and Cardigan, Boughton, Howe, Rollo, and Colville on the

east.

The chief harbors are Charlottetown, Georgetown, Bedeque, Cascampec, Porthill, New London, and Murray

harbors.

The lakes are few and small. The ponds or lagoons are

numerous.

The principal rivers are the East, West, and North Rivers, meeting in the harbor of Charlottetown; the Ellis, opening on Richmond Bay; the Morell, flowing into St. Peter's Bay; and the Cardigan, Brudnell, and Montague, flowing into Cardigan Bay.

The principal capes are North Point, Kildare Cape, Cape Tryon, Cape Turner, East Point, Colville Point, Terras Point, Cape Bear, Point Prim, Cape Traverse, Indian Point, Cape Egmont, and West Point.

In Richmond Bay there are two islands, Lennox and Bunbury; in Cardigan Bay are Panmure and Boughton; in Hillsborough Bay are St. Peter's and Governor's Islands.

EARLY HISTORY.-In all probability this island was discovered in the year 1497, after the discovery of Newfoundland. Good authorities differ in opinion as to the exact date of its discovery, no details of Cabot's first voyage having been preserved. It was nearly two centuries after its discovery before any attempt was made to colonize it. The Abenaki and Micmac Indians were its original inhabitants.

It is mentioned, and accurately described, as to situation and extent, by Champlain, the founder of Quebec, under the name St. John. It retained this name till the year 1800. It was included by the French in that extensive territory called New France. In 1663, it was granted to Sieur Doublet, a captain in the French navy, for fishing purposes. It was not, however, till early in the eighteenth century, that this island began to be the permanent home of Europeans. A few families from Acadia, with occasional settlers from Cape Breton, were its first settlers.

In 1728, the European settlers were only sixty families. These sixty families were chiefly Acadians, who had re moved from Nova Scotia after the Treaty of Utrecht.

In 1752, the whole population of the island was estimated at 1,354. The sections of the island at that time most thickly settled, were the lands on both sides of Point Prim, the lands about St. Peter's Bay, Savage Harbor, Charlottetown Harbor, and Hillsborough Bay.

The expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia was the means of more than doubling the population of the island. When it became a British possession, in 1758, the inhabitants numbered 4,100. By the treaty of Fontaine bleau, in 1763, this island was finally ceded to Great Britain. It was then placed under the government of Nova Scotia. In 1764, in common with the other British American territories, the British government ordered the survey of the island. This survey was begun in the spring of 1764, and completed in 1766. After the completion of the survey, no doubt remained as to the superior quality of the land of this island for agricultural purposes. Various plans for its settlement were proposed. Lord Egmont proposed that it should be settled on a feudal plan; that he himself should preside as lord paramount, and that a number of baronies should be held from him,-each baron to erect a stronghold, and with their under-tenants and men-at-arms to perform suit and service, after the custom of the ancient feudal tenures of Europe.* This plan was rejected as impracticable. The plan adopted was far from satisfactory in its results. It was to the following effect:-The island was divided into a given number of townships, or lots-sixty-seven. These townships, or lots, or parts of them, with certain reservations, were to be granted to parties having claims upon the government, upon certain conditions of settlement, and the payment of quit-rents. Lot sixty-six, about 6,000 acres, was reserved for the crown. Lots forty and fifty-nine had already been Montgomery Martin.

promised to parties who had made improvements on them. Sixty-four townships, or lots, remained to be disposed of. There were more applicants than lots. They were disposed of by means of the ballot-box. "When an individual was to receive a whole lot, his name alone appeared on the slip. of paper; in other cases two, and sometimes three names were inscribed on one paper, as sharers in one lot. Upwards of one hundred individuals participated in these grants."* These grants were made in 1767.

A town-lot and royalty were reserved in each county; while each township was to furnish a glebe-lot of one hundred acres for a minister of the Gospel, and a lot of thirty acres for a school-master. The quit-rents were of three rates, six shillings, four shillings, and two shillings, annually, per hundred acres.

The grantees were to settle on each lot a settler for every 200 acres, within ten years from the date of the grant. The settlers were to be Protestants, from the parts of Europe not belonging to Great Britain, or persons that had resided in America for two years prior to the date of the grant. Emigration from the mother country was then discouraged, from the prevailing notion that it would depopulate the country.

At the request of the majority of the grantees, the island was separated from the province of Nova Scotia, and obtained a separate government, 1770. Its first governor as a separate colony was Walter Patterson, Esq.

When ten years had elapsed, there was but very little done toward fulfilling the conditions on which the land was granted to the several proprietors. No attempt had been made to settle forty-eight of the sixty-seven lots, or townships, into which the island was divided. The proprietors of only ten lots had shown any conscientious zeal in fulfilling the conditions of their grants. Sir James Montgomery deserves to be named first among those who

* Sutherland. Geography and Natural and Civil History of the Island; an excellent work.

had done their duty in this matter. The grand object of the majority of the proprietors was, how to make the greatest gain with the least trouble and expense.

This land question has been the standing grievance of the island for the last ninety years.

In 1781, nine whole and five half townships were sold for the payment of quit-rents. In 1797, it was found upon investigation, under direction of the provincial parliament, that twenty-three lots, embracing 458,580 acres, had not a single family settled on them; twelve other lots, containing 243,000 acres, had only thirty-six families; six other lots, containing 120,000 acres, had only forty-eight families. The whole population at this time was estimated at 4,500. The knowledge of these facts led to an agitation for the escheat of the lands of those proprietors who made no effort to fulfil the conditions of their grants.

In the year 1798, a bill passed the provincial legislature, changing the name of the island from St. John to PRINCE EDWARD. Inconvenience had arisen from the island having the same name with the capitals of two neighboring provinces. The people of the island were anxious to mark their gratitude to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, the father of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, for kindness extended to them; they therefore resolved to call their country by his name, the change to take effect from the commencement of 1800. At this period the population of the island was not over 5,000.

At the beginning of the present century the arrears of quit-rent amounted to £59,162 sterling. A very liberal arrangement was made by the government for the payment of these arrears. The lots were divided into five classes. The first, those which had the full number of settlers, were to pay only four years' quit-rent, for the amount of arrears from 1769 to 1801. The second class, those having only half the required number of settlers, were to pay five years' quit-rent. The third class, those having less than a half and more than a fourth of the re

quired population, were to pay nine years' quit-rent. The fourth class, those which had less than a fourth of the required number of settlers, were to pay twelve years' rent. The fifth class embraced those lots or townships that were wholly unsettled; fifteen years' quit-rent was required in their case in lieu of all arrears. This was less than half the amount owed by this class. This arrangement had a very beneficial effect on the prosperity of the island. Rapid progress in population and social comfort followed.

There were some proprietors who did not avail themselves of this commutation; it became necessary, therefore, to proceed against them for the recovery of the quit-rents due from them. In 1804, judgments were obtained against ten townships, five half-townships, and one-third of a township. It seems, however, that the nonpaying proprietors had sufficient influence with the home government to prevent the act under which their lands were seized from receiving the royal assent. Under the administration of Governor Smith, lots 15 and 55 were escheated. He was prevented from further progress with that work by orders from the king.

The old conditions for settling the island having been cancelled, as far as they required the immigrants to be Protestants from the parts of Europe not belonging to Great Britain, and the quit-rents having been made lighter, a very healthy impetus was given to the prosperity of the island.

In 1803, the Earl of Selkirk settled about 800 Highlanders on his lands, who soon, by dint of industry, became comfortable and prosperous farmers. In subsequent years immigrants continued to arrive from Scotland, Ireland, and England; so that in the year 1832, the population in creased to 32,292. From that time onwards, the history of this little colony has been that of true progress, in al that tends to make a country truly great.