PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 47

the herring fishery was begun, and promised well, and our merchants had found means to obtain a considerable share in the produce of the great salmon fisheries carried on in our neighborhood on the continent, and upon the whole, there was every appearance of extensive and valuable fisheries being estab- lished to the great benefit of the Island, when the late war commenced (i. e., the renewal of the war with France), since which the fish- eries have been almost given up; and‘ our articles of export now consist of what, bar- ley, oats, salt pork, butter, furs, seal oil and oysters, to Nova Scotia, with live cattle and some timber to Newfoundland, and occa- sionally a few cargoes of squared timbers to Great Britain. A few persons are also en- gaged in building ships, which are generally sold in Newfoundland. This is a business that will probably be carried on to a great extent, should the Newfoundland fisheries revive on the restoration of peace, as the great plenty of timber in several districts, and the reasonable rate at which the neces- saries of life are obtained, will enable us to build at a cheaper rate than they can do in Newfoundland, where the timber is now gen- erally at such a distance from the harbors as to make it very expensive. Since I792 the importation of any kind of provisions has totally ceased, and the export of these arti- cles has gradually increased.”

The provincial establishment was sup- ported by grants from England, and the amount of revenue raised on the Island for public purposes was a mere trifle. The only taxes payable in 1806, when Stewart wrote, were a license duty on retailers of wines and spirituous liquors, a duty of ten pence a gal- lon on all wines! and spirits imported, and two-pence a gallon on all porter, ale or strong beer imported. The absurdly small

revenue from these imports was the only fund for defraying the contingent expenses of government, and for providing roads and bridges, and keeping them in repair. It is not surprising that the means of communi- cation between parts of the province were bad. In the Assembly of 1785 the sum of £161 25 11d comprised the total amount voted for the support of His Majesty’s gov- ernment. In 1786 the Assembly was in a generous mood, and voted £365 155 Iod. In 1795 the vote was increased to £400.

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR DES BARRES.

Colonel F. W. Des Barres, who was ap- pointed to succeed Fanning in July, I805, was an old man when he came to Prince Ed— ward Island. He was a man of considerable ability and of literary and scientific attain- ments. He had been a captain in the army at the taking of Quebec, in 1759, and had been the first lieutenant-govemor of Cape Breton, during the period when that Island had a separate government, and held that position for a couple of years. Like his Suc- cessors in the govemorship of Cape Breton, he had had a stormy time while there. At the time of his appointment to Prince Ed- ward Island he was close upon eighty years of age, but his years did not interfere with the discharge of the duties of his office, which he held for eight years. .He seems to have developed a conciliatory spirit since leaving Cape Breton, some twenty years pre- viously. The machinery of government ran smoothly during his term in this Island, the province increased in population, and in other respects made good progress.