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House or Assmrnsr, Wxniissmr. April 19. The following is the Resolution submitted last evening by the Ice. the Athruey Gcucrel:

Imosvss. That it is egpedient to prohibit by Law--to Mb from the irst dsycfJanuer ,One thousand ‘fit hundred anddfty-six—the uianu tore, importa- tion and sale of Spirituous and all other lntoxicatin

, except it medicinal, chemical and mcobsn -

purposes, and the Ordinance of Religion;

and also to prohibit the keeping of such Liquors for sale. except for the purposes aforesaid.

The House having resolved itsslflnto a Committee of the

whole. to lflilllo the consideration of the various Petitions

pesentsd totbs House during the present Session, praying

the to a the duty on intoxicating Li-

me, and to [inhibit their Importation, Manufacture and . for medicinal purposss—tbe

hon. '1‘. H. Hu- fihfl in Chaired l ted d

A vcy lengthy as me iscussicn ensued, of which the iillowing is a brief and imperfect sketch :

Ir. Fuanxa said, that the subject now under the consi- dflutiou of the House, was generally considered one of rreat importance ; but judgin from the silence manifesto honorable members out present occasion, doubts might be entertained of the ccficctness of this impression. It was, however, a question that ought to be carefully viewed in all its bearings. for it involved a large amount of Reve- nue, which they were not, he thought. called upon to en-

ut. A general election had just transpired,

had been said with reference to this question ;

, he thought, the people in general cared very little

about it, either one way or the other. As for himself, he

' to vote for a measure of this nature with-

out further ndructions from hie Constituents-—a measure

which he looked upon as an infringement of the rights of

men, as culstsd to inflict a great and serious loss upon

the Revenue, (1 which under present circumstances. could not be cerri into efiect.

Mr. You thought the total prohibition of the Liquor Tralc would occasion no serious loss to the Revenue. He fleofroui experience when he declared his belief. that the

was a great and serious evil ; and gave it as his opi-

nion, that its prohibition would prove a great and lasting bsnsflt to the country. With reference to the men employ- ed in shipyards, the injurious tcndenc of the Trafhc was over where peree tible ; and he was ecidodly of opinion, that were sbipbuildcrs, as is rcliminar condition to the of the trefic, require to pay $1 00 into the Trea-

sury, or the benefit of the Government of this Island, for use vessel built by them, they would be great gainers by

0‘ ‘<

the arrangement. At present, wherever it shi is being built, grog-shops are invariably established. w iicli strip these poor simple people to whom he alluded of everything. He know individuals in his own neighbourhood, who, to procure Whiskey, had sold all their hay and straw, and the consequence was. that they had lost all their cattle, from starvation; and the same state of things would, doubtless, be found to exist in other localities. Persons who had embarked their capital in this business, would soon find it to their advantage to embark it in some other pursuit. ll’ intoxicating li uors were always used in moderation, the measure prey for by the Petitioners would be unnecessary; but ore body knew that this was not the case. In every pert of t e world, the results of the trafic were the same ; end although many, doubtless, conscientiously opposed a measure of this nature, he for one, sincerely wished that intoxicating liquors could not be obtained in the country. c on. cmen here instanced Priucetown, as illus- trutin the benefits of temperance. Once that place was one the worst in the count for drunkenness, but hav- ing embraced tem rance principles, the inhabitants of that place were now, at least, per cent. better of)‘ than they were nine or ten years a c. As to the falling off in the Revenue alluded to by t e hon. member for Prince County (Mr. Fraser), he had not the slightest apprehension on that score; and believing that the contemplated prohi- bition would prove a great benefit to the country, he would give it his most hearty and cheerful support. on. Mr. Mschcnx did not suppose there was the slightest difference of opinion amongst honorable gentle- men, as to the real merits of the question; and if he could undcd that the country was prepared for a measure oft is nature. he would not himself 0 se it. He thought, however, that the mess of the people were not sufficiently prepared for a sweeping measure of this description. In that part of the country which he had the honor to repre- sent, the question was quite now. He would not object to the measure, simply on account of any real or resumed falling of in the Revenue ; but until the minds 0 the peo- ple were prepared for it, he could not think of giving it his sup t

por .

Hon. Mr. loan thought the uestion had undergone suf- Ieiont discussion—it had been fore the public quite long the sooner the 'slature sued a measure nature yod for by the ctitioners, the better, por- , would t befor the country. The House had occu- the whole of last evening, and the former part of this y in discussing this matter, and no determination had yet eomstoonthesubject Hewassorrytosee so many able advocates manifesting so much coolness on thepressnt occasion. It had been his wish for several mcutlm togivo his spzpcrt to e prohibitor Liquor Bill that would give ssti tion to all ies._ 9 would give

or;

parties engaged in the business s ient time to wind up their afiirs-say about two before utting a stop to it. The of the Resolution before the Committee

ive to a measure . e cw lrenswiekor Nova Scotie Bills; but this Island would, he thought. do well to follow in the wake of those Provin- luemettercf this kind, although we might not be copy them in everything. In ii matter of this might, indeed, bonnecossity to do so. The t, it was well known, was a ofspiritucus liquors. and it had been brosd dotws, that to that circumstance was to be polltloel changes which had recently oc- e the t Leader of the Govern- (lr. Palmer). some out so strongl , the other even- , in favour 0 allowing compen- turers, hair. Lord) was not pre and to , he thought, it woul be dis- fiat, not to slord them compensation, to some extent, for when many of them commenced business,

ltwss an and lawful trade—wae in short, osusidsroddzth lewhl and .utn‘l'iIle. lllt yvashnot, he sbeght, tos-propctos ssti s ntecoun-

,snd depri res “P f a large rtion ? thdx bl, without making them some oom- psunaticu. toaldectspirih being an evil they need

he ht Iguelongouthst ‘tend be t- -“l ha‘ that their consul polilvds rapidly me relhr to goes where, formerly

twin. crabrss, but w there are now foqr ‘veg-shops ec vs opcntion. t on a on - to the License Lew, whicli’,.l‘ircweve?|: hsd —mau persons were sti , no-

w thout’Llcsueh; and not an individual psrsuee was to be found willing tqzsvcnt this illicit tralc. If the Legislature on Ilslns haw. who werctosoeitenforcodl thlh to he left to the I '

- tlnee n exlsrencs.

I-IABZAIUTS GAZETTE. MAY 6.

dlviduals still view a measure of this kind to ex: aggression u u the rights of man, as if a man any right w atsoevcr to destroy his fellow man. He was amused to hear the hon. mem . ro to offer a pro- mium to persons who are disseminating oath and destruct- ion throughout the ccuntry, and be (Mr. M‘ Aulay) thought, he would be acting in a much more straight-forward men- nsr b voting aiust the measure altogether. For himself, he ( r. MscAu ll ) would give the measure his hearty support. He hel in his hand a book printed as far back as t e oer l656—more than two hundred years sgo-end he won d read a short extract therefrom, for the informa- tion of the Committee :— " The tsp-room fits them for e Jail; The jail to lb‘ jihbst sends them without fail; For those that through a lattice rang of leis You ofl find crying through an iron grate."

This extract correctly described and set forth the true state of the case. He confessed, however, that he did not, at

resent, see his we clear to rohibit the trans altogether.

Vhen he consider the pecu iar circumstances of Our son- girt shorcs, he felt soinewbat perplexed as to how the measure was to out, and acknowledged that large quantities of " rotten rum " mi ht be introduced in fishing boats and by other means. Stifi he felt himself bound to give his support to any practicable measure for the abolish-

cnt 9. this p-.-rnicimis tralio

Hon. Mr. Lorin, in proposing compensation to those psr- tics who had embarked their capital in the business, said he was only carrying out an idea broached by the Lender of the present Government, a few evenin since in the Temperance Hull. lie (Mr. Lord) woul not. however, pledge liimselfto do anything of the sort; but he was averse to their passin an un'ust Act. The hon. member for Georgetown (Mr. .lacAu uy) had been for the last two hours ransackin an old musty Histo ; but he had not succeeded in tin ing much after all. As to the evils of in- tcmpenince, it was quite unnecessary to go beyond the spot on which be then stood, to be reminded most forcibly there- of. But what we want is action—not wo .

Mr. DAVIES, on rising, said he held in his hand, a Reso- lution which he thought, would enable the House, without the slightest embarrassment to the country, to carry out the prayer of the Petitioners. Almost every hon. member who had spoken to this question, had expressed his willing- ness to carry out the views of the Petitioners ; but no hon. gentleman had yet satisfactorily shown how this could be accomplished without inflicting serious injury upon the Revenue. No ntleman would. he thought, grud egiving out of his income, for so desirable an object as this, some £5 or £6 annually ; and with the view of testing the sin- cerity of tho Government, he proposed the following Reso- lution, in lieu of that under the consideration of the Com- mittee, viz. :

Resolved, as the opinion oflhis Committee. that it is advisable to abolish the inlroduclion of Spiriluous Liquors into this Co- lony. as well ns Ilie manufacturing of the sums, and that, in orller In replace the loss the revenue will sustain thereby, it is advisable to raise a sum equivalent to that loss, b reis- ing ll revenue equivalent to that raised on Spirits, ins, dtc., by laying a certain percentage on the Income of Gen- tlemen possessing over One hundred Pounds per enriuni."

The hon. the A-r-rovurrr GIIIIIAL remarked, that the Re- solution just moved by Ilie honorable member for Belfast (Mr. Davies) was quite characteristic of that licnorsblc gentlemen. When he first spoke of supplying ilie deficiency in the Revenue, which, it was srgued,wou|d be occasioned by the proposed L-iw, be imagined the lion. gcnllemiin was oing to revive his old and favorite Quit Rent scliemo. But for his part, he (the Attorney General) was not at all alarmed as to the Revenue. lie was quite prepared to modify the existing taxes, and even slightly to increase the rates now levied on certain nrti es c consumption, should such a step be found necessary. And even were the coun- try in debt to the extent of it whole years Revenue, this circuin- rlance, of itself, would not deter him in the course he was then pursuing with reference to iliis matter. But this, fortunately, was not the case. 'l‘he country is now prosperous and the public debt trifling, and there could not be a more fitting or favorable o porlunily for the adoption ofs measure of this importance than the present. W'hal signfied a debt of £6 or £'I.000 or even one amounting to it whole years revenue, to a young and flourishing Colony like this! Surely Ihc credit of the colony would not, in the slightest degree, be endangered by the conlreclion of a debt to either amount, should the same ultimately prove in be unavoid- able. The proposition of the hononoriible member for Belfast (Mr. Davies). was very ingeniously calculated and doubtless in- tended to nflbrd that hon. gentlemen a plausible excuse for voting ii uinst the meusurelhen under the consideration of the House.

a upbrsided him (the Attorney General) with not hnvin shown how the contemplated deficiency in the Revenue could be sup- plied; and he had just volunteered ii plan for supplying that de- ficiency, by taxing all gentlemen whose incomes were over £100 a year. from I00 to 800 rcent ! In that case, these cutle- men would, doubtless, be pretty well salted. The ropcsilion of the honorable member to whom he referred was of too trivial a nature to be entertained by the House for a single moment. Again approaching the real question before I cominillce, the hon. and learned enilemsn said he saw no difliculty whatever in the way of a pro ibitory enactment of this kind. I l a same time he admitted that it would not be possible to frame a measure so per- fect in all its parts, as to reveal all evasion of the Law. Our Laws are being evaded s most every day, and none more fre- quently than those for raisin a revenue; but this was no valid reason why such laws shoul not exist. At present a strong in- ducement is held out to the smuggler. He knew by experience. that in uddillon to the saving to be eflheled by s successful sve- sion of the Revenue laws, a ready market is sure in be found for the contrsbsnd article-sll the more so if it is known to have been smuggled; and he (the Attorney General) believed, that if one puncheon of liquor that had paid the duty, and another that hndnot,were siniulisneousl y oflhrcd for sale n. th. same district, a decided preference would be given by the consumers to the suing- gled sriicle. But were s prohibiiory Liquor Law in operation, there would be little or no inducement to smuggle. Now, the smuggler is secure almost as soon as c succeeds in getting his liquor landed; but under the provisions ofs prohibilory enactment, his troubles would but then commence. t the same time that he would find no market to reward his me, he would find us. cisemen everywhere both ready and wi ling to tslte the necessary measures to prevent the trsllic being esrri on. The dillculty to be apprehended from this quarter was not, in his opinion, by any means so formidable ss—-judging from the stress lnld thereon by honorable membcrs—msny of them sseniud in nu . was stated the other evening. that this question was br lit for- ward and advocated simply to advance party per . ell- sdmilling that political purposes or jects were to be promoted ihersby—-he put it to ihs honorable Chairman to say whether it was or was not better for the interest of the public to bring for- ward sober men and sober rnsusures, than drunken men and drunken measures. To secure the up ‘Is rssulis,it was only no- cessary that those interested shou allow inlcrnpcrsece and drunkenness to prevail; and he (the Attorney General), lied no doubt. that this had formerly been the mode pretty generally in use; but for his part, of whsi shade soevsr a man's itics might be, he would prefer the former alternative. He (1 fit- tornsy General) was of opinion, that a majority of the commu- nity were in favour of this law, and that the only thing now needed was sulhcieut rnorsl con go to put it in force. Ono hon. member (Mr. Mooney) had an , the previous evening, that they ought to dsls passing this Law until it was ascertained whether

' ' the people were in favour of it or otherwise. The he (the Attorney General) admitted, defer es inscli as possible to the feelings of the counlry. But hcu. meni- bors must be aware, that a vest variety of questions had been taken up and on ' rough the Legislature. which never ori- lnstod with the people at all, and would not, is all probability, ' ' psprle expect, in this Colony, as else- this nature, by their repvmeutntivss, and he felt ensured, that if the Assembly came forward boldly and passed this Law. they would be backed up by the country at large, let them test them on the subject as they would. course, a measure of this nature would have its opponents; be it would be better, in his estimation, to give ecnipeusstiu to all who are gaining a Iivi by the manufacture or sale of intestat- ingl sci-s.ihsstcss orsonsruic airs isecn. Thouss cfPounds of the people's money are new slsssrfhll given svsry'ycsr, to novel Iducetleu. use we isve ourenl sssibsiibspssplssrecdecsisd cs ' ed nine h, n

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2

the if more value is ihel-I

ir°°I-¢r(Mr-

' effectual nnd cpsr mods, and that mode was, to shut up the tradlc

silver. u confessed, that at one time, he thought. that this I ecu d not be done: but he was now of s iflhronl opinion. - ; venue of the Colony could not. be repeated, be injuriously affected, 5 if at all. for a longer period than one or two years, by the pro change; and altbou h be regretted that this matter was not taken up in what appear to him, a more liberal and enlightened spirit, especially by some honorable gentlemen with whom be generally acted in concert, yet he was now more clearly convinced, hot by reason and reduction, ofilie imperative necessity for legisla- tlvu action in this matter.

Mr. Davies did not think the Resolution submitted by him should, in fairness, he irsaied no it had been by the hon. and learned member for Charlottetown (the, Attorney General.) The line of argument adopted by that hon. genllsmsn with reference theme was not at all likely, in his ( Mr. Dnvies's) estimation, to add much to the list of his (the Attorney Ghnersl's) admirers. He (Mr. Davis) had merely submitted a Resoluiion calculated, in his c inion, to carry out that honorable gentleman's views. sad to on i; it went which he. so lander of the present majority in the cues ofAssoInbly. lied failed to do. He (Mr. [).)did not es , however, that he meant to support the pro iliou liiinsell'. is chief object was to lay it u the 'l‘nblc, or the urpose of on- lightcning honorable members and suggesting a Ill c of rendering complete what must, otherwise be regarded as u very lsme lulion. 'l‘he honorable member (Mr. Davies), then proceeded to defend his views on the subject of the Quit Rents, to which sl- lusion he been made by the honorable the Attorney General, conlendin that his views with reference lhsrstc were anything but ridicu ous—the Title Deeds clearly shcwin , that Ill least £2000 are now due to the Government by each 'l‘ownsliip in this Island; and he was sallslicd that if the Sons of Tenipersneee would but c with him in endeavouring to procure the large sum due to the olcny in the shape of Quit Rents, they would infal- Iibly succeed in their efforts to sbolisli the Liquor 'lrsli'ic for the would be sure of carrying lhu whole lslsnd with them. Whilst cutting oh‘ the revenue derivable from the lrsfiic in srdcnl spirits, they would also be in a position in iipproprisic n suliicient sum as a compensation, to those who had embarked their capital in the business for the lose they would sustain by its extinction.

Mr. H. HAVILAND thought it was inisuded ihsi hon. members should, no the present occasion, confine their observations to the propriety or otherwise, of enacting s prohibitory Liquor Law, as that, it appeared to him, was the matter then under discussion ; it would, however, almost appear, from the tenor ofsomo hon l,'enllsmen’s remarks, llntlllut question was a matter of but secondary consider- slion. The question before the House was, whether ii was for ilie benefit oflhe people to prohibit the Traffic in intox- icating drinks or not. As to the details of the messure, iheso were but matters of secondary coneidersiion. Th grand point, it appeared to him, was. is it expedient. and, if expedient. it is tight, to comply with the prayer of the Petitions, then lying on the Table of the House One of the arguments advanced in opposition to the proposed mea- sure was, the loss of Revenue that would be occasioned iliercby; but be (Mr. Hsvllnnd) thought the House had noihing whatever to do with lhal question just now.» If, by adopting the course suggested by the Petitioners they could be the means ofersdicoling an evil ofincslculshle magni- iude, and, at the same time, improving the morale of the

eoplc, it was, he thought, clearly lhe duty of the House to undertake the task, even ifiheir doing so, necessitated a loss of the entire Revenue of the Colony. He was nol about to give s milk-and-wsier opinion on the subject. like some hon. members. e had given ilic mailer a great deal of consideration. At the commencement of the present Session he confessed ihsi his mind was undecided ; but he had now come to the conclusion that ii wouldbc decidedly for the benefit of the people of this island, if the Traffic in all intoxicating liquors \\ ere at once abolished. A large amount of eloquence had recently been expended on iliis important subject elsewhere, and he did not, therefore, deem it at all necessary that he should enter upon any lengtlicned course of argumentation in support of his present views. not because he disliked Vino, that he would vote in favor of s prohibiiory measure, but simply because he believed the principle was a sound and salutary one. He would support the Resolution of the hon and learned member for Charlotte- town (the Attorney General.)