the 13th of September 1759; and it shall be lawful for those societies to fill up vacancies, and admit new members; according to the rules of their foundations, and to educate youth, in order to qualify them for the service of parochial cures, as they shall become vacant: It is nevertheless our will and pleasure, that not only these seminaries, but all other religious communities, so long as the same shall continue, be subject to visitation by you our governor, or such other person or persons as you shall appoint for that purpose; and also subject to such rules and regulations as you shall, with the adwice and consent of our council, think fit to establish and appoint.

Twelfthly. It is our will 'and pleasure, that all other religious Seminaries and Communities (that of the Jesuits only excepted) do for the present, and until we can be more fully informed of the true state of them, and how far they are or are not essential to the free exercise of the religion of the Church of Rome, as allowed within our said province, remain upon their present establishment; but you are not to allow the admission of any new members into any of the said societies or communities, the religious communities of women only excepted, without our express orders for that purpose. That the society of Jesuits be suppressed and dissolved, and no longer continued as a body corporate and politic, and all their rights, possessions and property, shall be vested in us, for such purposes as we may hercafter think fit to direct or appoint; but we think fit to declare our Royal intention to be, that the present members of the said society, as established at Quebec, shall be allowed sufficient stipends and provisions during their natural lives. That all Missionaries amongst the Indians, whether, established under the authority of, or appointed by the Jesuits, or by any other ecclesiastical authority of the Romish Church, be withdrawn by degrees, and at such times and in such manner, as shall be satisfactory to the said Indians, and consistent

with the public safety, and Protestant Missionaries appointed in their places. That all ecclesiastical persons whatsoever of the Church of Rome, be inhibited upon pain of deprivation, from influencing any person in the making a will, from inveigling Protestants to become Papists, or from tampering with them in matter of religion; and that the Romish priests be forbid to inveigh in their sermons against the religion of the Church of England, or to marry, baptize, or visit the sick, or bury any of our Protestant subjects, if a Protestant minister be upon the spot.

Part of the 56th Paragraph.

To an allowance to the person licensed to superintend the Romish church. L. 200.

The 5th Paragraph of the Memorial of His Majesty's new Subjects of Quebec; dated 31st December 1788.

It is our religion, our laws relative to our property, and our personal surety in which we are most interested; and these we enjoy in the most ample manner by the Quebec bill. We are the more averse to an house of assembly, from the fatal consequences which will result from it. Can we, as Roman catholics, hope to preserve for any length of time, the same prerogatives as protestant subjects in an house of representatives; and will there not come a time when the influence of the latter will overbalance that of our prosperity? In this case, should we and our posterity enjoy the same advantages which our present constitution secures to us? Again, have we not reason to dread lest we should soon see those taxes levied upon the estates, which are at present actually levied articles of commerce, which the inhabitant pays upon indirectly it is true, but in proportion to what he consumes? Shall we not fear that we may one day see the seeds of dissension created by the assembly of representatives, and nourished by those intestine hatreds, which

the opposite interests of the old and new subjects will naturally give birth to? We will now turn the weapons of these zealous partizans of an assembly of representatives against themselves, and make use of their own calculations, in order to demonstrate the errors of those assertions with which they support their addresses.

§. 6.

Abstract of Proceedings in Council, relative to the Grant to the late Jeffery Lord Amherst, of the Estates belonging to the Jesuits in Canada; with the dates of the several Orders made by His Majesty in Council, in that behalf; and Reports of the late Board of Trade, and of His Majesty's Law Officers for the time being.

On the 24th May 1770 His Majesty was pleased to refer to a committee, a petition from Jeffery Lord Amherst to His Majesty in council, stating, That His Majesty having been graciously pleased to signify his intention of bestowing a mark of his royal favour, in America, on the petitioner; and praying a grant of the estates belonging to the Jesuits in Canada.

This petition was referred by the committee, to the Board of Trade; who made their report thereou, dated 7th June follewing, but offered no decided opinion upon the petition of Lord Amherst.

On the 2d November 1770 the lords of the committee made their report to His Majesty; and submitied that His Majesty's attorney and sollicitor-general should be directed to prepare the draft of a proper instrument, to be passed under the great seal, for granting to Lord Amherst the estates belonging to the Jesuits in Canada; reserving to His Majesty, for public uses, the colleges and chapels, with their appartenances, which belonget to the society in Quebec, Montreal, and Trois Rivieres; the grantee engaging to make satisfaction to such of the then possessors as were in possession at the time of the conquest.

The report was approved, and an order made containing directions as above, to His Majesty's attorney and solicitorgeneral; who, by a report, dated 14th December 1770, submitted that they could not proceed in preparing the instrument, for want of an authentic account of the nature and description of the estates intended to be granted by His Majesty.

On the 20th December 1770 another petition was presented by Lord Amherst, praying, That His Majesty would renew his order to the attorney and solicitor-general, for preparing, the draft of grant, and containing a particular of the estates, etc. with an affidavid annexed of general Murray (the then governor of Quebec) to the same effect; which petition was referred to the law officers by His Majesty's order in council, bearing date the 21st December 1770; and in case the same contained an authentic account of the nature and description of the said estates, they were to prepare the draft of the grant, etc. But it appears by the report of His Majesty's law officers, in return to the said order, that the said affidavit of general Murray did not, in their opinion, set forth an authentic account of the nature and description of the estates intended to be granted.

On the 8th March 1771 a further petition was presented by Lord Amherst, stating, That he had lately received from Canada, a particular account and description of the estates belonging to the Jesuits in that province, certified by the clerk of enrolments to be conformable to the registers of the intendant's office, and those of the superior council of Quebec, etc. etc.; which petition, and papers annexed thereto, were referred to His Majesty's law officers, to consider the same, with such further accounts and proofs as should be laid before them, and to prepare the draft of an instrument for making a grant to the petitioner, agreeable to His Majesty's former order.

A further petition was presented by Lord Amherst, praying, That His Majesty would renew his former order to the attorney and solicitor-general, for preparing the draft of grant, and would empower them to receive and admit such further evidence as should be laid before them, fore ascertaining the description, boundaries, and tenure of the said lands; and was referred to the law officers accordingly.

On the 6th July 1786, His Majesty's then attorney and solicitor-general made their repart to His Majesty, in return to the preceding order, and to the former orders of the same tenor; by which it appears, that Lord Amherst hat forbone to lay before them some document or documents, in his possession, for the better ascertaining the nature, etc. of the lands, by reason of the troubles which, in 1779, and for some years afterwards, subsisted in North America; and submitting, that the additional evidence produced, was still insufficient to ascertain various particulars necessary to be known; viz:

The present titles, by which the lands were possessed:` The persons by whom possessed:

Their present value, and the nature of the tenure by which they were holden:

The exact local situation; their extend and population; and whether any and what claims are made by the heirs of the donors of such part of the lands as were given to the religious order by private persons.

And the report concludes by submitting, that the said several particulars, and all other material circumstances attending the lands in question, may be best ascertained by an inquiry instituted in the province by commissioners to be appointed by His Majesty's governor, or by such proceedings in the nature of an inquisition, as he should find most consonant to the laws and usages of the province, to institute for that purpose; and that until these particulars should be fully ascertained, they were still