THE session of 1844 met on the 1st of February. The principal topics mentioned in the Governor's speech were the settlement of the Crown lands, the encouragement of agriculture, the fisheries, domestic manufactures and the improvement of the educational institutions of the Province. The most interesting matter, however, which was discussed during the session, was not a provincial concern at all, but had its origin in another colony. The Governor General of Canada at that time was Sir Charles Metcalfe, a person who is said to have possessed much ability, but who was certainly most unfit for the position he occupied. Sir Charles Metcalfe persisted in making appointments, not only without the advice of his council, but directly contrary to it. He claimed to stand on what was termed the Royal prerogative, which was supposed to justify all appointments. Under this system the people of New Brunswick had already seen persons placed in high positions who were not natives of the Province, and who knew nothing whatever in regard to its people or its needs. The appointment of Mr. Baillie to the office of Surveyor-General was an instance of this, and a still more flagrant case was the appointment of James Carter, a young Englishman, to be a judge of the Supreme Court in 1834, on the death of Chief Justice Saunders. This was a gross insult to the bar of New Brunswick, which then included many able lawyers who were far more competent to fill the position than Mr. Carter. Yet the appointment was justified on the ground of the royal prerogative. It might have been supposed that the people of New Brunswick, who had suffered from this cause, would have had some sympathy with their brethern in Canada, who were seeking to control the actions of a despotic governor, but during the session, Mr. Allen of York moved the appointment of a committee to prepare an address to Sir Charles Metcalfe, expressive of the high sense entertained by the representatives of the people of New Brunswick for the constitutional stand taken by him in the recent memorable conflict with His Excellency's late advisors. This resolution was not passed without a hot discussion, in which Mr. Wilmot and Mr. Fisher defended the late advisors of the Governor General and pronounced the conduct of His Excellency unconstitutional. The address which grew out of this resolution declared that the representatives of the people of New Brunswick could not refrain from supporting His Excellency in maintaining the prerogatives of the Crown, invaded as they conceived them to have been, by the extraordinary claims of the Council. It also declared it to be their firm belief that if the extravagant demand made upon the Governor General had been granted, monarchical institutions on this continent must soon have ceased to exist. The meaning of this was, of course, that a Governor, in making appointments, was not bound to take the advice of his Council. What would the people of Canada say today if a Governor General insisted on appointing men to public offices against the advice of his cabinet ? Yet not content with the fulsome and absurd address sent to the Governor General by the House of Assembly, the city of St. John, to show its loyalty, presented a similar address and one signed by 1,000 persons was sent by the county of York. Such abasement and subserviency to an unconstitutional Governor was certain to bring its own punishment, and it came much sooner than any one could have anticipated. On Christmas day of the same year, the Hon. William Franklin Odell, who had been Provincial Secretary for thirty-two years, died at Fredericton. Mr. Odell's father had been Secretary before him, from the foundation of the Province, so that the Odell family had held that important and highly lucrative office for sixty years.

Sir William Colebrooke, on the 1st of January, 1848, just one week after the death of Mr. Odell, appointed his son-in-law, Alfred Reade, who was a native of England and a stranger to the Province, to the vacant office. The gentlemen who had been most prominent in shouting their approval of the "" Constitutional stand" taken by Sir Charles Metcalfe, now suddenly discovered that Sir William Colebrooke's conduct in making this appointment, without consulting his Council, was a fearful outrage, and their distress was pitiable to behold. Several members of the Government, including such strong upholders of the prerogative as the Hon. Robert L. Hazen of St. John, at once resigned their positions. A communication from three of them, Hugh Johnston, E. B. Chandler, and R. L. Hazen, addressed to His Excellency, gave as their reasons for resigning, that they could not justify the exercise of the prerogative of the Crown in respect to Mr. Reade's appointment, because they felt that the " elevation to the highest offices of trust and emolument, of individuals, whose character, services and claims to preferment, however, appreciated elsewhere, are entirely unknown to the country generally is prejudicial to the best interests of the Province." They did not, however, make it a ground of objection that the appointment of Mr. Reade was forwarded for the Royal approbation without the advice or concurrence of the council. These gentlemen evidently thought it was too early for them to eat the words in regard to the prerogative of the Crown, of which they had been so free a few months before. But they showed their true character, by deserting the Governor because he had been foolish enough to believe that their profuse expressions in favor of the Royal prerogative, were sincere.

Hon. L. A. Wilmot, who also resigned, sent a separate communication to the Lieutenant Governor, in which he stated that such appointments should be given to inhabitants of the Province, and not to a comparative stranger and a transient person like Mr. Reade. He also expressed the opinion that the principles of Responsible Government should be put in operation in New Brunswick, and that the Provincial Secretary should be brought into the Executive, and should hold a seat in one of the Houses of the Legislature, his tenure of office being contingent upon the successful administration of tlv3 Government. When the House met, in the latter part of January, the Reade appointment immediately became the subject of discussion, and by a vote of 24 to 6, an address was passed to Her Majesty, the Queen, condemning the appointment, not as the members said, because they questioned "in the remotest degree the prerogative of the Crown or its undoubted right to make such appointment," but because they thought that the right of appointment had been improperly or unjustly exercised. In other words the members of the House of Assembly surrendered the principle that appointments should be made by the Governor, with the advice of his Executive, and only objected to the Reade appointment because, in their opinion, some one else should have been chosen. It is easy to see that in subscribing to this address, the members of the House stultified themselves, and cut the ground from under their feet; for if it was a part of the prerogative of the Crown to make appointments without the advice of the Council, surely the exercise of that prerogative, in the appointment of a particular individual, could not be fairly questioned. The result of the difficulty, however, was the cancelling of Mr. Reade's appointment by the Home Government. This decision was commuunicated to the House of Assembly by message on the 3rd of February, 1846. The despatch from the Colonial office, upon which the Lieutenant Governor acted, was written on the 31st of March, 1845, and must have been received by him at Fredericton not later than the last of April. But notwithstanding this despatch Mr. Reade held office until the 17th of July, so it will be seen that Sir William Colebrooke was in no hurry to carry out the wishes of the home government. Lord Stanley, the writer of the despatch in question, expressed the opinion that public employment should be bestowed on the natives or settled inhabitants of the Province, and he thought that Mr. Reade did not come under this description. He closed his despatch with the following singular statement: "I observe with satisfaction, that the House of Assembly have not only abstained from complicating the subject with any abstract questions of government, but have rejected every proposal for laying down formal principles upon such questions. The House has, I think, in this course done justice to the earnest desire of Her Majesty, that the colonial administration generally should be conducted in harmony with the wishes of the people, whatever may be the variations arising out of the local considerations and the state of society in various colonies, subject to which, that principle may be carried into practice ; and it is anxiously hoped, that the same wise forbearance which has led the House of Assembly to decline the unnecessary discussion of subjects of so much delicacy, may lead them also to regard the practical decision now announced, as the final close of the controversy, and to unite in the promotion, not of objects of party strife and rivalry, but of the more substantial and enduring interests of the colony which they represent. " If these words have any meaning, they seem to show that at that date, the British Government believed,, the right of appointment to be in the Crown without reference to the Council, and that they were unwilling any general principle should be laid down by the Legislature of the Province which conflicted with this view. Even so late as the year 1851, the Colonial Secretary ordered the Lieutenant Governor to appoint Mr. Justice Carter, to be Chief Justice of the Province, and Mr. L. A. Wilmot, a puisne judge, without any reference whatever to the wishes of the council on the subject, and this order was obeyed. Such an easy acquiescence in claims which could not be defended on constitutional grounds, showed that even at that period, neither the British Government nor the people of New Brunswick, had grasped the true meaning of the constitution which was supposed to be in force in the Province. It was absurd to pretend that Responsible Government really existed in New Brunswick if the Crown could make appointments to the most important offices on its mere motion, and without consulting the wishes of the people or their representatives.

At the session of the legislature in 1844, an act was passed to prevent the spread of leprosy in New Brunswick. This disease had existed among the French population of Northumberland for a number of years, and seemed to be making some advances. The act in question provided for the erection of a lazaretto, in which persons afflicted with leprosy could be confined, so that the infection would not be communicated to others. This lazaretto was soon afterwards established, and it continued to be supported by the provincial government for about half a century. Recently it has been taken over by the Dominion authorities. It is remarkable that during this long period of time, the number of victims to this loathsome disease remains about the same, so that there does not seem to be any hope of it being speedily stamped out.

During the session, Mr. Hill of Charlotte, who was always an ardent friend of Responsible Government, succeeded in committing the House to a declaration in its favor. At his instance a resolution was passed, in which the House declared that it viewed with much satisfaction, the recognition and exposition by the Governor-General of the recently established system of Colonial Responsible Government as contained in his Excellency's late reply to the address of the warden and councillors of the Gore district in Canada West. This was passed by a vote of 21 to 5. Some of the members who voted for it appear not to have been aware that they had committed themselves to Responsible Government, for on the following day, Mr. End, who voted for the resolution, moved that it be expunged from the Journals. This was lost by a vote of twenty-one to nine. The majority included a number of men who had never before displayed any sympathy with Responsible Government, and who had but an imperfect understanding of what it signified.

It was at this session that the famous case of Doak and Hill disturbed the House of Assembly. These persons were proprietors of a newspaper called '' The Loyalist", and they had been very free in their criticisms of Mr. L. A. Wilmot and others, who opposed the address of the House to Sir Charles Metcalfe. It had been the custom of the House of Assembly to deal in a very summary manner, with persons who ventured to criticize the views of its members, and, in this instance, the attack made upon Mr. Wilmot was highly resented even by those who were not in sympathy with his views. A resolution was submitted to the House by Mr. Allen of York, and carried, that Doak and Hill be brought to the bar of the House for breach of privilege. This was done, and they were ordered to be imprisoned in York county jail. Mr. David S. Kerr, their legal adviser, made an application on their behalf to Mr. Justice Carter for a writ of Habeas Corpus, and the judge ordered their release. They immediately went back to the House of Assembly and exhibited themselves in the gallery, a piece of impertinence which fairly set the House wild with excitement. They even issued a second edition of their paper, in which they renewed their attack upon the House, and sent copies of this edition to be distributed in the House. This was setting the authority of the House at defiance, and it led to the matter being referred to the committee of privileges. This committee made a lengthy report, in which the right of the House to commit for contempt was affirmed, and expressed regret that the views of Mr. Justice Carter should have induced him to interpose for the relief of the avowed perpetrators of so atrocious a libel. Nothing more was done to Doak and Hill, but they brought an action against the speaker for false imprisonment and recovered £200 damages. The Supreme Court of New Brunswick agreed with Mr. Justice Carter, in deciding that the House had no right to imprison individuals summarily for contempt. The exercise of such a power was certainly a most unwarrantable interference with free speech. Messrs. Hill and Doak were Tories of an extreme type, and their attack was made upon a reformer who was upholding correct constitutional principles in the House of Assembly, but they certainly had a right to protection in their criticisms of a public man, for his way of dealing with public questions. After the case of Doak and Hill, there was no pretence for the summary imprisonment of any one who ventured to differ from the House of Assembly. The fact that the House did nothing more than accept the report of its committee was explained on various grounds. Some thought it was because they really did not believe that the privileges of the House were so extensive as the report claimed, while others put their acquiescence on the ground that the offenders were upholders of the Family Compact.

The Legislature again met in January, 1845, and the Governor was able to congratulate the members on the great improvement that had taken place in the revenue, and the favorable change in the commercial prospects of the Province. He also congratulated them on the success of the measure for the inspection of parish schools. He expressed the hope that before the session ended, an improved system for the management of these schools should be adopted. He announced that Her Majesty's Government had caused a survey to be made for a new line of road, to be carried through the Province of New Brunswick to Quebec, and he recommended that, in accordance with the instructions he had received, they give such facilities for the settlement of the lands adjacent to the line, as would provide for keeping open the roads when completed. This was done by an act passed during the session. Among the other acts of the session, was one to incorporate the St. John Gas Light Company, which was another proof that the old fashions were passing away, and that modern improvements were beginning to be introduced into the Province. The Governor was able to announce, that the act to improve the law relating to the election of representatives to serve in the General Assembly, had been ratified by Her Majesty in Council. The principal feature of this act was, that it reduced the time during which polls should be kept open for an election, to one day, and provided that a poll should be held simultaneously all over the county. This was an immense improvement on the old method by which the polls were kept open, first for fourteen days, and afterwards for eight days. The bill had been passed at the session of 1843, but it had taken Her Majesty's Council fourteen months to decide that it was a proper measure to be ratified. This necessity for referring almost every bill of importance to the Home Government, was a great nuisance, and to a large extent placed the Legislature of the Province at the mercy of a set of men who were wholly ignorant of its needs. No act passed by the Legislature, however necessary its provisions might be, was certain of being approved by the Home authorities for they were largely influenced by the opinions of the Governor, and when the Governor happened to be a man like Sir Archibald Campbell, he was not likely to approve of any measure which seemed to interfere with his privileges, or to increase the power of the Legislature. Equally objectionable was the manner in which the Legislature was controlled by despatches from the Colonial Secretary, who might be a wise man and capable of giving sound advice, or on the other hand might be a man quite incompetent to give directions. In any case, the advice was certain to be given from an English point of view, and not from that of a resident of New Brunswick, and the best of men, living 3,000 miles away, could hardly be expected to understand the views of the people of a Province so remote and. so little known.

At this session of the Legislature an act was passed for the amendment of the charter of King's College. This act did not, however, receive the ratification of Her Majesty in council, for nearly two years, so that the condition of affairs which it was designed to amend, existed until February, 1847. There were many complaints about the college from different quarters, but the most serious were those which were based on the character of its charter, which placed its entire control in the hands of members of the Church of England. The object of the amending act was to change this feature of the charter. The bill was introduced by Mr. Wilmot and passed the House by a large majority although violently opposed by a few members, who maintained that a Royal charter could not be amended by the Legislature. This ground was also taken by the governing body of the college, although they were receiving every year from the Legislature £2,200 for its maintenance. It met with considerable opposition in the Legislative Council but was finally passed. It provided that the Lieutenant Governor should be visitor of the College, instead of the Bishop; that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court should be Chancellor; that the President need not be a clergyman of the Church of England, but should be a person appointed by the visitor, on behalf of Her Majesty. The College Council was to consist of the Chancellor, the President of the College, the Master .of, the Rolls, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Secretary of the Province, the Attorney General and nine other members, to be nominated by the visitor, and it was not required that these members of the Council should be graduates of the College or of any other University, or that they should be subjected to any religious test. The only professor connected with the College who was required to be a member of the Church of England was the Professor of Theology, but it was enacted that divine service should be held in the College according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England. If the Legislature of that day had possessed sufficient foresight to get rid of these two last provisions, there would have been nothing in the constitution of the College which could have been complained of, but the fact that there was a chair of Theology, and that the services of the \ Church of England were maintained in the College, had the effect of largely neutralizing the advantages which should have accrued from the change in the governing board. The people still looked upon the College as a Church of England institution, and the result was that it never became a College of the whole people, as it should have done, and that rival institutions were set up which deprived it of students who ought to have attended it.

A great deal of the time of the session was taken up in the discussion of the Reade appointment, and a resolution, moved by Mr. Partelow, was passed that the Executive Council did not possess the confidence of the House nor of the country at large. This was carried by a vote of 22 to 9, and was the first instance of a vote of want of confidence being carried in the House of Assembly. The effect of the vote was not so great, however, as a similar vote at the present time. The Lieutenant Governor did not feel bound to dismiss his council in consequence of it, and no head of a department had a seat in the House of Assembly. The retirement of Messrs. Hazen, Chandler, Johnston, and Wilmot from the Executive Council in consequence of the Reade appointment, had reduced it to a very weak condition, its only representative in the House of Assembly being Mr. Simonds, who had to bear the whole burden of the obloquy which the Reade appointment had caused. The position of Mr. Simonds was somewhat peculiar, for he was compelled to withdraw from the advocacy of those principles of responsible government which he had formerly supported. From that time forward he may be classed with the Conservatives, for he seems to have changed his views, not only with regard to the initiation of money votes, but also with reference to appointments to office.

During the session of 1846 a number of despatches were laid before the House of Assembly with regard to railways. At this time the question of uniting Halifax with Quebec by means of a railway, was beginning to receive attention and Mr. Gladstone thought it necesssary to send some instructions to the Governor of New Brunswick, with regard to the principles which had guided Parliament in its railway legislation for England. No doubt these principles were sound, and perhaps such directions were necessary for a Legislature which was not accustomed to deal with railway matters, but there was as much in English railway legislation to be avoided as to be imitated, for it had been rendered enormously costly in consequence of the opposition of the land owners, who fought the railway bills in both Houses of Parliament. A despatch was also received from the Clerk of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia, enclosing a resolution which had been passed in that body in favor of a railway to Quebec, and requesting the Governor to cause surveys to be made during the year. Upon this the House of Assembly passed a series of resolutions declaring that nothing would tend more to advance the prosperity of the British colonies of North America, to cement their union and preserve their integrity, as valuable appendages of the Crown, than a railway connecting the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and that this House would not be behindhand with their fellow-subjects, the people of Canada and Nova Scotia, in making such provision for this railway as the resources of the Province would warrant. These resolutions were carried by a very large majority. The action of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in 1846, may be said to have been the foundation of the Intercolonial Railway, although nearly thirty years were to pass before the hopes of those who desired the construction of this road, were realized.

While the people and the Legislature were willing to support a railway that would unite Halifax with Quebec, those who lived on the River St. John favored a line which would go up the river from the city of St. John through Fredericton and Woodstock, to the boundary of the Province with Canada. Accordingly a company was incorporated at this session to construct this railway, but the act, like nearly all the important acts which were passed by the Legislature, had to be ratified by Her Majesty in Council. Another act was passed, granting whatever Crown land was required for the construction of the railway and also for its stations, houses and warehouses. In addition to this the sum of £7,500 was granted for seven years by way of subsidy to encourage the builders of the proposed railway. It is evident that the people of that time had a very imperfect idea of the cost of railways, as such a subsidy would be now looked upon as absurdly small. It is hardly necessary to state that no railway was constructed under this act.

The people of New Brunswick had to wait a long time for a line of railway from St. John to Quebec, by way of the St. John River; in fact this has not been realized up to the present day. After confederation, and, when the route of the Intercolonial railway by the North Shore had been settled, the Province of New Brunswick granted a subsidy of 10,000 acres of land a mile, to a company willing to construct a railway from Fredericton to the Quebec line. The railway was completed in the course of time, but it was years before a connection was made with a line coming from Quebec, and even since this was effected, the railway has never been operated as a through line. The Province gave nearly two million acres of the best of its timber lands, to establish a connection with Quebec by way of the St. John River Valley, yet the object for which the railway was constructed has been wholly defeated.

An attempt was made by Mr. Brown of Charlotte to pass a school bill, by means of which a Normal or Training school should be established for teachers. At that time the schools of the Province were extremely defective. It might have been supposed that a bill which would have the effect of obtaining better teachers would have been readily agreed to, but after a long debate, in the course of which almost every phase of the school question was discussed,, the measure was rejected. In the course of the discussion, several members expressed their willingness to support a bill which would tax the property of the country for the support of the schools, but a quarter of a century was destined to pass away before-this result was obtained.

GOVERNORS OF NEW BRUNSWICK.

Sir Leonard Tilley, Hon. John Boyd
Hon. R. D. Wilmot, Hon. J. B. Snowball, Hon. E. B. Chandler
Hon. A. R. McChlan Hon. L. A. Wilmot

Another matter which occupied much attention during the session was the proposal to give a retiring pension to Judge Botsford. This Judge had become somewhat hard of hearing, so that he thought it his duty to resign his position on the bench. His resignation had been handed in with the understanding that he was to obtain a retiring allowance, but to carry out this understanding it was necessary that a pension should be voted to Judge Botsford by the House of Assembly. This the House refused to do by a vote of 15 to 13, on the ground that the allowance of a retiring pension to public officers could not be justified by any system of sound policy and was uncalled for in a new country like New Brunswick. This vote did not do any credit to the House which passed it, for Judge Botsford certainly would not have resigned if he had not been given to understand that he would receive a retiring allowance. He was succeeded on the Bench by George Frederick Street, one of the principals in a duel when Mr. George L. Wetmore was killed. Mr. Street was also hard of hearing so that the Province did not gain much by the change of judges.

An attempt was made at this session of the Legislature to obtain a grant of money in aid of individual subscriptions for the purpose of erecting a monument in St. John to commemorate the landing of the Loyalists in 1783. The person who took the lead in this matter was Mr. Partelow, but after a long debate, the resolution was rejected. Among those who voted against it were members who were descendants of the Loyalists. Although the erection of some memorial to the Loyalists had been frequently discussed, it had never yet been realized, because the persons promoting it could never agree as to what kind of a monument would be required. Perhaps the best monument of the Loyalists is the Province itself, which would never have had a separate existence but for their coming in 1783.

A singular illustration of the imperfect condition of the Provincial constitution was brought to light at this session. When the casual and territorial revenues were transferred to the Province, it was thoroughly understood that the money arising from them was not to be expended without the consent of the Legislature, yet in 1845, Governor Colebrooke, acting under the authority of the Colonial Secretary, expended about £3,000 out of the surplus civil list fund, for the purpose of surveying the Crown lands in Madawaska. At the time this despatch was received, some information in regard to its character leaked out, and, at the session of 1845, it was asked for by the House, but never laid before them until a whole year had elapsed. At that time the Government of the Province consisted of three members only, Messrs. Simonds, Allen and McLeod, all the others having resigned, and these gentlemen were made the object of a very vigorous attack, for their conduct in advising the Governor to hold back this information. The Governor himself was severely censured for his unconstitutional course, and a resolution was passed by a vote of 20 to 2, declaring that the appropriation was wrongfully made and that, as it was expended for national purposes, it ought to be refunded.

Under the operation of the act which limited the term of the House of Assembly to four years, a new election was held in 1846. This was the first time that the law, which limited the time of holding elections to a single day, was in operation, and it worked in a very satisfactory manner and greatly lessened the amount of rioting and drunkenness which used to prevail under the old system. A great deal was said by the candidates, on the hustings, on the questions of economy, loyalty and reform, but the new House of Assembly did not differ very greatly from the old. Messrs. Wilmot and Fisher were elected for York, in company with two opponents of reform, Messrs. Taylor and Baillie. Mr. Simonds ceased to represent St. J ohn, but his place was well taken by William J. Ritchie, a vigorous Reformer. The County of Albert, which had been set off from Westmorland, was now for the first time represented in the Legislature. Among the members for Westmorland was Amand Landry, a representative of the French Acadians. He was not the first of that race to sit in the House of Assembly for Joshua Alexandrie, a French Canadian, had represented Gloucester in the previous Legislature. It was a proof of the growing influence of the French Acadians that they were beginning to send men of their own race to the Legislature, instead of having to entrust their interests to others who did not understand their needs or sympathize with their views.

The Legislature met in January, 1847. In his opening speech, the Governor was able to congratulate the members on the abundance of the late harvest which had relieved the pressure on the agricultural classes, caused by the failure of the potato crop in the previous year. He directed their attention to the improvement of the parish schools, the establishment of a telegraph line from Halifax to Quebec, and the improvement of the prisons of the Province. As the reformers were still in a minority in the House, Mr. Weldon was again elected Speaker. A singular incident was the election of the Honorable Hugh Johnston, who was a member of the Legislative council, to a seat in the House of Assembly, as member for Queens. This matter was referred to the committee of privileges, who reported that as Mr. Johnston was a member of the Council he was not eligible to hold a seat in the House. At this time the Executive council consisted of five members, the Honorable George Shore, Hugh Johnston, Edward B. Chandler, Robert L. Hazen, and Charles J. Peters. All these gentlemen, with the exception of Mr. Hazen, were members of the Legislative council. The mixed condition of public affairs, and the vague opinions that were entertained with regard to responsible government, may be judged from the fact that neither the Provincial Secretary, the Receiver General, nor the Solicitor General were members of the Executive. In fact, the only paid member of the Executive council was the Attorney General. Yet some members of the legislature actually thought with Mr. Brown of Charlotte, that responsible government was actually in working order in the Province.

During the session the Executive Council was filled up to the number of eight, by taking in the Surveyor General, Mr. Rankine of Northumberland and Mr. Hill of Charlotte. This was an improvement, because the Surveyor General had an accurate knowledge of the Crown lands of the Province and was well fitted to advise the Governor in regard to them. Mr. Rankine was a gentleman of high character, with an excellent standing in the commercial world, while Mr. Hill, who had formerly been a member of the House of Assembly, was a gentleman of liberal views and a sincere friend of Responsible Government. Mr. Hill, however, was not a member of either branch of the Legislature at this time, so that his appointment to the Executive Council was not in accordance with the usages of the present day. The composition of the new Council was much criticized by the new members of the House, particularly by Mr. Ritchie, who was a powerful addition to the debating talent of that body. Mr. Hazen of St. John, had to bear the burthen of the Government, he being the only member on that side of the House of Assembly, who had any ability as a Speaker. But he had behind him a solid mass of voters, so that although the oratory was decidedly against the Government, the votes were always in its favor. Mr. Fisher moved a resolution, declaring it to be the opinion of the House that the administration should, from time to time, prepare and bring before the Legislature such measures as might be required for the development of the Provincial resources, and the general advancement of the public interests, and also that the executive should be so constructed as to combine the talent and experience necessary for the efficient performance of the important duties required of them, and so also as to obviate the necessity of an organization of any antagonistic political parties in the Province. To this Mr. End moved an amendment that it was not constitutional to resign the initiation of money grants into the hands of the Executive Council. A long debate followed and it ended by the defeat of Mr. Fisher's resolution by a vote of 23 to 12, Mr. End's amendment having been withdrawn.

There was a great deal of railway legislation this year, the acts incorporating the St. Andrews and Quebec Railway Company being amended, and also the act incorporating the New Brunswick Railway Company. The House voted a loan of £50,000 to the St. Andrews and Quebec Railway on which interest at the rate of 5% was to be paid. A company was also incorporated for the purpose of building a railway across the Isthmus of Chignecto. The British North American Electro Magnetic Telegraph Association was also incorporated. This had for its object the construction of a telegraph line between Halifax and Quebec, passing through the cities of Fredericton and St. John. These measures showed that the country was becoming awake to the improvements that were being introduced into other lands, and that the people were no longer content with the facilities for travel and intercommunication which they then enjoyed.

A new act was passed for the support and improvement of parish schools, which provided for the appointment of trustees for each parish, whose duty it should be to divide the parish into as many school districts as were found necessary. The Lieutenant Governor and the Executive Council were constituted into a provincial school board, and endowed with authority to establish a training school at Fredericton, at which licensed teachers might be trained for the work of education. A Model School was also to be established, in connection with the training school. The object was to introduce a uniform system of teaching throughout the Province, and to have teachers classified according to their ability. All trained teachers were required to obtain a license before engaging to teach in any district. Two inspectors were appointed, whose duty it was, once a year, to inspect every school in the Province. Untrained teachers might be continued as teachers for a limited period, but their remuneration was less than that of the trained teachers. Each school that employed a teacher of the first class received from the Government £30 per annum; for the second class the Government money was £22 ; and for teachers of the third class £18. This law placed the schools of the Province on quite a new footing, and although it was far from being perfect it was a great improvement on former school laws. It was the basis of a system which endured until the free schools came into operation.

This year an extraordinary immigration took place from Ireland, as a consequence of the famine which had arisen in that country from the failure of the potato crop. The immigration to St. John had been steadily increasing and in 1846 had arisen to the large figure of 9,000, but the year 1847 saw even this large number surpassed and most of the people who came were almost entirely destitute. The people of the Province early in the year had learned of the distress in Ireland and about £1,500 was collected in St. John to alleviate it. The Legislature of the Province made a grant of £1,500 sterling, and considerable sums were received at Miramichi and elsewhere. The immigration ships began to arrive at St. John in May, and it was found that most of them had buried some of their passengers at sea who had died of typhus fever. The passengers of these fever infected ships were placed in quarantine on Partridge Island, but the buildings there were quite inadequate for their accommodation. In June, 35 vessels arrived with 5,800 passengers on board, of whom nearly 200 died in quarantine, and on Partridge Island, Dr. Collins, one of the medical men stationed on the island for the purpose of attending the patients, took the fever himself and died. An hospital was established in the city in a building which had been an alms house, and there 660 patients were under treatment. When the hospital became too crowded, the sick immigrants were housed in sheds at the south end of the city, near the Marine Hospital. In July, upwards of 400 immigrants arrived, with many sick passengers. The efforts of the authorities were strained to the utmost, to grapple with that terrible infliction. Altogether 15,000 Irish immigrants were landed at Partridge Island during the year; about 800 died on the voyage, and about 600 at the quarantine hospital, after being landed, The number of deaths at the Poor House hospital in the city, was 595, while many, of whom no record was kept, died in the sheds and in lodgings. The total mortality during the year among the immigrants, was thus upwards of 2,000, a fearful record, when it is considered that those poor people were victims of famine, and that the disease of which many perished, was the direct result of being crowded in ships while in a low state of health, and in consequence of lack of food and exposure. More than half a century has passed since the last of these sufferers died on Partridge Island, but the people of St. John and of the Province generally are not likely to forget the terrible year of the fever, which was only surpassed in its dire effects by the outbreak of cholera a few years later.