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English Translation..

Address of Roman Catholic citizens to the King French Text.

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English Translation..

Letter from the Committee of Council on Commerce and Police to the Merchants of Montreal

621

622

6-7 EDWARD VII.

SESSIONAL PAPER No. 18

A. 1907

INTRODUCTION.

Already the accumulation of materials relating to Canadian history secured by the Canadian Archives is very voluminous, and of such range and value that it will henceforth be impossible to make any considerable contribution to Canadian history without drawing upon these resources.

Now that these collections are adequately housed in a separate building, it is possible for all who wish to consult them to do so with facility and comfort. However, in a country of such vast extent as Canada, it requires both time and means for more than a very limited number to avail themselves of these valuable accumulations at first hand. Hitherto, also, the pressing demands of the more immediate needs of life leave, for most, little leisure for the cultivation of those studies connected with the origin and significance of our national institutions, the right comprehension of which may have an important bearing on the future stability of national life.

In order that the character of the records accumulated by the Archives department may be made known to the public, and that the advantages to be derived from an acquaintance with these materials may be equally shared by teachers, students and citizens of Canada generally, in all parts of the country, it has been considered advisable to select and publish in a connected form, a number of the more important and representative documents relating to specific features of Canadian national development. The present volume is the first of a short series which will embody the leading documents relating to Canadian constitutional history. The collection is intended to furnish, in the shape of authentic copies of original documents, a survey of the gradual development of the Canadian system of government and of the various forces which, in co-operation or conflict, had much to do with determining the lines along which our destiny as a nation was to be unfolded. It has been sought to make the series of documents sufficiently full and representative of all the constituent elements and interests of the country, to furnish a basis for an intelligent and independent judgment on the part of those making a careful study of them; while the notes and references will enable the reader to follow the natural connections of the documents with each other and with a still wider range of first hand materials, most of which will also be found in the collections of the Canadian Archives.

This first volume contains only documents relating to the central portion of Canada known at the time as the Province of Quebec, between the period of the Cession and the passing of the Constitutional Act in 1791. In order to present a natural historical development of the constitution, the documents are arranged as nearly as possible in chronological order. They consist of both primary and secondary materials. The primary documents are preceded and followed by a number of closely related papers, such as petitions, reports, letters and proceedings indicative of the forces which prepared the way for the more formal expressions of the general policy or system of government. These in turn are followed by other secondary documents showing the practical consequences of the adoption of this or that policy or system of government.

6-7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 The documents and papers may be classified as follows, the first two sections covering the central or pivotal documents.

I. Terms of Capitulation and Treaties, determining the limits of the colony and the conditions under which it was ceded or held.

II. Royal Proclamations, or British Statutes determining the basis and character of the government to be established and maintained in the colony.

III. Commissions and Instructions issued to the various Governors, giving in further detail the system of government and administration to be established in the colony, and the general policy to be followed.

IV. Such ordinances or laws passed by the local legislative body as prescribe, under the authority of Royal Proclamations or British Statutes and Instructio s to the Governors, the courts of law and the general system of justice to be administered in the colony.

V. Special reports, of a more or less official nature, from various Boards, or servants of the Crown in Britain or Canada, setting forth the actual conditions of the country, from a constitutional point of view, and proposing lines of policy or necessary changes in the constitution of the country.

VI. A body of miscellaneous papers, furnishing the connecting links and general constitutional atmosphere of the central documents of the foregoing classes. These consist of

(a) Petitions and counter-petitions expressing the wishes and aspirations of the inhabitants of the country, or of those in Britain having special interests in Canada, as to the form of government, the system of laws, and the general administration of justice.

(b) Minor reports from the Governors and other officials in the colony, Memorials and Proceedings setting forth the political condition of the country, Minutes of Council and Reports of Committees of Council relating to the system of government or administration.

(c) Correspondence, official, semi-official, or private, between the Canadian Governors and the British Secretaries of State, and between these and others occupying official or at least influential positions in Canada or Britain, discussing, shaping, or advising as to the policy of government, or the condition and wishes of the people.

In considering the documents presented under these various classes, the question of most interest to those wishing to make use of the volume will relate to the principle or principles upon which the documents here give 1 were selected from the general mass of materials bearing upon the constitutional development of Canada during the period covered. In answering this question we may take up the sections in order.

The documents which fall within the first three classes leave very little room for choice, as they are limited in number and definite in character. The first section in cludes the Capitulations of Quebec and Montreal, and the two Treaties of Paris of 1763 and 1783. Section II includes the Proclamation of 1763, the Quebec Act and the Constitutional Act. Section III includes the Commissions and Instructions to Governors, In order to economize space, since the Commissions cover, though only in a partial degree, much the same ground as the Instructions, samples only are given to indicate their nature. Special features, such as Dorchester's Commission in 1786 to be Governor

&c.

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