PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 49

There can be little question that the Is- land was not in a position to do much at this time, but that that they could have found some money is shown by the fact that the following year they provided means for rais- ing sixteen hundred pounds for the erection of public buildings. But it should be borne in mind that, while under our early gov- ernors, the House of Assembly could pro- vide money for the public service, it had no control over its expenditures. This was al- ways a sore question in British colonies, be- fore they obtained responsible government, or control of expenditures, and rendered them very chary of making grants. Much will be heard of this matter in the time of Lieutenant-Governor Smith, who succeeded Des Barres.

At this period, desertion from the navy and army were very common in North America. This was due to several causes. Many of the men were pressed into the serv- ice, and that mode of manning the ships was most unpopular. The discipline on board, also, was very severe, and the treatment of the men was often of a brutal character. Moreover, much better pay was offered in the United States mercantile marine. The right, claimed by Great Britain, to search United States vessels for such men, was one of the causes which led to the war of 1812. Statutes were enacted in various provinces, with a view to lessening this evil. In Prince Edward Island an act to prevent, under heavy penalties, the harbouring of deserters from the navy or the merchant service was passed, and rewards offered for apprehend- ing deserters.

Colonel Des Barres met the House, for the last time, in 1812. The war with the United States had broken out. So far as :it lay in his power, he had acted with en— ergy, and now sought to infuse some of his

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own enthusiasm into the Legislature. In his speech, opening the session, he informed the House that, on receiving intelligence of war being declared by the United States against the United Kingdom, he had con- vened the Council and, with its advice, had sent an officer with confidential despatches to Nova Scotia. As a result of that mission he had the assurance from the lieutenant- governor and admiral commanding of af- fording “for the service and protection of the Island such means as the actual conjunc- tion of affairs might occasionally require.” A very non—committal promise.

These hostile measures, rendering it im- peratively necessary to adopt vigorous meas- ures for efficient defence and security, he rec- ommended, as the primary and most press- ing object of the Legislature’s duty, a re- vision and improvements of the militia laws and regulations.

“The faithful prosecution and discharge of that important duty will, no doubt, af- ford you not‘only a gratifying opportunity of evincing your zeal and attachmenttto our most gracious sovereign, and the best of con- stitutions on earth, but also of fostering the seeds of similar zeal and attachment amongst all ranks of individuals, which compose our several militia corps, whose laudable dispo- sition I contemplate with heartfelt satisfac- tion, and from whose genuine spirit and ac- tivity I am led to entertain the most sanguine hopes that in critical occurrences they will prove themselves amply deserving the en- couragements and rewards apportioned to them by your justice and liberality."

The House promised immediate atten- tion to the matter, and a militia act, or, more strictly speaking, an act reviving former expired militia acts, was placed on the stat- ute book.

This House of Assembly took up the