. ates. in 1950 current and capital expend-

i 070 a year for provincial government.

PAGE roux ,

I

TH E G UARDIAN. Cl-lARL(Yl”liE'i'Ol-'VN

DECEMBER. 27. 19;;

THE GU-ARDI-.AN

Authorized as Second Clue Mall Post Office Department, Ottawa. The Island Guardian Publlahlng Ca CIIIUIJLATIUN

3.76.": 8.15") 257

' 13.0-I8

loiul City Zone lietull Trading Zone All Other: Total Net Paid

I'reIldent and Aaaoclato Editor. Ian A. Burnett. Auoeiato Editor. lfranll Waiiser.

f'The Strangest Memory is Weaker Than the Weakest Ink".

Ci-IARLOTTETOWN. THURSDAY. mac. 27, 1951

They Also May Serve

A great many opportunities for national service are restricted to those living in large centres of population. The reserves of the fighting services and also civilian defence, so far as it is organized at all, tend to be concentrated in areas where they can both draw upon a considerable population for personnel and have avail- able the equipment needed to attain a high degree of efficiency.

The contrary is the case with the pro- posed ground observer corps of the R. C. A. F. Instead of it being a disadvantage to live in a remote area, it is essential that the great majority of members be scattered throughout the length and breadth of the nation. It is a more or less simple mat- ter to keep track of aircraft near import- ant flying fields or large cities but to ob- tain rapid reports on other flying in this vast country it is necessary to recruit and train observers, many of whom must live "back of beyond”. That there will be a ready response to the opportunity can be confidently predicted.

Watching Soviet Propaganda

Tass, a Russian news agency, but pri- marily engaged as a medium for the distri- bution on a global scale of Communist prop- aganda, has had its claws clipped by the re- cently elected Government in Britain. Claiming to be a department of the Russian State and in consequence entitled to diplo- matic immunity against court proceedings under the Libel Act, Tass had frequently made damaging statements about various persons in particular, refugees from East-. ern Europe. Operating a listening post tuned to Moscow radio, it distributed to certain newspapers and others the Red broadcasts. That service has been banned. Tass has been informed that its facilities- will be curtailed until it waives immunity to the Libel Act-a course which was ta-

will not be paid for in cash but by borrow- ing, it would appear that on current ac- count the provinces as a whole will enjoy a revenue surplus which- has been custom- ary since the middle years of the war.

Despite these surpluses the provinces have been going steadily into debt. Their total direct debt, less sinking funds, was 3843.8 millions in 1926 and by 1950 had reached 332.0774 millions, the Bank of Canada states. This yearls borrowings by many provinces will increase the total. If indirect debt, such as the guarantee of various bonds, is included, the total obliga- tion of the provinces now stands at over 352,800 millions. '

"It may appear at first sight surpris- ing," notes the Winnipeg Free Press, "that debt has been rising though the provinces have enjoyed current budget surpluses for many years; The explanation is to be found in heavy borrowings for. capital ex- penditure. The interest on money borrow- ed for such purposes must be met annually and at some point repayment also becomes a current cost to be met through annual taxation. It would seem that while the provinces have been creating new debt through capital investment, they have not been using their annual surpluses provident- ly to reduce the dead weight of debt and the cost of supporting it." As a result, the net cost of interest on provincial debt, the Bank of Canada states, has risen from 321 millions in 1926 to the 1951 figure of 352.5 millions.

EDITORIAL NOTl:S

Yesterday was practically the first of the business week.

3 0 0

Many millions, we are told, went to church Christmas day. But not to any extent here where not a few of the

churches were closed that day. I

C O

The safety record over Christmas is re- markably good, particularly in view of what must have been about the most treacherous driving conditions on record.

0

Some members of Parliament must be wondering if the present Special Session, called only to deal with old age assistance, is not going to run into the next regular session early in the year.

0

Practical Christianity has made ad- vances in recent times. The poor, the fathcrless, the aged and the sick received special attention at Christmas but do not suffer from complete neglect for the next

ken because a court in 1949 had held that, the agency was entitled to diplomatic priv-' ilegcs. .

That. immunity is now under the con- sideration of a parliamentary committee. Recently it was strongly urged that as noth- ing more than an espionage agency, Tass should be banned from the Press Gallery at Ottawa.

Provincial Budgets ! AA... I

Recently attempts have been made by, :1 Senate committee, the Bank of Canadal and the Dominion Bureau of Statistics to analyze provincial expenditures. The re-I

twelve months. I Outdoor skating has an attraction that lures even those who have not donned iskates in years as well as youngsters. The lnew-found enthusiasm should rebound to ithe advantage of attendance at regular rinks.

Reading of the loss of life in fires should cause everyone to note and remove the hazards they daily encounter. Recognizing a dangerous situation of practice is a good

O 0

deal more useful than diagnosing the cause afterwards. ; a 9 at

Charles Lamb, English essayist, died

suits vary, since slightly different periods? are covered by the different inquiries. buff the steady upward climb of provincial bud-i gets is not in dispute. The figures of the Dominion Bureau of Statistics are the most comprehensive, since they include capital as: well as current expenditure. Taking thcl differing fiscal years of the provincial gov-I ernments and using those of the year end-j ing nearest December 31, 1950 (in most, provinces this means the fiscal year 1950-1 51). the Bureau calculates all provincial ex-f penditure at .”51,023,713,000. In the fiscal! year ending March 31, 1952 (all provinces, being on that basis now) this figure is ex- pected to rise to fl51,067,770,000.

According to the Bank of Canada, in .1926 the provinces were spending only 58124.5 millions on current account (capital expenditures at that time not being stated.) From then on current expenditures rose rapidly, reaching 0198.6 millions in 1933;? 58275.7 millions in 1937; 0346.3 millions in 1945; 35616.7 millions in 1948 (almost doub- ling in three years): and 3724 millions in 1949. As the Bureau of Statistics calcul-

itures stood at just over a billion dollars and will reach 51,067,7770,000 in the cur- rent year. The commitments already being made by many provincial governments ap- parently assure a still higher total in the next year. At present, therefore, Cana- dians, in addition to bearing a heavy weight of Federal taxation. enhanced by the dc- fence programme, in addition to carrying municipal taxation totalling some 5700 mil- lions, must pay a per capito cost of about

As against thin year's expected total expenditure, current and capital, of s1.067 millions, the provinces are expected to col. lect 0924 millions. Since large items of

;Tax).

this date 1834. Such children's works as ”Talcs from Shakespeare" have long been popular but it is for his essays, many pub- lishcd under the name Elia, that Lamb is famous. His charm of character and his whimsical humour shine through his writ- ing and the essays have the fascination of the living voice. 0 Finance Minister Abbott, whose surplus is the envy of every finance minister in the world, (and collected from Income has been invited to tour Western Germany in an endeavour to get that coun- try on its economic feet so as to be of ma- terial assistancc in revivifying Western in- ternational trade and commerce.

0 of

The suggestion that Quebecls provincial election will take place in March is doubted at Ottawa, as that would mean interference with spring farming operations and result in a reduced number of voters at the polls. Premier Duplcssis depends heavily on the agriculture vote, and it. is unlikely he would wantonly sacrifice that by an early elec- tion. The only hfarch election in Quebec was in 1892.

O O

C

The House of Commons. or at least the official Opposition, are perturbed at the prospect of the application of closure on the debate on the abolition of fixed prices by manufacturers or wholesalers. This clos- urc means merely confining speeches to 20 minutes each, and when all have spoken to call for a vote. It has been applied prevlopsly both by Liberals and Conserv- atives. first in 1913, then in 1926, and again in 1932. It is a means adopted to present undue delay in passing legislation by too manygand too long speeches; in a. word to

Illii.'.L”.!k.!l8li'lI.ll..1!J'-ill '9” Meet-

overeomrorgenized obstrwnloa. . .

7 A

was-vlv)-&-ttwstgvuet ..?z-rung, .

Q

i

Old Charlottetown.

(And P. E. L)

DR. WALSITS JOURNAL

l

Recently acquired by the Pub- lic Archives at Ottawa was the manuscript of a ”Journal of a Voyage from Portsmouth to Que- bec," by Dr. Edyvard Walsh, an Englishman who'came to Canada in 1803 as a medical officer of the 49th Regiment. His documents were salvaged from the old fam- ily papers in Ireland by the writ- er's grandncphew, a Colonel R. H. Walsh of Romscy, Hampshire. England. Sailing from Spithead in August of the above named year, Dr. Walsh was aboard one of eighteen vessels that were con- voyed by a British frigate and cutter. His writings detail the six weeks' trip to the port of Char- lottetown and he remained here from Sept. 25 to Oct. 9.

Photostats of the pages of the journal relating to Prince Edward Island have been obtained at Ott- nwa by Mr. J. Angus MacLcan. M.P., and will be quoted from here. Chiefly they deal with the Islands geography and climate. its vegetation, animal life, history and conditions, of which a much fuller and more accurate account appeared three years later in John Stcwnrt's' well-known his- tory. But the Walsh journal has some original touches worth not- mg.

The date of the author's arrival (Sept. 25) fell on it Sunday. "The wind having shifted during the night to the southward, early in the morning we bore up for Point Prim-the western extremity of the harbour of Charlotte Town- and at noon we came to anchor in the middle of the basin abreast of Charlotte Town. soon after which we went ashore, and the Quebec party took up their quarters at an indifferent Inn kept by a Mrs. Hutchinson."

Hillshorough Buy, "capable of maintaining nil the Navy of Eng- land." impressed the writer very favorably: "hut. Cardigan or Three Rivers Bay on the east side is esteemed still superior-it is undoubtedly much easier of ac- cess. being equally convenient for ships pussintt Ihro the Gut of Cnnso. or coming round Cape North. of Cape Breton."

By far the greater part, of the Island. "perhaps seven I-ighlhs." was coxcrcd with woori. The trees In general were slender, fcw (xx- cecding in foot in diameter, with

Family Time

V3-M BR011462-

5ISTER- HOME - FROM

soon cott as g .

-.-.-.-. -.-.-.-a-i.-.-u-.-.n.-o.-u-.-u-.-.v-

The Age-Old Story;

' fat ."nV'a"b'u'-'a'e'e'e'a'b'h'h'b'-'ln'flul

When Jesus came into the coasts of Cwesnrca Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Bap- tist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom any ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jana: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee. but my Father which is in heaven. And I any also unto thee, That thou art Peter. and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Floating "Ice Islands"

(Sault St. Marie Star)

No less than four floating ice islands have been discovered in the Arctic Ocean within the past five years. Two of this islands are of great size - 300 and 400 square miles each, and 240 to 1,600 feet thick. The other two are smaller.

Mystery as to their origin exists. but they probably have broken off Ellesmere glacier. on Canada's Ellesmere Island. If this theory is correct, the youngest of the is- lands is centuries old; the oldest perhaps thousands of years.

Since they've been sighted, the islands have not diminished in size. Melting a little in Summer but making up the deficit in Winter. they should last for centuries more.

Their potential scientific value is immense. as stable platform from which measurements of wea- ther. currents. magnetic fields. gravitational forces. and the topog- raphy of the ocean floor can be made. The first island scientific base will probably be established within a year.

Strategically the islands are val- uable too. Airfields to accommo- date the largest bombers could be built on them without difficulty. They are several hundreds miles closer to Russia than nearest land bases. and their great thickness -would make them impervious to bombs or torpedoes.

no undcrwood. Most numerous were the spruce acious of the soil. that it is im- possible to cxtirpnte them. No sooner is as lracl clcnrcti of wood. ,lh1IH H loung grove of spruccs

springs up." 'I'hc

limmcclialcly ghemlock pine. ”one of the gros-

iscst and lullcst in the country.

grows straight to the height of 130 feet and is found sometimes (3 ifccl in cirvlinifcrcnt-c." Of thisi

tree the writer notes that "they make beer of the dccoction of the tops, which is esteemed far sup- erior as sin aniiscorhulic to lhut made from any spruces." Ram. cities for scurvy were much sought after in those duys.

Of native birds. two kinds of Darlridges are noted. "Both perch on trees nnd are such foolish birds Hunt in whole covey may be shot one after the other. The na- llVCS take them by ll noose fixed to :1 tall slcndci wand which they slip over the birds hcml nnd so pull it down from its perch." Plover and snipe -in nbundance are mentioned. also "a large species of thrush with a red breast. which on account of its familiarity is cnlled -11 Robin." Reference is made to blnckblrds. snow birds, humming birds ('3) and flocks of wild pigeons, "of birds of prey there are Black and Grey Eagles. Kites. Hawks, 'Owls, Rooks, Crows, Jnys and Wood. pcckers."

I

Oltflsh. then as now. 'cod. mack- erel. herring. bass and haddo' aboundcd. with ample supplies of salmon. sturgeon.-perch and eels in the rivers and buys. Lobstere and oysters were in such abun. dance that "a middling sized boat may be loaded with them in 2 or 3 hours." The writer. however. found them "inferior In flavor to those of Europe." Seals and sea cows ;were frequent on the coast.

Fox breeders will be interested in the mention of "red. silver. grey and black" varieties of this animal in Dr. Walsh's journal. Bears. polecats. wild cats. marten. muskrnts. squirrels and hares are also noted. .

The Ielend'e freedom from fog in contracted wiuuthe conditions common in Newfoundland. Cape Breton and Nova Scotle. It: backwerdneos as neolony he attri- butes rightly to the ebeentoc landlord system. Of its million- odd acree. not more than 7.000

pine, "so ten-I

g tieh pioneer...

iwcre cleared and in a slate of cultivation. Several large tracts iof the best land, v'hirh had been :c-lezurctl and cultivated by the .Acadians, had now relapsed into in wilderness condition. "There are 17 flour nnd 5 saw mills at pre- ,scnt established: formerly thcrei 'were twice as many."

0 . AwAY FROM T I HOME

5h&v..unf5::;T chad?

ll

mcnts of listed

of

nuul monthly pensions for 700.000 Can- adians 70 years of age and over and similar pensions for 145,000 of those in need between 65 and '70 years of age.

486 disabled veterans

uerumeo ms .103

A ll it 'Vrf..,-;e';;;x.

EVER SO HUMQLL --2

.4

AN OLD SONG RE-SUNG

I saw a ship a-sailing. a-sailing, a-sailing,

with emeralds and rubles and sap- phires in her hold;

And a bosun in "a blue coat. bowl- ing at the railing,

Piping through 3. silver call that had a. chain of gold:

The summer wind was failing and the tall ship rolled.

I saw a ship a-steering. a-steering. a-steering,

with roses in red thread worked upon her sails;

With sacks of purple ametthysts, the spoils of buccancering.

Skins of musky yellow wine, and silk in bales,

Her merry men were cheering. hauling on the brails,

I saw a. ship a-sinking, a-sinking, a-sinking,

with glittering sea-water splash- ing on her decks.

with seamen in her spirit-room singing songs and drinking,

Pulling clmet bottles down, and knocking on the necks.

The broken glass was chinklng as she sank among the wrecks.

-John Maseileld.

The Session Al Ottawa

A. i-lume in the Ottawa Citizen) .

A review of the fifth seslion of the 21st. Parliament. now drawing to its close reveals an impressive list of legislative ac-

(J.

complishments, many 05 "Wm 01

importance. the maior the session might the following: 1. Approval of a 2-2-2 formula income. corporation and sales the s380,000.000 an- of universal S40

far-reaching . Amongst achieve-

be

taxes toward cost

2. Increases of from 38.3 to 45 percent in the pensions for 161,- of World Wars I and II. 19,759 wnr wid- ows, and 124,000 dependent child-

rcn thereof. muklm: an addition- al cost of 327,916,885 annually to

the federal treasury. .

.'l-. Graded salary increases for upwards of 211,000 members of the Civil Service, RCMP, and the armed services. at on additional

cost of about 543000.000 annually.

4. An amendment. to the Com-

1" Qh"”0”9i0W" iii” h0”5”S-liincs Investigation Act outlaw- Lnumbcred seventy-two. nil 0 ing resale Pryce maintenance wood, the newest erections being practices. (The Conu-ova,-3181 dc. ilhc BMW"-'k5 ""5 Sh Pmws bate, on this measure continues

Church. The author adds quaintly lthat "the streets are purted off Ifrom the fields by wooden pull- lings and produce fine herbage."

At this time Fort Amherst lmd been dismantled, but there re- mained ”n Block House. which makes signals at. the Harbour mouth. and a Fort at the Point of Charlotte Town of 24- poundcrs." The garrison consisted

greater number of farmers on the Island. These he describes as be- ing "ignorant. indolent and sel- fish in the extreme." as having "no fdena of agriculture." and as being "contented to clear away some wood in n slovenly manner. in order to breed cattle from which they derive their sole sub- ' t " In 1 he adds. "of this vet-y.defectlve system of colonization. a stranger on his arrival at the Inland, find: every necessary of life dearer and more difficult to procure than in the Metropolis of the British Em- plre."

This is the sharpest note of erltieem sounded in the journal. and may well have been inspired by some perlonal affront. At any rate. the author was scarcely here long enough to form a just esti- mate of the virtues of the Scot- Though hie vlelt oceured only A few weeks after the arrival of the Selkirk eettlerl at Belfut, he make: no mention of title important event.

Further excerpts from Dr. Walsh's journal will appear short-

ly in this column.

but the government proposes to push it through!

5. Establishment of a three- man St. Lawrence Seaway Auth- ority to spend up to &'300,000,000 for the deepening of the St. Law- rence-Greut Lakes waterway sys- tem, either in co-operation with the United States or for Canada to carry out the project on her own.

of two companies of foot and 4 5. App,-ow,1 ,,y un ugrocment aT”"'3V.l'm9"- The"! Wire ills” between Canadian and Ontario three companies of "Native Mll- government, whereby om”-10 Ma." will put up about s2oo.oo0.000 for ' ' ' the development of 1.000.000 S0n1CVt'hl'TC H1008 ""3 ""9 "19 horsepower of electricity on the writer must have fallen foul of st Lm.,.,.em.c. the "5C0iPh HiSll'3"ld0'i5v" in 7. Authority for the Board 0 which cntcizory he places the Tmnsport Comminyoners to c.

fcct equalization of the Canadian freight rate structure and pay- ment of n 57,000,000 annual sub- sidy to the CNR and CPR. rail- ways on maintenance costs for thc so-called "railway bridge" across Northern Ontario?

8. Approval of the deopatch of the 27th Brigade and two of the

d eleven RCAP Iquudrons partzof Canade'l to the North At- lantic Treaty Organization in- tegrated forces belng built up there again the threat of Com- munlot aggression. -

9. Abolition of all regulations under the Foreign Exchange Con- trol Board Act.

Other business this season. of slightly it'll importance. might be listed as follows: .

1. Legislation to provide 86.-' 250.0(1) annually as additional financing-for the Canadian Broad- cuting Corporation for the next four year: beyond continuance of the 82.50 annual radio licence fee.