,000 were given be~ cause there were tenants—and he thought the tenants of Lot 19 should receive some of the benefits of that money, as well as those residing on other Townships. The motion was opposed on the ground that the argument of the Speaker would apply to ali parts of the Island ; and that every tenant who had—no matter how long ego —paid more than three dollars an acre, for the zee simple of his tarm, would be entitled to a draw-back. On division the amendment was lost. The Bill passed.

On Friday evening, the Hon. L. Owen submitted a preliminary report of the Commissioners appointed to enquire into the state of the Land Office. It was re- received aod read.

Jo His Honor Sir Robert Hodgson, Knight, Lieutenant Governor, éc., &c., in Council. May il please your Honor :

The undersigned on the 22d ultimo, had the honerto receive a communication from the Clerk of the Execu'ive Council inform- ing them that they were appointed « a Com- mission to examine inioe the. accounts and working uf the Public Lands Office, and tu check the Accounts for the past ten years, and to report thercon to the Government with all convenient speed.”

They at once commenced the investigation, and have continued it without interruption up to the present time,but owing to the large number of transactions to be examined, and the confused state of the plans, books, and other documents, they are not yet in a pos- ition to make a final Report,

At the request, however, of the President of the Executive Council, the Honorable L. C, Owen, the undersigned submit the follow- ing facts which have come under their notice.

‘The Township Lands at present under the controt of the Public Lands Office are Townships Numbers |, 2,4, 5, 6, 11, 14, 19, 21, 32, 38, 39, 41,42, 43, 44, 51, 54, 56, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64, and 66, and parts of Town- ships 8, 20, 23, 25, 27, 40, 45, 46, 48 49, 53, 69, and 67, besides the Crown Lands Town~ Ships Numbers 15 and 55

The officials in charge of the Land. Office during the period under investigation were :

As Commissioner, Hon. John Aldous, up to September, 1870; Hon. Francis Kelly, from Sept., 1870, to Oct., 1872; Hon. Joseph

Wightinan, from Oect., 1872, to June, 1873; Hon. Emanuel MeEachen, from June, 1873,

tinction between the granted and ungrants

| er and the Government.

No regard has been had to the 2th Sec- | tion of the Statute requiring an agreement between the Plans and the Township Books, nor du the former, as a rule, show any dis-

ed lands, and in some cases it has been found impossible to identify on the Plan the lands described in the Purchaser's Deeds.

No record of Pians is kept, and it is dif- ficult to know what should belong to the oflice. Plans are occasionally Jent, which may account fer the loss ofthe most recent apd valuable plan of Lot 38.

Very little has been done of late years to- wards making accurate and reliabie Plans, conveying the information absotutely neces sary to the safe and intelligent administra- tion of the department, and without which Plans, the oflice must eventually become en- | tangled in inextricable litigation and con- fusion.

A statement by Mr. Curtis is appended.

Next in natural order follow the Deeds of Conveyance, issued by the oflice to the pur- chasers of lands. These have received a good deal of attention from the undersigned on account of their imporiance to both Purchas-

The Statute prescribes the form, and regu- lates the method of conveyance. In Section 23, two forms of Deeds are pointed out to be executed Ly the Commissioner of Public Lands. One where the whole of the purs chase money is paid*(usually called a first class Deed) the other where only part is paid (usually known as a second class Deed) upon the latter is to be endorsed a memo- randum specifying the amount unpaid which is a specific lien on the land having priority over every other lien or charge. Section 24 declares that a duplicate copy of every Deed executed by the Commissioner shali be ex- ecuted and filed in his oflice, and by endorse- ment declared 10 be a true copy of the original, and that the memorandum or de- feasance endorsed thereon, shall be executed by the purchaser, Section 25 declares that the original and duplicate copies regu- larly executed and atlested,shall be evidence in all Courts. Section 28 declares that the purchase money shall be puia, ive

the remainder in ten equal annual instal- ments, with interest at live per cent. on the amount remaining unpaid with liberty for the purchaser to pay offthe whole amount, Section 40 declares no sale under the Act shall be valid unless approved by the Lieut. Governor, the countersigning of the Deed by him being evidence of bis approval.

The above named provisions have, in com- paratively few instances, been complied with. Although beyond the 10 years limited in the Commission, itis thought advisable to men-~ tion here, that except in two cases, none of the duplicate Deeds prior to the first of Sep- tember, 1879, numbering about 3000, have the certificate endorse declaring them to be true copies of the original deeds. There are also 70 duplicate Deeds of the year 1864 which are not signed by the Lieut. Governor

During the period under investigation, and

irregularities in the filling in and execution of the duplicate Deeds, and probably of the original Deeds also, occur too frequently to be mentioned in detail in this Report. Some of them, of course, are purely accidental, whilst others can only be attributed to sheer carelessness and negligence, if not design.

Although several thousand Deeds have been issued; no trustworthy index has been made to them. Coupling this fact with§ the ineflicient state of the Plans, it is mot sur- prising to findthat in very many cases, two Deeds of the same tract of land and their duplicates have been executed, generally, out not always, to the same person. There are also, many instances of two duplicates of the same deed being execute! and filed. A very common but highly objectionable method of cancelling Deeds regularly execut- ed to the original purchaser, has been prac- tised by drawing a large cross Over the du- plicate—an unsigned and unauthenticated memorandum, usually, to the effect that the Deed has been destroyed and a new one issued to somebody else, being written on the margin at the same time. In two cases no- ticed, this memorandum has been contra, dicted by a postscript, so that it is difficult to ascertain how the matter really stands.

Mr. McEachen, when Commissioner, and signing the duplicates of Deeds executed and delivered by him, appears to have over- Jooked some of them, as they remain without his signature,

A large number of duplicate Deeds, dating from June '73 to a very recent date, have not been presented to the Lieutenant Governor for his signature, though the originals have been approved of by him and most of them delivered, A grave error, and one likely to lead tu serious consequences, has been caus- ed by a misapprehension of the meaning of the 28th Section of the Act before alluded to, which regulates the payment of the purchase money.

According to the system adopted, no re- gard is had to differences of time and circum- stances, when preparing the Deeds, so that whether the amount paid towards the pur, chase prior to or at their execution, exceedcd or was less than the twenty per cent. pre- scribed by the statute ; or whether the Deed was executed at the time of making the pur- chase, or not until several years afterwards ; the memorandums were all drawn upon the same unalterable model. Consequently, the Deeds and duplicates intended to be a se- curity to the Commissioner of Public Lands for the amount unpaid, as well as a convey- ance to the purchaser, cannot, in the major- ity of cases, be considered as conclusive evi- dence of the amount paid or owing by the purchaser at the date of ils execution.

The signature of purchasers to Deeds, using ~ (his mark) are not witnessed.

The original Deeds and Leases of a very large proportion of the lands of this Island, are now deposited in the Commissioners of- fice, and searches are constantly being made by the public. It is necessary for the due preservatio: of these important documents and to save the time of the officials, that they should be carefully iniexed, in a manner similar lo that which prevails in the Registry of Deeds office

In regard to the accounts of the Land Office, they appear to be comprised in two sets of Cash Books, one set in which only the receipts from purchasers under the Loan Act and of Crown Lands are kept, and another and principal one in which are entered moneys received from time to time on account of Public Lands, besides a Ledger for each Township in which Government Lands are situated, containing the individua! accounts of the purchasers.

A very slight inspection of the last men- tioned accounts shows that very large amounts remain due by persons capable of paying, and who, it is to be persumed, only required befere doing so, to be remined- ed of the fact, and it is not rash to assume that were a little more vigor and energy dis- played in that branch of the department. the yearly receipts would be more than doubled.

No Rent Ledger has been opened for those who have not yet come forward and arranged for the purchase of their farms, and with the exception of a few tenants who voluntarily pay their yearly rent they appear to have been completely lost sight of by the depart- ment.

It appears by the Public Lands’ Cash Book that on the 31st December, 1875, $73.79 were in the hands of the Commissioner, as certified by the audit after a comparison of the Cash Book with the margin of the Receipt Books; but this amount, after an order was transmitted to the offlce from the Executive Council lo prepare the books and accounts for a special audit, was discovered to be erroneous, and was subsequently in- creased by additional entries to the sum of $3871.53, which has since been paid into the Treasury.

The peculiar method in which moneys have been received and accounted for by the different officials, together with the manner in which the accounts have been kept, must form a supplementary report, as by referring to them any further in detail at the present

vnear a4

particutarly the laiter part of it errors and |

premature.

of small pertions of farms already purchased, | entailing much additional labor upon the Commissioner and Surveyor General and responsibility upon the department.

The acceptance and filing cf transfers of land which are executed in many cases out- side of the office, and constantly transmitted through the Post Office in considerable num- bers, and the issuing of deeds to the assignee thereupon Without the execution being veri- fied.

The issuing of conveyances of land express- ly excepted in the Deeds from the Proprietor to the Commissioner of Public Lands.

The delivery of first class Deeds to pur- chasers without ful/ payment being made ; and, sometimes without any payment being made, or any account being opened therefor in the Township Ledger. '

The non-correspondence of the prices charged for certain lands in the Township Ledger with the amounts stated in the Deeds

The selling and granting of Jands at rates lower than classified, and less than the sur- rounding properties, for which, no sufficient reason is apparent.

The granting of wilderness lands along the line of Railway, after the passing of the Rail- way Act, to the evident loss and disadvan- tage of the Government. The damages be- ing, in several cases, in excess of the whole purchase money, and of which purchase money, in some instances, not even the de- posit required by law has been pai‘.

The granting of lands to incumbents of the Land Office, some of wnose Deeds are mark- ed on the margin of the duplicates as “ Re- scinded,” whilst others remain uncancelled ; altho, in some cases, nothing appears to have been paid towards the purchase money.

The granting of tracts of wilderness land, up to the fullest exient permitted by law, to minors and others not requiring them for actual settlements, thus facilitating the ac- quirement of large tiacts of land in the hands of single individuals, a course of procedure which seems to be inconsistent with the policy recently pursued by the Legislature and Government towards the Proprieters of Township land.

In concluding their preliminary Report, the

i |

miy per: | : é : cent. at the time of making the Deed, and, undersigned feel that it is a very imperfect

one, and that many important matters have only been touched upon. They trust, hows ever, that il may have a beneficial intiuence, and that in their succeeding Report, they will be able to give a clearer and more detailed account of the state of the Land Office. Respectfully Submitted, Signed H. J. CUNDALL, THOS. DESBRISAY, W. H. SHANKS. April 28th 1876. | he followiog letter was appended to

| the report:

To H. J. Cundall, Thomas DesBrisay, and William Shanks, Esquires, Commission- ers appointed by the Government to ex amine the Books and Records of the Lani Office,

Gentlemen :

Whereas I have been an Assistant in the Oflice since the year 1867, I beg leave, most respectfuly, te make a short explenation re- specling my duties in connection therewith : During Mr. Aldous’ Commissionership | kept the Books and Registered deeds occasionally After Mr. Aldous went out of oflice my duties multiplied rapidly, the principal part of the work and responsibility devolved upon me, until Mr. Cvrtiscame into office in the year 1870, who faithfully performed his part of the work until he went out of office in the year 1872. After this my duties again in- creased, new purchases were made, the ac~ counts increased until they now number siz thousand four hundred. Deeds were de~ manded. I was forced to make out Deeds, put planson the margin, attend to the calls of the office, and the correspondence. While thus engaged the books would get behind in some instances for months. Consequent- ly irregularities would occur notwithstand- ing my best efforts ; and when you remember that the ledgers had to be carried out in the country on thecollecting tours, a large por- tion of which I also had to attend to,—with all these facts before you, gen lemen, I pre- sume you cannot reasonably expect that per- Spicuity, neatness, and correctness, about the accounts which you otherwise might look for had I time and suflicient assistance to compare and check the accounts. I am aware that in consequence of the frequent transfer of property and subdivision of holdings, that some of the headings in the Ledgers may ap- pear somewhat complicated, but I think they are sufficiently clear to show that no loss has been sustained.

During my time in the office, I can only say that I have labored early and late to the best of my ability for the best interest of the office, and for the accommodation of those doing business with it, which can be tes. litied by the several commissioners, and others whohave worked with me. Latter- ly, my health has begun to go down, an/ J cannot stand that amount of labor that I formerly could, but notwithstanding al! these circumstances 1 know that neither the Government nor any purchaser will ever sustain the slightest loss as far as I am concerned, In conclusion, gentlemen, per- mit me to say that I have done all in my power, and made every explanation, during the investigation in order to assist you and facilitate your labors.

Gentlemen, I am, Your ob.dient, Humble servant, Henry WapbMAN, Ch’town, 27th April, 1876.

On Saturday, Hon. F. Kelly moved the House into Committee of the Whole to consider the report of the Commissioners inspecting the accounts of the Land Office. He stated that the mutilated plans alluded to in the report had never been used by him, nor had they been used since he took charge of the office. The non-attachment of certificates, re- terred to by the Commissioners, was not due to neglect on his part. Since he had been in office, certificates had been attach~ ed as the law directs. He produced an index book in which he said all deeds issued out of the offiee were regularly entered. He never cancelled a deed by drawing an X on it. That had been done by other Commissioners. He produced acopy of the Royal Gazette, in which he had advertised that all arrears due the office would be sued for ; and he said that he had done ali that lay in his power to make collections. Any moneys he received in the country he always paid into the Treasury on his return to town. Money received at the office was taken by Mr. Wadman. He (Mr. Kelly) never re- ceived moneys while the aecountant was in the office. He knew nothing about the $3871.53 mentioned in the report. He had not received it, or any part of it; he was not responsible for for the additional entries on the books. He called upon the/Leader of the Govern. ment to substantiate this latter statement. Hon. Mr. Owen said that it was not Mr. Kelly who had paid the money alluded to into the Treasury. As the work of the Commissioners is not yet finished, action at the present moment would, he thought, be He, therefore, moved that

ing the settlement of that long-pending | agitation. |

The Act regulating the sale by license of | spirituous liquors appears to me to contain provisions which will have a salutary effect in checking the prevalence of social evils generally deplored.

There are also many other Acts of a practical character passed by you, besides those to which | have speciaily referred, which will, 1 feel assured, prove beneficial in promoting the developement of the various interests to which they relate.

Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly.

Il thenk you for the supplies you have so liberally voted for the public service, and which, you may be assured, will be faith- fully applied to the purposes for which they have been granted.

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Legis» lative Council,

Ur. Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly.

In now relieving you from further attends ance in General Assembly, you carry with you my best wishes for your individual welfare, and I earnestly pray thata kind Providence may bless your public labors for the advancement of the social and material interests of this Province,

CITY ,COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS,

A meeting of the City Council was held on Thursday evening, April 27th, present, His Worship the Mayor; Councillors Mur- phey,Quirk,Currie, Allin, Harris, Smith and Hooper. The object of the meeting was io discuss the Assessment bye-law for the current year. The second reading of the bye»law was purposely postponed to await the action of the Legislature on the new Ass sessment Act, one feature of which, is, that it may not come into operation till August 1876, or until all of the present City Coun- cillors go out, or be re-elected in rotation, But if it should appear that its earlier operation would bea relief to the citizens generally, then one half of the Councillors may resign at any time before the next August elections, when the other half will go before the citizens in the usual manner, under which conditions the Bill will then come into operation. The present Asess~ ment, however, has to be made under the vid Law, but in anticipation of the opera~ tion of the new Bill it is decided that the rate of 74 per cent on rental can be ma- terially reduced:

When. therefore, on motion of Mr. Murs phy the Assessment bye-law was introduced for its second reaing, he said that in making such motion he proposed that the Assessment for the current year on Reai Estate and Rental be reduced to 5 per cent instead 74 per cent, asin years past. He foresaw that if the new amendment to the Incorporation Act came into early operation the City would get from other sources for which the Bull provided, a sum sufficiently large for all purposes, in addition to the $10.000 which the proposed 5 per cent will produce.

Mr. Currie proposed, in amendment, that the reduction be to 44 per cent, because he believed the additional Assessment under the new Law, would provide suffi- ciently for the balance needed. Messrs, Allin, Hooper, Smith and Quirk supported Mr. Currie’s views, and Mr. Harris, though at first agreeing with Mr. Murphy res pect- ing the propriety of levying 5 per cent; declined to take part in a division when it became a question of reducing taxes. Mr. Currie’s amendment being therefore carried the blanks were filled up with 44 and the Bill ordered to be engrossed and read a third time tomorrow.