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spiracies which took from Prince Edward Is- land her self—government. In 1867 the four larger provinces of the organized territories of British America united under one consti-

tution. The Island, however, held out against the solicitation of the Canadian statesmen

and the imperial authorities. The people felt that owing to their insular position, the un- ion would be a burden to them; subsequent events have shown that they were right. The statesmen of the new dominion saw, how- ever, that no union wouldbecomplete or prac- ticable with this province out of the Confed- eration. For over one hundred and fifty miles the Island was separated by only a narrow band of water from the shores of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; an army of customs officers would have to be posted from Escuminac, New Brunswick, to Cape George, in Nova Scotia, to prevent smug- gling. Seeing the “tight little island” was difficult to woo, resisting the home authori- ties and the Dominion’s overtures, first a system of coercion was adopted. The Do- minion tariff was so changed that the prod- ucts of the Island were burdened by taxes which were not only vexatious but unprofit- able to tradesmen. The free markets of the old country were yet open, however, and trade and commerce with Europe was pro- moted, that being then the line of least re- sistance. The Island government also sought a renewal of the reciprocity treaty with the United States, and would have succeeded but for the interference of Canada, through the home government. These acts of coercion and irritation only served to make the Is— landers more determined to resist confedera- tion. The idea of using force, though hinted at, did not awe the people; they believed it would never come to that, so there must be some other way to catch the game.

PAST AND PRESENT.OF

There were among our public men indi- viduals who felt that sooner or later the Is- land must yield, and these men were as- sured that any reasonable terms would be given the Island if only they would come in of their own free will. These set about to change the people’s will by another method. I want to say right here that I think these men were patriotic and intentionally true to

the land of their birth; unfortunately. “hell is paved with good intentions.” At any rate,

a conspiracy was hatched which did the work.

In the meantime the people were more and more driven to exploit the outside world with their fleet of fast sailing ships. Foreign freights were good and, as an old sail- or would say when the wind was favorable, “the sovereigns could be heard rolling down the topsail sheets.” Shipbuilding was at its height—1864, 1865, 1866 and 1867 each

produced annually very nearly $2,000,000 worth of ships. Larger and better vessels

were being launched. Most of the ships built before this date were built for sale; many of these were built for the use of the builders. It used to be said in England that we “built the ships by the mile and cut them off by the stems.” In this period more than half our imports were from the United Kingdom; in 1866 about $1,000,000 worth came across the ocean, in our own ships mostly; from the United States about $350,000 worth.

The reader must pardon if we digress here. The conspiracy'above mentioned played a large part in trade and commerce between 1870 and 1873, and its effects after that time, from a purely provincial standpoint, have been disastrous. It is therefore proper that brief reference should be made to it here. We cannot undertake a full account of all the elements that entered into the scheme we are referring to, which would necessitate a