THE Legislature met in 1848, on the 19th of January. The speech of the Lieutenant Governor congratulated the Province on the improvement in education which was likely to result from the new school law, and stated that the Government had undertaken to obtain the services of a competent teacher for the Model and training school. He informed them that a communication had been received from the Imperial Government respecting the railway survey through the Province. He stated that a deputation from the several Provinces had met at Montreal during the previous year, on the invitation of the Governor General, to consider the proposal from the Imperial Government for the transfer of the general post office, and the introduction of a uniform system and rate of postage, and he expressed no doubt that this important measure would be satisfactorily accomplished. He referred to the repeal of the Imperial duties, which had been brought about during the previous session, and to the charges incurred for the care of the sick and destitute immigrants.

During the previous year the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia had received a despatch from Earl Grey on the subject of the tenure under which the public offices should be held. A copy of this despatch was asked for by address, and it was brought down and laid before the Legislature. It proved to be a lengthy document, which entered very fully into the principles which should regulate the tenure of office in the British colonies, which enjoyed the advantage of possessing Legislatures. Earl Grey expressed the opinion that the colonies should follow the example of the mother country, and that heads of departments should be members of the Legislature, and hold their offices only as long as they enjoyed the confidence of Parliament. With regard to the number of public offices which ought to be regarded as political, he left that to be determined with reference to various considerations arising from the exigencies of the public services. He thought that the Attorney General, Provincial Secretary, and Solicitor General should come into the category, and also that the chief of the department of public lands might be a political officer. He expressed the opinion that, where public officers had been appointed under a belief sanctioned by custom, that they held their office during good behavior, it would be unjust to change the tenure to one of dependance on a parliamentary majority, without insuring them a provision that would make up for the loss of official income. With regard to the duties of the Executive Council he quoted a despatch, written by Lord Sydenham to Lord John Russsllin 1840, which is as follows:

"The functions of the Executive Council on the other hand, are, it is perfectly clear, of a totally different character; they are a body upon whom the Governor must be able to call at any or at all times for advice—with whom he can consult upon the measures to be submitted to the Legislature— and in whom he may find instruments, within its walls, to introduce such amendments in the laws as he may think necessary, or to defend his acts and his policy. It is obvious, therefore, that those who compose this body, must be persons whose constant attendance on the Governor can be secured; principally, therefore, officers of the Government itself—but when it may be expedient to introduce others—men holding seats in one or other House, taking a leading part in political life, and above all, exercising influence over the Assembly."

"The last, and in my opinion by far the most serious defect in the Government, is the utter absence of power in the Executive, and its total want of energy to attempt to occupy the attention of the country upon real improvements, or to lead the Legislature in the preparation and adoption of measures for the benefit of the Colony. It does not appear to have occurred to any one that it is one of the first duties of the Government to suggest improvements where they are wanted :—that the Constitution, having placed the power of Legislation in the hands of an Assembly and a Council, it is only by acting through these bodies that this duty can be performed :—and that if these proper and legitimate functions of Government are neglected, the necessary result must be not only that the improvements which the people have a right to expect, will be neglected, and the prosperity of the country checked, but that the Branch of the Legislature will misuse its power, and the popular mind he easily led into excitement upon mere abstract theories of Government, to which their attention is directed as the remedy for the uneasiness they feel."

Mr. Fisher, who was always prominent in his advocacy of responsible government, moved a resolution, when the despatch of Earl Grey was being considered in committee of the whole House, that the House should approve of the principles of Colonial Government contained in it. Mr. Hazen and other members of the Government, and their supporters in the House of Assembly, contended that there was no need of a resolution affirming the principles of the despatch, because these principles were admitted and would be acted upon according to the mandate of the Colonial Office, but after a long debate the resolution was passed by a vote of 25 to 11. The names of the members who voted against this declaration in favor of responsible government were Messrs. End, Barbarie, Taylor, Miles, McLeod, Gilbert, Thomson, Carman, Vail, Botsford, and S. Z. Earle. All the members of the Government who were in the House, and the Speaker, who was certainly not a friend of responsible government, voted for it. The influence of the Colonial Office was powerful with them at that period, and they did not consider it prudent to set themselves in opposition to a despatch emanating from that quarter.

It is one thing to pass a resolution in favor of the principles of responsible government, and another to carry it out. To make it effective required legislation, and no legislation was enacted at that session to facilitate the object to which the resolution related. A reconstruction of the government was therefore demanded, and it was thought that a sufficient number of liberals should be admitted to balance the conservative portion of the administration. This was the issue on which Messrs. L. A. Wilmot and Charles Fisher stood, and if they had continued to press their demand it could not have been refused. But unfortunately for themselves and their party they were persuaded to enter the government without having any other support and being but two men against seven their influence was nullified. Attorney General Peters had died some months before, and Mr. Wilmot succeeded him as Attorney General, while Mr. Fisher went into the government without office. The other members of the government were the Honorable John R. Partelow, who held the office of Provincial Secretary; William Boyd Kinnear, who was Solicitor General; Robert L. Hazen, Edward B. Chandler, Alexander Rankin and George S. Hill. This was an improvement on former administrations because it contained two liberals and also because five of the Executive Council were members of the House of Assembly; but it was defective, from the fact that the head of the Crown land department, the Honorable Thomas Baillie, was not subject to political changes, but held his office without being a member of the government. Evidently no system of responsible government could exist, while one of the most important offices in the Province was held by an individual who had received his appointment a quarter of a century before from the Imperial Government, because he could not be removed as a result of any change of government. There was much indignation among the Liberals at what was considered to be the desertion of Messrs. Wilmot and Fisher, and certainly these gentlemen were open to censure for having acted as they did. In their case their desire to advance themselves to power, seems to have overweighed their sense of the fitness of things, for they were the leaders of the Liberal party, and all the advocates of reform looked to them for guidance. However something was gained by having it admitted that the old order of things had come to an end, and that a man should not be excluded from power because he held advanced views and advocated reforms in the constitution.

The Legislation of the session of 1848, included an act, granting £5,100 to be distributed in the several counties of the Province, for the purpose of relieving the distress due to the failure of the potato crop and to procure seed. There was also an act to authorize a census of the population of the Province and one to incorporate the city of Fredericton. An act was passed to authorize the exploration and survey of a line of railroad between Shediac and the city of St. John. This line of railway was very much favored in St. John, because it was believed that it would be a means of bringing the trade of the counties bordering ou the Gulf of St. Lawrence to that city. It was in fact the first railway completed in the Province, and was the means of largely increasing the business of St. John.

Sir William Colebrooke ceased to be Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick in 1848, and was succeeded by Sir Edmund Walker Head. This gentleman was the first Governor of New Brunswick who was not a military man. He was the heir to a baronetcy, and had been a distinguished scholar at Oxford, where he was appointed University examiner. He afterwards became one of the poor law commissioners, from which position he was elevated to the Governorship of New Brunswick. Sir Edmund Head, was an author, having written a "Hand Book of Spanish Painting." His tastes were literary rather than military, and he would have been a popular Governor, if it had not been for certain peculiarities of temper. He looked with something like contempt upon the squabbles of our Provincial politicians. There is no doubt that Sir Edmund Head saw with a clearer eye than most of hi8 predecessors, but he lived at a time when to tell the truth about the political condition of the Province, was not calculated to make him friends.

The new Governor met the legislature for the first time on the 31st of January, 1849. He referred in his speech to the manner in which the supremac}7 of civil power in the mother country had been maintained, and he expressed satisfaction that the British Empire had been spared the tumult and bloodshed which had vexed other nations. The previous year had been one of revolution in Europe, and if Great Britain escaped that calamity, it was simply because the people believed that they could obtain what they wanted without a resort to force. Even as it was, the Chartist demonstration gave the authorities a great fright, and made it necessary for them to make elaborate preparations to preserve the peace of the capital. Most of the principles for which the Chartists contended are now acknowledged in England and acted upon, so that we may look back with some surprise and amusement at the treatment they received half a century ago.

Sir Edmund Head referred to the efforts which other countries were making to facilitate the construction of railways. He told the Legislature that the report of the survey of the proposed line between Halifax and Quebec had been completed and would be laid before them, and expressed his belief that the destiny of this Province was involved in this question more than in any other which he could name. This statement was much criticized at the time, but it was nevertheless true, and it shows that Sir Edmund Head had statesmanlike views and was far in advance, not only of most of the people of the Province, but of a majority of the statesmen of the mother country. There is no question in connection with the British colonies of North America, in regard to which British statesmen have displayed so much narrowness and meanness, as the construction of the Intercolonial Railway. The people of Canada owe nothing to the British Government in connection with this important work, which is so essential to the unity of the Empire. Great Britain, instead of taking the lead in its construction and assisting liberally, acted throughout a mean and narrow part, and not only threw the burthen of the railway on the colonies but imposed such restrictions on the route to be followed as have rendered it much less useful and infinitely less profitable than it would otherwise have been.

Sir Edmund Head expressed the belief that the future prosperity of the North American colonies depended largely on the construction of railways and that no sacrifice which tended to secure their construction would ultimately be found too great. He promised to lay before the Legislature certain despatches relating to the public expenditures of the Province, and the mode in which the duties for the purpose of raising a revenue should be imposed. The despatches to which the Governor referred were laid before the House at a later day and were three in number; one censured the House of Assembly for expending more money than its revenue, as if this had not been done frequently by the British Parliament; the other stated that the instructions conveyed by Lord Stanley on the 24th of June, 1843, to the Governors of the colonies, forbidding the imposition of differential duties in revenue bills were still in force, while the third condemned the act of the previous session imposing such duties and instructed the governor not to consent to any future act of that kind. These despatches were afterwards dealt with by the House in Committee, and a resolution passed expressing the opinion that, in preparing the revenue bill, such duties should be imposed that articles of provincial growth and manufacture might be protected, and the industrial resources of the province receive such Legislative encouragement as would afford •employment to the productive industry of the inhabitants.

The report of Major Robinson, who was the engineer employed to survey the Halifax and Quebec railway, was laid before the Legislature at a later day and was accompanied by some observations made by the commissioners of railways. These gentlemen, who dated their communication from Whitehall, threw cold water on the Intercolonial Railway project, pointing out that it would not be profitable for many years, if ever, and in other ways discouraged it. It never seems to have entered into their imaginations that there was any other question involved in this matter except the payment of a dividend upon the capital expended for railway construction. Major Robinson estimated the cost of the road from Halifax to Quebec at £5,000,000 sterling. There was nothing very encouraging in the despatches with regard to anything being speedily done to bring about the construction of this important work, and New Brunswick had to wait a long time before the hopes that were felt with regard to it were realized.

Among the changes which took place in the House of Assembly at this session was the removal of the Honorable Robert L. Hazen to the Legislative Council. Mr. Hazen was a man of ability, who had made a considerable figure in the House of Assembly while he was a member of that body, and who was an excellent representative of that conservative spirit which, while not exactly in line with ancient Toryism, was still opposed to many •changes which progressive men desired. Mr. Hazen belonged to a family which was wealthy and influential, and which had enjoyed many favors from successive Governors. It was therefore natural that he should look at the old order of things with an indulgent eye, and that he should desire its continuance. Had he been a man of more energy or ambition he might have proved a formidable opponent of reform, but by going into the Council he abdicated his position as a party leader and lost his influence. Mr. George S. Hill, who had been a member for Charlotte, became a member of the Legislative Council at the same time. The resignation of Mr. Hazen made it necessary to hold an election in St. John. Three candidates were in the field, Mr. Ansley, who was a Protectionist; Dr. Livingstone, a leading Liberal ; and Mr. Charles Watters, a Roman Catholic, who afterwards became a prominent member of the Liberal party. The election resulted in the return of Mr. Ansley, which would seem to indicate that a majority of the St, John voters believed in the principles of protection.

At this session something like a budget was introduced by the Provincial Secretary, who made a statement dealing with the financial operations of the Province. The revenue that year was about £100,000, and the debt of the Province amounted to £107,000. A new revenue bill was introduced, which imposed a scale of duties which would now be regarded as very low, but which provoked a great deal of discussion. At that time the subject of a reciprocity treaty with the United States was being agitated, and the merchants of St. John were extremely anxious that New Brunswick should share in the benefits of any treaty in which Canada and Nova Scotia might be included. They transmitted a petition to the Lieutenant Governor requesting him to send a delegation to Washington to urge that New Brunswick be included in the proposed reciprocity treaty. The Governor had no power to do this, but he sent the petition to England where it produced the desired result, and in the course of time a treaty was made with the United States, in which the products of New Brunswick were included. Several years, however, were to elapse before this was brought about.

The question of salaries of public officers engaged the attention of the Legislature at this session. It was almost universally believed that the salaries, which were settled under the civil list bill, were altogether too high, and efforts from time to time were made to have them reduced. The agitation for reduced salaries had gone on for a number of years, but the British government refused to allow any reduction to be made in the salaries of the persons then holding offices. It was, however, competent for the House to deal with the salaries of future incumbents of public offices, and this was done. Another bill which caused a good deal of discussion was one which was introduced by Mr. Fisher for vacating the seats of members who accepted office. Mr. Fisher's bill provided that the Provincial Secretary, Attorney and Solicitor General, Surveyor General and Provincial Treasurer should be obliged to vacate their seats in the House of Assembly on accepting office. It was afterwards modified so as to apply to all offices of profit or emolument under the Crown. This was a highly necessary reform, and put an end to the scandal of men sitting in the Legislature, while enjoying the emoluments of offices to which they had been appointed by the Government.

The question of free trade and protection came up in a practical fashion in the course of a discussion in the House of Assembly in regard to the imposition of a duty on flour. A number of mills for grinding flour had been established in St. John as the result of the high Imperial duties, which at one time imposed a dollar a barrel on flour. When the Imperial duties were abolished the millers demanded protection from the Legislature, and Mr. Partelow proposed a specific duty of 2s. a barrel. This was adopted, after a vigorous protest on the part of those who did not believe in taxing the bread of the people. Such duties have never been popular in New Brunswick, although they have been imposed from time to time for the purpose of favoring special interests.

The most important matter brought before the House during the session was perhaps the St. John and Shediac railway. An influential delegation was sent up from St. John to meet the Government and ask for legislative aid for this important public work. At that time St. John was in a very bad way financially. Its business was dull, its people were out of employment and its prospects looked very gloomy. It was thought that the building of this railway would restore its lost prosperity. The committee represented to the Government that the cost of the railway from St. John to Shediac would not be more than £500,000, which was less than half what it actually cost when completed. It was hoped that the Legislature would give substantial aid to assist in building this road but these hopes were disappointed. There was great indignation in St. John when it was learned that the Shediac railway scheme had failed. A public meeting was held in which the speakers gave vent to their indignation at the manner in which this line had been treated by the House of Assembly. A petition was also numerously signed to the Lieutenant Governor, expressing the disappointment of the people at finding that majorities of the House of Assembly had rejected all measures that had been brought forward during the session for the furtherance of objects so desirable. The truth of the matter was, there was too much local feeling in the Province to enable the House to express itself strongly in favor of any railway scheme. The people who lived up the River St. John thought that they had no interest in a railway to Shediac, while the people of Charlotte favored a railway from St. John to the border of Maine. A resolution was passed, pledging the Province to take stock in the St. John and Shediac railroad company to the extent of £150,000,. but the House refused to do more than this, or to take up the construction of this road as a Government work. It must be admitted that the poverty of the country and the sparseness of its population had a strong tendency to discourage railway building, so that the progress that has been made since in constructing these extensive public works may well excite our admiration.

The House of Assembly agreed to a resolution, moved by Attorney General Wilmot, proposing a grant to the Home Government of £20,000 a year for twenty years, and ten miles of land on each side of the line for the building of a railroad from Halifax to Quebec. This was carried by a very large majority. The grant of land was a very large one, much larger than the Province could afford to give, but it was not the means of inducing any capitalist to embark in the enterprise. It was reasonably certain that any line of railway between Halifax and Quebec would have to be built by the Governments of the respective Provinces, not so much as a commercial speculation as for the benefit of an Imperial policy.

Before the close of the session of 1848 a despatch was received from the Colonial Secretary in reference to an act which had been passed by the Legislature to encourage the raising and dressing of hemp. This act granted a bounty for the cultivation of hemp in the Province. Earl Grey informed the Governor that, as it was for but a limited term and its disallowance would occasion inconvenience and loss to those who had embarked their property in the cultivation of hemp, he would allow the act to come into effect, but he instructed him to withhold his assent from any bill which might hereafter be passed by the Provincial Legislature, involving the same principles. The legislature and people of New Brunswick were not to be allowed to pay out their own money for the encouragement of industries which they thought ought to be established in their midst, but had to be under the dictation and control of a gentleman who lived 3,000 miles away, who had no difficulties to contend with or no cares on the subject which engaged the undivided attention of most people, " how to gain a living, " but who was enjoying the estates which he had inherited from his ancestors. The absurdity involved in this restriction on the freedom of the Legislature requires no comment. The British Government had adopted a new principle with regard to its legislation and it was resolved that all the colonies should follow in the same path. New Brunswick could not grant differential duties nor assist in enterprises which could not be established without legislative aid. In the meantime the discriminating duties which gave the colonies an advantage in the British markets for their products, had been repealed. Colonial timber was now placed on the same footing as timber from a foreign country, and the Navigation laws, which had been looked upon as the bulwarks of Great Britain's prosperity, were swept away by legislation. Earl Grey's despatch was not discussed until the following session when an address was passed to the Queen, asking her Majesty to direct that the instructions contained in this despatch might be reconsidered. In this address it was stated very truly that in a new colony like New Brunswick, where capital was scarce and the natural resources of the country but little developed, it might become in many 2i instances necessary to encourage, by legislative bounties, the embarking of capital and industry in undertakings and pursuits which, however beneficial and profitable they might appear in theory, had not been practically tested. A reply to this address was laid before the Legislature at the session of 1850, refusing the request contained in it. This was an ungracious way of dealing with a loyal and faithful Province, and it is not surprising that it produced much dissatisfaction. There has been no period in the history of the British Colonies of North America when the tie between them and the Mother Country was so near being broken as during the years 1849 and 1850. Not content with placing the Colonies on the same footing as foreign countries, they were restricted from passing such legislation as they thought necessary to their prosperity, by a set of leisurely gentlemen who knew nothing about their needs and requirements.

There was a strong desire at this period among the people of New Brunswick to place the Province in a better position with respect to its agriculture. It was felt that with so many acres of fertile soil it was not creditable to the people of the Province that they should have to depend to so large an extent on other countries for their supply of food. This was a consequence of so large a portion of the people giving their attention to lumbering which demanded large supplies of food and withdrew so many strong hands from the pursuits of agriculture. One of the last acts of the Legislature in 1850, was to request the Lieutenant Governor to invite Professor Johnston, an eminent scientist, to visit the Province for the purpose of examining the several counties and reporting on the soil and its capabilities for agricultural purposes. Professor Johnston visited the Province during that year and went over a considerable portion of it, and his report on the agricultural resources of New Brunswick was presented at the next meeting of the Legislature and ordered to be printed. It was highly favorable, and showed that the Province was capable of sustaining a large agricultural population. Professor Johnston classified the different soils of the Province and made an estimate of the productiveness of each. His report is a valuable document, and although it cost New Brunswick £1,000, it is well worth the money.