6O HISTORICAL SKETCH OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

denominated, Benevolent Irish Society of Prince Edward Island, of which His Excellency Governor Ready became Patron.

The celebration of the King’s nativity came off on St. George’s day, the 23rd of April. Although born on the 12th August, 1762, His Majesty choose to have it observed on the above specified date. A troop of horses, a company of artillery, the troops of the garrison, and some companies of militia were drawn up on Queen Square, facing the river, under the inspection of the Commander-in-chief. At 12 o’clock a Royal Salute of twenty-one guns, accompanied by a fcu-zz’ejoz'e, boomed forth; soldiers were marched past His Honor in slow and quick time to the martial music of the Scotch bagpipes, three hearty cheers for the King ended the day’s review, and in the evening a levee was held at the Governor’s quarters.

This year likewise witnessed the first issue of the Island Treasury Notes, to the amount of some two or three thousand pounds, but which at a later period was increased to a very large sum. The various issues comprised notes of the value of five shillings, ten shillings, one pound, two pounds, and five pounds each, and as these notes were redeemable in specie on presentation at the Treasury, they were freely and confidently circulated until 1871, when the decimal notation of money became the law of the land, and all these notes then afloat, together with all the copper coin of half-pennys were called in and exchanged for dollars and cents, which from that date has been the currency in circulation in the colony.

We have now to record a very pleasing incident that occurred during August, as stated by the Regz'sler newspaper in its issue of the 30th of that month. “We were a few days since pre. sented with the gratifying and unwonted spectacle of the doors of the Jail standing wide open in consequence of there not being a single prisoner, out of a population of 23,000, of any description confined within its gloomy walls, realizing in part a picture of the golden age.” In a subsequent issue of the Regz'sfer dated Sept. 20th, there appeared a list of sixty-five persons licensed to retail spiritous liquors under the licensed system of that period, certified to by J. L. Hurdis, Secretary. In Charlottetown there were five stores and nineteen public Inns; while Queen’s County had twenty—one, Prince County nine, and in King’s County eight Inns established at suitable