History of Prince Edward Island

by Duncan Campbell

In September, 1831, Colonel Ready was relieved from the government of the island by the arrival of Lieutenant-Colonel A. W. Young. The departure of Colonel Ready was deeply regretted by the people. His administration was distinguished by activity, energy, and usefulness, constituting a striking contrast to that of his predecessor. During his retention of office there was a large increase of the population. From the year 1829 to 1831, eighteen hundred and forty-four emigrants had arrived, and new life was infused into the commerce and agriculture of the island.

In January, 1832, Governor Young met the house of assembly for the first time. There was a dread of cholera, now raging in Europe, which led to the passing of a measure in the assembly “to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.” A day of fasting was appointed in the month of May, and, happily, the island was not visited by a pestilence which, in other places, laid tens of thousands in the grave. In this year an act was also passed to provide for the conveyance of the mails between Charlottetown and Pictou, by a steam vessel, a grant of three hundred pounds yearly having been voted for that purpose. The service was accordingly performed by the Steamer Pocahontas, which ran twice a week to Pictou,—the cabin passage-money being twelve shillings currency. In the following year the census was taken, from which it appeared that the population of the island, which, in 1827, had been twenty-three thousand, had increased to thirty-two thousand. An act was also passed in this year by which the duration of the assembly was reduced from the period of seven to that of four years.

In May, 1834, Governor Young went to England, whence he returned in September, as Sir Aretas W. Young. In June of the same year died John Stewart, of Mount Stewart, at the age of seventy-six. He came to the Island in 1778. He was speaker of the house of assembly for a number of years, and was one of the most useful public men of his day. We have read much of his private and official correspondence, which has led us to form a high opinion of his integrity, industry, and zeal. His book on the island, published in 1806, is a reliable work, so far as facts are concerned, though not written with the grace and freedom which distinguished the letters of his contemporary, John Stuart, the London agent of the island.

A general election took place towards the close of 1834, and the new house met in January, 1835. A dispute arose between the assembly and the council, respecting the revenue bills, which led to the necessary supplies not being granted, but after a short interval the governor convoked the assembly in April, and as the result of a previous informal conference between the disputants, it was arranged that the revenue bill should be separated from the appropriation bill,—as a solution of the difficulty,—and thus the dispute terminated. In consequence of the illness of his excellency, the session of one week’s duration was prorogued by a commission, who were desired to express to the assembly his excellency’s pleasure at the satisfactory termination of its labors.

On Tuesday, the first of December, 1835, His Excellency Sir Aretas William Young died at his official residence in Charlottetown. At the age of seventeen he obtained an ensigncy, by purchase, in Podmore’s regiment, and a company, by purchase, in the 13th foot, in 1796. He served with the 13th regiment, in Ireland during the rebellion, and was present with that corps, under the command of Sir Charles Colville, in every memorable action fought in Egypt under the gallant Sir Ralph Abercrombie, in 1801, for which he received a medal. He was subsequently employed for several years in Sicily and Gibralter, as aide-de-camp to General the Honorable Henry Edward Cox, the commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean. He was promoted, in 1807, to be major in the 97th regiment, then commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir James Lyon, and served with the 4th division, under Lieutenant-General Sir Lowry Cole, in the Peninsular campaigns of 1808, and in subsequent years was engaged in the battles of Vimiera, Talavera and Busaco, and in the first siege of Badajoz. Whenever the division was in movement, the light companies were entrusted to his charge, and during a part of the retreat of the army from the frontiers of Portugal to the lines of Torres Vedras, these companies were embodied under his command as a light battalion.

In an affair with the enemy at Tobral, near Lisbon, his horse was shot dead under him; and it has been remarked by a distinguished general officer that, on every occasion, in every difficulty and in many hours of trial, the example he set, the steps he trod, led the men cheerfully and fearlessly to do their duty. The 97th, owing to its thinned ranks, having been ordered to England, he was promoted, in 1813, to a lieutenant-colonelcy in the 3rd West India Regiment, stationed at Trinidad; and, with five companies of that corps, was sent to join the expedition against Guadaloupe in 1815, and received one of the badges of the Order of Merit, presented by Louis the Eighteenth. On his return to Trinidad, he was selected by Sir James Leith to command the troops in Granada; and, on leaving the regiment in 1815, received a letter, accompanied with a piece of plate, from the officers, expressive of their unfeigned feelings of regard and esteem for the comfort and happiness experienced under his command. On his being ordered back to Trinidad, in 1816, he was voted the thanks of the council and assembly of Granada, with a sword valued at one hundred guineas. During the absence, in 1820, of Governor Sir Ralph Woodford from Trinidad, he administered the government for four months; and in consideration of the advantage which the community had derived during that period by his being a member of the council, was requested still to continue a member,—to which he acceded, subject to the approval of the commander of the forces, who, in giving his consent, remarked, that in whatever situation Lieut.-colonel Young might be placed, the public service would be benefited. In 1823, in again giving up the government, which he had held for two years,—during a second absence of the same governor,—he was presented with four addresses, namely, one from the council, one from the Board of Cabildo,—with a vote of one hundred and fifty guineas to purchase a sword, and with the request that he would sit for his portrait, to be placed in their hall as a token of their sense of the efficient manner in which he had presided over that board, and to record their opinion of the moderation, steadiness, and ability which, on all occasions, marked his administration; one from the inhabitants, with a piece of plate, to record their gratitude for the integrity and impartiality of his government; and one from the colored inhabitants, acknowledging their deep sense of the prudence, moderation, and humanity which distinguished his administration of the government.

On the final disbandment of the 3d West India Regiment, in the beginning of 1825, he was waited on by a deputation of the inhabitants of Trinidad, with a farewell address, and with the request of his acceptance of a piece of plate of the value of two hundred and fifty sovereigns. He was appointed in 1826 to the newly-created office of His Majesty’s Protector of Slaves in the colony of Demerara,—the arduous duties of which he conscientiously performed for five years. He retired from the army, by the sale of his commission, in May, 1826, and was allowed by His Majesty, on the recommendation of the commander-in-chief, to retain the local rank of lieutenant-colonel in the West Indies, in consideration of the value of his services, and of the zeal, intelligence, and gallantry with which he had discharged every duty. He was gazetted, as already stated, to be governor of Prince Edward Island, on the twenty-fifth of July, 1851; and in consequence of the favorable opinion entertained by the King of his merits, communicated in a despatch from Lord Stanley, His Majesty conferred on him, on the ninth of July, 1834, the honor of knighthood.

At the period of his death he was in the fifty-eighth year of his age, and had thus terminated an honorable career of forty-one years in the King’s service.

CHAPTER VI.

George Wright, Administrator—Court of Escheat refused—Central Academy—Severe Frost in September—Death of William the Fourth—Educational Condition of the Island—Forcible Resistance to Rent-paying—Rebellion in Canada—Able Report of Committee of Legislature on Land Question—The Coronation of Queen Victoria—Mechanics’ Institute formed—Lord Durham on Land Question—The formation of an Executive, separate from a Legislative Council ordered—Mr. Cooper a delegate to London.