SESSIONAL PAPER No. 18 shall judge proper to impose; which laws will be in force from the moment of their creation, without any need of His Majesty's approval, provided that they are not touching Religion, and that the punishments inflicted shall be limited to imprisonment for three months, or to a fine. This is a most preposterous power to be granted to a governor &c., who, if he is clever enough to get the laws passed by the privy council, acquires thereby the right of life and death over all those who shall be living in the immense country of Canada; and who, even without this reinforcement, may keep them imprisoned for the space of three months for the smallest faults, or even for life, if the penalty (which has no fixed limit) is imposed in such a way that the delinquent cannot pay it. I consider that this point deserves the greatest attention, or at least enough to preserve the greater number of the inhabitants of the province from being imprisoned for life, for lack of ability to pay the penalties which may be imposed upon them. 5th With regard to the establishment of the legislative power in Canada, I have already had occasion to demonstrate to the honourable chamber how essential it was to entrust it only to the largest landed proprietors in this country; owners only of properties recognized all over the world as solid, any others being liable to ruin from a sudden fire, or a few bankruptcies. It is from them only we can hope for the attention and care necessary to foresee the evil, and to develop all the natural advantages which the country may possess, seeing that they are the most prominent and the most interested in the success of the matter: this cannot reasonably be expected from those who have no interest, or only a very slight one in the public good, and especially if their personal interests are opposed to public ones. Thus, whatever form of legislation is to be established in Canada, it would be well that His Majesty should be implored to employ as members of the legislature, only those taken from the class of the principal and larger proprietors in the matter of land, without paying any attention to the religion which they profess; their differences of opinion in point of dogma will have no influence on this object, it will never be anything but the interest they themselves have there, which will decide them. He should also be entreated to order that no law, ordinance, or regulation of any importance be passed, except at the time fixed for the general session of the legislative corps, and that in every case, the members of the corps should be assembled in large enough numbers to insure that it will be the public good only that will decide them. And lastly, one point which deserves attention, and which ought to be settled, is that, the French language being the general, and indeed almost the only language used in Canada, it is obvious that no stranger, who goes there, having only his own interests at heart, can serve them well, except as he is thoroughly versed in this language, and obliged to make use of it continually in all the special matters which he has in hand; that it is completely impossible taking into account the distance between the establishments and dwellings throughout the country, ever to attempt to introduce the English language generally; for all these reasons, and others not here specified, it is indispensable that the French language should be ordered to be the only one employed in everything which deals with, and shall be settled as a public business whether in the courts of justice or in the assembly of the legislative corps &c., for it would be a cruel thing to attempt to reduce unnecessarily almost all those interested in public affairs to the con dition of never being acquainted henceforth with what shall be discussed or decided throughout the country. CHARTIER DE LOTBINIERE both in his own name as 6-7 EDWARD VIL, A. 1907 QUERIES RE GOVERNMENT OF QUEBEC.1 QUERIES relative to the Government of Quebec for Consideration in case the f passes in its present shape. Limits The Line between Quebec and New York has not been continued further to the South West than Windmill Point, on Lake Champlain in Latitude 45. Q. How is it to be settled with regard to these two Provinces between that staten Point and the Boundary Line of Pensylvania? General Government & Courts of Justice. Q. What is to be the number of the Council? In what Proportion are the Canadians to be admitted into that and other Offices, and under what Test? Q. What Courts of Criminal and Civil Justice are to be established either gete rally for the Province at large, or separately for its subordinate Dependencies Whether by Ordinance of the Legislative Council, by Commissions from the King, c by Commissions from the Governor ? Who are to be the Puisne Judges in such Courts ? Are any, or if any, what num ber of Canadians to be appointed Judges? and under what Qualifications. Of what other Offices is the Civil Establishment for the Province of Quebec and for its Dependencies to consist, and how are they to be appointed and paid? Is the office of Provost Marshal to be revived, or are Sheriffs to be substituted in the place of it? If the latter is to take place, what compensation is to be made to the present Provost Marshal, or to any other Patent Officer, whose Office shall happen to be dis continued? In what manner is a Revenue to be established, and how appropriated & applied Religion What Provision is to be made for the Protestant Churches in Canada? What number of Ministers are to be appointed, and with what Stipend? Where are they to reside, and are any of the Churches already established to appropriated to the Use of the Protestants, or others to be erected? If the latter what Fund will there be to defray such Expences? Are all the Religious Orders and Communities of the Church of Rome, at preser existing in Quebec, to be abolished? or which, if any of them, are to be continued, under what Restrictions or Regulations. ď br 1 Canadian Archives, M 385, p. 332. These "Queries were evidently framed before the Bill ha assumed its final form. The section with reference to “ Limits" was provided for by the preamble adopty in the Commons. The number of Councillors was fixed at not less than 17 nor more than 23. The numb of Canadians to be admitted to the Council was not dealt with, but the oath to be taken by the Roma Catholic members was prescribed. The question of the revenue was dealt with in the Quebec Revenu Act which follows the Quebec Act; see p. 406. Most of the other matters under the head of "Religion. Government, and Courts of Justice," are left for future consideration, some of them being covered in the Instructions to the Governor. John Pownall, one of the Under Secretaries of State for the Colonies, ina note to Lord Dartmouth of July 17th, 1774, has the following paragraph, "Gen' Carleton is gone; recommends himself to your Lordships protection & requests your attention to the few memorandus & to the list of Persons recommended for Councillors which I have the honour to enclose M. 385. P 425. In quite another place we come upon a few notes endorsed "Gen' Carleton's Memoranda;" the chief item in which has reference to the subject of religion as indicated in these "Queries." "Gen Carleton wishes that on the head of ecclesiastical arrangements, he may be left as much to himself as possible he has no objection to having every Idea and proposition of Government in regard thereto suggested in his Instruc tions; but he disapproves the supression of any religious Communities except the Jesuits, and begs be may be left at liberty to use his own discretion in this very delicate business. M 384, p. 329. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 18 If any are to be abolished is the Suppression to take effect immediately, or are they to cease when the present members of such Communities are deceased, and what is to become of the Estates & Revenues of such of the religious orders and Communities as are to be discontinued. Are the secular Clergy to have any Episcopal or Vicarial Superintendance over them? If so, by what Authority, & under what Limitations and Restrictions in such Episcopal or vicarial Power to be established ? Is the Patronage of vacant Benefices to be delegated to the Governor, or in what other manner exercised, or by whom enjoyed, and how are the Clergy to be appointed ? Lastly, How are these and the many other essential Reforms and Regulations touching Ecclesiastical matters, and also the necessary arrangements touching Commerce, Revenue, Courts of Justice, and other Civil Establishments to be provided for? If by Ordinances of the Legislative Council, (which seems the most reasonable) ought not the Governor and Chief Justice to be directed immediately to prepare, with proper assistance, Drafts of such Bills as will be requisite for those Objects under the following general Heads. Vizt. 1. A Bill for establishing Courts of Justice, & regulating their Proceedings. 2. A Bill for the better regulation of the Ecclesiastical Affairs of Quebec. 3. A Bill for regulating the Trade with the Indians, and preventing unlawful Settlements in the Interior Country. 4. A Bill for regulating the Fisheries on the Coast of Labrador. 5. A Bill for the more effectual Administration of Justice and Government in the several subordinate Distrits in the interior Country. THE QUEBEC ACT.1 ANNO DECIMO QUARTO GEORGII III. REGIS. CAP. LXXXIII. An Act for making more effectual Provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec in North America. Preamble. Whereas His Majesty, by His Royal Proclamation, bearing Date the Seventh Day of October, in the Third Year of His Reign, thought fit to declare the Provisions which had been made in respect to certain Countries, Territories, and Islands in America, ceded to His Majesty by the definitive Treaty of Peace, concluded at Paris on the Tenth Day of February, One thousand seven hundred and sixty-three: And whereas, by the Arrangements made by the said Royal Proclamation, a very large Extent of Country, within which there were several Colonies and Settlements of the Subjects of France, who claimed to remain therein under the Faith of the said Treaty, was left, without any Provision being made for the Administration of Civil Government therein; and certain Parts of the Territory of Canada, where sedentary Fisheries had been established and carried on by the Subjects of France, Inhabitants of the said Province of Canada, under Grants and Concessions from the Government thereof, were annexed to the Government of Newfoundland, and thereby subjected to Regulations inconsistent with the Nature of such Fisheries May it therefore please Your most Excellent Majesty that it may be enacted; and be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by The text of the Act is taken from the original folio black letter form in which it was first issued by the King's Printers. "London: Printed by Charles Eyre and William Strachan, Printers to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. MDCCLXXIV." 18-3-26 6-7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That all the Territories, Islands, and Countries in North The Territor- America, belonging to the Crown of Great Britain, bounded on the South ies, Islands. by a Line from the Bay of Chaleurs, along the High Lands which divide and Countries, in North the Rivers that empty themselves into the River Saint Lawrence from those which fall into the Sea, to a Point in Forty-five Degrees of Northern Latitude, on the Eastern Bank of the River Connecticut, keeping the same America, be longing to Great Britain. Latitude directly West, through the Lake Champlain, until, in the same Latitude, it meets the River Saint Lawrence; from thence up the Eastern Bank of the said River to the Lake Ontario; thence through the Lake Ontario, and the River commonly called Niagara; and thence along by the Eastern and South-eastern Bank of Lake Erie, following the said Bank, until the same shall be intersected by the Northern Boundary, granted by the Charter of the Province of Pensylvania, in case the same shall be so intersected; and from thence along the said Northern and Western Boundaries of the said Province, until the said Western Boundary strike the Oho: But in case the said Bank of the said Lake shall not be found to be so intersected, then following the said Bank until it shall arrive at that Point of the said Bank which shall be nearest to the Northwestern Angle of the said Province of Pensylvania, and thence, by a right Line, to the said North-western Angle of the said Province; and thence along the Western Boundary of the said Province, until it strike the River Ohio; and along the Bank of the said River, Westward, to the Banks of the Mississippi, and Northward to the Southern Boundary of the Territory granted to the Merchants Adventurers of England, trading to Hudson's Bay; and also all such Territories, Islands, and Countries, which have, since the Tenth of February, One thousand seven hundred and sixty-three, been made Part of the Government of Newfoundland, be, and annexed to the they are hereby, during His Majesty's Pleasure, annexed to, and made Part and Parcel of, the Province of Quebec, as created and established by the said Royal Proclamation of the Seventh of October, One thousand seven hundred and sixty-three. Province of Quebec. Not to affect Provided always, That nothing herein contained, relative to the Bounthe Boundar dary of the Province of Quebec, shall in anywise affect the Boundaries of ies of any other Colony any other Colony. nor to make void other Provided always, and be it enacted, That nothing in this Act contained shall extend or be construed to extend, to make void, or to vary or alter any Right, Title, or Possession, derived under any Grant, Conveyance, merly granted or otherwise howsoever, of or to any Lands within the said Province, or the Provinces thereto adjoining; but that the same shall remain and be in Force, and have Effect, as if this Act had never been made. Rights for Former Pro for the Pro And whereas the Provisions, made by the said Proclamation, in respect visions made to the Civil Government of the said Province of Quebec and the Powers and vince to be null Authorities given to the Governor and other Civil Officers of the said Proand void after vince, by the Grants and Commissions issued in consequence thereof, have May 1, 1775. been found, upon Experience, to be inapplicable to the State and Circumstances of the said Province, the Inhabitants whereof amounted, at the Conquest, to above Sixty-five thousand Persons professing the Religion of the Church of Rome, and enjoying an established Form of Constitution and System of Laws, by which their Persons and Property had been protected, governed, and ordered, for a long Series of Years, from the First Establishment of the said Province of Canada; be it therefore further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Proclamation, so far as the same relates to the said Province of Quebec, and the Commission under the Authority whereof the Government of the said Province is at present SESSIONAL PAPER No. 18 Supremacy, as administered, and all and every the Ordinance and Ordinances made by the Governor and Council of Quebec for the Time being, relative to the Civil Government and Administration of Justice in the said Province, and all Commissions to Judges and other Officers thereof, be, and the same are hereby revoked, annulled, and made void, from and after the First Day of May, One thousand seven hundred and seventy-five. Inhabitants of And, for the more perfect Security and Ease of the Minds of the InhabiQuebec may tants of the said Province, it is hereby declared, That His Majesty's Subprofess the Romish Reli jects, professing the Religion of the Church of Rome of and in the said gion, subject Province of Quebec, may have, hold, and enjoy, the free Exercise of the to the King's Religion of the Church of Rome, subject to the King's Supremacy, I declared by Act I Eliz.; and established by an Act, made in the First Year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, over all the Dominions and Countries which then did, or thereand the Clergy after should belong, to the Imperial Crown of this Realm; and that the enjoy their accustomed Clergy of the said Church may hold, receive, and enjoy, their accustomed Dues and Rights, with respect to such Persons only as shall profess the said Religion. Dues. Provision may be made by His Majesty for the Support of the Protestant Clergy. No Person professing the Romish Reli gion obliged Provided nevertheless, That it shall be lawful for His Majesty, His Heirs or Successors, to make such Provision out of the rest of the said accustomed Dues and Rights, for the Encouragement of the Protestant Religion, and for the Maintenance and Support of a Protestant Clergy within the said Province, as he or they shall, from Time to Time, think necessary and expedient. Provided always, and be it enacted, That no Person, professing the Religion of the Church of Rome, and residing in the said Province, shall be obliged to take the Oath required by the said Statute passed in the First Year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, or any other Oaths substituted by any other Act in the Place thereof; but that every such Person who, by the but to take, said Statute is required to take the Oath therein mentioned, shall be before the obliged, and is hereby required, to take and subscribe the following Oath Governor, &c., before the Governor, or such other Person in such Court of Record as His to take the Oath of I Eli the following Majesty shall appoint, who are hereby authorised to administer the same; Oath. The Oath. Persons refusing the Oath Eliz. videlicet, I A. B. do sincerely promise and swear, That I will be faithful, and bear true Allegiance to His Majesty King GEORGE, and him will defend to the utmost of my Power, against all traiterous Conspiracies, and Attempts whatsoever, which shall be made against His Person, Crown and Dignity; and I will do my utmost Endeavour to disclose and make known to His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, all Treasons, and traiterous Conspiracies, and Attempts, which I shall know to be against Him, or any of Them; and all this I do swear without any Equivocation, mental Evasion, or secret Reservation, and renouncing all Pardons and Dispensations from any lower or Person whomsoever to the Contrary. SO HELP ME GOD. And every such Person, who shall neglect or refuse to take the said Oath to be subject before mentioned, shall incur and be liable to the same Penalties, Forfeito the Penal tures, Disabilities, and Incapacities, as he would have incurred and been ties by Act I liable to for neglecting or refusing to take the Oath required by the said His Majesty's Statute passed in the First Year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth. Canadian Sub- And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That all His jects (religious Majesty's Canadian Subjects, within the Province of Quebec, the religious Orders except- Orders and Communities only excepted, may also hold and enjoy their all their Pos Property and Possessions, together with all Customs and Usages relative sessions, etc. thereto, and all other their Civil Rights, in as large, ample, and beneficial and in Matters Manner, as if the said Proclamation, Commissions, Ordinances, and other Acts and Instruments, had not been made, and as may consist with their Allegiance to His Majesty, and Subjection to the Crown and Parliament ed) may hold of Contro versy, Resort |