_ I “alto conclusion would appear to have been arrived at with

‘ ,5 <1 again-ii. beta

,1

wflt “Lilo during Esrl Gray's continuance in o_fice.' It "° ' °'°,'°|’e receive the royal assent, and another Bill ll] passed under another titld with a view to

moms! thssame III‘ This latter Bill being rtrongl - ~ . - - J ;"‘l’°°“' by the o&ialP::n of the Colony. as a Government‘

V . s was lnslly sanctioned by the royal allowance; some; 3“ i llnellmeufwhich did_ not afoot-' the principle conten-

e_-enti-| roq-ii-its to e farm in eiiiekegi. llmf any in;provem|e‘qlts in an or_ erwise, at m’ the and my 1 d.

'mPP°d- mm‘ ‘iv Ill ‘nee formo |or0:rl;:)leX I?! .dnitlicu'li mm" F0? Mhummt. by arbitration, with . due regard to the merits of the ‘respective clai that may be urged under ll" 3|“. lid in Impartial consideration of the a I value »ofmoh improvements, with a view to any inc rent tho hldlord may be able to obtain for them. if placed at his

;and

Iugg: ed th ' (lfioo . “rug in by an veal tm.att‘:lne Colonial . and con .'l';.'e next measure of the Assembly was in the Semion of 80..., to augment the then exsisting Land Tax, by an -rl-|=»=--

dismal.‘ B the provisions of the Act, this can be defided ly the awe of two arbitrators; but your Petitionarg, with

al assessment on all Township Property, whereby wil \ land is now taxed. at thirty-seveu at! a half per cent. ' rnie than such as is under cultivation, being nine shillin and two pence on every hundred acres of wane ail! no land throughout the Island, without distinction as to value. or capability of impro_veuicnt—a measure, as your titioners believe. having no precedent in the annals of B tinh I ' laiion ; and a law was passed at the same time prohibit"; rent which could by an ussibility be made the subject distress, from being sued iii: in the Courts for the recovery of Small Debts, although such Courts were previously opoo to suits for rent as for any other ordinar action for debt. within the jurisdiction of the same. at now before a summons for rent can issue from such Courts, the pmytp, lying for it must take and subscribe an oath that fluficigjfl property cannot be found to countervail half a yarn song, by search made on the premises, within seven da previou to such application. ' And this restriction,’ your etltioue beg leave to submit, amounts to almost total exclusion. an is at once repugnant to the lawn of Great Britain and the common principles of even-banded justice. These measures were made the subject of a Memorial and Reincnstrauce to Sir John Pakin ton. transmitted through the Lieut. Governor, and dated gilrd July, 1862, ying for their disallowance, on the nude therein eta . Bus immediately after the change of iuisters in December, 1852, the Bills comprising such measures were returiied to tho Colony, having received Her Majesty's sanction.’ ' That among the unusual privileges conferred on tenants by local statutes. Stock, if distrained for rent, cannot be sold between November and June, comprising six mouths of the year—the tenant being required to give a bond and on curity that such stock shall be forthcoming at the time when

due submission, contend that a fairer way of arriving at it, vould be by setting up the tenant's interest at auction, subject If course .10 the couditiopsof his lease, and the arrears at ent due under it, including all costs and char lawfully zlsnrrcd fiirthe recovery of them; and then filling. by lublic sale, what such leasehold interest will bring, subject *0 the amount of claim.

And your. Petitioners humbly bog leave to whom, um, inder the circumstances above mentioned, it is reasonable

inc A_ssembl , when such measuresinvolve a departure from \|l’Il1o_lpl0l h tlerto regarded as for-min the basis of civil county. and it is moreover essential to e interests of land- ovners in this‘ Colony that the intentions of Her Mnjesiy’s [ome Government ‘With respect to a series of encroachments in the rights of property, as recognized by the British con- situticn, should e clearly ascertained. This must obviously ‘La regarded of the more importance, when the leaders of the ‘heal Government are chosen under a system amounting to iniversal suffrage. as nted to this Island by the extension if the elective franc ' in 1853, which overbalances all p-operty considerations in the scale ofrcprcsentative influence. and your Petitioners further beg leave to impress upon the ionsidcratiou of Her Majesty’s Government. the very slight prospect of permanent security afforded to subjects of Great Britain in a dependency of the Crown, where the quali- {cation for a seat in either branch of the Legislature is such is at present exists in Prince Edward Island-—a freehold or leasehold interest to the value of thirty-four pounds sterling leing the qualification for a seat in the Assembly ; or esti- nating such qualification at five per cent. yearly value, just iihirty-four British shillings per nnnum. W ith reference to the Upper Branch of the Legislature, your Petitioners are

sale thereof can legally be efieotcd; all hay and provender found on the premises being reserved for the use of the stock, and no stock can, under any circumstances, be removed td

a greater distance than five miles from the premises, without‘ have been chogon {mm among .. the pnncip

the consent of the tenant. These restrictions. being in favor of tenants on Township lands alone, do-not extend ncroaepiply to the respective Towns and Royalties, and are addu to shew, that large exemptions have already been ‘fluted id tlie tenantry of this Colony, some of which orignated ii( favors shown to them by their landlords, which were afler wards made precedents for law; and it can neither be con- troverted nor denied that the condition of the tenant fl Prince Edward Island, as regards mildne of terms, 0 from taxes, and both length and security of tenure, great? exceeds that of the eauie class in England, or indeed not other countries. Three farthings sterling per acre will covd' the amount of land tax to which the tenant hero is liable. and it appears from the records of the Supreme Court, that only six ejectments for non-payment of rent have taker place during the last four years, which does not argue mucl for the severity of landlords in a country where rents, is most cases, are very greatly in arrear. That your Petitioners have been induced to make thd oiug statement in reference to two other Bills recently pas'~'cd by the Legislature, and now awaiting Her lajntyfs approval; one entitled " an Act to impose a rate or duty on the Rent Rolls of the Proprietors of certain rented Township lands in Prince Edward Island," &c.. to which, in ‘he first

uninformed of an recent instructions the 'Lieut. Governor may have received, as re rds filling up ‘appointments to that Board. By the Royal nstructions given to a former Gover- nor, aud published here, the Legislative Councillors were to ' al frccholders. inhabitants of the Island ;” but late appointments to that body would lead to the conclusion that a property quali- fication, if not altogether done away with, is at least not vasential. And your Petitioners deeply deplore that the public affairs of a small but valunblo dependency should be entrusted to the management of deliberative bodies so constructed. without any limits being accurately defined for their guidance or

of a class of British subjects are placed so largely under their control; leavin your Petitioners no other hope of redress under such grievances. than an appeal to the justice and moderation of Her Majesty's Home Government. And they therefore humbly ray that the Bills specified in the margin hereof!‘ may not e sanctioned by Her Majesty’; Royal Allowance. And your Petitioners shall ever pray.

(Signed) ROBERT BRUCE STEWART,

CHARLES WRIGHT.

The Right Honorable Loan JOHN Russztn, &c. &c. &c.

° " An Acttc impose a Rate or Duty on the Rent Rolls cfthe Earl of certain rented Township Lands in Prince Edwafl Island

Proprie- DI

" An Act to secure Compensation to Tenants in Prince Edward Island, ‘ ad thereby to promote the improvement of the Sell."

4th June, 1855.

misc] _

place, your Petitioners beg leave respectfully to all yvlu ordship‘s attention, and it will be at once apparent hat the said Bill bears exclusively on a certain class of indiiduals,

having vested interests in this Colony, and thereforchundcd ’

on one of the worst principles of legislation, namely, hat of imposing a hnrtliensome duty on the ostensible incoaeof a limited class, for the furtherance of objects, which if ocntisl to the public service, ought to be provided for by equil and rational taxation. But a general income tax was near yet

Petition and Remonstrance If certain Proprietors and Agents of Land in Prince Edward Island, to the Queen, against the Act to impose a rate upon Rent Rolls of Proprietors.

TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. The Petition and Reinonstrauce of the undersigned Pro- prietors and Agents of Land in Prince Edward Island, most

imposed, or even contemplated in Prince Edward Islanc nor, .,.e,p°c“-any 3hewe(h_

as your Petitioners believe, in the nei hbo'uring Provilru of N ova Scotin or New Brunswick ; aurfspart from the Iijust principle of partial taxation, your Petitioners ooutendthat the unjust provisions of the Act are arbitrary and in'qiisi- torial—tbe security required by it dillicult to be comglied with—nnd the penalties to be incurred under it ueedldy

certain rented Township Lands in Prince l'.'dwn_rd Island. in ‘order to defray the expenses of any armed force which may

That in the last Session of the Provincial Piirliamcnt_ of the said Island, a Bill was passed, inlituled “ an Act to im- pose a rate or duty on the Rent Rolls ot the Proprietors of

be required on account of the withdrawal of the troops, and

severe, extending even to lunatics, idiots, and insane persist; and it can only be regarded as part of a plan for oxtinguisii: the rights of Proprietors by mmns of an aggressive systeu

legislation, which, your Petitioners humbly conceive, ‘

more afiinity, in the present instance, to a statute forths punishment of ofienders, than to an Act for contributng towards raising a Revenue by fair and legitimate taxatha. That if it were really intended by the Legislature to mail . due provision for an arm force in case of exigency, it w have been just and prudent, on their part, to restrict th appropriation of all sums arising from any tax or taxes ' -« posed for that purpose, towards raising a fund for the - '

contemplated when needed. Property is already hea ' ~ on. of which is to colnpel the owners of Townsl§iP Lands taxed for the portof Education, and by the appro ria ' ~ convey the same to the local Government of this Island, for the year en in 31st Januar , 1855, it o - be by it disposed of to the present tenantry in freehold,

n fifth part of the venue for t t year was so plied, : I when danger to the Colony is to be apprehended, it is be fair to presume that a due rtion of the burthen of any p - vision requisite for its dc nee, will be willingl borne b every patriotic Colonist resident on the Ielandl and pot rown altogether on one . 43. _ _ ' ' , to more

nominal re l. Ind 00! 00 the Actual receipt 1 pgidtoffl of Township lands;_ though in non, . .

be found impcmihle to realms the rumor, mo ‘ho do so would greatly distress a lar5° "W-her of tax on wildernem property he

the Pro it may

at tempt to tenants; for the liefly obliged Porpric as to the circumstances upf :B:t::l£E:ii?duY::n“m&zt'f|: iiiliiihhdiefiie case would lgmllv '°'“d' "nbling them "i overcome the dificulties inseparable from such occupancy,

without capital to commence With-

for

in, it is intended to provide a fund for the purpose of

.- r in reality it is one of a series of measures. the avowed pur-

er - '- v‘ - chime provisions of the B’ Comm

tors to let lands without mach discrimination .;

the further encouragement of Education,” in which said - ct is it clause restraining the operation thereof, until Her u ajesty's assent shall have been first given thereto. _ The undersigned hulnbly pray that your i\_Iajesty will be leased to withhold the royal assent to the said Bill. for the llowing among other reasons. _ _ _ That the real object of the Bill is not what it purports be on the face of it. According to the preamble of the

aintaiuing an armed force, in case the necessities of the land should demand that such a force should be raised.

_ “ Squatters,” who have taken nd held pomession without the consent of the owners.

The truth of this assertion is of easy proof. During the ursc of the Session, the long agitated uestion of Eschent ,, Ammu , ‘ h of th

. ‘PW’ ’ 0 Hog” dial Secrefhry undnl:r¢.espiIle:nt ol tli:

- Va ounoil, dotiverea vvlswn ghn ‘gale Hons?‘ was in ittec, the true intent of passing t is, with t a other ' advcrtod to by the Hon. Colonial

Secretary: " Believing that Escheat was iinprscticiiblml ‘Ive introduced and carried other measures for tho benefit

people, at the expense of the proprietors ;'_' and sub- [yugnfly in the ganio ppeech, he says; " I am satisfied that ;s House has it in its power to_milignic the hardships on stenantry, arising from the original grants; that remedy by taxing the lands of the proprietors; under that sys- I , the roprietors will soon be glad to come in and 05%|‘ t r lan s to the Government, under the Land Purchase 1 _" And .goin—" Isegrct that the minds of the people are (,1 on ghi. question. (li‘eschcat.) Had it not been for ' exciting them and holding out false hopes. CV01‘)! would have gone on quietly, and the Land Purchase ‘HO Education Act, and the proposed Bill for taxing the 't lls of the Proprietors, would have had the cfil-ct of in-

the

. . ' l l f th t ." bebr°°s‘*"!*!"'“ °"'::-.* ':.‘:".::1°:;"-i:i:':.‘:::.;:°.::..';"::.'.:::....°.;:::::.;z... ‘oomph .dnohmB§f::oI:la§ad‘°dg‘::gf ddi:3)le in ind of the speaker, it is impossible to say. unless

| . - i ’

-"W" ‘W ""“"'-“°°'°°‘ "°'-"‘:‘.,""";.".l“‘{’.:“ ‘F’ " - '2‘§'F’3.'.§?l'if§.°.iT1i?i§?.i§"fii3.'I.ll.'i.ii-‘}“'3.°’l.'§’lI.§ F‘? "ii. h":‘..",..h:;i.‘:" lg . Imp. I“ iacnt. at one-third of their value. that being the so , ho use-qpaymsatd or ‘ill the Land Purchase Bill.‘ That the B I II hm‘ fietsrm, N id hen the principle of clam legislation. Ind “I 00 wean, eebdltrls Se _i_u -“-*5‘ cause has. or can be shown. 75! “'0 WW‘

fl , Us rv'vi-'v-3"” ‘ ‘-1 ‘ ‘ us! landsoverilve hundred aereI.ehoald hetlxed ‘jfiflfi ' ‘I _ is of i-atsh:Laad malntainin an armed force

' fir‘ mica of Colony. in pf to the pro-

‘ nsllerportloaanfaathsudthecwaersof

“fin”, h an flu‘. " Wlierem the bi of the Bill states this F0-

fllllpm my or buildings, diipyanlal.

iaexpect that some barrier shall be opposed to measures of:

restriction, in cases where the vested rights and immunities tb

r

prictcrs of Towmhip Lands in the said Island have loosed a large portion thereof to tenants, from whom they derived large rents, and covenants _asa generally contained in the leases of ch lands, that the tenants or occupiers thereof shall y a l taxes imposed or to be imposed on the lands so lea to them, whereby the proprietors evade the payment of said taxes. and the principal part thereof are paid y the tcnsntry; and whereas such lands have greatl increased in value from the industry of the tenach. and the ,os- perity and pro ressive state of the Cclcny,—inde$ndae y of any outla me e by the proprietors of such lan .” .

That rents are by no means excessive. the following statistics of the Colony will prove. By the Census of 1848, in the 67 Townships, weie6,0C9_ seesaw under lease. written deinises or agreements or. without agreementsi and of these 3,202 held under leases for 999 years; 440 from 999 to 100; 819 from 100 to 50 years, and 308 from 50 to 30 years, while the whole number of those holding for a less term _than 30 yeai-s, is 109. Of the 6,099 tenants holding under either -lease.-written demise. agreement or without, 4,970 hold. their lands at a rate nominally of one shilling sterling. but in reality owing'to' the One-ninth Bill, at a rate not exceeding nine-pence British sterling, the sore ; 898 at rates varying from nine-pence to sixteen-pence British sterling. per acre ; and 37 not ex- ceeding two shillings British sterling, per acre, there being but 85 farms rented above that sum, and the tenants of these residing chiefly in the older and more densely settled Town- ships Lots 17. 19 and 48, and in all probability not payable to the original proprietors or their representatives.

When the landlord has parted with his interest in the soil for 999 years, he has virtually sold it from him and his heirs, for an annuity of about three pounds fifteen shillings. British sterling, the one hundred acres ; and it is hardlyto be ex-

cted that he should contribute towards its improvement, as let what will be the ultimate value either through the in- dustry of the tenant, or the prosperity and pro ive state of the Colony, he can receive no more thant e sti ulatcd rent or annuity of three pounds fificen shillings e one hundred acres. or nine-pence the acre.

The fact of the tenants’ lands having risen greatly in value, ‘ only tends to prove that they have had favourable terms of tenure, and that they, and not their landlords, ought to con- tribute most largely to the defence of the Island, as having the’ most valuable interest to defend.

That the arrangements for carryiii out the provisions of the Bill are most inequitable, inasmuo as it taxes the gross rental without any inquiry as to what hasbeen paid, and what has been in arrear ; thereby compelling the proprietor to pay ccnsideralzly more on his real income than the five per cent mention in the Bill, thus taxing the loss equally with the gain, a species of legislation without a parallel, it is to be hoped, in any country, however despotically ruled. And this is the more unjust, as it is well known that such has been the leniency of the landlords, that vast sums of money due for rent are in arrenr, and that a continuing loss.‘ is annually suffered by the failure of the tenants to meet cir engagements, so much so that if two-thirds of the yearly rent is re ularl y paid up, the proprietor-or his agent may think himse f fortunate.

That ihc line of distinction drawn between proprietors of five hundred acres, and those above that number. is an ar- bitrary one, and fouuded'on no principle either of justice or equity, the proprietor of 500 acres being just as much bound to contribute to the defence of the Colony as one of 1,000 or 10,000, and can be attributed only to on determination already alluded to. as expressed by the leader of the Go- verninent, to com el the sales of Township Lands under the provisions of the Land Purchase Bill. -

That it is assumed by the leader of the Government, the introducer and supporter of the Bill, that the tenautry of Prince Edward Island are is suffering and o pressed clam, than which nothing can be more fallacious, nothing more op.

po "r.:f:r*:.:“.“""’ .*:;‘z..:*~';:":..:‘:'.:’*.;*!*°°.~“'.:’.'."“..*. an 11 0 IIXOS I , n 13 U‘ 0 the rent, the charge per acre will not amount to ten‘-pence British sterling per acre; and no one can presume to call this a rack rent.

An unusual increase of population, accompanied by a cor- responding augmentation of wealth, may be safely taken as a criterion whereby to measure the advance of a people in the social scale. By the Census of 1827, published in the Appendix to the Journals of the House of Assembly, for the year 1828, the population of the Island was, 23,266; twenty-one years after, in 1848, (without fliy very material increase from immigration), it numbered 66,678 ; and during the same year, the amount of thO Colonial Revenue rose from £5,456 16s. l1d., in 1827,to £25,264 ls. 9d., in 1848 —in 1854 it has reached £46,033 lls. 6}d. The number of cultivated acres in 1827 amounted to 59,909, or about 2} acres to each individual. In 1848 the number of acres ofar- able land was 215,389, or nearly 3} acres to each individual, showing not only an almost unexampled increase in po ala- lotion and public wealth, but an augmentation of private fixed capital to the amount of one acre in three and a hall to each inhabitant, from the child in arms to the oldest in- habitiint in the Colony. The sameoomparative increase in animal produce and stock of all descriptions, is to be derived from the same sources, all published by the order of the Le- gislnturc in the difi'erent Appendices to the Journals of the House of Assembly.

In the year 1847, when the people of the Island‘ suffered most severely from the almost total loss of its principal crop—thc potatco—combined with unfav_eurable_ seasons for

rain cm s, when 731,575 bushels are returned as the pro- uco of that year, while in the year 1841 the returns were 2,250,114 bushels, it mi ht have been reasons‘ ’ imagined ntsoeoes. istreasan, .4,-,.. . ._ here, ;lfl|I'l'Bnl's :36 . . . - ‘ u r ' - ‘ 00?!!!’-o ypogul-*i9n of i."° .?""': "iii." e°e°:ni‘s54 wire "“"' °' °'°°°' “"4 d""°"'3s'° " ’ r ‘.9350 .stsrlin found requisite to vote the tri in pulp tau” ban‘ 3 only. forotlio benefit of about 26 indivi —I or 1,00 . . P A conilllllgllyh whose °;l0‘I;t;t :n|l1;:"1$ '0 ill" "‘ °“° thousand, an iv ose uocess ‘I _ , . something less than thirty nlIilllII‘I. be said to ev;i‘i| app'rox‘imI|0 . description. eee ac earn in ._. . showing that the present Administration . Bill in question, and other Bills of a llkfi 01101;.” “if a through their operation. to W073 0"‘ I '|W.|.|l r‘°|'°"' . - rds deftsying.