-18- COKFBREHgE ROOM Ig PROVINCE BUILPIHG This tidy little Island once was called St . Jean when it was owned by France? and then St. John by the Brit¬ ish until, in 1799» it was changed to Prince Edward Island "by Eoyal proclamation from the Court of St . Jam.es, counter¬ signed by Major General Mmund Fanning , Lieutenant - Governor of the colony. The original document, its ink not much faded, hangs framed on the wall of the lofty chamber in the Government Building where the Confederation of Canada had its origin back in I864. This and a host of other precious records and doc¬ uments form an irreplaceable historical collection. Old prints of Island notables and great figures in Canadian his¬ tory almost cover the walls. The ancient cupboards are crammed with handwritten minutes, reports, and correspond¬ ence, which throw light on our early history and illustrate sharply the changes time has wrought within the period of our written history. For instance the original minutes in a dusty leather-covered volume, of the meeting of the General Assem ¬ bly of His Majesty's Island of St. John - His Majesty was "Our Sovereign Lord George the Third, of Great Britain , France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith"—held at Charlotte Town in 1779 and 178I. An act of this Assembly was designed "to prevent disorderly riding of Horses and driving of Carts, Trucks and Sleds, or any other Carriage whatsoever within Charlotte- town" - that is the old form of the Island capital's name. Galloping on horseback was strictly prohibited. Furthermore a man in charge of a cart or carriage of any description most not ride the horse, or ride in the vehicle, but lead the animal by a halter not more than four feet long. The pen¬ alty for violation of what must be one of this country's earliest traffic laws was a fine of ten shillings, and in default, four days of work on the roads or six days in jail at the miscreant's "own proper Costs and Charges". A recent page of the visitors' book has the signa¬ ture of the Duke of Kent. He visited the historic room and showed much interest in its treasures, which was natural because the Island was named for one of his ancestors, the