One of the accusations brought against the governor, which has not yet
been mentioned, was, that he permitted, as chancellor of a court over
which he himself presided, heavy and vexatious additions to the fees
since the appointment of Mr. Ambrose Lane as registrar and master. On
the fourteenth of October, the lieutenant-governor, on pretence that
this charge was a gross libel and contempt of the court of chancery,
commenced proceedings before himself—on the complaint of his
son-in-law—against the members of the committee appointed by Queen’s
County to manage the address to the King, who were all served with an
attachment, and subsequently committed to the custody of a
sergeant-at-arms. The object of these proceedings was evidently to get
hold of Mr. Stewart, in order to prevent him from going to England with
the petitions,—of which the lieutenant-governor had determined to get
possession. Mr. Stewart only got notice of the governor’s intentions two
hours before officers arrived at his house on purpose to take him into
custody; but he escaped to Nova Scotia with the petitions, and thence
proceeded to England. Had Stewart been taken into custody, there would,
doubtless, have been a rebellion in the island, for the people were
exasperated. Chagrined beyond measure at Stewart’s escape, the
lieutenant-governor determined to lay a heavy fine on the other members
of the committee, and sequestrators were appointed to enter upon their
property and secure the amount; but being now alarmed at unmistakeable
symptoms of a popular tumult, he prudently ordered proceedings to be
delayed till his judgment could be enforced. The defence was ably
conducted by Messrs. Binns and Hodgson.
On Saturday morning, the twenty-sixth of July, 1823, appeared the first
number of the _Prince Edward Island Register_, printed and edited by
James D. Haszard, in which newspaper all the proceedings to which we
have alluded were published. For the publication of these, Mr. Haszard
was served with an order to appear at the bar of the court of chancery,
being accused as guilty of a contemptuous libel against the court and
the officers of the court. Mr. Palmer was agent for the prosecutor. Mr.
Haszard was asked if he would disclose the authors of the publication
complained of,—which he agreed to do. The parties were Messrs. Stewart,
McGregor, Mabey, Dockendorff, Owen, and McDonald. Addressing himself to
Mr. Haszard, the chancellor said: “I compassionate your youth and
inexperience; did I not do so, I would lay you by the heels long enough
for you to remember it. You have delivered your evidence fairly,
plainly, clearly, and as became a man; but I caution you, when you
publish anything again, keep clear, sir, of a chancellor! Beware, sir,
of a chancellor!” And with this solemn admonition, Mr. Haszard was
dismissed from the bar.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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