54 ‘ PAST AND PRESENT OF

on an act now and’for some years in force in Nova Scotia, which has rendered the roads excellent throughout the province, and which bill * * would have highly im- proved the roads.”

They thanked His Excellency for his determination to meet their suggestions with very calm consideration, pure consti- tutional principles, and an earnest desire to do good and hinder evil, and sugges- tively added that they were' convinced that such disposition on his part would “best accord with the genuine principles of our incomparable constitution.” This address, Smith, “from a sense of propriety,” felt compelled to decline receiving, “on the . ground of its containing unconstitutional an- imadversion.” The Assembly having taken his message, refusing to receive the address, into consideration, failed to find in the ad- dress “any unconstitutional animadversion whatever,” and begged to be informed when His Excellency would be pleased to receive the address.

In reply, the Lieutenant-Governor la- mented that they should have thought proper again to press the reception of the address, which he had given so definitive a reply upon. * * * “The question in- volved a constitutional principle of the first importance, and therefore a point that could not possibly be conceded.”

The Assembly would not recede from its position, and the address was never received, the only instance, so far as the writer has been able to ascertain, of such an occurrence in the proceedings of the Island House of Assembly.

Undeterred by the fate of their address, the Assembly settled down to consider such matters as they thought to be in the interests

of the province, as calmly as if nothing out- of—the—way had occurred.

However, the matter was by no means forgotten, and, on 20th November. it was unanimously resolved “That the address in- tended to have been presented to His Excel- lency, the Lieutenant-Governor, in answer to his speech at the opening of the session, and the communications relative thereto, be in- serted in the Prince Edward Island Gazette.” Having passed this resolution, the Assembly resumed their consideration of the ordinary business of the country.

A special committee to consider the pub- lic accounts submitted to the Legislature by His Excellency, reported, very severely criti- cising some of the expenditures. They thought that the largest portion of the money spent on the militia might have been employed to more advantage on the impas— sable roads and bridges, for which it was intended.

£98. 185. 4d. had been expendedin the de- partment of the chief overseer and deputy chief overseers of roads, and the committee regretted that only the sum £37. 125. d.had been laid out on the roads, bridges and im— plements for the same, when the revenue was intended to be chiefly laid out thereon.

£54. 145. 5d. had been paid Hon. W. Johnstone, and £7 to Hon. R. Gray, to be ex- pended in a couple oflaw-suits. The commit- tee could not “consistent with their duty, re- f rain from observing that they concieved these charges to be of a most extraordinary na- ture, and a misapplication of the public money.”

In foreign mails the committee were happy to observe that the receipts were near- ly adequate to the expenses, and they had great satisfaction in observing that the in-