PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 277 free. The congregation was divided as re¬ gards the comparative advantage of the two propositions. During the Bishop's visit the matter was brought forward at a congrega¬ tional meeting held on the 16th of August, under his chairmanship. After full discus¬ sion the second proposal was adopted. The cost of the church was fixed at £800, Wil ¬ liam Cundall, Esquire, undertaking to pro¬ vide a site whenever this amount was raised. Of minor importance in itself the erec¬ tion of this second church in Charlottetown , inasmuch as it led to the introduction of the ritualistic movement into Prince Edward Is ¬ land, and resulted in a distinct cleavage of the membership of the church in Charlotte - town had far-reaching effects. The bitter¬ ness and party spirit that was inevitably en¬ gendered soon extended to the country par¬ ishes and the result was to paralyze dio¬ cesan effort and to replace Catholicity by Congregationalism. This marked the be¬ ginning of a new epoch into which it is not the intention of the writer of this sketch to enter. The events are too recent, the actors being still living, to render it advisable to venture any judgments theron. With the withdrawal of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel's grants which commenced in 1868, and the consequent removal of most of the society's mission¬ aries, the period of the English connection may fairly l>e said to end. That of the Church in Canada had begun. It must be for some later writer to note how far and in what manner that which was permanent in the past finds expression in the present. and holds out hope for the future. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND UP TO THE YEAR i 860. By Rev. James Morrison . The history of the Roman Catholic church in Prince Edward Island begins with that of the Island itself as a colony. Though the Island had been discovered by Euro¬ peans as early as the year 1497, or about that time, it was not until 1720 that it had taken any forward step in the way of col¬ onization. After the Treaty of Utrecht in I7I3> by which had been conceded to Eng¬ land a considerable portion of what is now known as the maritime provinces, the French government began to take active steps to¬ wards planting a permanent colony on the Island, then known as St. John's Island. Accordingly, about the year 1720 immi¬ grants began to arrive both from and the neighbouring colony of Nova Scotia , and in a short time various settlements were opened up in different parts of the Island, principally at St. Peter 's Harbour, East Point , along the banks of the Hillsborough river, la Joie, Savage Harbour , Tra- cadie. Three , Naufrage and peque. The headquarters of the colony were