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Date: 1866-05-07
By: Nova Scotia (House of Assembly)
Citation: Nova Scotia, House of Assembly, Debates and Proceedings, 23rd Parl, 3rd Sess, 1866 at 315.
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DEBATES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OF NOVA SCOTIA. 1866.

MONDAY, May 7.

• (p. 315)

SPEECH:

Mr. President and Honorable Members of the Legislative Council:

Mr. Speaker, and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly:

I congratulate you on the close of an arduous Session, during which measures have been passed which will, I confidently believe, materially promote the prosperity and advancement of the Province.

The amendment of the law relating to Education will, I trust, impart increased efficiency to the Common School system, and result in the more general diffusion of knowledge among all classes of the people.

The measures providing for the extension of Mining Leases will, I doubt not, attract, in an increased degree, capital from abroad to still further develop the remarkable mineral wealth with which this country abounds.

The provision made for the due representation of Nova Scotia at the Paris Exhibition will diffuse more widely a knowledge of her great industrial resources.

The enactments intended to place the treatment of Pauperism and Disease among the destitute on a more enlightened and humane footing, and to protect our shores from the ravages of infectious diseases, cannot fail to be productive of general good.

The gallant manner in which all sections of the country responded to the call to arms, and the increased provision made for the defence of the Country, prove conclusively how highly British institutions are valued, and the sacrifices you are prepared to make to sustain your connection with the Parent State.

The liberal provision made by you for the protection of the Fisheries will be an additional incentive to the Imperial Government to secure that valuable heritage from the encroachment of foreigners.

Mr. Speaker, and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly:

I thank you for the liberal appropriation made for the Public Service.

Mr. President, and Honorable Members of the Legislative Council:

Mr. Speaker, and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly

Permit me, in conclusion, to express the deep gratification your action upon the great question of a Union of British North America has afforded me, not only as the Representative of Her Gracious Majesty, but as one of yourselves. It will afford the greatest satisfaction to the Imperial Government, as the means of imparting additional security to this portion of the Empire; and I recognize in the patriotic course you have adopted, the most efficient guarantee not only for the increased prosperity of this Province in common with our sister Colonies, but also for the permanent connection of them all with the British Crown.