2
THE NEWFOUNDLANDER
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 17
The House met at 3 o'clock.
On motion of
Mr. GODDEN, pursuant to order
of the day, the address to his Excellency the Governor, in reply to his speech at
the opening of the
session, was read a third time and adopted, as
follows:—
To His Excellency Anthony Musgrave Esq. Governor
and Commander-in-Chief in and and over the Island
of Newfoundland and its Dependencies.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,—
We, the Commons House of Assembly of Newfoundland, beg to thank Your Excellency for
the gracious
Speech with which you have been pleased to open
the present Session of the Legislature, and for the
uniform courtesy which has marked your intercourse
with the House of Assembly during your Administration of the Government.
We fully approve of the course taken by the
Executive Government in issuisg the Proclamation in
June last, that relief in future would be confined to
destitute widows and orphans, and to the sick and
infirm poor. We believe this act was well tuned, and
we cordially hope and trust that the Executive may
be successful in its efforts to suppress the demoralizing system of able-bodied pauper
relief.
We thank You Excellency for the promise that
the Public accounts for the year 1863, will be shortly
laid before us.
We are pleased to learn that Your Excellancy's
personal exertions in endeavoraing, to settle the
vexed question of the French Shore, have been so far
successful that there is now a prospect of its being
arranged in a manner advantageous to both parties
interested in it, and that the policy indicated in Lord
Carnarvon's despatch of 7th December, 1866, has
been so far modified that Your Excelleucy will now
be enabled to issue Grants unier certain restrictions
for Mining and other purposes in that locality.
The new statutory provisions which Your Excellency suggests, with regard to Licenses
for Cutting
Timber, shall receive our careful attention.
We fully concur with Your Excellency that the
time has now arrived for us to take action on the
great question of Confederation; and we can assume
Your Excellency that we shall give our earnest
attention to the consideration of or Union with the
Dominion of Canada, or such fair and equitable
terms as may be [?] to serve the interests of
the Colony, be approved of by the Government of the
Dominion, and which we trust may prove acceptable
to all classes of the people, when submitted to the
constituencies, and also recieve the final approval
and ratification of Her Majesty.
The Contract entered into by Your Excellency
with Messrs. Inman & Co., for the Conveyance of
the Mails between St. John's and Halifax, has been
so far carried out in a satisfactory manner. The new
arrangement with regard to the detention of the
Steamer St. John's has been a great conveniance
to the Public, and the Boats are admirably suited to
the service.
Ordered that the adress be presented to his
Excellency the Governot by the speaker and the
whole House.
The hon. ATTORNEY GENERAL informed the
House that his Excellency would recieve the
Speaker and the whole House with the address on
Friday next, at 12 o'clock.
The House adjourned until Friday, at 11
o'clock. A.M.
