512
LEGISLATIVE
COUNCIL.
TUESDAY, February 28, 1865.
HON. MR. CAMPBELL—Before the
House rises, I desire to submit a statement
of the revenue of the Island of Prince Edward, which has come into my hands since
the close of the debate on the proposed union
of Canada and the Lower Provinces. The
hon. member for Niagara seemed to take
exception to what I said in relation to that
particular point, and I am therefore happy
to be able to satisfy the hon. member that
what I then stated is fully sustained by the
authentic return now before me. I hold in
my hand a " Report of the Comptroller of
Customs and Sundry Statistics " of that
colony for the year 1863, which shows that
the total revenue of the island for that year
was £61,688 14s. 4d., island currency, equal
to £41,125 16s. 3d., sterling, an increase
over the previous year of nearly 35 per cent.
The hon. member seemed to think it impossible that such a sum as I had stated should
have been raised, and suggested that a great
part must have come from local sources.
Well, the amount derived from excise and
duties on imports for 1863 was £46,057 6s.
7d., island currency, from the post office
£1,590, and from custom house office fees,
£71 9s. 9d. ; together £47,718 16s. 4d.,
island currency, or about £32,000, sterling,
equal to $156,000 or thereabouts. There
are a good many other items of revenue, but
I have selected these three, as those certain
to come into the treasury of the General
Government, and there may be others. But
it will be seen that these alone would make
up the sum I gave as the revenue of the
island, which would be available for the
general purposes of the Confederation.
HON. MR. CURRIE—I did not question
the correctness of the figures of the Honorable Commissioner of Crown Lands, but I
felt
and expressed some surprise at the sum,
which, when compared with former years,
exhibited, as I thought, an almost incredible
increase. Will the Honorable Commissioner
state what proportion of these imports was
foreign, and what came from the provinces it
is proposed to unite, as after the union no
revenue would of course be derived from the
latter ?
HON. MR. CAMPBELL—There are tables shewing the imports and exports, and
the imports from the following places were
in 1863 :—
| United Kingdom ............ |
£122,880 |
5 |
6 1/2 |
| Nova Scotia ................ |
66,890 |
11 |
5 1/2 |
| New Brunswick ............. |
19,975 |
3 |
11 |
| Newfoundland .............. |
1,865 |
15 |
3 |
| Bermuda and West Indies. . . . |
3,969 |
5 |
7 |
| Saint Pierre ................ |
292 |
11 |
3 |
| Canada .................... |
6,152 |
8 |
3 |
| Magdalene ................. |
302 |
3 |
0 |
| United States ............... |
71,103 |
0 |
8 |
| Total, sterling ........ |
£293,431 |
4 |
11 |
Taking from the above the imports from
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Canada, amounting to £94,883 18s.
10d., the balance of nearly £200,000 was
all foreign, and such as would pay duty to
the General Government. The exports were
£209,472 9s. 6d, to which was to be added
the value of 24,991 tons of shipping built in
the island, which at £5 sterling per ton, was
equal to £124,955, and raised the credit side
of the sheet to £334,427 9s. 6d., against
£293,431 4s 11d to the debit side, thus
shewing a balance in favor of the colony in
1863 of £40,996 4s. 7d. (Hear, hear.)
[The honorable member here handed the
report to the Hon. Mr. CURRIE, who, after
having examined it, seemed to concur in the
statement of the Hon. Commissioner of
Crown Lands.]
This individual participated in:
