products of woods and fields, and sold, cargo and all, in many parts of the world. This expansion, which carried on until

the decline of the sailing ship after the middle of the century, was the main stimulus to the growth of the Capital as well as

of the other towns in the Island.

Since it was the Capital, Charlottetown was always the centre of' the political activities of the colony. Because at first there were neither experienced or interested men to run the government, nor money to pay for it, the colony was com— pletely dependant on the Governor and his officials who came out from England and on the funds which were provided by the British Government. Early politics, therefore, centered around the activities of these officials and financial negotia— tions with overseas authorities. As the colony grew in popu— lation and economic activity local people began to take an interest in public affairs and there were local funds for com-~ munity purposes. Consequently the rights associated with representative government became more popular, the signifi— cance of the legislature as an instrument of local democracy increased, and the authority of the governor and the home government declined accordingly. Many were the constitu- tional issues associated with the coming of responsible govern- ment, and because the system of government was large for the size of the colony, public affairs were frequently conducted in a state of turmoil. At length in 1851 control by the governor and his council of advisers gave way to the dominance of a council. re- sponsible t0 the Legislature and the modern system of cabinet government w a 5 thereby in— augurated. Very gradually, too, the British Government handed over its authority over local mat- 5-~\\ ters and with it the responsibility

‘R

’z:—<:> _————-- T: :.\.\\\ 18 "- ‘ :“\~ The Town Pump —— 1830.