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’ aquatter pay one shilling sterling per acre,

3' a 'J.‘ Pieter. Cons said the squatters should not be better provided for , . than the tenants.

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CHARLOTTETOWN, SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 1843.

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PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND ADVERTISER.

3

[No. 299,

HOUSE 01" ASSEMBLY.

MARCH 24. , SQUATTERS’ BILL. (Debate concluded.)

MLTHORNTON confessed that some of the arguments he had heard against the Bill in its_ present form had quite staggered him. If the squatters, notwithstanding the provisions of the Bill, cm be dragged into Court at any time, it may as well be done it once. and let it be settled by a Jury. He would leave it to the “use of the Committee to say whether it should be settled by 'ubitration or by the Court.

Mr. Cows was of opinion that if a dispute arose about the fight ofthe claimant. it should be settled by the Court; but as to the amount and value ofthe improvements, he thought persons resident on the spot the most 'competent to form a correct ‘udgment; but he did not for one moment suppose that a dispu- ted title could be settled by arbitration. but the other matters, he

ferred, should be settled by arbitration.

Mp Coorint thought the subject matter of this Bill shouldtform

rt ofthe report on the state of the Colony, and should be sent

ome along with it. How do the squatters know the right of the claimant, who may draw them into Court? Those claimants should have persons to represent them resident on the Island.— He did not see for his part how it could be fairly settled, unless 4hr land was reinvested in the Crown.

Mr. THORNTON was of opinion Lots half 45 and 52 should have been escheated, since their owners have so long neglected the settlement and improvement of their lands, some so long as 50 or 60 years; he agreed with the hon. member for King’s County, that such land as those lots should be forfeited, as a proof that we were inclined to do all that was in our power to meet the wishes of the people. This Bill was beset with so many difficul- ties that perhaps it would be better to postpone its further conside- ration until we get an ansvver to our address on the state of the Colony; yet we should not wait until the proprietors might occasion ~the ruin of the squatters. In Nova Scotia, every protection is adbrded to this class of persons.

Mr. Dousn said what had fallen from the hon. gentleman who spoke last was falling back to what be (Mr. Douse) had _ reviously proposed, that the condition of such land should represented at home, and then since no owner appear- ed, that the disposal of it should he left to the Crown.-—- ‘One township (N0. 10, we think) was claimed by Mr. Stewart: it is as bad land as ever he saw. He coincided in opinion with ,Mr. Cooper, that the matter should be represented at home.

Mr. YEO said, he knew that lot as well as Mr. Douse; agents came there year after year; but could getnothing from the settlers. One third of the lot is covered with water.

Mr. SPEAKER said the hon. member (Mr. Yeo) forgets that £300 or £400 worth of marsh hay is annually cut on it. The reason it was not settled was, the high price that was asked for it. He was aware that 30 or 40 were willing to settle on it.— “The French had prepared 2,000 tons of timber, which was paid towards the purchase of it by them, but they ware swindled otit ofit by M‘Kay. A man of the name of Prendergast pretended to act as agent, but when examined, it was found he had no authority for the ofiice he had assumed. If the requisite number

K’. of settlers were settled on those parts of Lots .45 and 52 which

were claimed, it would protect the remainder from forfeiture, so that we need not trouble our heads about them. He should not hold out inducements for entertaining false hopes to the people ; as settled or not settled, there is not the slightest grounds for He would go with an address.

Mr. Docss had spent 12 or 13 days travelling over Lot 10, and during that time saw no land on it fit for settlement. It is true there are marshes on the shore. but there are five miles of toad on it and‘not even a squatter settled on it. It is a swamp, where no one can settle on.

MLMACAULAY said, itseems the Bill is quite forgotten by hon. members. He did not see any good that would arise from the ,proposiiion of the hon member for King’s-County (Mr. Cooper). .He would move that the Clause be agreed to.

Mr. Mmrurosa did not see what business a. poor man had to go to law with a rich man, and could not see what protection this Bill would be to the people; he therefore coincided with Mr. . Cooper. .

Mr. Loxewoa'rn objected to the proposal of Mr. Cooper; what might happen to the squatters during the interim that we were waiting an answer to our address? He thought the better way

.. .would be to pass or reject the Bill at once, if not the consequence might be disastrous in the extreme.

Mr. Wieurmu proposed One Shilling currency as the amount when per acre to he demanded. . _

I Mr. DOUSE thought Halifax Currency was more than is now ‘. id. 1 #Mr. Tnonit-rou approved of the currency of the Country. ' Hon. J. S. MACDONALD said, he would be putting the squatters on the some footing as the .tenantry but no better, but he thought ethis alteration would tend to defeat the Bill, and as such he would oppose it how much soever he wished to see currency as the ten- der for rent. - ‘

ML'PALMER said, the sentiments of the hon member who last

:51“ down were also his. Squatters should not be put on a better

” footing than the tenantry generally, especially when we are so

' Well aware of the opposition we shall encounter elsewhere: The ‘ proprietors would say we cannot tell what precedent this may , ,ceStablish. People are very anxious to take land at one shilling ,sterling: he was lately offered one and six—pence sterling. Let a ,, 'solitary instance be produced where more than "one shilling vturrency, with the addition of one-ninth, has been paid for rent. Mr. Coorsit had been where in cases of famine every man‘s , .grain was taken from him and all thrown into a common stock, "' :and then every man served out according to his need, at a standard price, without distinction of persons, as to who supplied least or most. In this country a poor man cannot depend on his labour to insure him from want, as it is beyond the power ofthe farmer to employ and pay him. In like manner a person may take any thing sooner than starve“ How can we say that those who have leases are any thing better offthan the squatters? he could not perceive the difference ; we are about passing a law making the and we have agreed ;. to a Resolution which we are going to send home, stating that the tenuntry are unable to pay rent. How ridiculous we must at l

The Bill does not provide whether the rent .should be paid in cash or produce.

"Mr. Hanson thought every hon. member of the House would . ..-sec the'necessity of legislating for the squatters; and he would .,.'»iilte to see it founded onjusticeand equity, as well tothem as to

women, but. he would ,give' them no greater advantage. He 1 *Ih'ottght, if the Bill became a law, it‘wou‘ld relieve a good deal of The squatters should not receive more advantageous as such he would support it,

.lr‘tflmsthan those who held b lease; 'y ’ procedure would defeat the

’but he thought a different iiiode of ~iiill entirely.

. ” UM. Conrait said,irt all cases‘where land was settled by the Crown , .4r9rt,this Island, it-was settled 'in fee, and suchwould now be the

4

‘ case, ifriglit took place. The proprietors had had sufficient time ' to‘settle their land, and those who'h‘ad not done so should lose tit. Squaiters have to make roads and protect the. cnumry, and

‘ jare therefore as well entitled to the consideration 01" Government fias ' '

any other.

Mr.HonsoN.—-0ur opinions then are very different, and the

i i110" EEnlleman’S a"‘guments have very little weight with me. ‘ ‘3 .

Mr. PALMER._—‘-The argument of the hon. member for King’s

“Bounty (ML'COOPCI‘) has nothing to do with the question, as it is 1 not about Escheat we are now legislating. The Squatter, he thought,,would wish to :pay his rent in produce. He had already expressed his opinion on the subject at full length.

. V. Mr, SEE‘I53__..Let us sayin produce. and then it carries its

5...“, condemna‘ion on the face of it. He was surprised-at the virpains taken by those who were so anxtpus for the success of this giBill to make it ridiculous. The more he said of the turn taken 'by theBill, the more he regretted the introduction ofit into the silence,- though he knew the hon. mover was actuated by the best of

mpgzggéylet itthILai'::ereétoaj; to revive the exploded question facility wiihout such a m ave been gm Up With so muCh why the hon memb easur‘e as the present. He wondered

_ . I er (Mr. Coles), who was a large consumer of produce,did not lnSlSl on introducing a clause, fixing a price to be given by him for it. It would be quite as consistent with the right of domg what one pleases with one’s own, as saying to the landlord, he must ask so much and no more for his land. Wharwould be said at home. about such legislation? He would vote for one Shilllng sterling, and no less.

Mr. Maciurosn.—The case that occurred on the Island that he was aware of, was at a Launching place near Grand River, where the people who had squatted on the land there, were put in possession of it in fee simple. for the expence of £5. Are we now to ptit those on a level with the others? I hope not. If it were made a general thing, it might be opposed at home, since there is so much opposition against every thing proposed for the benefit of the unfortunate people of Prince Edward Island. What is the use of talking about paying a rent which we have already acknowledged they cannot pay. Let us shew the people that we have a disposition to do all we can to benefit the people.

Mr. Cones moved, that-one shilling sterling be inserted.

Mr. chnomnn objected to, it. ,It was for the double pur-

pose ol confirming or legalizing the rents already demanded, and which we have resolved that the people cannot pay, and to compel the squatters also to pay it. Mr. DINGWELL said, the rents in some places are only one shilling currency, and‘still the people cannot pay that same, as was set forth in a petition which he had the honor to lay before the House this Session. And were it not that Mr. Haviland was a mer- ciful and considerate agent, and did not wish to harrass or distress the tenantry, those persons would certainly be very miserable. When Mr. Thornton first introduced the Bill, he (lllr. Dingwell) thought something beneficial to the country would be the result, but he feared “ it would end in smoke!”

Mr. Cooeeu was afraid very little good would be effected by it, and he thought that after all the time that had been spent at it, it would serve no useful purpose; it would only cause more trouble, and sooner than that would be the case, he would sooner see it lost altogether.

Mr PALMER did not question the veracity of the hon. member in that. particular : no doubt he would like to see it thrown out. No matter what others propose to do for the benefit of the tenan. try, it will not suit his purpose, as it would render that agitation on which he lives, tingatoty. Is confirming the squatter in his possession on a long lease, and the same rent as others, no bene- fit? He maintained it was, and that this House will get the thanks of those who are liable to be turned out of their improve- ments for so great a boon. He considers or seems to think, that we can enact laws as we please—no such thing. When we make a law to protect the rights of one party, we must take care it does not infringe the rights of others. He objected to the propo. sal of Mr Cotes, as itonly tends to defeat the Bill. The House should feel grateful to the hon member (Mr. Thornton) who had brought it forward, and had further shewn his good sense in yielding those points which would peril its passage through the Legislative Council. And beyond a question.’the Squatters will be thankful for so great a benefit. He moved that one Shilling sterling be inserted as the rent per acre. '

Mr. Loucwoit'rii would second the motion. He would join the hon. tnember (Mr. Palmer) in opposing the Bill altogether, un- less this were the case. Squatters never had paid any rent, why then put them on better terms than those who had paid all along and continued to pay it? If currency be substituted, the Bill Will be lost.

Mr. SPEAKER said, it was very evident from whence amse the opposition of the hon. member tor King's County (Mr. Cooper); it would deprive him of his calling. He does not suggest any thing that will benefit the Squattets himself, and he is so per- verse as to throw obstacles in the way of those who do, stating that the present measure will do the country more harm than good. What has he ever done for the good of the country, not. withstanding all the turmoil and confttsion he has occasioned?

The question was then separately put on the rate of rent and term of years, when it was agreed, by a large majority, that the rent should be fixed at one shilling currency, and the duration of the term to be 999 years, or 100 years, with a. right to purchase at 20 years’ purchase.

Mr. Course in amendment, moved a lengthy Bill for the settle- ment of the Colony—TYeas 5, Nays 15.

, Artur. l. . STATE OF THE COLONY. . (Debate concluded.)

The Honorable Mr. PALMER remarked, in continuation, that in 1839, the escheators said, =‘ if you elect us, we will obtain for you even more than you demand.” How then can this House, with any appearance of consistency, ask the Proprietors to sweep away those accumulated arrears of rent? Yet no memberof the House could rejoice more to see it than himself, though he, expected very little thanks for it; but gratitude was now out of the question. The hon. member (Mr. Rae) has entertained us with interesting details about delegates, factory children, (to. but these were no precedents for us to follow. What similarity was there between the Solicitor General’s private affairs, the collecting of rent, and usages that affected the lives of her Majesty’s subjects .? He instanced the low price of produce taken in rent in Prince County, saying that oats were sold at 9d. the bushel; but he kept back another material part of the subject; he did not tell us that the proprietor lost 1s. 9d., as he allowed 25.6.1 per bushel to the tenant for them in his rent. When this was last under discusston, he asked the whole of the Committee how many cases ofdistraint for rent had fallen within their knowledge, and though diligent search had been made in all the Record Offices, only 7 or 8 cases could be musxered up.‘ during a. period of 15 or 20 years past, and in a rental of £6,700 ; was it not flagrant to lsmake such statements? So desperate was their case, that they

ere ashamed to’ bring the number of cases forward. An hon. ‘p’ieinber (Mr. Macgregor) stated a case of distraint that ended

atally—the case of Abel, at the Bay of Fortune; but that was rather a dispute about the currency ofthe rent than a case of ,distraint. What does the hon. member wish us to conclude on? ‘Lel us examine both of the hon. member’s speeches on the ques- tion before the Committee, and what do they mean l—for h part he could form no idea. What is there tangible that we ca% into a resolution. (He read Mr. Rae’s resolution.) N In all cas where the proprietors have let lands on short leases, and long rents have absorbed all the improvements of the tenaniry, the." The facts are not sufficiently strong to hear us Out in stating that the distress of the Island was ascribable to the tenure on which, the land was let. Aimost all the proprietors give long leases; and the agent of Lord Selkirk states that he has received orders to give short leases, (and to the shame ofthe escheators be I! told) in consequence of the unsettled state of the country} Mr Stewart had also been misrepresented; that he refused to ye leases was quite unfounded. He had seen the leases: they were for 60 years or 3 lives; the renttaken lll produce payment and fl‘ftghl to purchase given. How can it be supposed that a proprietor will give away his property for a produce rent, for which they say a market cannot be found? He thought therefore the resolution was not borne out by fact, and it would be unwrse In us to. pass such a resolution,_at the time when we are asking the proprietors to allow us more favourable terms. He thought it equally bad policy to expect us to recommend to her proprietors to reduce theretit to six-pence. produce that would lie on their hands: also to I reserves from the public and give them to the tenants. fie- auy good that might be expected to flow from the resolutionrufe had already agreed to. . , _ , ~

.Mr. MACINTOSH observed that there was nothing new in this ha- rangue of the hon. member for Charlottetown. ~ He has toldns that the House, since 1835, has entailed £60 of arrears on every 100 acre farm, and he says this is entirely owing to the agita: tors, but this be (Mr. Macintosh) denied. .15 it to be supposed that the country is to be kept in continual agitation? Forhis own

part, he was tired. of agitation, but yet he saw no remedy pro-

Majesty to request of the, and take the rent up take the fishery,

‘hawould oppose the amendment. I f SPEAKER did not by any

thought this Would be the most efl‘eciual method to take awtfy',iacl§i‘rovt'ledged that many worth

posed. We acknowledge that the rents cannot be paid, and yet we call those who sent us here scounilrels and rascals,\vhen they call upon us to devise some remedy for this evil—and what do they receive in reply? Nothing but a torrent of abuse. They may not be able to express their wants like lawyers or men of business; but he felt for those whom distress prevents from ustng more forci- ble language to express their wants, or from procuring the educa- tion suitable to their wants. For his (Mr. lllncintosh’s) part, he could not understand what plati he wished to propose. He sup— posed he should find capacity for that purpose. Formerly, he supported agitation; now he would support any thing that wonld set It at rest. We acknowledge that the tenants cannot pay rent, would it not therefore be better to go hand in hand, With more charity to one another than we find displayed in this House, in order to redress the destitute condition of the tenautry? Yet, because they are destitute, they must be called scoundrels! It is the agitators, says one, that cause the distress! They are the demagogues who cause it, says another! And so they go on, but they do nothing to relieve the poor teiiantry, the only means of preventing agitation. We are told there is no hope; but if there is not, what use have we here. He hoped there was a desire to reduce the rent; at least he was sure the country would never be better until some remedy was applied.

Mr.‘ WiciirMAu stud he constdeied that from the number and purport of the petitions beforetlie House it was undeniable that distress was very general all over the Island He was ofopinion that the Resolutions already agreed to by this Ilouse, on the sub ject ofthe present state of the Colony, were not as satisfactory as could be wished, nor so extensive as they should be; yet he Would support them on the principle that “ halfa loaf was better than no bread," and he therefore trusted the House would be unanimous in adopting them; and he was fully convinced that by the powerful support of his Excellency and the Executive, their edcct would be most salutary at home.

Mr. D. MACLEAN said he had heard so much about “ Agitators” and “ Dcmagogues,” that he verily believed some gentlemen on the opposite side had persuaded themselves that nothing that was wrong but might be ascribed to them; and that if -‘ Agitators” were got rid of, all would be peace and quietness throughout the country. On this he would remark. thtt Were they possessed of the cunning, the activity and the malignity ofthe devil himself, still there mttst be a cause deeper rooted, why this Single colony, among all the dependencies of Britain, should be the tuostob- sttucted country in North America. Remove that cause, and agitation Will become prostrate—“Othello’s occupation will be gone.” That cause will be found in the leasehold tenure which