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Date: 1865-02-28
By: Prince Edward Island (House of Assembly)
Citation: Prince Edward Island, House of Assembly, The Parliamentary Reporter; or, Debates and Proceedings of the House of Assembly of Prince Edward Island, For the Year 1865, 22nd Parl, 3rd Sess, 1865 at 3-4.
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THE PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER,

SESSION, 1865.

Meeting of the Legislature.

•             (p. 3)

On Tuesday, February 28th, His Excellency Lieutenant Governor Dundas, came down to the Council Chamber at 3 o’clock, when he was pleased to open the Third Session of the Twenty-second General Assembly with the following

SPEECH:

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

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

I rejoice that I am enabled, at the commencement of another Session of this Legislature, to congratulate you on the general prosperity of this Island.

You will, I am confident, join with me in an expression of gratitude to Almighty God for the abundant Harvest, and the many blessings which have been bestowed on the people of this Province during the past year.

In compliance with the Resolution, which you passed last Session, I appointed Delegates to confer with Delegates appointed by the Governments of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, for the purpose of discussing the expediency of a Legislative Union of the Maritime Provinces.

Correspondence on this subject, together with the Report of the Conference of the Delegates will be laid before you.

From these papers you will learn the origins of a second Conference, to consider the wider question of a general Union of the British North American Provinces.

On the invitation of the Governor General I nominated Delegates to proceed to Quebec to attend this second Conference.

In appointing Delegates, I deemed it expedient, on both occasions, to select them from each of the political parties in the Legislature.

Copies of the Resolutions adopted at the Quebec Conference will be submitted to you.

Despatches from Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, on this important subject will also be laid before you.

From this correspondence you will perceive that Her Majesty’s Government have given to these Resolutions their most deliberate consideration, and have expressed their general approval of the proceedings of the Conference.

For this, the most momentous question over submitted to you, I ask your earnest consideration.

I have received from the Secretary of State for the Colonies a communication respecting the Militia Law.

The Colonial Minister has observed with satisfaction that a Volunteer movement has arisen in this Colony, which reflects much credit on the loyalty and spirit of its Inhabitants; on the other hand, he has remarked that a Law exists among the Statutes of the Island which declares that the Militia shall not be called out, except in case of war, civil commotion, or other sufficient emergency.

You will, I confidently hope, give your careful attention to a measure which will be proposed to you, and which is framed with the view of remedying a state of affairs characterized by Mr. Cardwell as having no parallel in British North America.

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

The Public Accounts of the past year will be laid before you. It affords me much satisfaction to observe that the Revenue exceeds that of any previous year, and is considerably in excess of the Expenditure.

The Estimates for the current year will also be laid before you. They have been framed with due regard to economy.

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

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

The People whom you represent are so thoroughly capable of appreciating the importance of Agriculture, that I would suggest for your consideration the expediency of giving some further encouragement to the promotion of the scientific culture of the Soil and to the improvement of Stock.

In full reliance on your zeal for the welfare of the Colony, I now commit its interests to your care.

The members of the House of Assembly having returned to their own room, His Excellency’s Speech was again read from the Speaker’s chair; after which, the Hon. J.C. Pope announced to the House, that since the last session of the Legislature, in consequence of the resignation from the Executive Council Board of the Hon. Col. J.H. Gray and the Hon. E. Palmer, His Excellency was pleased to appoint him President of the Executive Council, and the Hons. T. Heath Haviland and K. Henderson to seats in the Executive Council, in the room of the Hons. Col. Gray and E. Palmer.

The usual Standing Committees for the Session were then appointed; the most important being as follows:

Committee to prepare an address in answer to His Excellency’s Speech—Messrs. Brecken, Ramsay, Haslam, Yeo, Green, Duncan and Montgomery.

Committee on Public Accounts.—Messrs. Yeo, Haslam, McLennon, Duncan, Coles, Warburton and Conroy.

Mr. David Laird was appointed Reporter to the House, and after some discussion relative to the expediency of the appointment by the House of a Summary Reporter, Mr. Archibald McNeill was appointed to that office, his duty being to furnish, each day, a printed Summary of the daily proceedings of the House.

•             (p. 4)

The order of last session, relative to the postage of Members’ letters, was then renewed, and the House adjourned until 3 o’clock to morrow.