@ s @olonial ihmalh.

AND

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND ADVERTISER.

m — Vol. III.] ’

\ COLONIAL LEGISLATURE. MONDAY, March 2.

(Debate continued.)

Mr. THOMSON said they ought not to conﬁne justice to one case, but to extend it to all. If a Custom House was to be established at the door of Mr. Cambridge, they ought, in lilte manner to establish Custom Houses at New Lon- don, St. Margaret’s, and other places. And why’l because .at both those places the duties collected were greater than at Cascumpeque. By the public accounts for duties collected at Cascumpeque the last year appeared to be One hundred and sixty and some odd pounds—a sum much less than the amount of duties collected at St Margaret’s, and only a few pounds over the amount collected at New loudon. It would thus take more than 30 per cent. to collect the duties at Cascumpeque, and at that rate all sound the Island, they would have but a small Revenue. He would oppose the prayer ofthe petition, till he should see more reason to grant it.—The Hon. J. S. Macdonald said the hon. member for Georgetown ought to consider the exports and not the imports alone at Cascumpeque. The exports from Cascumpedue were ﬁfty times greater than from those places which he had brought into com- parison with it.—Mr. Yeo observed that the imports of Cascumpeque would appear very far from triﬂing, when hon. members should take into consideration that the goods imported for Cascumpeque, by way of Charlottetown, had amounted to £3000 in a year.—Mr. D. Macdoriald said he would oppose the increasing of the number of Custom Houses. It could not be expected that they should be multiplied so as to suit the convenience ofevery individual engaged in trade. >

The Petition was then, as stated in our last, received, and .laid on the table.

CORONERs’ niLL.

The Bill to authorize the appointment of Coroners in King’s and Prince Counties, was, according to order, read a second time; and the Hduse then resolved itself into a Com- mittee of the whole to take the said Bill into consideration. —-’-’The Hon. Mr. Pope said it would almost be proper that they should see the Coroner’s patent of ofﬁce. He would like :to see the Commission. It had only then occurred to ihimvto be necessary, or he would have mentioned it before. He was satisﬁed of the necessity there was for the ofﬁcer. From what he had heard and what he knew respecting the nature of a Coroner’s '~ duties, he was satisﬁed a Deputy could not discharge them. The duties devolving uupon him as Deputy of the Sheriff, he might dcpute to a ahird party; such duty was merely ministerial. But the ,peculiar duty Of a Coroner, the presiding as a judge, he could not perform by deputy. He had read Blackstone cespecting this ofﬁce, and he had heard the point very tfully‘ argued, as to whether,a Deputy could discharge the :duties or not; and the-impression upon his (Mr. P’s.) mind “Has, that the duties could not be deputed. He pointed out the very heavy and most unreasonable expense, fre— quently thrown upon an unfortunate family, by the ‘Coroner’s taking with him (when called upon to hold an Inquest) a medical gentleman from Charlottetown. The medical gentleman’s charge was sometimes £10 or £12. A Coroner might perhaps see in the toleratiou of such a practice, a tempting opportunity to put a few pounds into the purse of some medical friend or favourite, at the expense either of some distressed family, or, at all events, that of the Colony. Another existing grievance under the present system was, that, in cases where executions we’re to be levied upon lands, at whatever distance from Char- lottetown, the Coroner, causing the levy to be made by some individual upon the spot, was yet at liberty to charge mileage from Charlottetown. He (the hon. Mr. Pope) had heard the Coroner say, that comparing his fees with the disagreeable nature of the Ofﬁce which he had to per- form, he did not value the former (his fees) to the extent ofonc farthing. Some new light, however, it appeared, had lately broken in upon him; he had recently found there were important lees attached to the ofﬁce, and de- rivable from no painful or disagreeable duty. When there were but few inhabitants in the Colony, one Coroner for the whole Island was sufﬁcient; but, from the increase of population, the case was now very different. He did not expect that the bill would meet with any obstruction, ex- cept on the part of the incumbent and his friends. Any opposition in that quarter however, they ought not much to regard.» The bill, if carried intoa law, would relieve the incumbent from much disagreeable duty.—-—-In answer to pn inquiry made by Mr. Thomson, the Hon. Mr. Pope said, the appointment to the ofﬁce of Coroner carried along With it no salary. By the law of England, a Coroner was allowed I33. 4d. for every inquest held by him. There were fees attached to the office, but these were paid out of the edema of the deceased, if any, and if sufﬁcient; if otherwise, they were paid by the County. ,

Mr. RAE said, if there was no salary there could he _no objections to the appointment contemplated by the bill. Twelve or ﬁfteen pounds was too great a sum to be paid to any medical gentleman for his attendance on an inquest. There was an instanceof a medical gentleman’s havmg charged £30 for his attendance on two inquests. He did “think there was any salary now attached to the ofﬁce ; but a salary might be in contemplation. If the Coroners

"we" to have no galaxies, there could beno objection to the.

a intinent of one for each of the Counties—The Hon, Inigol’opo said it was necessary the Coroner should be possessed“ suﬁciont foes ;, owing to the great distance he

Id to travel, these frequently amounted to a large sum. Medical attendance alone had sometimes amounted to £15 or £20. He thought they ought to apply for a copy of the Coroner’s Patent of Ofﬁce, and meanwhile to .allow the matter to stand over. The preamble of the bill, he thought be might then observe, was not sufﬁciently full. —Mr. Palmer said, the Coroner's Patent of Ofﬁce ought ﬁrst to undergo investi ation, Without having it before then. at. Commit“! new no: how fat their own acts

CHARLOTTETOWN, SATURDAY, APRIL 4,

might interfere with the prerogative of the Crown. They knew not but that the Crown had reserved to itself, as it was competent for it to do when it gave the colony a. constitution, the right to appoint Coroners’ as it has always

_ exercised in England in peculiar appointments, and con-

tinuesto do so at the present day. He (Mr. Palmer) had no objection to the proposed appointments, provided no salaries were to be attached to them. The appointments without the salaries might in some degree, it is true, prove a saving to the country. As to the attendance of medical men, they might frequently be procured more immediately in the country than from Charlottetown ; but it ought to be considered that the duties they were mostly called upon to discharge were of no ordinary nature; they had fre- quently to perform a skilful anatomical examination ; and that the medical practitioners in the country were few, and perhaps of inferior abilities to those resident in Charlotte- town. He adverted to the double ofﬁcial character ofthe Coroner. As Coroner, strictly speaking, he was a judge: as acting in the capacity or on the behalfof the Sheriff, his duties were ministerial. None should be appointed to such an ofﬁce but persons of known ability, and of sufﬁ- cient intelligence and standing in society. He (Mr. Palmer) had no objections to the bill, provided it were found to be no infringement on the prerogative of the Crown. 7

On‘ the motion of the Hon. Mr. Pope, the Speaker resumed the Chair, and the Chairman of the Committee

reported that the Committee had made some progress, and -

had directed him to move for leave to sit again.

THURSDAY, March 5.

SAILING PACKE'rs.—The Bill to facilitate the intercourse between this Island and the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, by Sailing Packets, having, according to order, been read a third time, the House resolved itself into a Committee of the whole upon the said Bill—Mr. Hudson in the Chair. The Chairman having read the ﬁrst clause, a discussion ensued thereon which principally related to the places in the immediate neighbourhood of Bedegue, at which the packet from thence to Shediac was to call on its going and returning trips. The discussion was maintained chiefly by the Hon. Mr. Pope, Mr. Spea- ker and Mr. Thomson. It was ﬁnally agreed that the packet to run between the harbour of Bedeque in this Island and the harbour of Shediac in the province of New Brunswick, should call at Green’s I’V/mrf, on her arrival at Bedeque, and proceed from thence to Hurd’s Point, and return to Green’s Shore previous to her departure from the said harbour of Bedeque. After the second clause, which ﬁxes the annual amounts to be paid for the running of the two packets, and the times of drawing the said amounts by instalments, had been read, on the motion of the Hon. Mr. Pope, a proviso, to the following effect, was added to the said clause: “ That ifit shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the Lieutenant Governor and Council, that any person or persons who shall or may have obtained a license to run a packet at either of the stations mentioned in the Act, shall have wilfully neglected or refused to fulﬁl the conditions prescribed by such license, it shall be lawful for the Lieutenant Governor and Council to cancel such license, and to grant a new one to any person oi persons who shall be willing to comply with the provisions of the Act; and the person or persons so neglecting or refusing to comply with the regulations contained in such license as aforesaid, shall not beentitled to any portion of the bounty granted by this Act.”—The Hon. Mr. Pope observed, that the disregard and violation of contract on the part ofthe proprietors of the Cape Breton was sufﬁcient to prove to honourable members the great necessity of this precaution.——The Hon. the Spea- ker remarked, that there was a long time between Spring and Autumn, and he, therefore, thought the parties engaging to run the packets ought to be allowed to draw twice. In accordance with this suggestion it was agreed “ That, during the continuance of .the respective licenses to the persons running the packets, one half of each of the respective sums granted to those persons should be paid on the 15th August, and the remainder on the first closing of the navigation in each year.” As restrictive upon this part of the clause, the following proviso, on the motion of the Hon. Mr. Pope, was adopted by the Com. mittee: “Provided, that in every instance, before any

' of the said payments shall be made, the person or persons

so licensed shall make it appear to the Administrator of the Government for the time being, and Her Majesty's Council, that he or they have, in all things, fulﬁlled and complied with the conditions in his or their license con- tained.” The ﬁnal clause was then agreed to. This clause provides, that any person or persons applying for a license as aforesaid shall submit a schedule of the several rates to be by such person or persons charged for passen- gers, goods and cattle, which, if agreed to, shall, With the stated times of sailing of such packet, be published three 'times in the Island Newspapers, for public. information, and a copy thereof kept posted in a conspicuous part such packet ; and such person or persons shall not be enti- tlsd to the bounty allowed by the Act, If he or they shall increase the amount of such rates during the continuance of such license. The preamble was then agreed to. Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Hudson reported the bill gonethrough and amended.

‘ Bill to author-in the Sale, in certain cases, of Vessels, to. raised as

forfeited under any Revenue Low qf this Colony. ‘ The Bill for the purpose above named ,was, according to Order, read a second time. The House resolved itself into a Committee of the whole to consider the same, Mr.

dson in the Chair. _ _ Herbs Hon. Mr. POPE explained the object of the Bill. He said it was almost verbatim with the Imperial-Law'on the same subject. He said it differed from it only With respect to goods already seized. It pronded that no such oods shall be deemed and taken to be condemned, and salt with in the manner directed by Law. “ﬁlo?! “W Per-

1840.

son from whom the seizure shall have been made, or the owner of the goods seized, shall not, when such seizure was_ made, prior to the passing of the Act, or within one calendar month from the passing thereof, have given no- tice in writing to the person or persons who seized the same, or to the Collector of Excise for the District, that he claims the goods seized, or intends to claim them. He (Mr. Pope) also further explained, that the Bill provided that no person should be admitted to enter a claim to any thing seized, until sufﬁcient security should be given in the Court wherein such seizure was to be prosecuted in a sufﬁcient penalty to answer and pay the costs which might be occasioned by such claim. In default of such security, it was' provided that the goods seized should be forfeited. —Wheu the amount Of security to be given by the person entering a claim to any thing seized was under considera- tion, and the Hon. Mr. Pope had proposed £60—

Mr. SPEAKER objected that the sum proposed was too much ; a man, he said, might not be able to procure secu~ rity to'that amount ; he would like to have some idea of the amount of costs likely to be incurred. He would pro- pose £20.

The Hon. Mr. POPE thought £20 would be a sum ina- dequate to defray the expenses—it would in reality be no

- security at all—and the expenses would fall upon the Goo

vernment, and not upon the person preferring a claim.

Mr. SPEAKER pressed his proposal of£20 penalty, and the question having been put thereon by the Chairman, it was negatived. '

Mr. THOMSON then proposed that the amount of secu- rity to be required should be $630. 'This was put to the vote and carried.

Mr. PALMER proposed that the word “ Sterling” should be added after “ £30." - , '

Mr. LE LAancn said he would object to the amend- ment. He was opposed to the word Sterling altogether. It was not to be found in either Johnson or Entick. Some Said, to bring Sterling money into Currency, add one ninth, and to bring Currency into Sterling, subtract one tenth. There were some individuals in the Island, how— ever, who, taking advantage of the word “ Sterling,” in certain agreements, cause the obligee to give the Shilling or Sovereign for one third less than he received it. By this most unjust advantage, such individuals obtained a premium of 50 per cent. upon what was paid to them'in Sterling money. If the penalty were Currency, there

[No. 140.

would be no room for ambiguity or misunderstanding; but '

the value of Sterling money in Currency .was ﬂuctuating and uncertain. , v ‘

Mr. PALMER answered, that in Bonds and other legal instruments, any sum of money mentioned was generally “Sterling,” and so it was with respect to fees. When the amount Sterling was paid in Currency, he had never, in his experience, known more than one ninth additional to be exacted. Honourable gentlemen, he thought, would ﬁnd it much more ditﬁcult to say what was the Currency of the Island, than to ascertain the value of Sterling mon6y.

Mr. MACiNrosa said that fees, ﬁnes, reservations of rent, and the sums named in all agreements, should be in Currency : peeple' would then know what they had to pay or provide for.

. Mr. SPEAKER moved, in amendment, that instead of the- word “ Sterling,” the words “ lawful current money ofthe Island" should be added after £30. ’

Mr. Thomson said that that would be more than' had been proposed by Mr. Palmer. The lawful current money Of the Island was Halifax Currency, and the rate of ex» change between this Island and, Halifax, at present, was one sixth in favour of Halifax; whereas the difference be- tween the Island Currency and Sterling, according to general practice, was only one ninth in favour of Sterling. The fact of the matter was, the hon. the Speaker had proposed to give one eighteenth part more than Mr. Palmer had proposed.

The question having been put on Mr. Speaker's amend- ment, the said amendment was :greed to.)

Mr. SPEAKER having resum agreed to with amendments.

» moNlRS’ BILL;

The House resolved itself into a Committee of the whole, on the further consideration of the Bill to authOrize the appointment of Coroners in King’s and Prince Counties; Mr. Le Lacheur in the Chain—A copy of the Coroner's Commission having been procured, the same was read. _

The Hon. Mr. POPE observed, that from the copy, they had procured of the Coroner’s Commission, it appeared that it was no more than a patent under the great seal of the Island, like all other commissions granted in the Island. It was just the same as the Sheriff’s commission had for- merly been, when the Sheriﬁ‘ of Queen's County was the Sheriff of the whole Island. As soon as it was thought necessary to conﬁne his commission, there was no hinder- ance in the way ofthe desiredAchange. The object of the bill was not to raise to olice one or two individuals, or to do a pecuniary injury to another. It was to accommodate the country. It was to prevent persons in whose families it might unfortunately be necessary to hold inquest, being burthened with any large or hoavy expenses. The .Coro- ner, owing _to' having taken upon himself the dutiearof sheriﬁ‘ in cases of executions, issued under land assess- ment judgments, charged the party, in all cases, with mileage from Charlottetown instead of from the Courtof the County. The Land Assessment Act, in that path“- lar, had opened a door to the most gross p-artiality'. The Sheriffs had th‘éreby been visited with a very great land. ship ,- indecd he might say they had been subjected to a very rest injustice. The duties which theSheritI's had to per orm often tended to break their friendships, without, in any way, compensating them for the loss Land advan- tage had been taken of the wording of that Act (the Land Assessment Act,) contrary to the intention of the Legis-

lature, to deprive them of almosta'thsj part‘of'threir business carrying an cmolumsat'alon'ﬂrithiits discharge.

the Chair, the Bill was _