132 HISTORY or PRINCE ED“’ARD ISLAND.

which is occupied with facts that have already been par- tially submitted, and to which we must again refer at a more advanced stage of the narrative, and give the substance of the remedies which the commissioners proposed for exist— ing evils. The commissioners expressed the hope that they might be regarded as having entered upon the discharge of their duties, not only with a high appreciation of the honor conferred by their appointment, but also with a due sense of the grave responsibilities which they assumed. \Vhen they commenced their labors there was a general impression that the act of the provincial legislature, which made their award binding on all parties concerned, would receive the royal assent; and, although the decision of the colonial secretary —not to submit that act for Her Majesty’s approval—some- what relieved them from the weight of responsibility neces- sarily involved in the preparation and delivery of ajudgment beyond appeal, they still felt that, as their award was to affect the titles of' a million of acres, and the rights and interests of eighty thousand people, a hasty decision would not be a wise one, and that the materials fO‘ a judgment ought to be exhausted before the report was made.

By traversing the island and mixing freely with its people, the commissioners had become familiar with its great interests and general aspects. By holding an open court in all the shire towns, they had given to every man on the island, however poor, an opportunity to explain his grievances, if he had any. ’iy bringing the proprietors and tenants face to face before an independent tribunal, mutual misunderstandings and exaggerated statements had been tested and explained, and the real condition of society and the evils of the leasehold system had been carefully contem- plated from points of view not often reached by those whose interests were involved in the controversy. The evidence

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