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