WHEN the Legislature met in January, 1833, the people of the Province were under a great apprehension of the coming of the cholera. This dread disease had reached-Quebec in 1832, being carried there by some ships which brought out immigrants, and as ships with immigrants were constantly arriving at St. John and Miramichi, there was great fear lest the cholera should reach this Province. In the summer of 1831, a woman had died suddenly in one of the settlements on the Nashwaak, with every symptom of Asiatic cholera, but this was a solitary case and no other appeared. In his opening speech the Lieutenant-Governor referred to the anticipated visit of cholera, and asked the legislature to take effective means to meet the disease. Fortunately the cholera did not appear at that time, although the legislature was prompt to meet the desires of the Governor in this respect. Acts were passed to prevent the importation and spreading of infectious diseases, and for the establishment and regulating of boards of health in the several counties.

Among the acts of this session was one for the incorporation of the New Brunswick mining company. Among the persons incorporated by this act, were most of the leading citizens of the Province, headed by Chief Justice Saunders. The object of the company was to work the coal mines of Queens county, but strange to say, the residents of the coal mining district of that county, petitioned against the act, on the ground that it would interfere with their private rights, The act was passed in spite of their remonstrances, but the gentlemen who were thus incorporated and who subscribed to its stock, were not enriched by its operations. There was not the same market then for coal that there is at present, nor the same facilities for conveying it from the mines, and the product of the Grand Lake region was at that time, exposed to the competition of coal brought from Great Britain as ballast, by the ships which carried back timber and deals.

The most important business of the session was the appointment of a committee on grievances, consisting of seven members, who were required to enter into an investigation of all grievances, with power to call for the attendance of witnesses and the production of papers. The members of the committee were Messrs. Kinnear, Simonds, Chandler, Partelow, Taylor, Weldon and Wyer. This committee made two reports during the session, and prepared an address to His Majesty on the subject of grievances, which was accepted by the House. It dealt largely with the casual and territorial revenue ; the improper manner in which the Crown land department was managed and the collection of quit rents, but its most important recommendation was that in favor of sending two members of the House of Assembly to England to lay the petition of that body at the foot of the throne. The two gentlemen selected for this important mission were, Charles Simonds and Edward B. Chandler, men who had taken a prominent part in a discussion of the important question with which they had to deal. The delegates arrived in England in the early summer of 1833, and immediately placed themselves in communication with the Right Hon. E. G. Stanley, who was then colonial secretary. The subjects which they had to bring to the attention of the colonial office were, the condition of the Crown land department; the post office; the difficulties between the Provincial revenue officers and the Custom House officers appointed by the British Government; the duties on tea, wine, molasses ; the duty on British manufactures and the state of Kings College. With regard to the latter, they urged that such alterations might be made in its charter as would make the institution more generally useful and in accordance with the wishes of the people. The College was unpopular in consequence of the narrow nature of its constitution, which placed the control of it in the hands of one denomination to the exclusion of all others. With regard to the Custom House it was complained that unpleasant collisions took place between the officers of the Customs and the officers of the Provincial revenue. Instances had occurred of seizures by the officers of His Majesty's Customs, of articles which had been previously seized by the Provincial revenue officers and condemned. Reference was also made to the Royal instructions which prevented the imposition of duties on British manufactures and made it impossible for the Province to collect any revenue from such goods as were made in the mother country. It was also stated that duties were collected at the several Custom houses in New Brunswick, upon wine, molasses, coffee and pimento, under the-authority of acts of Parliament passed in the reigns of George II. and George III., amounting to upwards of £1,000 annually, which were not accounted for to the Legislature, and it was not known to the House of Assembly by whom and to what purpose these duties were applied. This was a singular disclosure, for it had been generally understood that the question of parliamentary duties had been settled by the act of George IV., which placed the proceeds of these duties under the control of the Legislature. There were several other subjects dealt with by the delegates which have ceased to be of public interest and which were embraced in the general question of the casual and territorial revenue, the conclusion of which has already been related.

The answer of Mr. Stanley to the representations of the delegates was a lengthy one, but not veiy satisfactory. It abounded in those generalities which are the delight of heads of departments who desire to do nothing. The delegates were told that the proceeds of the old parliamentary duties of which they complained, were remitted to the exchequer in England in aid of the expenses incurred for the defence of the British Colonies in North America. With regard to Kings College it was stated that the British Government would be ready to consider such modification of the charter as would appear to be generally desired, and which would render its provisions less exclusive, and leave the professorships open to all denominations of Christians. Almost the only satisfactory feature of Mr. Stanley's answer was the statement that the British government would assent to acts imposing reasonable duties on goods of British manufacture, where such duties were merely for the purpose of raising a local revenue, and not with the object of favoring rival manufactures, foreign or domestic. The apparent results of the mission of the delegates to England, except as to the casual and territorial revenue, were not great, but there is no doubt that the changes which afterwards took place in the policy of Great Britain with reference to New Brunswick was largely due to the work done by this mission. The seed had been planted from which was to be gathered in future years a crop of valuable reforms, the attainment of which has already been described.

The report of the delegates was placed before the legislature, which met in February, 1834, and Sir Archibald Campbell in his opening speech, dealt with the state of the finances of the Province which were unsatisfactory, the result of a bad system, the payments for the public services being always in arrears and warrants on the treasuiy being sold at a discount because the treasury was unable to cash them. This was certainly a matter which required amendment but it was difficult, under the existing system, to make the receipts and expenditures balance so as to maintain the public credit. An effort was made in this direction by the legislature, by the passage of an act to provide for the payment of interest on warrants which were not paid at the treasury on demand. An act was passed to increase the representation of the counties of Carleton, Gloucester, and Kent, giving to each of these new counties two members. Another act was passed for taking an account of the population of the Province. The census, which was taken in the course of the summer, showed that the population had reached a total of 119,457, which was an increase of 45,281 over the population of the previous census taken ten years before. As the natural increase of the population would probably not exceed 20,000 during these ten years, the additional 25,000 must be put down to the credit of immigration. These immigrants who all came from Great Britain and Ireland to found homes in New Brunswick, had no ambition but to prosper by the labor of their hands. They were accustomed to habits of industry in their own country and they brought these habits with them to New Brunswick. Many of the families in the Province who are now prominent can trace their origin to the immigrants of that period. The largest increase of population had taken place in the territory which was all comprised in the county of Northumberland in 1824, but which was, in 1834, divided into three counties. This increase amounted to 9,695. The county of St. John had increased by 7,761 in the same period, and the increase of the territory which was included in the county of York in 1824, was 8,999. The city of St. John had attained a population of 12,885, and the parish of Portland, which was virtually a part of the city, had now 5,077 inhabitants. It was evident that the growth of the Province had been most satisfactory during the decade, and this growth extended to every county except Sunbury, where the increase was only about equal to the natural increase of population.

A singular circumstance occurred this year in connection with the appointment of the mayor of St. John, who instead of being elected by the people, as at present, was appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. The Hon. William Black, a member of the Legislative council, had been appointed mayor in 1832. He had been president of the Province, and as it was usual to retain a satisfactory incumbent in office for several years, he naturally expected to be re-appointed in 1833. But during his incumbency a person named Thomas Heaviside, who had come to the Province from England and who filled a number of responsible positions, such as secretary of the Savings Bank and acting collector of customs of St. John, became a defaulter and fled from the Province. The sheriff took possession of his property, and among his papers was found a book from which it appeared that the Hon. William Black, who had appointed Mr. Heaviside acting collector of customs, while he was administrator of the Government, had participated in the emoluments of the office. This was brought to Mr. Black's attention by the Lieutenant Governor and he was requested to give an explanation. The explanation was given, but it appears not to have been satisfactory to the President of the council, for Mr. John M. Wilmot was appointed mayor in Mr. Black's place. Mr. Heaviside's defalcation was the first that had taken place in the Province, and it caused a very considerable sensation. The trustees of the Savings Bank lost upwards of £1,000 by it for which they were subsequently indemnified by the Legislature.

The House of Assembly which had been elected in 1830, was giving Sir Archibald Campbell a great deal of trouble, and he was glad of an excuse to get rid of them. He found one in the passage of the act giving an additional member to the counties of Carleton, Gloucester and Kent. But if he expected to obtain a House of Assembly that would be more subservient to his despotic views than the one elected in 1830, he was destined to be greatly disappointed. The House was dissolved on the 27th of November, 1834, and the elections took place immediately. In the contest that ensued, not one of the leading reformers of the House was defeated, and some important additions were made to their numbers. The most notable of these were Lemuel A. Wilmot for the county of York, and Daniel L. Hanington for the county of Westmorland. Mr. Wilmot was a young lawyer who was rising into notice by his ability in the conduct of cases at nisi prius. He was destined to become the most eloquent advocate of the rights of the people that this province ever had, and to acquire a fame as a speaker which extended beyond the boundaries of his native land. Mr. Hanington was a man of considerable ability and force of character, a staunch liberal, and one who did splendid service to his party when the question of confederation came up for decision at a later day. It would have been much better for the comfort and happiness of the Lieutenant Governor if he had allowed the old house to live out its alloted term.

The Legislature was called together on the 20th of January. The speech of the Lieutenant-Governor was a very brief one and contained nothing of importance, except a reference to the roads and the necessity for their improvement. The principal act of the session was the one providing for the Custom house establishment. An act was also passed incorporating a company for the erection of a bridge across the St. John river near the city of St. John. This was a measure which had long been discussed and which was felt to be necessary as St. John was cut off from access to the Western part of the province. Its feasibility had been demonstrated to the satisfaction of its promoters, and arrangements had been made to borrow money from the surplus funds of the Province for the purpose of completing it. Unfortunately the engineering skill employed was not adequate to the completion of this work, and the result was the collapse of the structure which had been in part erected, and the loss of a number of human lives.

The new legislative council did not show itself much superior to the old as a legislative body, indeed it contained too much of the old leaven to be quite satisfactory. At this session it again rejected the appropriation bill, so that when the legislature was prorogued, the Province was left without any means of paying for its public services. The excuse for this was, that the bill contained a grant which was not concurred in by the Council, but sent up in the form of a resolution of appropriation, and it was claimed that to consent to this bill would be an invasion of the right of free deliberation by the Council, which could not be submitted to without sacrificing the principles of the constitution. The item referred to was one providing for the payment of the speaker and members of the House of Assembly. The Council had also rejected the grant to the clerk of the Council, and the grants to the clerks of both Houses. Apparently the reason why the Legislative Council adopted this course, was the refusal of the House to provide for the expenses of the members of the Council. The Council also complained that their clerk and clerk assistant were not paid as high a rate as the clerk and clerk assistant of the House of Assembly, and they showed their resentment by rejecting the appropriation for both. The result of this inconsiderate conduct was, that in the following June, the Lieutenant-Governor found it necessary to call the legislature together again for the purpose of passing an appropriation bill. The appropriation bill which was passed, was substantially the same as the one that had been rejected by the Council, but the provision for the payment of the speaker and members of the House was placed in a separate bill. Some other business of an unimportant character was transacted, and the House was prorogued on the 23rd of June, after sitting six days. It is impossible to justify the Council for their conduct on this occasion, which was marked by an utter disregard of the public interests. The Province was put to the expense of another legislative session, and a vast amount of inconvenience was caused to all who had transactions with the Government, merely to gratify the spite of a majority of the members of the Council. In this, as in many former instances, it was shown that the possessor of power without responsibility, does not tend to promote good government or enlightened legislation.

The legislature met again on the 20th of January, 1836. In his opening speech the Governor was able to congratulate the House on the happy and prosperous condition of the Province. He also announced the confirmation of the act to provide for the custom house establishment and the agreement of the home Government to the terms proposed for relinquishing the quit rents. At this session the growing spirit of enterprise in the Province, was shown by the passage of numerous private bills for the incorporation of companies of various kinds. Two new banks were chartered, and the capital stock of two of the existing banks was increased. This session also witnessed the first railway legislation of the Province, by the incorporation of companies for the purpose of building two important lines of railway. One of these was for the construction of a line from St. Andrews to Quebec, a project which had been in agitation for some time, but which has not yet been realized, although the line was built in the course of time as far as Richmond and has since been incorporated in the Canadian Pacific Railway. The project was too great a one for the means of the Province at that time and local causes contributed to prevent it from being carried out. One of these was the establishment of the boundary line under the Ashburton Treaty, which gave to the State of Maine a portion of the territory through which the St. Andrews and Quebec railway was intended to pass. The capital of the company was put down at the sum of £750,000, to be divided into thirty thousand shares, but it is almost unnecessary to say that this large sum was not subscribed.

The other railway act was one to incorporate a line from St. John to Shediac. This was a project which was much favored in the City of St. John, because it was thought, that by its means the trade of the Gulf Shore of the province would be brought to that city. The capital stock of this company was put down at £150,000 or about one-eighth of the amount which it finally cost to build and equip this important line of railway. The people of New Brunswick in the year 1836 knew very little about railways or the cost which they entailed, and they had {to pay for their ignorance at a very high rate, in future years. The St. John and Shediac railway was finally built by the province and was completed in 1860, at a cost which did not fall far short of $5,000,000. The completion of this road was a stupendous enterprise, considering the financial resources of New Brunswick at that time. The road was run by the government until confederation, and it was found to be of great value to the province, not only for the purpose of bringing the north, shore counties in communication with St. John, but also for the promotion of traffic between St. John and Kings and Westmorland. The whole country along the line of this road was rapidly developed by means of it, and the farmers of Kings and Westmorland were given a good market for their products. Although it did not yield large dividends to the government, it paid something above the sum required for its maintenance and running expenses, and probably in the course of time would have proved a good investment for the province. By the terms of confederation it passed into the hands of the government of Canada and it is now a part of the Intercolonial Railway.

The Legislature was called together on the 20th of December, 1836, for the purpose of placing before it the despatches respecting the surrender of the casual and territorial revenue, and the House did not rise until the 1st of the following March. This was the last time that Sir Archibald Campbell met the House of Assembly of New Brunswick, and it would have been better for his reputation if he had taken his departure from the Province before. His efforts to prevent the intentions of the Imperial Government with reference to the casual and territorial revenue being carried out have already been related, and it is certainly most extraordinary that he was able to find in the Province of New Brunswick, men who were willing to aid him in his efforts to deprive the people of this Province of the benefit of the revenue of their own lands. His correspondence with the home government discloses the fact that he was on very intimate terms with the Hon. Thomas Baillie, who was commissioner of Crown lands. Baillie was a native of Ireland and had been a subaltern in one of the regiments of the line. ~He was appointed Commissioner of Crown lands in February, 1824, during the administration of Lord Liverpool, and he seems to have been supported in England by some extraordinary influence, for there ' was the greatest reluctance on the part of the home authorities to do anything that would interfere with his emoluments. In August, 1833, the Right Hon. E. G. Stanley, who was Colonial Secretary in a Whig administration, in his report on the grievances laid before him by the New Brunswick delegates, wrote as follows, "the salary" of the Commissioner is perhaps higher than it ought to be, having reference to the general scale of salaries within the Province, but there are peculiar circumstances in Mr. Baillie's case, which would render it scarcely just to reduce his emoluments during his period of office." What were these "peculiar circumstances which rendered a Whig Government so tender towards a man who had been appointed by a Tory administration nine years before? This question can probably never be answered, but we know that in Great Britain at ,that time, family connections had a great deal more to do with appointments to office, than merit. The returns made by Mr. Baillie himself, which were laid before the House of Assembly, showed that he V was receiving upwards of $ 10,000 a year from the Crown land department, but it was the opinion of those who looked into the matter at that time, that his emoluments, legal and illegal, amounted to at least double that sum. In fact, Mr. Baillie was a wealthier man and made a greater display than the Governor himself. No resident of New Brunswick at the present day, keeps up such style of living as he was able to indulge in. The common people looked with awe on this great potentate who was able to coerce and control every man who was engaged in the leading industry of the Province, and who was drawing a princely revenue from the ; Crown lands, which ought to have gone into the ^public treasury. Mr. Baillie was so fond of style, that he even attempted to put the employees of the Crown land office into uniform, and some of the handsome buttons which he provided for these uniforms, stamped with the name of the Crown land department upon them are extant at the present day. The employees rebelled against this effort on the part of the Commissioner to put them in livery, but the fact that such an attempt was ' made, shows the bent of Mr. Baillie's mind.

The House of Assembly acted a very able and manly part in its defence of the interests of the Province against Sir Archibald Campbell, in connection with the Crown lands question, and the resolutions which it placed on the journals, censuring his conduct, will stand forever as a testimony against him. It is pleasing to know that these resolutions appear to have been passed unanimously. At all events the journals do not show that there was any division upon them, and the address to the King which followed them,, complaining of the conduct of the Lieutenant Governor, had only two opponents in a House of thirty members. These were John Ambrose Street, a brother of the solicitor general George F. Street, who had been sent by the Governor to England to oppose the bill, and William End, one of the members for Gloucester, a man of no principle, who took the side of those in authority because he thought it would be to his own personal advantage. In the long list of those who voted for the address are several who were afterwards prominent as conservatives in the House of Assembly, and opponents of responsible Government, but who on this occasion took the patriotic course of standing up for the rights of the people against the Governor. Sir Archibald Campbell was compelled to resign his position in consequence of his intrigues with regard to the casual and territorial revenue, and his last appearance in the council was on the 20th of May, 1837. On the first of June Sir John Harvey was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor. This gentleman who had been transferred from Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick, was an officer in the army like his predecessor, but a man of a very different character. Sir John Harvey had served in Canada during the war of 1812, and therefore understood the character of the people of the British North American colonies much better than a military man could, who had never been in any other colony but India. In that war Sir John Harvey, had proved himself a gallant soldier, and it was owing mainly to his ability and courage that the great victory of Stony Creek was won, which resulted in the capture of both American generals. Sir John was a man of less ability than Sir Howard Douglas, but he was quite as zealous for the good of the people whom he was called to govern, and no man who ever filled the position of lieutenant Governor in this Province has left more kindly memories behind him. He continued to be Lieutenant Governor for four years with universal acceptance, and afterwards became Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, where his popularity was as great as it was in this province.

The first business which engaged the attention of the new Lieutenant-Governor was, the calling together of the Legislature for the purpose of completing the legislation necessary for the transfer of the casual and territorial revenue to the Province. The House met on the 6th of July, and its work was done on the 20th of the same month, upon the passage of the act for the support of the Civil Government in the Province. The other acts passed at the second session of the Legislature which was held that year, were not of much public importance, but a glance at the statute books, discloses the fact that there was great activity in many lines of enterprise. Numerous companies were incorporated for the purpose of carrying on milling, coal mining, manufacturing, whale fishing and other industries on a large scale. A new bank was also incorporated with its head quarters at St. Stephen, and provision was made for the establishment of a branch of the Bank of British North America in this Province.

The crops of the year 1836 had failed to a large extent, and there was a considerable amount of distress, especially in the up river districts. It became necessary for the Legislature to make an appropriation for the relief of those who were suffering from a lack of the necessaries of life. The business men of the Province had suffered many losses in consequence of failures in England, and the times were so bad that the Chief Justice thought it necessary to refer to the matter in his charge to the grand jury. He said that the Province was laboring under a severe pressure and embarassment which appeared to pervade the whole commercial world, the great staple articles of the trade of the Province, the produce of the forests, remaining in hand or sold in the market, without affording any returns to the lumberman, for his labor and enterprise. The Chief Justice attributed this universal derangement to those unlimited habits of speculation and the inordinate thirst for gain which he thought was a characteristic of that age. He thought that this should serve as a warning, and should turn the attention of the people to the cultivation of the soil. This no doubt was good advice, but certainly the lumber business was worthy of being attended to, and no small part of the misfortunes of the lumbermen, were due to the exactions of the Commissioner of Crown lands who had received the support of all Chief Justice Chipman's friends.

After the prorogation of the Legislature, Sir John Harvey proceeded to make himself acquainted with different portions of the province, giving his first attention to the up river districts and to Madawaska, where there were already indications of more trouble arising out of the disputed boundary.

During the summer the news arrived of the death •of King William IV, a monarch wrho, although perhaps of no better character than his predecessor George IV, has claims to be remembered as the King in whose reign the great reform bill, which has been called the second charter of English liberty, was carried. A Whig government was in power in England during almost the whole of his reign, and to this fact is due the success which New Brunswick had, in obtaining what it demanded with respect to the Crown land revenues and other matters. The King himself was no reformer, and he was surrounded by persons who were extremely hostile to every change for the benefit of the people. Among these were his sister, the Duchess of Gloucester, his brother the Duke of Cumberland, the most worthless of the sons of George III, and his wife, a German princess, "Our hideous Queen," as Charles Greville calls her in his diary. The King was much opposed to giving up the control of the Crown lands to the colonies, but his opposition was not steady, although violent at first, and he yielded to pressure. It was an era of reform in England, and the beneficent influence of this feeling extended to the colonies. Among the best friends of New Brunswick in England at that time, was no less a personage than Lord Glenelg, the head of the colonial office. This nobleman met our delegates in a fair and friendly spirit, and the people of New Brunswick felt themselves greatly indebted to him for the success of their efforts with reference to the casual and territorial revenues. They showed their gratitude by voting that his portrait should be purchased, at the expense of the province, and placed in the House of Assembly room, and there it remains to this day, as a testimony of his eminent services to a province which he never visited, but where his name is held in kindly remembrance.

During the autumn the province was much agitated by the troubles in Canada, which resulted in a rebellion in both provinces. This is not the place to relate the history of the Canadian rebellion which, although vigorously condemned by the loyal people of New Brunswick, was not brought about without some sufficient cause. Whatever we may think of the conduct of the rebels in resorting to the sword to redress what they conceived to be their grievances, it cannot be denied that the grievances existed, and there is no doubt that the rebellion had a good effect, in directing the attention of the British people to these grievances, so that they were redressed. Nevertheless when the news, of the troubles reached New Brunswick there was but one feeling among the people, and that was that the Government must be supported. Loyal addresses poured in from every county in the Province, from all the national societies, and from the city of St. John, and all the militia in the Province offered their services to assist in keeping down the rebellion. This loyal spirit was creditable to the people, and received a due acknowledgment from the home authorities, whose perplexity for the time was great. The extent of the trouble was naturally magnified, and all the available forces at the command of the of the British government, were got ready to be sent to Canada. All the troops in New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were immediately forwarded to Quebec, their places being taken by the militia. As it was December when these orders were received, the troops had to march through Fredericton to Canada, by the same route that had been followed by the 104th Regiment in the year 1813. The 34th, 43rd, 65th and 85th Regiments, besides a body of artillery, went through to Quebec in this way, but they experienced none of the difficulties which had been felt by the 104th as the road was so much improved that most of the way they were able to be carried on sleds. The average time occupied in transit was twenty days. The rebellion was speedily put down in both Provinces, and since that time Canada has been the most loyal colony of the Empire.