SESSIONAL PAPER No. 18 as work at the cheapest Rate, without much Enquiry, whether the same is well or ill done; The inclosed List of Grants,' Prior to the Conquest of the Country, has been greatly retarded, from the Persons employed therein, not being thoroughly versed in the Languages, at the same Time, it must be fairly acknowledged, the Ancient Records of the Country, are by no Means so clear and accurate as one could wish, However it will in General tolerably well exhibit, on what Terms, the Seigniorial Grants are held, for as to the Terres en Roture held immediately of the King, in the Towns of Quebec or Trois Rivieres, or else where, the same is not yet Compleated, but is in Hand, and shall be transmitted, without Loss of Time, as soon as finished. Some of the Privileges contained in those Grants appear at first to Convey dangerous Powers into the Hands of the Seigneurs, that upon a more minute Enquiry, are found to be really little else than Ideal; the Haute Moyenne et basse Justice, are Terms of high Import but even under the French Government were so corrected, as to prove of little Signification to the Proprietors, for besides that they could Appoint no Judge without the Approbation of Government, there lay an Appeal from all the Private to the Royal Jurisdictions in every Matter exceeding half a Crown; it could not therefore be productive of Abuse, and as the Keeping of their own Judges became much too Burthensome for the Scanty Incomes of the Canadian Seigneurs, it was grown into so general a Disuse, there were hardly three of them in the whole Province at the Time of the Conquest. All the Lands here are held of His Majesty's Castle of St. Lewis, and nothing I am persuaded, would be so agreable to the People, or tend more to securing the Allegiance of the new Subjects to His Majesty, as well as ensuring the Payment of those Fines and Dues, which here stand in the Lieu of Quit Rents, than a formal Requisition of all those immediately holding of the King, to pay Faith and Homage to him at his Castle of St. Lewis; The Oath, which the Vassals take upon the Occasion, is very Solemn and Binding, they are obliged to furnish what they here Term their Aveu et Denombrement, which is an exact Account of their Tenants and Revenues, and to discharge whatever they owe their Sovereign, and to appear in Arms for his Defence, in Case His Province is ever attacked; And at the same Time that it would prove a Confirmation to the People of their Estates and Immunities, after which they most ardently sigh, it might be a Means to recall out of the French Service, such as have yet Possessions in this Country, or at least oblige them to dispose of their Effects here, and although it may not be possible, at least for a Time, entirely to prevent that Intercourse, every Measure, that can tend towards putting an End to it, must be Useful. The Canadian Tenures differ, it is true, from those in the other Parts of His Majesty's American Dominions, but if confirmed, and I cannot see how it well can be avoided, without entirely oversetting the Properties of the People, will ever secure a proper Subordination from this Province to Great Britain; if it's detached Situation be Constantly Rembered, and that on the Canadian Stock we can only depend for an Increase of Population therein, the Policy of Continuing to them their Customs and Usages will be sufficiently Evinced. For the foregoing Reasons it has occurred to His Majesty's Servants here, that it might prove of Advantage, if, whatever Lands remain Vacant in the Interior Parts of the Province, bordering upon those, where the old Customs prevail, were henceforth granted on the like Conditions, taking care that those at Gaspey and Chaleur Bay, where the King's old Subjects ought chiefly to be encouraged to settle, were granted on such Conditions only, as are required by His Royal Instructions; And, upon this Consideration, have some Grants, in the interior Parts, been deferred Carrying into Execution, untill I could receive the sense of Government thereupon. Your Lordship may have perceived by some of my former Letters, that long before His Majesty's Order in Council of the 28th August2 came to my Hands, the Matter therein Recommended had been the Object of my most serious Consideration; the Receipt of that Order has induced me to alter some Part of the Plan I at first Proposed 6-7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 to myself, and have accordingly directed the Abridgment mentioned to Your Lordship in my Letter of 24th December (No. 23)1 and undertaken by some of the ablest Men in the Province to be further extended, and rendered more full and Copious, and to Comprise all the Laws in Force at the Conquest; in the mean Time, to give Your Lordship, and His Majesty's other Servants, some Idea of the Nature of them, I herewith transmit to Your Lordship a short Sketch, exhibiting only the Heads of those Laws; the several Matters Recommended by that Order to the King's Servants here, shall be pre'pared with all the Dispatch, that the Importance, as well as Extent of the Subject, can possibly admit of. I am with much Respect and Esteem Your Lordship's Most Obedient Humble Servant The Earl of Shelburne One of His Majesty's GUY CARLETON INSTRUCTIONS TO GOVERNOR CARLETON 17683 INSTRUCTIONS to Our Trusty and Well beloved Guy Carleton Esquire, Our Captain General and Governor in Chief in and over Our Province of Quebec in America and of all Our Territories Dependent thereupon Given First With these Instructions You will receive Our Commission under Our Great Seal of Great Britain, constituting You Our Captain General and Governor in Chief in and Over Our Province of Quebec in America, bounded on the Labrador Coast by the River St John, and from thence by a Line drawn from the Head of that River through the lake St John to the South End of the Lake Nipisson; from whence the said Line crossing the River St Lawrence and the Lake Champlain in forty-five Degrees of North Latitude, passes along the Highlands which divide the Rivers that Empty themselves into the said River St Lawrence from those which fall into the Sea, and also along the North Coast of the Bay des Chaleurs and the Coast of the Gulph of St Lawrence to Cape Rosieres and from thence crossing the Mouth of the River St Lawrence by the West End of the Island of Anticosti, terminates at the aforesaid River St John- You are therefore to take upon you the Execution of the Office and Trust We have reposed in You, and the Administration of Government, and to do and Execute all things in due manner that shall belong to Your Command according to the several powers and Authorities of Our said Commission under Our Great Seal of Great Britain and these Our Instructions to You, or according to such further powers and Instruction as shall at any time hereafter be Granted or appointed You under Our Signet and Sign Manual or by Our Orders in Our privy Council, and you are to call 1 See p. 201. 2 The summary of French laws, here mentioned, follows this despatch under the title, "Coutumes et usages anciens De La Province de Quebec.' and will be found in Q5-2 pp. 482-559. The more complete compilation of the French law and constitution, represented as in force in Canada before the Conquest, was prepared, chiefly under the supervision of F. J. Cugnet, and sent to Britain in Sept. 1769. In 1772 several compilations of the French Canadian laws &c. were published; the most important being :— "An Abstract of those parts of the Custom of the Viscounty and Provostship of Paris which were Received and Practised in the Province of Quebec in the time of the French Government. Drawn up by a select Committee of Canadian Gentlemen well skilled in the laws of France and of that Province by the desire of the Hon. Guy Carleton Esq. Governor in Chief of the said Province, London 1772." "An Abstract of the Several Royal Edicts & Declarations and Provincial regulations and ordinances, that were in force in the Province of Quebec in the time of the French Government; and of the Commissions of the several Governors General and Intendants of the same Province during the same period. By Francis Joseph Cugnet Esq. Secretary to the Governor and Council of the said Province for the French Language. By direction of Guy Carleton 1772." 3 Canadian Archives, M. 230. p. 61. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 18 together at Quebec, which We do appoint to be the place of Your residence, and the principal Seat of Government the following persons whom We do hereby appoint to be Our Council for Our said Province of Quebec, viz. William Hey, Our Chief Justice of Our said Province, Hector Theophilus Cramahé, James Goldfrap, Hugh Finlay, Thomas Mills, Thomas Dunn, Walter Murray, Samuel Holland, Francis Mounier, Benjamin Price, and Colin Drumond Esquires-It is nevertheless Our Will and Pleasure, that Our Chief Justice or Chief Justice for the time being shall not be capable of taking upon him the Administration of the Government upon your Death or Absence, or the Death or Absence of the Commander in Chief for our said province for the time being 2. And You are with all due and usual Solemnity to cause Our said Commission to be read and published at the said meeting of Our Council which being done, You shall then take and also administer to each of the members of Our said Council, the Oaths mentioned in an Act passed in the first year of the Reign of His Majesty King George the first, intitled "An Act for the further Security of His Majestys person "and Government, and the Succession of the Crown, in the Heirs of the late Princess "Sophia being Protestants, and for extinguishing the hopes of the pretended Prince "of Wales and his Open and secret abettors," And in an Act passed in the sixth Year of Our Reign, intitled, "An Act for altering the Oath of Abjuration and the Assurance, and for amending so much of An Act of the seventh year of Her late Majesty "Queen Anne, Intituled, An Act for the Improvement of the Union of the two Kingdoms, as, after the time therein Limitted requires the Delivery of certain Lists and "Copies therein mentioned to persons Indicted of High Treason or Misprison of "Treason;" as also make and Subscribe, and cause them to make and Subscribe, the Declaration mentioned in an Act of Parliament made in the 25th year of the Reign of King Charles the second intituled "An Act for preventing Dangers which may "happen from Popish Recusants"--And You and every one of them are likewise to take an Oath for the due Execution of Your and their places and Trusts, with regard to Your and their equal and impartial Administration of Justice; And You are also to take the Oath required by An Act passed in the seventh and eighth Years of the Reign of King William the third to be taken by Governors of Plantations to do their Utmost that the Laws relating to the plantations be observed. 3. And that We may be always Informed of the Names and Characters of persons fit to Supply the Vacancies which shall happen in Our said Council, You are to transmit to Us by One of Our principal Secretaries of State the Names and Characters of three persons Inhabitants of Our said province who You shall esteem the best Qualified for that Trust and You are also to Transmit a Duplicate of the said Account to Our Commissioners for Trade and plantations for their Information. 4. And if it shall at any time happen, that by the Death, Departure out of Our said province, suspension of any of Our said Councellors, or otherwise, there shall be a Vacancy in Our said Council, Our Will and Pleasure is that You signify the same to Us, by One of Our principal Secretaries of State, by the first Opportunity, that We may under Our Sign Manual, constitute and appoint others in their Stead; to which end You are whenever such Vacancy happens, to transmit unto Us by One of Our principal Secretaries of State, the Names of three or more persons, Inhabitants of Our said province whom you shall esteem best Qualified, for such Trust, and you are also to Transmit duplicates of such Accounts to Our Commissioners for Trade and plantations for their Information. 5. But that Our Affairs may not Suffer for want of a due number of Councillors; if ever it shall happen that there be less than Seven residing in Our said province, We do hereby give and grant unto You the said Guy Carleton full power and Authority to chuse as many persons out of the principal Inhabitants of our said province, as will make up the full number of the Council to be seven and no more, which persons so chosen and appointed by You, shall be to all Intents and purposes, Councillors in Our said Province 'till either they shall be confirmed by Us, or, by the Nomination of others by Us under Our sign Manual and Signet, Our said Council shall have seven, or more persons in it. 18-3-14 6-7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 6. And it is Our Will and Pleasure, that You do, and You are hereby Authorized and Impowered to Suspend and amove any of the Members of Our said Council, from Sitting, Voting, and Assisting therein, if You shall find just Cause for so doing, and to appoint others in their Stead until Our pleasure shall be known, It is nevertheless Our Will and Pleasure, that You do not Suspend or Remove any of the Members of Our Council when they shall have been Confirmed by Us as aforesaid, without good and sufficient cause, nor without the Consent of the Majority of the said Council, signified in Council, after due Examination of the Charge against such Councillor, and his Answer thereunto; and in Case of suspension of any of them, You are to cause Your Reasons for so doing, together with the Charges and proofs against such person, and his Answer thereto be duly entered upon the Council-Books, And forthwith to transmit Copies thereof to Us, by one of Our principal Secretaries of State, and also Duplicates to Our Commissions for Trade and Plantations for their Information nevertheless if it should happen that You should have Reasons for Suspending any of the said Persons, not fit to be communicated to the Council, You may in that Case suspend such person without the Consent of Our said Council; but You are thereupon immediately to send to Us by One of Our principal Secretaries of State An Account of Your proceedings therein, together with Your Reasons at large for such suspension as also your Reasons at large for not communicating the same to the Council and Duplicates thereof by the first opportunity and you are also to transmit a Duplicate of such Account to Our Commissioners for Trade and plantations for their Information. 7. Whereas We are Sensible that Effectual Care ought to be taken to oblige the Members of Our Council to a due attendance therein, in order to prevent the many Inconveniences that may happen for the want of a Quorum of the Council to transact business as occasion may require; It is Our Will and Pleasure that if any of the Members of Our said Council shall hereafter absent themselves from the said Province and Continue absent above the Space of Six Months together, without leave from you, or from Our Commander in Chief of Our said Province for the time being first obtained, under your or his Hand and Seal, or shall remain absent for the Space of One Year without Our Leave given them under Our Royal Signet and Sign Manual their place or places in the said Council shall immediately thereupon become Void : and that if any of the members of Our said Council, then residing in the province under Your government shall hereafter wilfully absent themselves when duly summoned, without a just and lawful Cause and shall persist therein after admonition, you suspend the said Councillors so absenting themselves 'till Our further pleasure be known giving Us timely Notice thereof; And We do hereby Will and Require You that this Our Royal Pleasure be Signified to the several Members of Our Council aforesaid, and entered in the Council-Books of the province under Your Government as a Standing rule 8. You are forthwith to communicate such and so many of these Our Instructions to Our said Council, wherein their Advice and Consent are mentioned to be requisite, as likewise all such others, from time to time, as You shall find Convenient for Our Service to be Imparted to them— 9. You are to permit the Members of Our said Council to have and Enjoy freedom of Debate and Vote in all Affairs of publick concern that may be debated in Council 10. And Whereas it is directed by Our Commission to You under Our Great Seal, that as soon as the Situation and Circumstances of Our said Province will admit thereof You shall with the Advice of Our Council, Summon and call a general Assembly of the Freeholders of Our said province, You are therefore as soon as the more pressing Affairs of Government will allow, to give all possible attention to the carrying this Important Object into Execution, but as it may be Impracticable for the present to form such an Establishment You are in the mean time to make such Rules and Regulations by the Advice of our said Council as shall appear to be necessary for the peace Order and good government of our said province; taking Care that nothing be done or passed that shall any way tend to affect the Life Limb or Liberty of the SESSIONAL PAPER No. 18 Subject, or to the Imposing any Duties or Taxes; and that all such rules and Regulations be transmitted to Us by the first Opportunity after they are passed and made for our Approbation or Disallowance. And it is Our Will and Pleasure that when An Assembly shall have been Summoned and met in such manner as you in Your discretion shall think most proper, or as shall be hereafter directed and appointed, the following Regulations be carefully observed in the framing and passing all such Laws Statutes and Ordinances, as are to be passed by You with the Advice and Consent of Our said Council and Assembly Viz'. That the Stile of Enacting the said Laws, Statutes and Ordinances be by the Governor, Council and Assembly and no otherThat each different matter be provided for by a different Law without including in one and the same Act, such things as have no proper relation to each other ;—That no Clause be inserted in any Act or Ordinance which shall be foreign to what the title of it Imports and that no perpetual Clause be part of any temporary Law; That no Law or Ordinance whatever be suspended, altered Continued, revived or repealed by general Words; but that the title and Date of such Law or Ordinance be particularly mentioned in the Enacting part ;-That no Law or Ordinance respecting private property be passed without a Clause suspending it's Execution, until Our Royal Will and pleasure is known, nor without a Saving of the Right of Us, Our Heirs and Successors, and of all Bodies Politick and Corporate, and of all other persons except such as are mentioned in the said Law or Ordinance, and those claiming by, from, or under them, and before such Law or Ordinance is passed, proof must be made before You in Council and Entered in the Council-Books, that publick Notification was made of the partys Intention to apply for such Act in the several parish Churches, where the Lands in Question lye for three Sundays at least successively before any such Law or Ordinance shall be proposed; and you are to transmit and Annex to the said Law or Ordinance a Certificate under your Hand that the same passed through all the Forms above mentioned; That in all Laws or Ordinances for the Levying Money, or Imposing Fines, forfeitures or penalties, express mention be made, that the same is granted or reserved to Us Our Heirs and Successors for the publick Uses of the said province, and the Support of the Government thereof, as by the said Law or Ordinance shall be directed; and that a clause be Inserted, declaring that the Money arising by the Operation of the said Law or Ordinance shall be accounted for unto Us in this Kingdom, and to Our Commissioners of the Treasury or Our High Treasurer for the Time being and audited by Our Auditor General of our Plantations or his Deputy-That all such Laws, Statutes and Ordinances be transmitted by You within three Months after their passing or sooner if opportunity offers, to Us, by One of Our principal Secretaries of State and Duplicates thereof to Our Commissioners for Trade and plantations for their Information-That they be fairly abstracted in the Margents and accompanied with very full and particular observations upon each of them (that is to say) whether the same is Introductive of a new Law, Declaratory of a former Law, or does repeal a Law then in being And you are also to transmit in the fullest manner the Reasons and Occasion for Enacting such Laws or Ordinances together with fair Copies of the Journals of the proceedings of the Council and Assembly which You are to require from the Clerks of the said Council and Assembly 11. And to the End that nothing may be passed or done to the prejudice of the true Interests of this Our Kingdom the Just Rights of Us Our Heirs and Successors or the property of Our Subjects It is Our Express Will and pleasure, That no Law whatsoever which shall in any wise tend to Affect the Commerce or Shipping of this Kingdom, or which shall any ways relate to the Rights and prerogative of Our Crown or the property of Our Subjects or which shall be of an Unusual or Extraordinary Nature be finally ratified or Assented to by You, until You shall have first transmitted unto Us by one of Our principal Secretaries of State, and to Our Commissioners for Trade and plantations for their Information a Draught of such Law, and shall have received Our Directions thereupon Unless You take Care that a Clause be Inserted therein, suspending and Deferring the Execution thereof until Our pleasure is known concerning the same.— |