THE HERALD, W

L

EtmESDAY, MARCH 18, 18 s.

e‘rrrspouarnrr.

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, {OUR YVPUBLIC ,ROADS.

Tu all the Editors offhc P. 15'. Island newspaper. who

may deem the following remarks wrhy q' PM. lirntion :—-

Although much has been lately said and written on the immediate necessity of a change In the present sys-

tem of repairing, or keeping in repair, our Public ltoads, yet I think 1'er persons will say that the subject ;, by any means exhaustch That We want shelter ma- terial of stone or gravel for covering the surface of the [toads to render them hard and wind I don't call in ques- tion. But that we have not as yet made a proper appli- cation of the best material to be had. in or about the vi- c‘mity of our diIIeI-ont Roads throughout the Island, is s fact beyond contradiction. It Is, therefore, what is with- m our reach, to he had at or our most. of the ltcads In .lmoet every section ofthe Island. as Well as the mode of its application in an Immediately practicable asnuacr, to which! sis-iv to direct public attention.

A. soon as two or three inches of the surface of the Road be relessed from the cold embrace of “JIIOIIII'OHI. ” in the éprlngdheIII-adCommissioner and a fewlnbourer's. with their hues Mill lllm'cls, should he at Work lending and smoothing the snrfaco.so that. when the frost in out of eIgbt or ten inches in dopthdhu whole mass may settle down and be lit for lruvellmgou. Then let the Commis- sinner or Overseer. or Engineer. or any other name by which_you choose to designate hiIu. continue. sav on St. Peter's Road. still keeping the surface smooth or free from deep cuts, (by closing them up M man u made ) and according as any or all of his labourers can be spared from such work. let them be not to prepare some hard clay or sandstone for the softest part of the Road. For instance. on the hill on the. Bracklcy Point Road. at Mr. H. Longwm‘lh's place. thousands of loads of good hard cltt) and Island sandstone might be dug or quarried and carried down and spread upon the St. Peter‘s Head to the great improvement of both Roads. In the some manner. on the rise of the hill at Mr. Colos' farm. on the St.l’etcr‘s Read, some thousands of loads from the gutters on each side. of good hard sub- stance for top dressing the road. might be had; then proceeding on towards George Wright's gate. plenty of hard clay and rubble can he had on both sides of the road. ()u the other side of Wright's Bridge, on the rise

ofthe hill towards Mrs. Crokcr's. any quantity needed

may be taken without injury, from both sides of tho

road; the same may he said ofthe hill as you approach . .Mr. Repor‘e. wherp thousands of loads of hard clay and

umlslonn lock'or rubble can be taken from both sides.

mukin only ogcod vrldu gltltre'oi' not more than sulli ’oient epthtoxaurry away the water caused by the fail

rains or thaws ofthe snow and rain in the spring. I

merely mention these particulars to show that almo-

dauce’of better material for covering the roads is within

our result than we have Its yet availed omen... of.

But It is not the permanency or durability of such ma-

terial that I consider of the most importance. It Is its constantapplluatiou us soon as needed thatconstilutes It! I chief utility. With three or four men constantly employ- ed. say. helm-cu Charlottetoth and Mr Miller‘s. of the ; Five Mile House, on tho St. Peter's Road. whose con- .gaut attention should be directed to keep the surface of the road smooth. or at least free from deep cuts by the wheels of heavily laden carts or other vehicles. and km! in}: the centre of the road sufficiently elevated or pro ually curved. so as to keep water from lodging or "willing. thereon. and. whenever wanted, to cover with a few cart loads ol the hard material already mentioned from the nearest place where it can be found. the said Ind could he kept in a very much better condition than i; has been for years past; but. with the increaslng traf- tie in the fall oilllo year, it is quite impossible to pro- scrvc the surface of the road frqu being deeply indent-V cd or cut down h ' the wheels of carts without a con- stant superinten once of labourers to fill and lich such cuts and thereby prevent the water from lodging or re- mining in them. With such care or attention to the road; In the fallyhr'u it is martin/Ital. it is easy enough t6 iina inc how soon our reeds would be inpond travclt ling on er. in the spring. on the departure of Mr Frost. who would leave the surface as smooth and oven at his departure as ho loimd it when he ,tuok ussession at early or late winter‘s commencement. 1 ow. I don't wish to bu‘uoderstoml as thinking that n-hatI have here recommended is the best plan that can be devised: but 1 so emphatically that it is the cheapest: and that it is wit in our immediate reach: and that many at our poor labourer... who are now and have been idle most of the winter, combo ssefuflygnd charitany employed on the rcadl as soon ass good thaw sets In. towards tho (and of the present. mouth. Although I have only mention- ed the St. Peter‘s Road. the some remarks will equally apply to the Mslpec and North Rivorltoadsmnd. indeed. generally. to the roads throughout the Ishnd. but more especially to those parts adjacent to shipping ports in the fall during the shipments of our bulky articles of , I’roduce. . ' As the present communication is already so long. I must wait for a luture occasion to oil‘s-r some further re- marks on our road .sy tent in gruelal. Meantime. ‘ ‘ I cmain. AN OLD TRAVELLER. March 9th. 1868.

ruiiutcflnast‘mc AT TIGNISII.

Pursuant to previous notice. a meeting of the inhal» itants of Lots 1 2. 6t 3. was held at Mr. Joseph Rich- ard'a. es downtime... 27m not, at which hieslrtt. Ilell and Howl-n. our representatives, attended. to take into consideration the distressed state of the people of these Lots. occasioned by an extreme scarcity of fodder. The people. to keep their stock alive, are feeding away not only their seed grain and potatoes. which leave thcuut gloomy future next sprint}. and a number of them have scarcel enough provls one at tlto‘prcsent time to support the r own existence. which circumstance ootuhcls them to lay their grievsngss before the cum- in r Parliament, bopiu they may he favourably con- sidered in the way of cverumcut aid.

Atn previous muslin to consider the propriety of acting on the Report of r. Boyd. Civil Engineer. with

reference to p 1 of a harbour in the III; 'I‘ig.

. wish Run, miscc'cf safety. in the summer season. to a large amount of fishing rm. The -- want of a Harbour at the above named p acorns sc-l 1 vlcusly felt last season. when the fishing .lruslsms wasI "turpende for two or three weeks. repairing. Wrecks, ' after heavy galcs, having to run them ashore in every direction to save their lives. The Hon. Mr. 'Howlan plctlg'ud his exertions in hlsplocc in the House. in con- nrction With his CollusgudJMr. Bell. to secure a rout of one thousand pounds. provided the p. 0 won d in-

‘ dlcatc their suxiet for the enterprise by e submission of suchription st. In view of the last mentioned aid r'e‘ui the (k nlnhot’townccm'e slut importwnt branch of trade. and to coon-coo a Public Work which ,, ‘would he of permanent utility to the inhabitants of this ' art of the countr . where. necessarily, always will ex- '. ,, lit a fishing opu scion, the meeting, on the grounds that the Logic stars would take prcmt action for imme-

, . qdlctc relief. unanimously adopted the following resolu-

tions: 1

n .. Moved by Thomas '1‘. Fail-hairs, seconded by John 'GJlurphy. . .

r v v Whereas. from facts laid before the meeting. It is cv-

idowt that great distress at pwunt exists. owing to the extreme scarcity of fodder caused by tho exceeding drought of last summer. having compelled the people to feed their seed grain and potatoes to their stock to use. an extent as totally to exhaust all their moons of picsent support, and cutting of! all hopes of a future mi): ‘

., Thrforr. the Government to 3

mole“, That this meeting memorialize rant the sum of one thousand pounds to relieve the said distress. the same to be mpdc

1' able to timber ad labour to be expended In but» a Brahma It left Run. In accordance with

“ the Covers-cut Bar ‘ made by Mr. Boyd. Cl'li Ea-

“00?. Moved by I. Haslett. seconded by George Bidet: be forwarded

a s

z,

A vote of thanks. to Messrs. iIowlan a respond to the call 0 that Doyle was rcli

rote of thanks,

_. #2

ply with the demand. About a year 310 it WM wiml’u‘d that the King has! suddenly. without the knowch of the Ministry or any one else, left the capital In order to shut himself up for several days In some rctlrcd locsmy. with Wagner, and wholly Indulge his passion for music. The King, last year. was betrothed to his cousin, Sophia. echoes of Bavaria; but the «easement was soon broken off, In consequence. according to some re- ports, of a difference of opinion on Wagner; but, In reality, on account of a difference of religions vtcws. King Louis had the re utatlon of being the handsetth monarch In Europe. Vlth regard to the (lemon ques- tion. he was supposed to be personally In favor of es- tablishtnp the most friendly relations mat the North German Confbdcratlou. He Is succeeded on the throne of Bavarla by his only brother, Prince Otho, born in 1848, who, as Klug. bears the name of Otho I.

BY the reports which have been published In these columns respecting the scarcity of cuts and potatoes In the western section of the Island, a question has been raised which will claim the attention of the Govern- ment. The people of the West have made extraordin- ary cxcrtloua to become freeholders. Over a year ago they sold every article of surplus stock and produce upon their farms, and, Indeed. in some cases, run them- selves short of the necessaries of life In order to pay the instalments for their lands, amounting to about £16,000, due thereon to the Government. Last year another effort was put forth to meet Nrthcr Instalmcnts —-aut1 the consequence has been that an uninterrupted winter of four months has used up all the fodder they retained for their stock, and an inroad had to be made upon a limited supply of turnips, potatoes and outs, to save their horses, cattle and sheep. numbers of which have died of starvation. A rigorous winter has pro- duced the some results, to a limited extent, In other sections of the Island. and the question arises—how are these poor people to be supplied with seed oats and potatoes? It In of the first importance that tho arable lands of the Colony be all sown In the spring, and It Is evident that unless the Government supplies the seed by some means which. whilst lt assists the really needy and deserving, will not encourage laziness, Improvldcncc and fraud, a great deal of land will. of necessity. be left unsown this Spring. This is a delicate question; but we have sufliclcut confidence In the ability of the Goi‘erumcnt, If referred to them. to deal fairly with It. Petitions, certified by reliable parties. should at once be forwarded to the Governor in Council from all sec- tions where a scarcity ofeecdoate orpotatoes amounts to a serious Injury to individuals and the Colony at large, approximating the quantitch of seed that will be re- quIrcd to supply such deficiency It will then be for the Government to take up the mutter, and consider the best means of supplying the wants of the people without In- tcrfcrlug too much with the nccccsary public services of the Colony. The people of 'I‘lgnlsh are willing that whatever the Government may advance In this way be added to their accruing Instulmcuts u a land, to be paid when these become due. This plan would answer very well In the case of needy Individuals who hold land from the Government: but another plan must be adopted to apply to parties differently situated. In no case Is It to be supposed that the Government will make advances of either money or seed. without huvlnt; the rc-paymcnt of the salon within a reasonable time suiliclcnlly secured.

with three heart cheers. w'u lveu nd Bell for theirymonifest dcsfi‘e to fthc people; after which Mr. Arv uvcd from the chair torospond to for the ability be displayed in the

J. G. III.

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m. strata.

Wednesday, March I

u J’swi 7» n; “:2: ..s

8. 1808.

LEGISLATIVE.

Since: our last Issue. the House has beanIrInclpally engaged In discussing the Address In answer to the Go- vernor's Speech. The debate terminated on Thursday night at eleven o'clock, when the Address was reported agreed to. The debate brought out the various topics In dispute between Parties In this Island: the Tenant League. Troops, Barracks, the late 8hcr1ff1)odd's leto ter, the Selkirk Estate, Inc. Not the least Irrltatlug and exciting of these subjects was the letter of the late Sheriff Dodd, contained In the Appendix to the Journal of the House of Assembly for the Session of 1366, wherein Mr. Dodd. In writing of the opposition ofibrcd by members of the League to the officers of the law, remarks :—

“ I Would say. In conclusion, that the rent dl cl

1 experience In executlug the writs placed In my arises from the active sympathy shown by all the tenants for each other; their Ingenious device of giving wornlug to each other by means of blowing thclr trum- pets upon the approach of any of my officers. effectually prevents a levy being made before a lat-ire number of men are collected, colitis thrlr system of terrorism, be which they intimidate the well-disposed usImtIt mauve or nuamxa noun Portulaca sun mama 'rnsnn uvns. is so complete. that it is utterly impossible to look for ANY assistance outside of the town. and I attribute the capture of Douectte wholly to the met that he and his accom- pllccs saw the are-arms which I had placed in the hands of my constables."

Mr. McNelll. the member for Cavendish, handled this matter well, and played havoc with the Opposition for having consented to place upon the public records of the Colony a statement so at variance with the truth and so damning to the charactcr of the people of the Colony, as tint contained In Mr. Dodd’s letter. Messrs. IIavIland and ilreckcu, on the Opposition: side. arc polished and pleasing speakers, and Mr. McAuIay, of Georgetown, is the critic, grammarlnn. and wit of the House. Of the latter, however, It must be said that Ills wit and criticism are often turned against himself, and here. we may obscrvo. between parenthesis, that It was scarcely worthy a man of Mr. McAuIay‘s years and ex- perience to resort to the subterfuge of the 'I’ntriot, and hold the Committee who prepared the Address In an- swer to the Governor's speech responsible for the typo- graphical and grammatical errors committed by the printers who published the some. Before any verbal criticisms were indulged Into reference should have Lem made to the manuscript copy ofthc Address. But we leave this small matter to those who can find no other faults with the Government. Party titan the commission of philologienl and grammatical errors canmltfcd by the printers or reporters. In attack and yolltlcal flat-ass the leaders of the Opposition are unequalled In the House; but In straight-forward honesty. and homely, solid argument, many of the Govemmmt supporters In the House pro the superiors of the O osltlnn. It Is not our purpose to give a. detailed accol It’ of the sharp personal encounters between honorable \mcmhcrs upon both sides, because we believe that the while judges of men and parties to a great degree by thtllr actions and measures. rtrthcrvthun by their professipns and smart speeches. Now, we believe—and here no beg to state again for the benefit of those who take altontrury view, that whatever we state In these columns rte. our own In- dividual opinions. for which the Government Is In no way responsible—«hut the Government have several im- portant: measures to present to the House this session, and upon these we are prepared to stander fall with the Government. We have the Seer I‘lsfatc ques’lon, the settlement of wilderness lands owned by the Gov- ernment and Education spchaII/ ‘alluded to In the Gov- ernor's ltlpr’cchk These subjects. In addition to the or- dinary requirements of the public service, are qulte

ST. Paritrox‘s Dav Cnmmnarlos.-—’I‘hc members of

the Benevolent Irish Society of this city celebrated the Festival of Ireland's Patron Saint on Tuesday. the 17th instant, In the manner usually adopted by them for the past few years. At 10 o'clock. In the l'orcuoon. they met at St. Andrew‘s Hall, and formed themselves into a Pro- ccsslon. and marched to Divine Service In St. Dunstan‘s Cathedral, \vhcre High Moss was celebrated by the Very Rev. Dr. McDonald, V. G. The Society was accom- panied in Its march by the Irish Voluntccr Rifles. under communal of Capt. McIntyre. Mr. Dongnn’s Band for- nished the music. The Society‘s new Banner, painted by Mr. John Murphy. was much admired, and added to the appearance of the procession, which was III every way an improvement upon those of previous years. After the Gospel for the day had been read. the Rev. James McKcnua ascended the pulpit. and delivered a discourse appropriate to the Auulversury being cele- brated. Both before and after, and during the service. Mrs. Weatwonth Sgeveuson resided with ability at the organ. A handsome oottm'.‘ {not tins nitrite! the city poor was taken up In the Church. After Mass. the So- ciety and the Volunteers re-furmctl the procession. and. III the some crdcr as they had marched to the Cathe- dral. returned to St. Andrew's llalI. where,aftor speeches from the President. Jas. ltetldln, Esq.. and others. and three cheers for Her Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria. and three more for Ills Excellency Lieutenant-Governor Duudas, all hands disperscdlto their various places of employment. III the cvonlng, the choir of St. Dunstan's Cathedral, assisted by some outside amateurs. and all under the direction of Mrs. Stevenson. conic off In St. Andrew's Hall. The Concert was well attended. and seemed to gIVe every satisfaction to the audience. A considerable sum was realized. and after expenses helm: deducted. the I balance was handed In to the Benevolent Irlsh Society. | to be devoted to churltnulo purposes.

smilclcut to occupy the explus 'c attention of the Legis- luturc for one session. Alhdlu With his wendcrml lamp mlght have been able to erect castles In a night- time; but. commonplace, practical mortals will not chime In with the Opposition In censurlng the Govern- ment for not hurrying through with the important subjects referred to In the speech, and dealing super- ficially with them. The cry of “ hostel" "haste!" In all the more unreasonable from the reflection that, p'hllst In power those very Opposition gentlemen Ignomlnlous- 1y failed in their legislation upon the same subjects for ' eight years.

' - Ou'l‘rklay, the Committee who prepared the Address in answer to the Governor's speech, waited upon His Exr-cllcncy to ascertain when he would he prepared to receive _ c Address of the House. He was pleased to appoiu: the hour of a quarter past four the same evening. at which time the whole House proceeded to the Legislative Librar , where His Excellency was in waiting, and prosente to him the Address. The Hon. the Attorney-General placed on the Order Book the fol- lmvlsg molest—DIM Attorney-General gives notice that he [11. ou'Saturday. the 14th March Instant. move for leave to IutroduceuBIlI. namely—n Bill to explain and wood the. Land Purchase Bill, as far as the some relates to Estates purchsscd under It which ‘huve proved. or shall prove. seif—sustalnlng. Also, a Bill to relax the provisions of the Land Purchase 1111! with re- spect 'to the sale and disposition of Wilderness Lands belonging to the Government. Thc;Attorucy-Gencral gives notice that he will. on next Monday, the 16th March. lnstam. (move for leave to introduce a. lllll to amend the Act respecting the salary to be paid to the Attorney-General and Solicitor-General. Mr. Jose 11 Hensley glves notice tlmt‘ba \vtll,us Menday, the 1 th March next. move for leave to Introduce a Bill to repeal the Laws relating to Usury." The Hon. Mr. Coins prc~ seated to the House copies of several dcspatches and other documents. when an urnrncnt took place.

On Saturday. the Hodsc‘ d d 'noth'lug beyond some routine busIness. In consequence of the Attorney-Gen- eral. thro kludlsposltlou.,uqt being present to bring forward t a Bills announced by hm In” the Order Book. ,

Under date of 9th March. we find the following notice In the Order Boob—"Mr. B. Davies glvcs notice that he will. at an early day, move for a Committee to inquire into the truthfulness of certain letters addressed to the Goivcrnmcnt tn the year 1865, coutalucd In the Journals of the. Assembly for the year Isa—the said letters Imp ulng the character and loyalty of the In. habitants o‘fKQuccn's County particuler . and those of the Island generally, residing outside 0 Charlottetown, with the usual pmvers to send for persons. papers and records." Under date of the Nth Instant. the following notice occbru In the Order Book:—" Mr. Howatt gives notice that he will. on an early do . move for leave to Introduce a Bill to amend the “Ma Act.” If Mr. Howatt can succeed in amending the Mllltla Act to as to appropriate the money requtrcd nor that scrvlcc to the purchase of seed train fbr the many poor farmers throughout the Island whom an unusually long and severe wlntcr has reduced to a state of dependence and suffering, he will hsvb accomplished much good for the country.