50 HISTORY OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

numbered in the aggregate two hundred and sixteen souls, who thus constituted the entire population of more than half of the island. On these and other grounds, it appeared to the house that the failure of so many of the proprietors in implementing the terms and conditions of their grants was highly injurious to the growth and prosperity of the island, ruinous to its inhabitants, and destructive of the just expecQ tations and views of the government in its settlement. The house contended that the long forbearance of the govern— ment, towards the proprietors who had failed to do their duty, had no other effect than to enable them to speculate on the industry of the colony. The house was of opinion that the island, if' fully settled, was adequate for the maintenance of half a million of inhabitants, and it prayed that the pro- prietors should be either compelled to do their duty, or that their lands should be escheated, and granted to actual settlers.

The petition embodying these views was forwarded to the Duke of P0rtland,—the colonial secretary at the time, the force of its facts and arguments seems to have been felt by the government, for a despatch vaslsent to Governor

and

Fanning, intimating that measures would be adopted to rectify the grave evils enumerated in the petition. The process of escheat was not, however, acceptable to the pro- prietors who had done their duty by settling their lands, for the obvious reason, that in the event of free grants being made of the forfeited property, the tenants on the already- settled land would prefer to give up their farms and become proprietors. In conformity with the promise made by gov- ernment, Governor Fanning, in his speech to the assembly in November, 1802, said that he had the satisfaction to inform them, on the highest authority, that the public affairs of the island had been brought under the consideration of His Majesty’s ministers in _a manner highly favorable to the

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