66 PAST AND PRESENT OF

land. The people petitioned to have Colonel Ready retained, but too late. Sir Aretas W. Young, a worthy successor, had been appointed to the position, and arrived in Prince Edward Island in September.

The writer has now brought this sketch down through the early period of our Is- land’s story, the discovery, the French own- ership, the short period of annexation to Nova Scotia, and the trials and struggles of the pioneer days, and has gone, some— what in detail, into the opening stages of the fight for responsible government.

The scope of the work, of which this forms but a small part, includes ar- ticles by other pens, on the various sub- jects which go to make up the history of a country. These are to include education, militia, county history, the respective churches, bench and bar, agriculture, and other subjects, which in themselves com- prise the history of the country, hence the writer will bring his work to an end. He trusts that he may inspire in his fellow Prince Edward Islanders an active and earnest interest in this sea-girt home of theirs and his. Though this Island is small in area, its record is one of which her children have just reason to be proud. It is the privilege and the duty of every child of Prince Edward Island to so bear himself as to promote her interests, and to raise her name even higher and make it more honored as the years roll by.

NOTE.

In preparing this sketch, the writer has experienced much difficulty in procuring his material. No complete copies of the early

records are to be had on the Island. The old newspaper files are very incomplete, and very few of the Journals of the House of Assembly, of the period treated of, are to be found. The papers of Mr. Ganong and Dr. S. E. Dawson, on the discovery period, published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, and the latter’s invalu- able work, published last year, on the Basin of the St. Lawrence, have been consulted by the writer, and have been of the utmost use to him. '

He has also made use of Mr. Stewart‘s account of Prince Edward Island, published in 1806, for the period covered by it. He has availed himself, as far as possible, of the correspondence and public papers, on file in the Record oflice, in London, copies of which are in the Archives office in Ottawa, but, not having a copy at hand, he has not been able to avail himself of these papers as fully as he could wish.

'He has also consulted Mr. Joseph Pope’s “Jacques Cartier,” and derived much as- sistance from it. He has carefully read the late Archbishop O'Brien's paper on Cabot's first voyage, published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, 1899, but is unable to agree with the conclusions of that distinguished scholar.

He wishes to express his obligation to Hon. L. C. Owen for furnishing him with copies of many of the early newspapers, and with much information from other sources

He is also indebted to Messrs. F. W. Hyndman, Percy Pope, and other friends, for valuable suggestions, and for overlook- ing his manuscript.

Charlottetown, May, I906.