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Newfoundland Legislative Assembly, 17 February 1869, Newfoundland Debates over Confederation with Canada.

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.

Source:

The Newfoundlander, 1864-1869. Digitized by Google Books

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Selection of input documents and completion of metadata: Isabelle Carré-Hudson.

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