1. Whoever hopes that any system of Expro-
priation will be devised easy of execution and
perfectly without hardship, is doomed to disap-
pointment. Expropriation for public uses is by
its nature arbitrary, a sacrifice of the individual
for the general benefit. All then that any Expro-
priation Law can do, is to determine and restrain
within rhe narrowest limits, the cases in which
Expropriation may be resorted to, and to insure
to the person Expropriated an ample indemnity
for all he loses. When the State Expropriates,
it is very difficult, nay it is almost impossible, to
define precisely the cases in which Expropriation
may take place ; but this difficulty ceases when
the State cedes the right to a Corporation with
finite objects — as for instance, when the right to
Expropriate is delegated to a Municipal Corpora-
tion like that of the City of Montreal. Then it is
easy to enumerate the cases in which Expropri-
ation may be exercised, and this is the first point
which should ;bc» maiie*c?ear ia ccmsplidating the
legislation Ayi('l| iegsird.to -E^piiQpriitiiQtiS.for City
purposes.^-o .% r:,"':* ••• « :: ;••••••'**'
2. Mudi/timei Ji«^ J>een Vi?t!^d in 'confiidering
the question of Expropriation for municipal pur*
60764
poses as conferring advantages which are either
local or general, or both local and general. In so
far as regards expropriations, for the opening or
widening of streets, there are really none which
do not possess both characters, — that is, they
confer advantages which are both local, or more
properly speaking special and general. This
being established, two systems of contribution
suggest themselves, — first, that the Corporation,
which expropriates, shall pay the cost of expro-
priation ; second, that those who make a special
and appreciative gain, should contribute, with the
Corporation, towards the payment of the cost of
the expropriation. Much may undoubtedly be
said for and against both of these systems.
3. It is manifest that the present system, which
in practice, charges the whole cost of an expro-
priation on the proprietors in the immediate
neighbourhood of the improvement, making no
allowance for the general advantage gained, is
unjust — as unjust in principle as it would be to
take the property required for expropriation with-
out giving any indemnity at all. On the other
hand th^f^^^ife;0t)j.^ti6fi^;..*fh<Ju^;t'rf; sf^fiomewhat
different •eK&rafefoi*,* ko thrcT\^i«^- ^t3ie . whole in-
demnity^ ' oh-. yiUi dlocikiprs • ^f - tbp .Corporation
To som^eirtent«it'5li. hardly ikiFwAirov-^'the pro-
prietors, obviously and specially advantaged, thus
to enrich themselves out of all measure ; but in
in addition to this, if such a bait were held out to
speculators, it would be extremely difficult, with-
out very cumbrous machinery indeed, to prevent
jobbing of the most serious kind.
4. Under these circumstances, your Committee
recommend that the present system should be'
modified, so as to make the Corporation respon-
sible as a contributory in every expropriation of
the kind in question, — the sum for which it
contributes being established precisely in the
same way as the special contribution of each of
the individual contributors, provided that the
share of the City shall in no case exceed one half
of the indemnity.
5. Your Committee, having arrived at this con-
clusion, next turned their attention to the mode
of establishing, (i,) the indemnity to be paid to
the expropriated, (2,) the distribution among the
contributors. And here again they have thought
it wise to change the present law as little as
possible. They, therefore, recommend that for
each petition Commissioners should be named by
the Superior Court, sitting as a full Bench as in
Review. And the Court should have power,
sitting as a full Bench as aforesaid, to displace
any or all of them for misconduct in office, and
to name others to fill their place.
6. The said Commissioners to be paid $■
each per diem, and all necessary expenses in and
about any expropriation, and to be authorized to
tax witnesses' bills, &c. '
7. No person to be appointed such Commis-
sioner who is not possessed, as proprietor, of
property, situate in the City of Montreal, of the
value of $16,000 over and above all debts.
8. The initiation of all expropriations should be
with the City Council, and in the event of any
such being determined on, a plan of the ground
and of the proposed alteration should be made,
and the Council should then order its reference
to the Commissioners, whose duty it would be to
prepare a scheme of taxation, showing the cost
of the improvement and the distribution of the
special tax on the Corporation and on the pro-
prietors specially advantaged. This scheme
should be then advertised in some sufficient
manner, in order that the persons taxed may
oppose the alteration or the details of the
taxation, which the said Commissioners should
have power to amend, and then the report of the
Commissioners should be sent in to the Court
for homologation, and should, by the Court, be
homologated, unless the proprietors, paying more
than one-half of the amount assessed, should
5
object, in which case the expropriation should
be abandoned.
9. The expenses of the Commissioners should
be defrayed by the Corporation in all cases ; save
that each party should be held to pay the costs
of the witnesses called by him.
I o. As to the property expropriated, the Commis-
sioners should have the power to declare when
the expropriation amounts to a total or only to a
partial expropriation ; but the Corporation should
in no case be allowed to take more land than is
absolutely required for the improvement without
the consent of the proprietor.
II. There should also be provisions of law for
the cases of substitution and for properties hypothe-
cated. In any caje of substituted property the
owner should have the power of obliging the Cor-
poration to take it off his hands at a valuation in
the same way as he might do if a useless remnant
of his land was left ; and in such case the Cor-
poration should only be compelled to pay him an
annual indemnity for the property substituted
equal to the net revenue of his property, and to
the heirs of entail (appeUs)^ after the decease
of the proprietor, the capital sum at which
the property was estimated. But the heirs of
entail (appeUs) should have the right of assum-
ing the position of the Corporation, in so far
6
as regards the retention of the property not
required for the contemplated improvement.
In cases of hypothec the owner should have the
power of creating a privileged hypothec for the
amount he had to pay for his share of the con-
tribution bearing interest at not more than 7
per cent, yearly.
12. The law should likewise provide some
general rules of valuation for the guidance of the
Commissioners, and which past experience will
doubtless readily dictate.
13. The City Treasurer should be declared to be
an officer of the Superior Court for the purposes
of receiving the amount of contribution of each
contributor, and of paying to each person to be
indemnified the amount of his indemnity, less
his contribution, if any he has to pay. And the
Court should be empowered to proceed against
the said City Treasurer by contramte par corps
for failing or refusing to pay any sum of money
ordered to be distributed under this Act, and
which he shall have received, as in similar cases
such Court would have against the Prothonotary
for refusing to perform any duty or office imposed
by law.
14. The law should further provide for the dis-
tribution of any money to be paid to any pro-
proprietor expropriated, subject tp oppositign in ,
like manner as in the distribution of other monies
out of Court.
15. The law should also provide that the whole
sum payable towards any expropriation by the
Corporation should be levied, at the next period
of general assessment, by a special tax, so that
the indebtedness of the City shall not be per-
manently increased for the purposes of improve-
ments of the description for which expropriations
usually take place.
Citizens* Association, 12 January, 1869.
(Signed,)
H. STEPHENS, President.
T. K. RAMSAY, Hon. Secy.
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