Property of U4.P.E.l.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

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Prince Edward Island, the smallest of the Provinces of the Dominion of Canada, is situated on the southern part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and is separated from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick by the Strait of N orth- umberland, which varies from seven to thirty miles in width. This Island was discovered by Sebastian Cabot, on St. John’s Day, 24th June, 1497, and was called by him the Island of St. John, which name it bore until 1799, when, out of complimentto the Duke of Kent, the father of Queen Victoria, at that time Com- mander of the forces in Halifax, it was changed, by an Act of the Colonial Legislature, to that of Prince Edward Island.

It existed as a separate Government from the lst May, 1769, to lst July, 1873. when it became a Province of the Dominion of Canada It was not however, until the 7th July ,1773, that the General Assembly met under Walter Patterson, its first Governor. Responsible Government was conceded in 1851, since which time the Executive has been distinctly recognized as responsible to the Leg isla- ture. The Government is administered by 9. Lieutenant Governor, appointed by the Dominion Government, assisted by an Executive Council of nine members of the Legislature. The other branches are the Legislative Council of thirteen members, and the House of Assemblyof thirty members. The system of Govern- ment is the same as in the other Provinces of the Dominion, except that the Legislative Council is elective. The Island is divided into three counties, each of which elects four councillors (Charlottetown returning one additional) and ten representatives to the Lower House. There is no property qualification for members of the Legislative Council; for its electors the qualifications are full age, and the occupation of property to the value of $325. The property qualifica. tion of a member of the House of Assembly is the possession of freehold or lease. hold estate to the value of $163, over and above all encumbrances. The qualifica- tions of electors for the Lower House are full age, a residence of twelve months, and the performance of two day’s labour on the roads, or the payment of seventy- five cents commutation money. The Island is represented in the Dominion Parliament by four Senators, and six members of the House of Commons.

The Revenue, which, during the last three years, has averaged about $254 00,0, is derived from subsidy allowed by the Dominion Government, moneys arising from the sale of Government lands, fees, &c, (the Provincial Government levies no taxation), and is applied to education, the administration of justice, the maintenance of Public Works and buildings, and of the Executive Government.

Seen from the water, theappearance of Prince Edward Island is exceedingly prepossessing. 0n approaching the coast, the country affords acharming picture of cultivated and well wooded land, with villages and cleared farms dotted along the shores, and by the sides of the bays and rivers. The Island, although generally level, is in many parts beautifully undulating, and rises here and there to an elevation never exceeding 500 feet above thesea. I‘he conforman tion of the Island 15 good, and the scenery very much resembles that of England, and thickly scattered, flourishing homesteads indicate a degree of prosperity rarely met with in a new country. In shape it takes the form of an irregular crescent, concave towards the north, measuring in length 150 miles, and bemg deeply indented, at many points, by large bays and inlets, it varies in width from four to thirty miles. lt contains an area of 2,133 square miles, equal to l ,365, 400