THE Loyalists, when they came to New Brunswick in 1783, appear to have had a very inadequate idea of its forest wealth. Much of the land in the vicinity of the St. John river, had been burnt over, and the timber upon it destroyed, and nothing was known of the resources of the vast wilderness, that extended from the St. John to the Miramichi, and north to the Restigouche. As a consequence of this, the exportation of lumber on a large scale, did not enter into the calculations of the first settlers, and in 1786, we find Col. Dundas, stating that New Brunswick would not be in a position to supply the "West Indies with sufficient lumber. But as the Province became more fully explored, it was seen that its resources in lumber were great, and enterprising men began to build mills, with a view to utilizing it. In the course of a few years, the Province, which, at first had been unable to supply itself with boards, for its necessary buildings, began to export lumber of all kinds in considerable quantities, and especially pine timber. But there was a difficulty, with regard to the supply of this article, which greatly impeded the business, and limited the quantity of timber available. In those days of huge line of battle-ships, and large frigates, the British Government found it difficult to obtain masts for the navy, and New Brunswick was looked upon as one of the most important sources for the supply of masts. In the reigns of George I. and George II., long before New Brunswick had a legal existence, acts had been passed forbidding the cutting of pine trees in the colonies of 12 inches in diameter and upwards. These acts were applied, not only to the urigranted wilderness, but to townships laid out or to be laid out hereafter, and the owner of land upon which pine trees of that size grew, did not possess the right to cut them until he had obtained a license from the Surveyor of Wooils. In many of the grants that were issued, there was a special reservation to the King of all white pine trees growing upon the land, and where the grants did not contain this clause, it was well understood that the acts in. question prevented the cutting of pine timber, even by a proprietor on his own land. Sir John Wentwortli, the King's Surveyor of Woods and Forests ;n North America, was too zealous an official to permit the King's interests to be disregarded, and in 1700 and 1701 much pine timber had been seized by his deputies, which private owners had cut on their own land. As every pine tree, no matter where it grew, was claimed by the Crown, the contractors who were engaged in cutting masts for the navy, did not hesitate to go on the lands of private owners and strip them of their pine trees. This led to lawsuits and also caused many complaints to be sent to the Governor, who in this instance showed that he was in sympathy with the unfortunate land owners. In a letter to the Secretary of State, he suggested the abandonment of those restraints on private property, which tended to discourage cultivation and settlement, especially as the reserves of pine lands were sufficient. These reserves were tracts of land in various parts of the province, which were supposed to contain pine timber fit for masts, and which were locked up against settlement. The question of the utility of these reserves came up at a later day.

Sir John Wentworth vigorously opposed any relaxation of the restrictions in cutting pine timber, which he thought would be detrimental to His Majesty's interests, but some modification of them could not be avoided. An order was passed by the Home Government requiring the Surveyor of Woods to grant licenses to proprietors of lands, to cut and take away such pine timber as was unfit for His Majesty's service, and the standing of which was detrimental to cultivation. But before these licenses were granted, the deputies of the Surveyor of Woods had to inspect the timber and mark those for reservation that were fit for the navy. Under this system, all restraints on the cutting of pine timber on private lands gradually ceased, and >n the course of a few years, the clause in the grants, reserving the pine trees for the use of the King, was withdrawn. The closing of the Baltic ports in consequence of the war with France, caused a great demand for pine timber from the colonies, and the large profits of the business of getting timber caused so many persons to engage '11 it that even the reserves were Invaded and stripped of there pine trees. This was the beginning of the New Brunswick timber trade, which afterwards assumed such large proportions, and absorbed so considerable, a part of the energy and enterprise of the Province.

The session of 1792 was the last of the first Legislature of New Brunswick. This Legislature had on the whole done good work for the province, although some ot its acts could not be commended. Its personnel had altered considerably in the course of six years. Three members had died and six left the province in that time, so that there was a considerable infusion of new blood. This had strengthened the popular element in the House, so that although the friends of the Governor had still a majority, it was not always to be relied on. This was shown by the vote on the bill for fixing the terms of the Supreme Court. The removal of the Supreme Court to Fredericton had caused a great deal of inconvenience to suitors and was felt to be a grievance, although it was one of the pet schemes of the Governor. In 1791 a bill was brought in by a committee appointed to prepare it, having for its object that one of the four terms of the Supreme Court should be held in St. John. This was carried in the House by a vote of 9 to 5, the minority being composed of three members for York, one from Kings and one from Sunbury. When this bill reached the Council it was promptly thrown out. In 1792, the same bill was again introduced and passed the House by a vote of 11 to 6. The minority consisted of three members for York, two from Northumberland and one from Queens. The majority was made up of the four members from Charlotte, three from

St. John, and two from Westmorland, and one from Kings and Sunhurv. This bill was thrown out by the Council as promptly as the previous one had been. The Governor's friends in the Council were more faithful to him than those in the Assembly, for the latter were beginning to discover that the interests of their constituents and those of the Governor did not always agree. It is worthy of note that when the House was divided on this question, Mr. Chipman, the Solicitor-General, was absent. Mr. Chipman was a great friend of the Governor, but he was likewise a representative of St. John, and another election was near. On the other hand, Mr. Hardy, who had started as a friend of the people, and had been soundly abused by the Governor's friends, voted against the bill. He had become a friend of the Governor, and two years before, the latter had appointed him Common Clerk of St. John.

At this session a grant of one hundred pounds was made for the support of a provincial seminary of learning. This was the first grant for education made by the Province of New Brunswick. It was the result of a correspondence, which had taken place between the Secretary of State and the Governor, which was laid before the Legislature. In the first letter of this series dated the 3rd June,

S1790, the Secretary of State, after referring to what had been done towards establishing a college in Nova Scotia, states that it is the intention of the King to establish within the two English universities, foundations for the maintenance of a certain number of young men, natives of his North American dominions, who were to be elected from the College in Nova Scotia or any similar institution, in any other British Colony in America. These young men were to finish their education in England and, after being admitted to holy orders, to he sent to British America as clergymen. The Secretary of State closes his letter, by asking the Governor to send him information with regard to the ecclesiastical establishment in New Brunswick and the places of education from which young men might be selected. Replying to this, Governor Carleton informed the Secretary of State, that in December, 1785, the Attorney and Solicitor General were directed by the Governor in Council, to prepare the draft of a charter for an academical establishment, for the education of the youth of New Brunswick, and a large tract of land in the vicinity of Fredericton was allotted for its support. A grant had been passed to a number of persons of these College lands, and the rent reserved from these lands amounted to about one hundred pounds a year, which was all the revenue the Academy had. The Governor also informed the Secretary of State, that there were then six clergymen of the Church of England residing in the Province, whose incomes consisted of the salaries allowed them by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, in addition to one hundred pounds allowed to each of them in the annual grant of Parliament, the glebe lands being as yet unproductive. The Governor stated, that there were eight counties and thirty-nine parishes in the province, and that any estimate of the ecclesiastical needs of the province, ought to be based on the idea that one clergyman at least would be required for each parish, and that some of the existing parishes would require to be subdivided at some future day. This result has long ago been realized and there are now seventy-five clergymen of the Church of England in this Province, and the Church is in a much more vigorous condition than when the stipends of its ministers were paid by the government. The Legislature showed its appreciation of the need of more encouragement to education, by placing the sum of one hundred pounds in the appropriation bill, for the benefit of the Academy at Fredericton. This grant became an annual (me, and, in the course of time, Fredericton Academy has grown into the University of New Brunswick.

In 1791 Mr. Glenie was one of three members appointed by the House to examine and report on the Treasurer's accounts, and they discovered some irregularities, one of these being that the brig Active from New York entered with certain dutiable articles at the Naval Office—and afterwards cleared for Jamaica, without having any of these articles on board, yet no mention was made of her in the accounts. This fact was reported to the House, without any comment, but at the next session of the legislature, an act was passed to restrain all persons that may be concerned in the collection of import duties, from owning any vessel, or trading, or dealing, in dutiable articles. This was sufficiently significant, and from whatever cause, it is certain that the revenue for the twelve months ending in February, 1792, showed an increase over the former figures. The total revenue for the year was £1,420 12s. 0(1., of which £1,332 17s. 11d. was collected at St. John. The imports of rum amounted to 63,706 gallons, which was a decline from previous figures, but there was an increase in other directions. After paying all warrants drawn on the Treasurer, the province was shown to have in hand at the end of the year £296 10s. 5d.

The Legislature was dissolved in December, 1792, after having been in existence seven years. The new House differed very materially from its predecessor in its personnel. Only one of the former St. John members, Mr. Pagan, was returned by that constituency. Mr. Chipman had to seek refuge i.a Northumberland. Of the Westmorland members, Speaker Botsford was the only member of the former House that was returned. In Charlotte, two old members, Pagan and Clinch, and two new ones, were returned. In York, a similar result was seen, the old members re-elected, being Murray and Lyman. Northumberland sent two new members, one of whom had been in the former House as a representative of St. John. Sunbury and Queens each sent one new member, and one old one. Kings returned Coffin and Fanning, who had sat in the former House. The new House, therefore, contained 12 old members and 14 new ones, so that the traditions of the former House were not likely to exercise much influence on the one just elected. That proved to be the case, and the Governor found it so little to his taste, that after it had sat three sessions, he was very well pleased to have an excuse for dissolving it in the fact that the Election Act, passed in 1791, had. been ratified by the King in Council.

Up to the session of 1793, there had been no serious differences between the House of Assembly and the Council. The latter had thrown out bills passed by the Assembly, but there was no conflict of principle sufficient to produce a deadlock. But the session of 1793 saw an entire change in this respect, and marked the beginning of a period of bitter hostility between the two Houses, which in its consequences was very injurious to the public-interests. The Legislature, met on the 12tli of February, and there was a good attendance of members, only three being absent when the Governor delivered his speech. One of these absentees was Mr. Glenie, who, although re-elected for Sunbury, did not attend either the session of 1793 or of 1794. Mr. Glenie was in England during these years, and while there, did not forget to do what he could to aid the cause of reform in New Brunswdck. The opening speech of the Governor indicated that something had displeased him. He began by saying that " When the foundations of a provincial establishment were completed, and a House of Representatives became a constituent branch of the Legislature, it was, in each department, considered as a fundamental maxim, universally to regulate our proceedings by those models only which have been sanctioned, in similar cases; by the practice of the parent state; and in cases peculiar to our local situation, or to the subordinate condition of a province, to deviate from those venerable rules no further than necessity should require." It is not quite clear what the House of Assembly had been doing to deserve such a lecture but it may be that the Governor thought the new house needed some instructions with regard to its duties, so many of its members being new men.

It soon became evident, that the friends of the Governor were not in a majority in the new House. There was a test vote on the answer to the address Oil the clause, relating to the proposed building for the Legislature and the Supreme Court. The Governor's friends desired that the town of Fredericton should be specified as the place where this building was to be erected, but this was defeated by a vote of 15 to 7. The Governor's friends in this instance, were led by Mr. Chipman, who, although a resident of St. John, had supported the Governor in his removal oi the seat of government to Fredericton. Col. Winslow attributes the loss of Chipman's seat to this fact, but there were other reasons why Chipman was not popular in St. John. Winslow was so much vexed at the defeat of Chipman, that he wrote to Gregory Townsend, "Our gentlemen have all become potato planters, and our shoemakers are preparing to legislate." Thus was the kindly and charitable way in which he intimated that some of his friends had been defeated at the elections.

The weakness of the Governor's following was again shown by the vote on the bill for fixing the times and places of holding the terms of the Supreme Court, which was carried by a vote of 17 to 4, but, notwithstanding this strong support, the Council threw it out without a division. The public convenience was nothing to the persons who formed the Council, in comparison with the favor of the Governor. Tlio disposition of the Council was still more clearly shown in connection with the appropriation hill. The Governor in his opening speech, had called the attention of the House to the need of a suitable building for the accommodation of the legislature and the Courts of Justice, and also to the importance of making an annual allowance for the Provincial Academy. The same recommendations had been made at the previous session, and, in response to them, a grant had been made of one hundred pounds to purchase boards and timber for the proposed building, while an equal sum was given to the Academy for one year. At this session it was resolved that an annual sum not exceeding two hundred pounds be granted to the Academy, for the purpose of erecting proper buildings and towards the support of the same, so soon as the amount of the expected bounty from the parent state, should be ascertained and a proper plan and place agreed upon." The Governor's friends endeavored to have the last eight words stricken out of the resolution, but they were defeated by a vote of 15 to 8. This was simply the old contest in regard to the seat of Government in a new form. As the resolution was merely put fonvard as an opinion of the committee, not to be operative until "a proper place and plan had been agreed upon," it was not included in the appropriation bill, and no further grant was made for the erection of a legislative building. Put a resolution was passed in Committee and embodied in the bill, granting ten pounds to each parish in the province, for the purpose of "aiding and assisting in the education of youth." This seemed a very reasonable provision at a time when the Governor was demanding money 4 for the support of an Academy at Fredericton, but when the appropriation bill reached the Council, it was objected to because it contained this clause. A conference was demanded by the Council, and agreed to by the House of Assembly, the Council being represented by Chief Justice Ludlow and Mr. Justice Allen, and the House by Messrs. Robert Pagan and Peters and Capt. Clinch. The representatives of the Council stated their objections to the vote for schools to be " that the appropriating money for the education of children in the different parishes of this Province, was a new institution and necessarily required particular regulations, and that if appropriations of that nature were included in general money bills, the Council would not be left to decide freely on the merits of those regulations because although they disapproved of them, they could not reject them, without at the same time rejecting every other article in the general money bill." It was on these grounds that the Council declined to allow any public money to be voted for the education of those children in the province who were growing up in ignorance. These objections were reported to the House of Assembly, but that body declined to withdraw the obnoxious clause, so that when the bill came up in the Council for a second reading, it was unanimously rejected. The members present when this vote was taken, were the Chief Justice, Judge Allen and Messrs. Hazen, Robinson, G. G. Ludlow, Winslow, Odell and Leonard. Thus the appropriation bill was thrown out by men who proved by their acts that they were opposed to the education of the masses. On the same day that this occurred, Mr. Hardy asked leave to introduce a bill "to defray the expenses incurred, and to be incurred in the public services therein mentioned." This was merely the rejected appropriation bill with the school vote left out. The Governor's friends rallied in force to the support of this bill, but leave to introduce it was refused by a vote of twelve to ten. Every member of the House who had been present during the session, except Mr. Chandler of Westmorland, voted on this occasion. Undeterred by his previous failure, Mr. Hardy on the following day, moved for leave to introduce a bill "to provide for public services," but leave was again refused, and when the House was prorogued, the province was without an appropriation act, and the persons who had earned their money by honest services to the public, could not obtain it. This was rather hard on the officials whose salaries were none too large, but although the first, it was not the only time they were called upon to suffer from the same cause.

The last business done by the House at this session was the passing of an address to the Governor in reference to an attempt that was being made by the Legislature of Nova Scotia, to steal a portion of the territory of New Rrunswick. The Assembly of the former province had addressed the Governor, asking his endeavors to effect an alteration in the boundary line between the provinces, and recommending that the boundary be the Meinramcook, and from the bead of that river to Shediac Harbor. As this change in boundary would have given the best part of Westmorland County to Nova Scotia, it is not surprising that the proposal provoked much indignation in New Brunswick. The pretext on which it was founded was the alleged difficulty of locating the boundary from the head of the Misseguasli River to Baie Verte, a difficulty that was wholly imaginary. Nova Scotia took nothing by this effort, and the boundary question was allowed to sleep for several years.

At the opening of the Legislature, Governor Carleton had expressed the hope and belief, that Great Britain would be able to avoid war with France, but before his speech was made, war had been declared. The great contest was begun which, with one brief truce, was to last for twenty-one years, and burden Great Britain with an enormous debt. On the 8tli February, Secretary of State Dundas wrote to Governor Carleton, asking him to raise an infantry corps of six hundred men, which the Governor himself was to command without pay. This corps was to be for service in New Brunswick only and the principal object of raising it was to enable the regiments in New Brunswick to be removed elsewhere. Mr. Glenie was in London at this time aud hearing of the proposal to raise a regiment in New Brunswick, he wrote to the English authorities opposing it on the ground of the sparseness of the population. He said very truly, that the efforts of all the male inhabitants were required to supply the population with food.

A corps of six hundred men would take one fifth of the population capable of bearing arms and at least one third of the more active ami younger men. At that time there were not more than 15,000 people in the Province. There was, therefore, some force in Glenie's protest, but in times of great public excitement and when the warlike spirit of a people is roused, objectors like Glenie are apt to be accused of disloyalty and lack of patriotism.

Recruiting for the New Brunswick Regiment began in April and was continued during the remainder of the year. It was rather slow work, for the number of available men was small, and in October the total strength of the regiment was only 271 rank and file. In July, 1794, the regiment numbered 450 men of all ranks. This was about the highest number it ever reached, the number of effectives being generally about 300 men. The regiment was employed to garrison Fredericton, St. John and the other parts which had been held by the Sixth Regiment, which was sent to Halifax and from there to Barbadoes. The home authorities evidently thought that this island w as much more liable to be attacked than New Brunswick. The Provincial regiment served upwards of nine years, doing duty all the time In this province and was not disbanded until August, 1802, alter the peace of Amiens.