PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND ADVERTISER.

Vol. VL], —-i HOUSE 01" ASSEMBLY.

Moumtv, March 20.

STATE OF THE COLONY.

Mr. RAE commenced this important debate. by observing he would not detain the House by a mere repetition of the state of the Colony; the grievances which the people are now suffering are so well known to this House—the tetiantry more particularly -that they cry aloud to this Assembly for a remedial legislation; and we must not turn a deaf ear to their real and undoubted commaints'; what we have now to consider, said the hon mem‘ bar, is, which ol the numerous resolutions now before us we shall adopt, whether we shall restrict ourselves to that of the hon. the s aker, which only goes to address the proprietors, or whether we shall attempt a more general measure. He (Mr. Rae) would no longer beat about the bush, but at once declare that his opin- ion compelled hiitt to go against the idea of addressing private indivduals. (as he must term proprietors) to redress so weighty a matter as the one we are now about to enter tipon; we have been told, time after time, that we cannot interfere between land- lord ai'id tenant; he would ask the qiies-ion. why not? Why should not this power he posse~sed by us? has it not been done

in other places, under similar circumstances. again and again! We have experienced opposition in other quarters. but will hon. members continue to allow such interference? Why are we not to be allowed similar priVileges to those enjoyed by others: the amount of the matter is this; the tenants cannot discharge the burdens imposed upon them, for whiclt reason he could not ob- ject to the resolutions ofthe hon. member for King’s County, Mr. Cooper

Mr. Cooran could not perceive any good eﬂect Would arise, even ifthe resolution ofthe Hon. the Speaker was agreed to by the Committee; Lord John Russell considered the question of tenures of this Colony as a public matter, and as such we ought to take it up and consider it.

[The hon Member here offered a Resolution, which, together ‘With the amendment, which Was submitted by the Hon. Mr. Palmer and carried, has been already published in our columns]

\Ve hear a great deal about the prevnius agitation, but he had never known it so rife as it is at the present time; he thought if his resolution was adopted. Escheai mtght not be necessary, and agitation would be at an end. Heals-o thought the resolution of the hon. the Speaker, ifcarried, had a tendency to cause a rup- ture between the Crown and the Proprietors Hort. members ~seemed inclined to ridicule his proposition of a sixpenny rental, in certain cases ; but he would ask whether the proprietors re. -ceived so much as that, under the present system.

The Hon. the SPEAKER Could not go into the matter in ques-

:tion till he was informed what those who were opposed to his resolution intended. The House could nor forget the numerous measures brought forward by the hon. member for King’s Coun- -'ty, without effecting any. even the least, goodl'or the Colony, ex- cepting one great victory. But what had become of this .6267 0’00 :50 achieved, as the hon. member had then represented. It had gone with the other accompaniments; it was a vision; and as the lion. member for Belfast (Mr. Douse) now and then express- ed himself, it had terminated in smoke. The resolution of the .lion. member appears to be one of those ridiculous things we have been so much accustomed to hear from the same quarter, namely, distress ofthe Colony—cruelty of Agents—and numerous other exaggerated statements, \\lllCh are so continually ditrncd into our ears, that it reminded him of the fable of h the wolf! 1he wolf!” Distress lie would not say did not exist; but it was magnified ﬁve hundred fold. An hon. member has said, it was anot properititts to address the proprietors; be (Mr. Speaker) did not came about that, so that it had the desired effect. Very injurious reports have gone into the country ; the deluded tenan- 'try suppose we have the power to give them free lands. He would at once undeceive them; we have no such power; we cannot even interfere with their leases , the only benefit we can render them is, to use our best endeavors t - obtain the consent of the proprietors to receive their rents‘in produce, and this he would consider as something gained

Mr. RAE, in reply to the hon. the Speaker, did still think it was derogatory in us, as a legislative body. to apply to the pro.

CHARLOTTETOWN, SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 18113.

Laﬁlrgogoihghgl;;2:-:(;dhtlisslipjated tenantry, and tend to dis-l this—“He regarded it oiVla) Im “mums; hm he did "in In“! so I y as .a means to keep up agitation; We"? “'35 Cel‘mlnly 50m? matter in the composition of the amend- ment worthy ofobservation.whtch was the diﬂ‘erence the hon. Illeln'l ber (‘Mn Cooper) had made between the sterling now received and I the Currency proposed to be paid. He Will have it, the tenuniry, my my 18_Currettc__v, Whereas they only pay at present about Is 1; l. making a dtficrence of utte.ninth. Then, again. while he approveitol teceivmg produce for rents in these dull times,he (Mr. Dtiuse) disapproved of a ﬁxed price. He did not see any tangible reason why we should not petition the proprietors: they are men like ourselves, and he lltouglit it would be attended with greater good. than the forcing ptitnp which has been so often, though iiiedecttially, tried upon them. He would say. let Land- lord atid Tenant pull together. but let us not waste our time iti so useless an occupation as debating on a measure that, if it passed this House, would be thrown ottt in the other. The hon them- her for Kings County. of all others, from his delegation to Lon- don knows that agitation is insigniﬁcant and useless. Eight years agohe preached from the same text ; and iiiStead of benefit, his audience had misery emailed itpou them. He would ask the lllttl. member whether, even in tlie'present bad times, he could shew that one distress had been recently carried into effect.or how long slice a single farmer had been imtnnred within the walls of a prison for rent? While he felt most aiixntus that proprietors sbotild listen to real grievances, he would neVer go with any measure to keep up agitation.

Mr. Maomros‘n had been attentively listening to this debate, but he Cull ld hear nothing but agitate! agitate ll! agitate!!! yet no remedy proposed todo away with it: it will never ceaseiill some effectual measure is brought in to settle the land question; their, and not till then, will the people be satisﬁed or the Colony tranquil. Greater Commotion exists in the country than he (Mr. Macintosh) had ever known; and a spark would set it in a ﬂame. were it not for the snow [a laugh]; the legal authorities are now opposed: riot long since a sheritl'statted for Queen’s County to levy an execution; but he had to turn back Without effecting his object. The hon. member said he may differ itt opinion with some hon. meiiibets, bttt ll-ll one of them could entertain a more sincere desite to see the Colony prosperous than be (Mr. Macin- t sh) did

Mr Yco said no gond could possibly come out of the resolu- tion of the hon. member for King’s County; btit this was not the intention oftliat party; it was only tokeep tip the trade ofagitatinn, and‘to see their loiig speeches in the newspapers, through the means of—(ltere the hon. member cast a look at the Reporter.) This is the whole Sum and substance of the matter. Much had been said about the Licut. Governor’s statements tothe Home Government; but it should be borne iii mind. that he had not then been long in the country. The hon. the Solicitor General too had come iii for his share of scandal; nothing ever cottld have been sit cruel as was that hon. gentleman's conduct to the poor man and his family of ten children, lll the opinion ol some lion. members; btit why Would they not inquire into the cause before such' statements were propagated? He (Mr. Yeo) had in. qttircrl into the circumstanceand most unhesitatinglv declared the man‘s bad conduct brought it on himself; other charges had tinspariugly been heaped upon this individual, quite as tintttcrit- ed. The whole of the expenses on a certain Esmte did not amount to more than £25!!! We cannot prevent palllPS front sending statements home about the Colony Lady Westnior-

period a consultation took place between the hon. member and “Ewell”; bill ﬁnding him so dissatisﬁed, and so unreasonable in his opinions, from that time to this' we have been at variance in put political arguments. In many places. where precedents are introduced to our notice, as having occurred, ifthey posseSsed the blessing of having such good leases as we have, he thought they would not want a change. Was it to be Wondered at, that many tenants in this Colony could not pay their rents? They were not satisﬁed with less than one hundred Acres, for the “hole of which they had to pay rent—a few acres ofwhich only had they cleared. Thus it was their own iinprudence that had brought them into this dilemma. He would conclude by expres- ~ittg a bone that the proprietors will agree to our solicitations and thus do away with the long, but useless, agitation of the Colony.

Mr. D. MACLEAN said he had not intended to say any thing fur- ler on the subject ; but beingcalletl oil by the hon. the Speaker. be deemed a reply necessary, though he did not itttetid to follow hiiii throth his lax, tautological liarangue. that resembled the trim ends ot'nn epic poem. a beginning and end. but no middle. He (.\lr Mnclean) seemed to be a sort of ‘- raw-head and-bloody- bones stunttling.block” in the path of the honoutalile Speaker, and the hon. member of Charlottetown. and when the latter gen- lletnan next alludes toiliim, (Mt. Maclean) he would thank hint to state facts. and not dirty upon his lively imagination. The hon. the Speaker has been criticising the New London Pe- litittii ; and he has discovered a mare’s nes'. He hits out ol’BUO or 400 names discovered 4 or 5 that. he. considered as Objection- able; one of nhtim he informs us is art ungrateful pauper; number was not more than 16 years of age; and so far was. Do- nuld Suiherlaiitl’s natne fron bcing afﬁxed without his consent, that he had authorised a friend to sign his name, as he could not be present at the meeting. We have been told that the law would be enforced, and had heard a few utimeanirig words about 4‘ 7e— bcllion. blood and cannons.” He wituld warn them totake care how they brought the military into Collision With the people, iii an effort to maintain iitiequttable laws. The authorities of this Colony can order blood to be drawn ; but in the present state of North America, the smunchiug of that blood may be beyond their control ; for the echoes of the first volley would hardly die away in P. E Island till they would roll along the patallel of forty-five degrees to the valley of the Mississippi, and bear with them the exaggerated tidings that the reVolutioti had commenced which would cXIertninate British rtile in America; and proba- bly be followed by the outbreak on the Canadian frotitier, front the hunters’ lodges. Gentlemen might. laugh; but for his part he could not perceive any cause for mirth in the fact that an unprincipled horde 0be,000 armed tnen is sworn by dt—ep and (leadly paths to cartv ﬁre and sword into a sister province Is it a laughable matter that the Senate of the United States has puss- ed a bill in Congress to take possession ol‘the British territory ofOregoti. and that if it passes the other branch of the Legisla- ture, there must bo war? He would not hazard an opinion res- pecting the resolu'ions before the House, having only once heard them read Ovet, btit he thought that, with a few amendments important to the tenant. ‘rint unimportant to the land claimant, the House might pass them unanimously.

Mr. RAE could not but marvel at the hon. the Speaker’s as- sertion. that 22 Town~~hips might have been esclicateil, had it not been for the opposition of the lion. member for King’s Coun- tv (Mr Cooper). Why ll'lt have thrown liim overboard ? From this it appeared that at that time this Escheat question, now so

land had. be (Mr Yco) expected. sent home some very curious ones. as she was in the habit of putting very curious questions. He would support the combined resolution of the Hons. the Speaker and Mr. Palmer. .

Mr. D. MACLEAN said a great deal had been said to persuade the House that it has no right to interfere in " the sacred right afpropcrly” between landlord and tenant, as il no one but the land speculators had that right;.but he Would say that a legislature that refused to interfere. when just and necessary. was worse than useless. He was aware that facts and histori- cul precedents are peculiarly unpalatable to a few individuals in this House. and he would therefore remind them how the Churcll of Rome was despoiled of its ptopcrtv in England. during the

prretors. We are continually taunted by hon members in res- pect. to the opinions entertained by its on the Escheat question ; but did it originate with us, or rather was it not a matter of de- ‘bate long before we had a seat in this House? Another reason he objecred to addressing thc'proptie'tors was, the inﬂuence they have with the Colonial Secretary, who. from such cause. might be induced to turn a deaf ear to our applications. [Here the hon. member informed the House that produce was taken in rent in "Scotland. The hon. the Speaker wished the hon. member to point out when any law existed to compel such a course] Mr. Rae continued, it was done by agreement, and till an alteration in the Teirid law at home, the Teind used all to be taken in grain. There had been for the last 100 years, a law regulating the pro- cedure in matters both between Tenants, Landlords and clergy- men. Let us now turn to Ireland, and compare the similarity of the proceedings now agitating in that country to our own. The great and learned O’Connell’s opinion is, that the Tenaiitry there are entitled to compensation for the whirl.- of their improvements, and l to ﬁxity of tenure.’ What—is going on in that country he éMr. Rae) expected we should hear more of hereafter. Thus oes it appear we are not the only agitators. The resolutions now before us all agree that the Tenants cannot pay irt Cash. He wished his motion to examine evidence had been carried; we could then have proved ottr former representations to be true, 'whicb have been contradicted iii another quarter. How can we then call upon the same authority to join us now in an address, ‘that is contradictory to his former statements? He (Mr. Rae) 'would wish to see him relieved from so unpleasant a dilemma. Mr. Coorctt Would nttt give tip the position he had so long maintained: he still remained of the same opinion, that if we applied for Escheai on certain grounds, it would yet be granted ; the settlement of the land could in no other way be oﬁered than Thy the interference of the Crown; a line should be drawn be- tween the proprietor and the tenant. [The hon. member here read a report of Lord Durham, iit which it is said. a large tract of land had been given away in one day ;] the greatest struggle the people experience is with those representatives who have never done any thing to settle the Colony. Yes, he would repeat it, the greatest struggle they experienced was with the House of Assembly. [The hon. member again referred -tothe despa'ches of Lord John RuSsell; after reading which he asked] Was it right or honorable to petition those who would not come into a .conventional settlement with the tenanlry? To him (M r. Coo. r) it appeared the height of fully to expect relief to the people » y any other means than a settlement of the land; we are now

(.3, great expense tothc home government, and so shall we con-

ﬁinue till this is accomplished. The hon. member concluded an animated address. ofwhich this is merely a condensed outline.

' ‘Mr. Dons: could but express his surprise at the proceedings of .certain hon. members, who will not improve by past experience: shere is the old thing over and over again, till it is become quite mauseous; their remedies are not good for any complaint, save :and except the ever to be condemned agitation of the Colony; ivthey talk about shottleases being an evd; did they not cause tthis same system? Was it not themselves who had caused us to adopt. it ,in our own defence? What have been the results as considered by some proprietors who [rave given long leases; but the placing ofpower in hands to assist agitators to endeavour to .deprtve them oftliein own property; these facts have been too well

known in many instances where the rights of property have in .consequence been disregarded. This caused the adoption, where

he himself was concerned, of disposing of properly, by EIVing ~21 years for payment at one pound per acrevit was considered, as affording the occupant, an opportunity of becoming a freehol~ .der and consequently compelling him to respect its rights. Agllal0!§ have been the greatest enemies to the tenantry,

without derivrug any geod whatever for them. Had lhe)’ “0' impressed even the minds of their children, that it was necessary

to agita'e; he, as an agent, had spent many hundred pounds,

which has beneﬁtted the tenantry, and for which he had never‘re- ceived either cash or produce 'in return, yet he would state, that in conrse of time he hoped to do so ; it the resolution of the hon. member for King’s County was correct, itwould be a pre-

reigu of Henry the Eighth. Had one-tenth of the privileges which France now enjoys been conceded one litindrerl years ago. iit all probabi'ity. the revolution. with all its horrors would never have or curred. Prussia most likely saved herself from revolution bvabt'ogatiiig the feudal system. H] conﬁrming the tenant in two-thirds of his farm in fee simple. the remaining third being placed at the uncontested disposal of the landlord In Carolina. the British Government resumed the grants after a lapse of sixty years.although the title of the proprietors was not disputed, but beCause their grants orcasioned tutnults and riots in ihaI country. In Maryland. the legislature of that Colony abolished the rent of true dollar per hundred acres, as an iniquit- ous imposition. before their independence was recognized, with- out payingone farthing of compensation to the proprietor. In Pennsylvania. since the revolution, the descendants of William Penn were deprived of their “sacred rights" bv legislative enact- ments, at the. rate of six pence per acre compensation. In Canada. he Would read it resolution of the united parliament in 1811, in- terfering between landlord and tenant, in order to convert the leasehold into fret-hold tenure—with compensation it is true; but he contended the l‘l2llt equally exists, whether there is compen. sation given or not. [Here he read the resolution referred to.] He inight,he said. atldttce more precedents, httt he considered that he had said quite enough tosaiisfv the House that we really possess the riglti of interfctence; and he considered that they would belrav the interest of 'heir constituents. did they in any measure divest themselves ofthat tight. He won,ld he very will- ing to go with a Petition to the Qlleell on the subject; but he ne- ver would give a vote to a petition so degrading to the House as would be one supplicating the PrJPI‘iettll'S.

The Hon. SPEAKER in reply to the hon. member who had just resumed his seat, said. he could not perceive any similarity in the occurrences quoted by the hon. member; they did not in any way apply to this Coleriy. Could any precedents he produced as having taken place in Britain. wherein rent was not to be paid? He challenged hon members, and they could not answer. Th e hon. member (Mr. Rae) had talked about Scotland, but it was very wide ofthe question now in debate. What weight can we attach to these precedents. as hon. members are pleased to desig- nate them? Let them produce a single instance, frnrn any place that is similarly situated to lhisiCti‘tOIiy; then our attention would he demanded. No answer had been given by the hon. member for King's County to my question, as to what had become oftlie produce ofhis great victory, the £267,000. Did the hon member get it himself? Let us see, said the hon. Speaker, what have been the savings and doings ofthe lion. members. (Here he read from the Colonial Herald a long letter, as published by the lion. member when this victory was said to have been achieved.) The reading of this letter set the risible faculties of the House in motion. The hon. Speaker then enumerated several of the hon. member’s former measures, and compared them to his present proceedings. The ﬁshery reserves are now a dead letter; that question is now pending before the law oﬂicers of; the Crown.— The hon. Speaker next alluded to the occurrences in Sir Charles Fitz Roy’s time. and declared it as his decided opinion that the most likely way to beneﬁt the Colony ts to address the Govern- ment to use their inﬂuence with the Proprietors in behalf of the tenantry. Before he sat down he must say a few words on the nature oftbe petitions presented to this House, and the system adopted in getting them up. He believed someof the hon. members near him could, if they pleased, give effective ewdence on the latter head, for he knew application had been made t0'a certain person in Prince County do get tip a petition, but who refused. The Rustico petition. had broken down, but another had been got up by a disappointed candidate, who had the audacity to recommend that this Colony should be annex- ed to that of Nova Scoua. He also very much doubted the genuineness of some of the signatures thereunto attached ; and not one of them complained of any real grievance, but sun- ply that they could not pay their rents. He would not deny that at one time he was an advocate for escheat; and had it not

‘obnoxious.had been aptiptilnr titeusttre.

been for the hon. member for King’s County, (Mr. Cooper) fourteen townships could then have been escheated. At that

The hon member, Mr. Cooper. might have been rash. but he wanted it to go to the right parties. But be (Mr. R18) supposed it wasto be left to the Executive to slice it out as they pieased; he could bttt feel grnt titled, and from so undoubted an authority, that “ the extreme” —u the wilti”-—‘- the smoky measure”—-harl not always been thought so ridiculous as many hon. members were now pleased to desig- nate Esclieat. Mr. Htime asked if any thing less than Esclieat would satisfy the people; and now, with a great increase of dis- ireSs, nothing preferable to simply asking the proprietors to take their rent in produce can be thought of! Verilv. vterilv, we shall be degraded in the eyes of othch And few ofotir hO'l. selves are pointed at because we advocate the cause of the people; but should it happen that none such are left, then will the peo- ple speak in a different way; a lordly power over 100 000 acres does not give a possessor a right to rule cycr us altogether: it will not do to make lords ofso-tie and slaves ttfothcrs. He (illr. Rae) kllI‘W full many changes detrimental to the lanI‘ESlS of this Colony had taken place at home; and it may not be wise to push extreme measures We must be satisﬁed with accepting a compt‘o‘nise if we can obtain it. for the, people are inclined to do any thing to obtain redress oftheir undisputed grievances. For his ('t'lr. Rae’s) part, he did not expect to derive much beneﬁt from the application. if adt.pted; the proprietors may consent to take produce for two or three years. and that would be the extent oftlie beneﬁt of our present legislation.

Illr. DOUSE said. we are continually listening to many impu- tations made by some lion members in this House about the ill- trenlment of Proprietors to their tenanlry. but he believed them to be as uninst as they were unfounded. Proprietors of Proper- tv in this Island may be desirous of serving their tenan'ry, but in consequence of the tenant’s listening to the ill advice ofoihe-s. they are actually prevented from showing their sincerity towards them. pulling such imputations to the test. and called upon the lion members, Mr. Cooper and Mr. Rae, in their places, and, who had been the principals in calling the attention of the House to the State of the Colony, and he Would say the most active in pro- n0ttncing their indignation. to co tie forward manfullv on the ﬂoor ofthat House, and point out who the proprietors of land in this. Island were that had been guilty of the enormities stated lty them. He would wish in hear something like a discrimination, ifsuch there be. (Here Mr. Dmise called over a list of names... Messrs. Cunard. Stewart. Worrell, Earls of Selkirk. Melville, Westmorland, Sir George, Seymour and Sir Gabriel Wood. Futi- nitig. Sulivan. Todd. Conroy. Mann. Ctintlall, Montgomery. Rennie. Winsloe. Lord James Ttitvnsltcnsl, and others, and then placed the lis: on the table.) He (Mr. D‘HISQ) would challenge, he would defy lion. members to ﬁx a stigma of tyranny against any one ofthese in the recovery of their rents ; and if he received no reply, he would say, away then with such calii-iinv and calumniators. The ban member, Mr Cooper. had stated that he would even have a ﬁxed price for produce. How was this to he done otherwise than by allowing a fair market prise at the time of payment? Every thing appears in be. so ambiguottsly ex. pressed, that it cannot be understood; in fact, it was tiresome to any one who valued his time, and who hail the good of the Colony at heart. to be obliged to sit and listen to such state- ments. He would. in short. be sorry. even were it possible, to be a tenant under either of the agitators, and he more than dotibted whether they wmtld grant terms more favourable, and accept of payments less liberal. than the present land owners.— However, he wouldllike to hear a reply from the hon. members he had called upon, as they might throw out some new light upon the subject. which may have a more favourable tendency; but it appeared to him that their whole mm. as the hon. member Mr. Yco, expressed it “ was to kick up a mm in the counh‘y, and to see their long. but injurious tpeeehcs in the newspapers.” He would support the resolution to address the proprietors, as being most likely to conduce to the beneﬁt ofthe Colony. t

Mr. CttnPER observed. so many questions had been ptit, and so tnany allusions made about him, that he did not know which to take up ﬁrst, but thought he must give the prefert‘nceto escheat. He nevertheless denied the assertion of the hon. Speaker, that there were not more than fourteen townships that could have been escheaied; and be (Mr. Cooper) at that period, took his stand upon the principle that the whole Island was equally liable to be eScheated. (Here the hon. member went into an explanation of his conduct at the time alluded to by the hon. Speaker.) Hon. members should act consistently, and not at- tempt to cry doWn a measure without right or reason on their side. The original grants seemed to be lost sight of altogether ; he need not say what they were; it was well known to the House and to the country that the proprietors had not fulﬁlled the con- ditions of their grants. and thus was the land as justly entitled to be escheated now as ever it was. The fact of the tenantry’s be-

He would avail himself of the pvt-Sent onpottunity of

w.‘

[N o. 297.

ingr in arrears of rent is laid to my chatge. He too must put a question: were the tenants not so circumstanced before be (Mr. Cooper) took an active part in the politics of the country, The laughter creating letter must not be forgotten ; the circumstance that caused him to pen that letter was the information brought to him by several persons, that the their Governor had used expres- sions contained in it. But why rake up old matters? Is it con- sistent with that which hon. members so Continually condemn! The dispatches we have received are of so contradictoiy a nature. that he witiild most emphatically again declare that we are as equally entitled to eschcat as ever we were.

The hon. the SPEAKER said the hon. member for Prince County (Mr. Rae) had asked why the esclical oftlie iwctiiy-twtitownships had not taken place at the time he (the Speaker) had alluded to previously; it was simply this—a bill was passed. in which an informality existed ; the then Governor wrote home for instruc- tions; iii the meaniittte agitation was going on, and in conse- quence, the home government thought it Would not be sale to trust the people. The thcn House of Assembly made out a very strongcase, but the hon member for King's County (Mr. Cooper) would not be satisfied with an iota less than the abtogntion of the whole of the leases, Are. The hon. member would in addi- tion have us believe it would have been a greater ltoon had the proprietors brought out settlers at that time. Why, land could be got for asong then! Some had fallen iiiio the hands ofthe pro- prictors at three jartlit'ngs per acre; and thus there could not have been tnucli difﬁculty in obtaining free land, by those who wished to possess it. The only reason he, the Speaker. hail~ for alluding tti escheat, was to prove that the their House o1 Assembly per- formed tlieir ditty. ’

lllr. RAE said. he considered himself to he one of those called upon by the hon member for Belfast. (.llr Douse,) and he would ask, was selling land with a bad title, or letting it at ls 6d,, and ‘25. per acre, ti pritofof the tvell disposed feelings of the propri- etors? The hon. member. and other hoti. mernnet's‘. could say. - prove the crueltyf yet il'ihe prrtprictors were so kind and so well disposed. why had the hon. member so zealously opposed his (Mr. Rae’s motion to examine evidence? This looked as if the House \vere afraid that a something may come out that would not bear the light : but, was it not that it Would be committing a breach of conﬁdence. he would take tip the gauntlet thrown by the hon. member for Belfast. He (Mr. Rae) could some tales unfold—if he was at liberty so to (lo—that would exhibit striking facts of the treatment ofih'ts worthy set ot'itidividuals. A land agent‘s book was a document he. of all things, would like to peep into; he thought the perusal might throw a light upon cer- tain suspicions entertained by hon members. He wondered if they adopted the system of hook-keeping by single or double entry? Lord Selkirk was not so bad as some that ,might be mentioned ; he had attempted something lorthe beneﬁt of his tetiantry. lllr Rae thought the hon. member’s, lllr. Cooper’s, resolutions should be amended. by confining it only to the rights given us in the various despatches received from the home ' government.

M r. COLES reminded hon. members they were travelling a long way from the question; he thought a kind of promise had been held out that the old. and MW becotne unpopular giievanccs were to be suspended in this matter; bill it appeared to be as rife as ever; why said the hon. member, is this stale and useless question of escheat to be so continually raked up, when the injury it. has done to the Colony is so well known? If we obtained the consent of the ptoprictors to take produce in lieti ol’cash lortlicirr tents, it would be of greater beneﬁt than any measure of Escheat. What did hon members, the advocates of a reinvestment of the land in the Crown, expect. ifthcv accomplished so great a dcside. ratum? In their opinion, Would not the Crown dispose of it as they did of the other property, at as much as could be obtained for it He (Mr. Coles) did not approve of ﬁxing the price to be paid ; when prices rated high—as he hoped to see them. the tctiantry would be dissatisfied; nor Could he approve of any at- tempt to lower -lie tent, In as much as he thought it would stran- gle the good effect altogcther; a fair measure in liis(1\Ir. Coles) view would be the market price of Charlottetown.

lIoN Mr. PALM‘R. The hon. member for Piince County [Mr. Rae] had said. he did not. wish to go into those old unfortunate inat- tcrs ; he Mr. P. was sor y to see the hon. member depart from the question, which caused others to follow in his stops. There was nothing new in his arguincn's ; the htin. member hrtd alluded to hi! Exeellcncy, as being placed itt adifﬁcult position ; there was nothing in that. qu trtcr; we need not fear any comment would be made on our proceedings by his Excellency. He, Mr. Palmer, was plqusgd to see symptoms ofshame—as he thought—in some hon. members, in having so unsparitigly and unjustly censured that exalted rcprtxsen- tatlve of Majcsty. [The hon. mentber then went. into the old thread- bare question of Est-heat, and read some printed extracts to the HauseJ ll‘ through the good offices of his Excellency we obtain the weight also of the Home Government, to support our address to the proprietors, we shall be in a by-far more liker situation of effcctirig a permanent good for the Colony, than any of those visionary sublimes', would ever have p'ocut'ed. The hon. member for Queen’s County, [Mn 1), Maclean] he, Mr. Palmer, Would not attempt to follow,'in‘ his history of revolutions ; he would satisfy himself by simply starting: to the House that he [the hon.'metttber] ivislitd to see the same effect; by the same cause trike place in this colony ; his speeches conveyedit that meaning, and fully justiﬁed him, Mr. Palmer, in making the ass scrtion ; but he thought it. would be far better to go on in a constitu—- tional way ; he would do the people justice, by declaring them to be; blameless; it. is wholly the fault of the agitators; the complaints and dissatisfaction evinced in the Colony lie at the door oftliose who “and titiue the ferment of the country. It was not long since that. the blind member for Queen’s County [Mr. D. Maclean] would not. le calls; lied with any thing less than the application of the axe to the root 0 all grievances ; but, Since then, the hon. member st-ctrtcd inclined to confine his views within a more narrow compass. ' Hc [:Vlr. Palmer] without going further, would now submit his Resolutions, which were the combined ideas of the ban. the Speaker, ofliimself and stivera other hon. members, and were compiled with caution, so as to pro. cure—ifpossiblc~uiiatiitttity in this House, arid throughout the Coloy try. It. must be an admitted fact, that. former attempts have it been attended with any good result to the beneﬁt of the people; [In adoption of the resolution will have a very desirable effect, that o enlisting the home Government in our favour, through his Excellency who will most willingly second our wishes; it will not materially in terfere with the rental of the proprietors; if they will not conform the government has power to tum rourid upon them iii another way former proceedings have done much harm in many respects; th home Government have felt annoyed, the Proprietors too, and ' consequence extra. burdens have been imposed upon the peeple. x is new high time that we should endeavour to retrieve our character and the way to accomplish so desirable an object is to keep withi the bounds of moderation. He (Mr. Palmer) would Wish to undecciv the Tenaritry; he would wish them to understand that we posses not the slightest power to abolish the agreements they themselve have voluntarily entered into. He would advise them to give u these false hopes others had caused them to entertain, and devot their attention to their Farms. He [Mn Palmer] concluded, h would just say a word on the Petitions received by the House. N i new grievance—no new matter, is therein set forth ; in short, nothin is prayed for of any consequence that we have not been attemptin

by our legislation. to ameliorate or remove, so far as we have powe

or can lawfully interfere, and itis worse than unless to talk abo what we cannot. , ' _ [For Resolution, see the Colonial Herald of the 25th ML] The hon. SPEAKER most willingly would second the rcsolutio from which he expected much beneﬁt would accrue. If it should ha; pen that. he, the speaker, was wrong in his anticipations, and t Proprietors would not acquiesce, then he would most willingly agr to tax their landed property ; but from what is passing, there is ve little doubt of a non compliance; already are the Agents meeting t ’l‘eriantry ; they are advertising to accept produce in payment. of ten the tenants on the property which he (the Speaker) represented we allowed to pay half in produce, but he was proud to say it was seldo that they wished to embtace the privilege, but paid the wholt rent. cash ? In all countries there are rich and poor; if an equality we this day to take place, to-morrow would not ﬁnd it the name; the sa laws are made for the whole, and we cannot, nor ought we to tilt

them to the beneﬁt of one more than another. N otwtghlttinding that It members are so; fond of attempting to disparagedliis Colony, higc vintion was, that aiiother‘cnuld iiotbe found in America, taking it: it -,-, with equal advantages, for settlement as this holds amps-nob candid opinion, and art such, was he very angina: of mm: it turn a