CHAPTEE VII. 



PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 



PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND is a small corner of the Domi- 

 nion which, from its beauty, fertility, and great maritime 

 facilities, only requires to become better known to the 

 world in order to make a rapid progress in wealth and 

 prosperity. 



Two circumstances, one the work of man, the other of 

 nature, have hitherto contributed to keep this island in 

 the background : I allude firstly, to its peculiar system of 

 land tenure ; secondly, to its isolated position. 



In order to make my reader understand the first of 

 these, a short sketch of the early settlement of the island 

 becomes necessary. 



The Isle of St. John which afterwards became Prince 

 Edward Island so called after H.K.H. Prince Edward 

 Duke of Kent, was by the Treaty of Paris in 1763 ceded 

 by the French to King George III. Soon after it was 

 divided into sixty-seven townships, each containing 

 20,000 acres, and these townships were distributed by lot 

 amongst hangers-on of the court, who had, or were sup- 

 posed to have, claims upon the Government of the day. 

 This is the way colonial affairs were managed in the olden 

 time. Two conditions were attached to these grants of 

 land ; one was the payment of a certain quit-rent to the 

 Crown ; the other was, that proprietors should send out 



