Land Commission (1875) Report of Proceedings before the Commissioners appointed under the provisions 
     
     of the Land Purchase Act 7875. (Reported by P. S. MacGowan). P. R. Bowers, Queen’s Printer, 
     
     Charlottetown, P.E.|. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     The Land Commission of 7875 was set up by the island ’s government in accordance with the provisions of the Land 
     
     Purchase Act of the same year. A by—product of the island joining the Canadian confederation, the act provided a 
     
     final solution to the long—standing land ownership problem through the expropriation of the proprietors’ lands so that 
     
     they could be sold to tenant farmers. The principal purpose of the Commission itself was to put a monetary value 
     
     on the estates of the proprietors. To assist it in doing so the three commissioners gathered evidence during the 
     
     summers of 7875 and 7876 at meetings held in the three county capitals at which they received and recorded the 
     
     opinions of landlords, individual tenant farmers, and others such as timber extractors and surveyors. The 687 page 
     
     report that they produced is especially useful for descriptions of the land in specific parts of the island, including, 
     
     particularly, unleased land still under forest. It is also one of the few occasions when we hear the opinions of the 
     
     working farmer, though we must bear in mind that what is recorded are their responses to specific questions posed 
     
     by the commissioners or legal counsel. There are biases in the testimony: the tenants were aiming to understate 
     
     the value of their land, the proprietors to maximize its value. The report also records attitudes to a number of less 
     
     commonly recorded forest—related topics, such as the practical experience of trying to make a living on the different 
     
     qualities of soil and land—types of the island, the difficulties involved in clearing various types of forest land, and the 
     
     perceived value, to both the landlord and tenant, of the remaining standing timber. / have extracted almost all of 
     
     the testimony that makes reference to the forest, and especially to individual tree species, but / have omitted a 
     
     number of references to ’swamps’ and ’barrens’ of unspecified type. The lands of almost all of the individuals giving 
     
     evidence are locatable in the near-contemporary Meacham’s Atlas. 
     
    
   
   
    
     REFERENCE: Robertson, I. R. (1988) Introduction to The Prince Edward Island Land Commission of 7860, 
     
     Acadiensis Press, Fredericton, NB. ix — xxx. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Estate of William Cundall [2,844 acres on Lot 201. 
     
    
   
   
    
     John Doughart, Lot 20 : 
     
    

    
     Lot 20. when land has been covered with a heavy growth of hard wood it should remain 
     
     7 or 8 years before anything is done with it. Soft wood can be cropped sooner. Then 
     
     there is land on which young maples grows, and the longer you leave it the worse it 
     
     is. l have more than 30 acres of blueberry barrens. I do not know of any land 
     
     where blue berries grow that is not bad. [p. 29-30] 
     
    
   
   
    
     Sulivan Estate [66,937 acres on Lots 9, 16, 22 and 61]. 
     
    
   
   
    
     George Wastie DeB/ois, l ’Miss Sulivan’s agent’l : 
     
     The total number of acres unleased on Lot 9 is 10,067. I cannot speak of the 
     
     quality of the land that is not occupied. I know a great deal of it is excellent cedar 
     
     land. A great deal is very good hard wood land. Cedar land is good for pasture 
     
     when cleared up. There is a difficulty in clearing it. It is a good black soil. A good 
     
     deal will depend on the drainage. Where it is a good place to drain the land is very 
     
     good. The timber itself is valuable for fencing posts, railway sleepers and other 
     
     purposes. I cannot speak of my knowledge of any cedar land on Lot 9 being under 
     
     cultivation. There are quantities of hard-wood and fence poles on Lot 9. It was 
     
     generally wooded. The last time l was there was about 6 years ago. l have never 
     
     been in the woods. You can tell about woods at a great distance by your eye. The 
     
     woods may have been burnt by fire. There is a good deal of swamp covered by 
     
     cedar. Richard Keefe uses his land for nothing but to cut cedar. l have not 
     
     leased any of the cedar land within the last two or three years. l have refused 
     
     applications on the ground that they wanted the farms for the purpose of cutting off 
     
     the timber and they would transfer from one to another and give me trouble. I cannot 
     
     say how many acres of cedar land there are. {pp. 84—85] 
     
     Cross-examined: Lot 16 is superior to Lot 9 in some respects, in others not. Part 
     
     LOt 76- of that under lease is wood and part swamp. I cannot tell the number of acres of 
     
     swamp. The wood seems the ordinary wood of the country. It is mixed. [p. 91] 
     
    
   
   
    
     Cedar land 
     
     on Lot 9. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Cedar swamp. 
     
    
   
   
    
     185