Stewart’s role in all this had been a key one, and like an Island Warwick he had busily and tirelessly worked to effect political change.

The columns of the Oct. 30 issue of the Prince Edward Island Register contain an account of the great victory celebration held “on Wed- nesday last” at the Wellington Hotel. John Stewart was President; Colonel Ready was guest of honour. As a highland piper “grandly dressed in full costume” paraded around the table, between fifty and sixty guests settled down to a dinner of “turtle and other delicacies.” In his speech, the President spoke of “the general j0y which His Excellency’s arrival dif— fused throughout the Island.” His words were reinforced by the “joyous acclamations” of the crowds who surrounded the building until a very late hour and by a salute fired by some volunteers of the Militia Artillery Company from three twelve pounders drawn up in front of the hotel. The party went on until the small hours and among the toasts were the following:

“The King,” air, “God save the King.”

“His Excellency Lieutenant Governor Ready,” air, “Welcome Gal- lant Stranger.”

“The Ladies of the Island,” air, “Green grow the rushes 0.”

His return to the Island being permanent, Stewart once again be- gan collecting offices. In 1825 he became speaker of the House of As- sembly; he was also reinstated in his former office of Receiver General of Quit Rents at about the same time. The post of Collector of His Ma- jesty’s Customs, however, eluded him. His age (67) precluded him, by a recent ruling of the Customs Department, from receiving that appoint- ment.

We may be sure that, upon his return, Stewart also indulged his life-long passion for acquiring land, a propensity shared by many mem- bers of his family. It was said that the real reason for the enmity be- tween his father, the Chief Justice, and Governor Patterson was that they had both wanted Lot 35. Years later, when Captain Peter D. Stewart, John Stewart’s nephew, applied for a grant of Lot 55, Lieutenant Gov- ernor Smith, not an impartial observer, declared, with at least some mea- sure of truth, that “there are two or three families here very much con- nected that grasp at everything and whose influence it is become highly politic not to strengthen too much.” At the time of his death, John Stewart possessed 17,000 acres of land in the Island, plus additional pro- perty in Newfoundland. When he was Speaker of the Assembly in 1797, he is reported as having declared, with respect to land, that “he would keep what he had and get what he could.” It would appear that this dictum was rigorously observed.

The name John Stewart is associated with the founding of the Kirk of St. James, the first Presbyterian place of worship in Charlottetown. In June, 1825, the first meeting to this end was held at the court house with John Stewart as chairman. It was there resolved that “a learned and pious clergyman of the Established Church of Scotland” should be procured, that a suitable building for the celebration of Divine Worship should be erected and that a subscription should be opened “for the pur- pose of erecting the proposed building.” Stewart headed the committee to solicit subscriptions and a considerable sum was subscribed on the spot. That the committee had its trials is learned from the pages of the Register

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