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HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY.

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Tvespay, 30th April. COLONIAL SECRETARY’S FEES,

Mr. Cones said, he rose tocall the attention of the House to an enquiry, which they had proposed to pro- yeaté in the last Session, touching the Fees of the Colonial Secretary, but from which they had been turn- aside, by the refusal of His Excellency to comply rth the respectful request of the House relative to tose Fees, In the last Session when the stibject was igtroduced to the notice of the House, they agreed to in Address to His Excellency, in which they requested jim to cause Cepies of the B!ue Books for 86me years gst, and also a Return of ali #ecs retained by the Co- ignial Secretary, as Private Secretary’s Fees, ae well as Copies of the said Private Secretary's Commissions fom the different Governors, te be laid before the House. With the latter part of the request, His Excel- jebey, at the time, declined to comply; and, in conse-

ce, the House addressed the Queen, praying that fer Majesty wrould be pleased to cause the return for which they had respeetfully, but in vain, epplied to His Excellency, to be laid before them. With that request His Excellency had, however, now found it convenient wcomply in part; and he (Mr. Coles) had, therefore, fen to submit a motion, which, he thought, would be hand to be in accordance with the views of the House, gative to the subject, im their last Sessidn. The Blue books and Return of Fees, which His Excellency had tow caused to be lnid before the House, would enable them to ascertain the amount of Fees retained by the Colonial Secretary. ‘The Blue Books since 1838 show hat there is no such Officer as a Private Secretary in ihe Colony ; for, were the fact otherwise, his name, like that of any other Officer, would have been entered threin. By the printed instructions in the Blue Books, itis directed, that 2 Copy of the Blue Book shall be snqually laid before the House ; and it ie also further directed therein, that, in the anaval Blue Book, shall be wtered the name of every individual holding an Office i the Colony, together with every allowance and emolument he recieves. Now, if there had been any Commission given to the Colonial Secretary to act as Private Secretary, why was there no Return made of nich Office, and of the fees and entoluments derived from it? If there had been any such Officer as Private Secretary, and he had been entitled to any Fees of Office, would there not have been entries _ thereof in the Blue Books, according to the printed in-

Kroctions contained in those Books? And yet, in the

tbsence of all such entries, what was the fact? It was,

‘atthe Colonial Secretary had been receiving Fees, _ WPrivate Secretary, to the amount of frown £70 to £90

wnually, Since the time when the Salary for a trivite Secretary was disallowed by the Home Go- foment, which was when Mr. Hurdis acted in that, apecity, the Office had been virtually abolished; for te late Mr. Colline, who was the Colonial Secretary, i who filled that office up to-the time of his death ud Mr. Haviland’s appointment to it, made no Return athe Blue Books of the Office ef Private Secretary ; tt the return of Fees received by him as Colonial ‘eretary and Registrar, for the year 1838, in the tue Book, is over £680, About the time when the wesent Colonial Secretary was appointed to the Office, ‘xed Salary was given to him, in lieu of all Fees, "ith were to be paid into the Colonial Treasury ; it ‘eng thought, by the Legislature devising thé arrange- "mt, that the result would be favourable to the public emery interests of the Colony. However, were the “onal Secretary to be allowed to assume to him- wr the Office of Private Secretary—for he (Mr. Coles) teieved no such appointment had ever been conferred 0 hin—and to be permitted, on that account, to weket about £90 a year, in the shape of Fees, for etviees which he sual to perform as Colonia) Secre- “Y.and for the fixed Salary attached to that Office,

‘Teult of the arrangement with regard to the Salary, Nich was to be in lielt of all Fees, would be a con-

le loss instead of 2 gain to the country; for the “tal amount of Fees paid into the Treasury by the *nial Secretary did not evceed £180. To show Sit Donald Campbell, eighteen months after his Ption of the Government, had mude no appoint- ie the office of Private Secretsry, and that he te. nothing of his having any euch Officer al cut him, vine “HY Necessary to sate v iat be said to a Com- ihe ul — Inst Home, whe eated an Address to sisking fora return of Feer © tained by the Colo-

AND SEMI-WEEKLY

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PHIs IS TRUE LIBERTY WHEN FREE-BORN MEN—HAVING TO ADVISE THE PUBLIC—MAY SPEAK FREE.”—MiLton’s Evnibipas.

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CHARLOTTETOWN, MAY 29, 1950.

INTELLIGENCER.

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told that Committee that he had no Private Secretary, but performed the duties of one himself, so far us writing was in question. He (Sir Donald), at that time, also observed, that he believed his predecessor, Sir Henry Huntley, had had none either ; addirig that, even if Sir Henry had had a Private Secretary, it was not likely, from the feelings entertained by himself and the Colo- nial Secretary towards one another, that the Colonial Secretary would have been retained by him as his Private Secretary. Further, the only plea which the Colonial Secretary could advance—even supposing that he held a Commission as Private Secretary—for the retaining of those Fees which he had appropriatad to himself as such, is that, under the Fee Act, there is an allowance to the Private Secretary of 5s. for the Private Seal. Now he (Mr. Coles) thought that the Seal whith, by the Law of the Island, it was necessary to affix to any document, wasa Public Seal; and that, particularly in every case in which, before such a document eould be obtained, as in that of a licence for the retail of Spirituous Liquors, it was necessary to pay a certain amount into the Public Treasury, such Seal ought to be affixed as a Public Seal. Again, according to the words of the Act, under which such Licences are granted, “a Bond shall be left with the Colonia! Secre- tary, at the time of obtaining the Licence ;” and further, the Seal affixed to such Licencés bears Her Majesty’s Coat of Arins, with the worde “ Sectetary’s Office.” These facts, and the additional one, that the Commis- sion given to the Governor, in his capacity of Adminis- trator of the Government, authorizes the placing of the Public Seal to all documents issued under his Govern- ment, clearly show, that the Seal is a Public, and not a Private Seal; and, therefore, also that all legal Fees received for affixing it in the Colonial Secretary’s Office, ought justly, in observance of the arrangement made by the Legislature, at the time of fixing the Colonial Secretary's Salary, td be paid into the Public I'reasuty. As respected the filling tip of the Blue Books—according to the Royal Instructions—no Officer is to be granted a Warrant for his Pay until after he shall have furnished the Officer, whose duty it is to fill up the Blue Books, with full Returns of the different Offices which he holds, and of the emoluments attached to them and received by him; but, in consequence of the determination shown by the Government to with- hold every necessary information, it was impossible for the Legislature to keep such a check upon the Public Oijicers and the transaction of Public Business generai- ly, a8 a dué regard td the general interests of the Colony would require to be observed. He (Mr Coles) would thereforé,—in pursuanée of the Resoltition sub- mitted in the last House, that the Colonial Secretary had retained certain Fees contrary to Law, and which Resolution was lost, by the Speaker’s giving his cast- ing vote against it,—now move that the amount of Fees so retained by the Colonial Secretary, (which by the Returns before the House, appeared to be upwards of £700,) be paid by him into the Public Treasury. The hon. member then read the following, as the Resoltion which he meant to prepose:—

* Resolved, That an Address be presented to His Ex- cellency the Lieutenant Governor, requesting that he will be pleased to procure the return of Seven hundred and Thirty-one Pounds, Nine Shillings and Nine-pence into the Public Treasury, being Fees collected by the . Coionial Sacretary, anc retained by him as Private Se- cretary’s Fees since the time the Colonial Secretary’s Salary was established by Law; and that the sum of Five Shillings, Sterling, exacted by the said Officer for Marriage Borids, be refunded to tothe parties who have paid the same, there being no law authorizing the said charre.”

The honérable member then proceeded as follows : As the sum of five shillings for Marriage Bonds had been exacted by the Colonial Secretary contrary to Law, he (Mr. Coles) was of opinion, that if the Govern- ment had been honestly disposed, after what had been asserted in the Resolution of the last House concerning that fee, and which had been acknowledged to be true, by the Secretary’s ceasing to exact it, they would have caused the Secretary to advertise for all parties who had paid that unauthorized charge, to call at his office to have that money returned. Bat as it was with one, so it was with all; and he believed, the motto of the party at present in power had al] along been, “ Let us get ail we can ;” and that, therefore, the only remedy to which the country coald have recourse, with any ex- pectation of relief, was to root out the whole batch. But, until that could be acco:nplished, it was the du'y

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Vol. 1: No: 34,

thought an honest Government fought to pursue with referétice to the subject of it: and should the House be of the same opinion, and agree to address His Exce}- lency to that effect, he thought the result would prove satisfactory. He would have moved for a Committee to report upon the return made, but as it was upon the table, and thé amounts might be added up in a couple of minutes, and as the whole matter had been so fully sifted and discussed, both in the last House end in the last Session, and as the House were desirous to close thé present Session as soon as possid]e, he thought it would be best to adopt the course intimated by the resolution. The honorable member concluded by saying; that if any of the liberal party had acted in the manner complained o*, even to the five hundredth part only, the most zealoue attempts would have been made to inflame the whold country against theth, and all the friends of Responsi- ble Government would have been condemned with them as a set of public tobbers.

Mr. Yeo said hé believed the fees which had been received and retaited by the Colonial Secretary, had always been perquisites of the Private Secretary; and as the Colonial Secretary had performed the duties of & Private Secretary, with respect to the Licences and Bonds for which those fees were exacted, he (Mr. Yeo) thought he was justly entitled to them. In the country those fes were paid to the Prothonotaries, Magistrates, and Ministers ; why then should they not be paid to the Colonial Secretary as well.

Mr: Cotes explained that a fee of five shillings was allowed té Prothonotaries arid others in the country; upon every marriage Bond taken by them, in order to save parties in the country, having to enter into such Bond, from the trouble and expense which would be consequent upon their being obliged to travel to Char- lottetown to procure a Licence, and give the necessary Bond; and because no other mode of compensation fot their trouvle to the parties taking the one and granting the other, was provided. It was otherwise, however, with the Colonial Secretary, who had a fixed salary in lieu of all fees, for the discharge of all duties legally devolving upon him in his office ; and he, therefore, had no right whatever to demand or receive that fee. And as this view of the case was the only correct one, wag clearly admitted by the present practice of the Co- lonial Secretary, who now dispersed with the exaction of the fee. If he had been satisfied that the former practice, in exacting it, had been in accordance with Law, it was by no means probable that be would have discontinued it.

Mr. Yeo maintained that if the private Secretary, as was the fact, had always done the business and received the fee, it could not, he (Mr. Yeo) thought, justly be denied that the Colonial Secretary—if he did the busi- ness, for the doing of which a vertain fee was by the Fee Act, payable to the Private Secretary —was legaliy and justly entitled to that fee, whether he had or had not a commission to act as Private Secretary.

Mr. Fraser said that, although the maiter had been pretty fully investigated by the generality of the mem- bers, and although there could scarcely be any doubt entertained by any member of the House, that a large amount was due by the Colonial Secretary to the public Treasury on account of fees retained by him contrary to law; yet he would mitch prefer the appointing of a Committee to investigate the business, 2nd to report thereon to the House, to the hasty and summary pro- ceeding which would follow the adoption of the resolu- tion which had just been submitted by the honorable member for Queen’s County, (Mr. Coles.)

Mr. Lorp said he had no desire that any improper practice on the part of any of the public servants should be cloaked and protected from enquiry and correction; but, in the prosecution of any such enquiry. the House ought to be especially careful to proceed with due care and deliberation ; and they should, in all such cases, espe- cially guara against being betrayed into any rash or hasty determination, so as to maintain a character for strict impartiality. If after due investigation, it should appear that the Colonial Secretary had taken and retained fees to which he was not by Law entitled, he (Mr. Lord would insist that he should be compelled to refun every farthing of any amount so illegaliy exacted by him; but a full and deliberate enquiry ought to precede and justify any such proceeding as that recommended by his honorable friend, (Mr. Coles.)

Mr. Cotes replied that he would lay his resolution upon the table, with the return of fees, and allow if to remain there until the afternoon sitting; that e¥ery member who thought proper to examine the return, and

uonestly: and with that view, he had, in the resolution

a Private Secreta:y’s Fees, Sis Dove!

of the House to insist that they should be made to act |

which be had just read, pointed out the course which be

consider the resolution, might have sufficient aoe opportunity te de eo, before the question should be egaia taken up. j

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