pensive. Everyone looked very stern in those early pictures and that was because the exposure time took up to a minute. People were re- quired to remain perfectly still and that pretty well ruled out smiles. It required a lot of improvements to the equipment before subjects were invited to “say cheese.”

We don't know when Vere had his photo taken, and we don’t know who the photographer was. Alan Windsor Beck (1.10A.3.2.2.) of South Carolina now has the portrait. At my request he removed the back and found this information in- side: “There is a number 12238, a name Gerrity, and what appear to be the in- itials VB with a slight pencil line over and under,’ Alan wrote. We're guessing that the photographer’s name was Ger- rity and the number was some sort of identity number. The VB needs no ex- planation.

Despite the fact that he was no longer in politics, Vere remained active in the community. He served the Murray Harbour area for many years as a Commissioner for Small Debts.

Various methods had been used to deal with small debt claims in the years after Britain gained control of PEI. In 1844, the method of dealing with small debts was formalized in the creation of Courts of Commissioners for the Recovery of Small Debts which were estab- lished in each county. Three Commissioners were to be appointed to each court along with a Clerk. The jurisdiction of these courts was limited to £8 and interest. In 1860, the Legislation was changed to provide for the powers of the Commissioners to be the same as those of Justices of the Supreme Court under the Insolvent Debtor’s Act.

Vere probably was named to the post in 1844 and he was still serv- ing as a Commissioner in 1864 according to a listing in Hutchison’s Directory. The Commission at that time included three members, Henry Brehaut, Robert Whiteway, and Vere, with David Creighton

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Alan Windsor Beck