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FIRST KING'S PRINTER

In 1786 when Lemun; rennin bre' came Lieutenant~ M Governor, he found the governmental recorrs an _inted and in g a state of confusion. The icllowing year Fanning was sues ; cess ful in influencing a printer from Halifax, James Roberts 3 son, to establish a press on the Island, with the object of ' printing all statutes and orders~in~council previously a passed. However, Robertson found that many of the documents g had been lost. He contented himself, therefore, with print» i ing a collection of what statutes he could find, a copy of i which Gov. Fanning forwarded to the Secretary of State. This 1 copy may be examined in the Public Records Office, Londone When Robertson found he could not live on the small salary (60 pounds) paid to the King“ 3 Printer, he left the Island

in.the spring cf 1789 for Quebec, thence to Britaino WoA- p Rind who had arrived on.the Island of Saint John in 178% tock over Robertson’s press and was made King s Printer with an 5 annual salary of forty pounds. This office he held until he g left the Island in 1798. The Island was now left Without “ an official printer until 1805, when James Douglas Bagnali was appointed tn the post.

In 1811 the duties of the office consisted in pubs lishing the statutes, journals of the Council, journals of the Reuse of Assembly, such reports as were authorized by the Legislature, and a newspaper which was considered semis official in that it contained the LieutenantnGovernor“s notices and proclamations. In 1852 an appendix was added to the journals of the House of Assembly, which was to GOD? tain those items the House ordered to be printed, such as despatches, reports of committees, etce In 1838 the Conny oil followed suit and added an appendix to their journals. This policy has been continued by the Legislative Assembly and a copy of the annual report of certain departments, determined by a committee, is to be found in the appendix.

Since 1856 when a committee of the House of Assem- bly decided to call for tenders to publish its journals, more and more government publications have been printed by private firms, until now all publications, other than the Royal Gazette and statutes are handled, not by the King's Printer, but by private companies.

J.G.