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Les disgremmes suivants illustrent la mAthode. l-y-fy,- a 3 1 r * 9 4 s 6 PETITIOISr AND OTHER DOCUMENTS SHO^A/■ING THE IfTTJXJUmr OF l-HIE] B':z--iL,A.-w OF THE CITY OF MONTREAL, No. 59, AuthoriziJig Subscription tor ^7,000,000 Stock, AND OF THE ACT OF THE QUEBEC LEGISLATURE INTITULED, '■An Act to confirm certain By-laws authorizing subscriptions of Stock in the Montreal Northern Colonization Railway Company^ MONTREAL. Herald Steam Prebs. 1873. ' INTRODUCTION. The questions involved in the contestation of the By-law of the City of Montreal, in favor of the " Montreal Northern Colonization Railroad Company," and of the Act passed in the last session of the Legislature of Quebec for confirming that By-law, are of such magnitude that it is considered advisable to lay a copy of the proceedings, in pam- phlet form, before the public ; and in order to the fuir understanding of the motives which have led to that course, and of the documents which follow, a brief introduction is offered as likely to prove useful. These two pieces of legislation, the By-law and the Act referred to, have been secured by means notoriously objectionable, and are of a highly dangerous character. It is contended that they exceed the power of the bodies from which they have emanated, and are, moreover, violations of Legislative justice and of the rights of property, and unless promptly and vigorously resisted, they will become' the precursors of a system of legislat ./irf , in which the money and influence of wealthy railroad speculators will over-ride all the restraints of prudence and principle. The example which the States of the neighboring Union afford, shows to what formidable proportions this evil may grow, and the recent action of their Legislatures and Courts to arrest it, give us warning to begin where they have found it necessary, for the preserva- tion of the public safety and morality, to end. The history of the By-law and the Act, shows that their entire course, from the beginning to the end, has been attended with influ ences of an unscrupulous and exceptionable character. The By-law is impeached on the following grounds :— 1. Because it is founded upon the illusory representation that the terminus of the Northern Colonization Railroad, in the eastern portion of the city, is to connect with a bridge over the St. Lawrence at Hochelaga, a scheme so extravagant and impracticable that no engineer of character can recommend it, and which it is perfectly well known that the engineer of the Company does not now venture to persist in. 2. Because the By law was carried by the vote of persons unquali- fied under the law to vote at all upon it, and is in fact inoperative and null in law. 3. Because a large proportion of the real estate owners, who were alone qualified to vote, abstained from doing so from the knowledge that the By-law was illegal. 4. Because upon its face it contains provisions some of which go beyond the authority of the city corporation, and others which are deceptive and fallacfous, one of them promising to the citizens cheap supplies of firewood, and another holding out expectations to the inhab- itants of the eastern portion of the city, which the promoters of the By-law know cannot be realized. 5. Because the By-law, as it now stands, instead of being of any benefit to the city, will be productive of great inconvenience and injury to it. . The promoters of the By law, feeling that it could not be sustained on its own merits, and that it must necessarily be set aside by the Courts of Justice, in which suits had been instituted for that purpose, betook themselves to the Provincial Legislature, and there by means of powerful and indirect influences they obtained a law confirming it, this law presenting a disregard of the principles of sound legislation which it would be difficult to equal upon the pages of the statute book of any country. The Act therefore is impeached, — 1. Because it is in excess of legislative power, and unconstitu- tional upon the grounds specified in the Memorial and Argument, Nos. 2 and 5. 2. Because it is unjust and oppressive, and a manifest abuse of legislative power. These grounds of impeachment, as well of the Act as of the By-law, are fully explained in the documents which follow : — , . I St. A summary of protest upon the city officers against levying any assessment, or issuing bonds, or otherwise acting under the By-law. *'W -^-.W ■=**',, ^zi^i^jAit4©t^B|pS| known t in. ■ V. 2nd. A Petition to the Governor General in Council to disallow the Act. 3rd. A Petition to the Legislature and the Lieutenant-Governor against passing the Act. • ^ 4th. Memorandum for the Lieutenant Governor. 5th. An argument in support of the Memorial to the Governor General in Council. 6th. A statement of facts connected with the By-law and the Act. Documents Nos. i and 2. . . 7th. Correspondence with the Attorney General of Quebec, solicit- ing the use of his official name for testing the By-law, and exhibiting his unjustifiable refusal to grant it. There can be no reasonable doubt that the Act, and, as a conse- qnence, the By-law, must be eventually set aside, and it is the intention of the memorialists to follow up their resistance of these vicious laws to that final consummation. It is hoped that the timely warning which they have given by these proceedings, and now renew by the publi- cation of this pamphlet, may be a sufficient protection from the certain loss which must accrue, by trusting to representations of the validity of these laws by parties interested in them. . I ' . . 1 -. •. ) n . < ''i . ,{; SUMMARY OF PROTEST BY THE REAL ESTATE OWNERS AGAINST THE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, MONTREAL. It is stated in the Protest : — That th^ By-law authorizing the subscription of stock to the amount of $1,000,000 in the '* Montreal Northern Colonization Railway Company," and creating a mortgage to that amount upon all the real estate in Montreal, was passed, subject to the consent of the quali- fied electors of the city. That actions at law h^ve been instituted by real estate owners, an3 are still pending, for testing the validity of the By-law, in which it is declared to be null for the following among other reasons : — Because the assessment, authorized by it, exceeds the limit within which the taxing powers of the Corporation are by law restricted. Because it is subjected in terms to the votes of the qualified electors of the city generally, whereas by law the votes of real estate owners alone could be received upon it. Because the votes of the tenant class of voters, and of other unqualified persons, were in fact received upon it contrary to law. Because it is conditional, uncertain, informal, and defective in the mode of its enactment ; and is, moreover, in a high degree injurious to the interests of the city. And it is further stated in the protest, — " That the act of the Quebec Legislature, pretending to confirm the By-law, is unconstitutional, being an excess of legislative authority, ultra vires, and is null and void. That the passing of the Act was an abuse of legislative power. That a Petiticn for the disallowance of the Act has been submitted to the Governor General in Council, and is now under His Excellency's consideration. . That other actions at law have been instituted, and are still pend- ni2%a*aMUAM0Mffie:Jhrr'pn)9RfW|Wt74d{%(^«^ ▼il. ing, for causing the By-law and the Act of the Legislature pretending to confirm it, to be declared null. Upon these grounds, which are explained and enforced in the documents following in this pamphlet, a large number of the wealthiest real estate owners in Montreal protest against the By-law and the Act as unjust, oppressive, illegal and void, and notify the officers of the City Corporation, that they intend to take and prosecute all steps as they may be advised in law, for having the By-law and all assessments and rates levied under it, declared illegal and inoperative, and also to set aside as null and void the Act pretending to confirm it. The parties further notify and prohibit the Mayor and other officers of the Corporation from subscribing stock, or making assessments, or issuing bonds under the By-law, or from taking any proceeding what- ever for giving effect to it, protesting against all such subscriptions for stock, assessments and bonds as illegal and inoperative, and having no force or effect to bind the parties protesting, the City, or the owners of real estate therein. I THE NORTHERN COLONIZATION RAILROAD. The following are the documents which have been sent to the Qoyernment at Ottawa in support of the application on the part of some of the citiaens of Mont- real for the disallowance, by the Governor Oeneral, of the Act of the Provincial Legis- lature of Quebec, passed for the purpose of giving validity to the proceedings on the Million Dollar Grant of this city. We be- lieve that Mr Justice Day is acting in Ottawa for the petitioners. Montreal, 22nd February, 1873. 8ir,— I have the honour of transmitting herewith a petition of certain real estate owners in the City of Montreal relating to an Act passed by the Legislature of the Province of Quebec intituled *, who had brought suits of their right to a decision of the Court in which they were pending ; leaving them liable to the costs of such suits. With respect to other real estate owners in Montreal it has taken from them an equal right to test by the decision of a competent Court the validity of the By-Law which creates a mortgage on their property, and exposes them to ^the operation of a distress warrant without any previous judgment. These are not small violations of vested rights, and if they can be permitt- ed in this case, and drawn into a precedent, as they will be if sanctioned by the acquies- cence of the Dominion Government, it is impossible to say, to what extent the legal. iied spoliation thai began may be OMrtod. This branch of the subject need not b« further pursued ; enough has been said to shew the unconstitutional and reprehensi- ble character of the Act, and the conclus- ion seems inevitable, that it is null as b^ ing an excess of Legislative power, as well upon the two latter groundis, as upon the first one urged. And if so it is presumed that the Dominion (Government will feel that it has no discretion to exercise, but will disallow the Act, as a matter of necessary and absolute right. If it should be considered, however, that His Excellency the Governor General in Council, has a discretion to exercise in all cases of disallowance, then come in the large consideraiions arising from the pre- ceding statements under the second and third heads, of the unjust and oppressive character of the Act. There cannot be two opinions as to the proceed- ings of the Legislature of Quebec be- ing a ' deterifined and high-handed abuse of legislative power, and that in a class of subjects in which great care ought to be exercised. The imposition of tsjcea for any purpose is always to be kept within the limits of a clear authority, and taxation for the benefit of a Company carrying on an enterprise for its own benefit, handling large sums of money, and having almost unbounded influence, is to be viewed with a jealous scrutiny. So great is the danger of imprudence and corruption in the imposi- tion of taxes for subsidies to Railway Com- panies, that in the neighbouring Republic it has led to express constitutional probi- tions. lu a case reported and dis- cussed in the Sth Vol. of the Ameri- can ijaw Review (pp 133 13S) it is said : " If Railroads be, as they undoubt- " edly are, private enterprises, then upon <' general principles they are not proper ob- ejects for taxation." Indeed the right to vote municipal aid to R R Co's has been vi- gorously disputed from the beginning in the United States, and many eminent jurists . have always denied it. The abuse of Legislative power In past- ing the act complained of, even if this power were unquestionable, is manifest and extreme. It is shewn in : The refusal to admit proof of the peti- tioners grounds of objection to the by-law, more than one of which are unanswerable, and must have been fatal to it ; in the dis- regard of pending suits, and express inter- ferenc^ith judicial actions : in the smaller matter, but important in principle, of in- flicting upon the suiters the buiden of pay- < li ill Inf fht 6oit« of their tnitR, and in the talifng vnrny from the petitioners of the right of teating the validity of the by-law in the competent courts. There it a remarkable and important &ot in connection with thii part of the ■ubjeot which ought to be noticed. It ia that no petition appears to hare been presented to the Quebec Legislature bj the Corpora- tion of Montreal to confirm this By-law . The eonflrmation toolt place upon the peti- tion of the Company alone. This is a very remarkable defect Either the By-law was valid or it was not. If the By- law was valid the interference of the Legislature was idle and absurd but it was more than that. It was an unwarrantable undertaking to dispose of a matter within the authority of the City Corporation, and with which alone under the existing law that Corporation was entitled to deal. But that the By-law was without doubt invalid appears not only from the re- Eresentations made in the Petition to the legisalture against it, and the facts and law above stated and exposed, but it must be taken as ad- mitted both by the Bailroad Company and the Legislature in the very fact of the one seeking and the other granting the con- firmation, for no confirmation is needed for that which is valid but for that which is de- tective and null. The City Corporation by which the By-law which purported to be passed and which is most deeply interested in the question of its va- lidity or invalidity remains silent, making no representation and giving no indication of its wish or its acquiescence in the interftirence of the Legislative Act af- fecting as it does the contract between the Corporation of the City of Montreal and the Bailroad company. Upon what principle is it that this could have been granted or can now be sustained when not asked for by the party primarily and chiefly interested. There observations apply not only to the City of Montreal bat to six other muni- cipal corporations which are equally silent upon an interference with their contracts with the Bailroad Company. It is difficult to imagine any case which could present stronger claims for the exer- cise of the disallowing power on the ground of abuse than this. In conclusion, the Petitioners submit that they have established all their proposi- tions, and that the act ought to be cUsal- lowed for the following reasons :>- 1st. It is an excess of legislative fi6#«i^ and unconstitutional : Because it relates to an Inter-Provincial R. K. Company — a matter belonging to a class of subjects over which the Provincial Legislatures have no authority ; Because it is, not only in effect but in express words, an usurpation of Judicial au« thority and of the functions which appertain exclusively to the courts of law ; Because it is retroactive in its effect and violates acquired and vested rights. 2Dd. It is unjust and oppressive and a manifest abuse of legislative power. Montreal, 22nd February, 1873. ADDmONAL DOCUHENIS B£NI 10 OITAWA IN SUPPORT OP THE MEMORIAL AGAINST THE MILLION DOLLAR BY-LAW AND THE ACT OP THifi QUEBEC LEGISLATURE RATIFTING THE SAME. OOODHnsT KO. 1. Heaiotu of Oppotition to the By-Law at bHng injuriout to the material interettt qf Montreal A lar^e number of the owners of real estate and citizens ot Montreal, protest against several provisions of the said By- law for the following amongst other reasons. Because the By-law provides that the station, workshops and terminus of the Northern Colonization Railway shall be within the eastern limits of the city of Montreal, and not elsewhere ; Because without a Bridge across the St. Lawrence, at or near the terminus or station the railway will be of comparatively little b>.neflt to the commerce ot Montreal ; Because it is absolutely necessary for the purposes of navigation that any bridge over the St. Lawrence, below the present har- bour, should be built at a height of not less than 120 feet above the surface level of the river, as otherwise, many sea-going vessels will be unable to reach the wharves above the said bridge ; Because the site of the contemplated ter- minus is not more than about 30 feet above the level of the river ; Because every car from the station and every vehicle from the city woald have to run back to the level of Sherbrooke street,^ at least, to enable them to cross the bridge ; and cars, &c., from the south, bound to the terminus, would be subject to a similar difficulty. Because at St. Helen's Island the cur- rent now runs at the rate of SHven milen an hour, and eight miles at He au flfouton, and as the maHon work of the bridge would oc- cupy oQti-suventh of the water gecttoa of the navigable channel, the velocity of the current would be ho largely increased as to render the approach to the exiHting harbour and wharveH ditficiilt or impoHHible to all vesselK except the most powerful steamerH. A bridge ho hituated would alno be daugerouH in many wavH to rafts and shipping. Because the masoiiiy of the bridge from Bherbrooke street to the intended station would prove a nerious impediment to the improvement of Montreal Eitst, and to the buHinens of Hochelaga, which is destined soon to become of great magnitude. Because without a bridge there will be no through traffic along the road, to the South of the 8t. Lawrence and the United States, from about the end of November till the beginning of May in each year. Because the bulk of the lumber and other heavy articles coming from the Ottawa districts to Montreal, for local use or export by the St. Lawrence, will be conveyed thither by water, as being by far the cheap- est mode of transportation. From due consideration of these facts the concluHion is inevitable that if a second bridge is to be erected over the St Lawrence, at or near Montreal, the site ought to be above and not below the present harbour. If the terminus only be placed at a point in the eastern part of the city, it can have no communication by rail along the wharves, with the Victoria Bridge, because the nar- row space would not admit of such addi- tional traffic without ruinous loss and in. jury to the shipping business of the port, which is now greatly overcrowded and im- peded by the Grand Trunk track there ; be- sides which, the existing bridge will be scarcely sufficient for the purposes of the latter railway alone, which before many years will wholly exhaust its capacity of transit. !•« These are only Home of the objections which might be urged agttinst establishing the station of the Northern Colonization Railway in the proposed eastern site ; but enough has been said to nhow that the pro- ject is both foolish and mischievous. Either of two things must be the result of per- severing in it : If no bridge should be con- structed, the railway, besides other dis- advantages, will be of little value to the trade of the city ; if there should be a bridge, at or near the terminus, the site is the worst that could be selected, while the cost is estimated at ten millions of dollars. Noi' is this all. The Northern Coloniza- tion Rail-vay was first incorporated chiefly with the view of Hiipplying Montreal with tirewood from the vast reserves of timber in the Districts to the north of the city. But step by step this main object ot the scheme has been changed and extended, until the road has now become an acknow- ledged link in the plan of the Canada Pacific Railway. For some years past the scuicity and high price of fuel has become a serious evil in this community, wherein, from the severity and long duration of the winter, it is a primary article of necessity ; and the prospects of the future are still more alarm- ing in that respect. This is a question of supreme importance to the people of Montreal. It has been computed that tho forests of the two counties of Terrebonne and Argenteuil would alone supply the city with cordwood to the extent of forty-six millions of cords — a quantity suihcieut for its wants on that head for several genera- tions to come ; and we are further told that there is, besides, " an almost endless extent of unconceded teriitory which produces the usual quality of timber." Now the prob- able, nay, the certain result of the altera- tions that have been effected in the scheme of the Northern Colonization Railway is evident. It has, as already stated, been virtually incorporated with a long line of road to extend from Quebec to the shores of the Pacific ocean, acd the consequence must be that Montreal will be deprived ot the immense store ot fnel referred to, and of which it is in such sore need. Past experience proves that the construction of a great railway for general traffic enhances the price of fire- wood along the line and in its vicinity ; and no promises, no agreements, no legis- lation, can prevent this result. Tho clause of the City By-law, there- fore, providing for the cheap carriage of cordwood by the Northern Colonization Company would be found of little or no practical value, for there are many and ob- vious ways of evading such a compact, as the present dearth of firewood, caused by the Ontario railways, fully testifies. So, too, has it been in Montreal. When the St. Lawrence and Portland Railway was about to be constructed, a leading induce- ment held out to our citizens, in return for their support, was that the road would se- cure to them abundant and cheap fuel . 10 ji ■ iiji the Grand Trunk Railway was to confer the name benefit upon them ; but in neither case was the promiHe fulfilled. The truth ig, that any cliargu for freight which the company could impoHe for the mere trans- port of firewood would be but a slight com- pensation for the advance in price at the points of supply arising from the com- petition of a great city like this. It is consequently certain that the company, as now composed, will keep the rich preserves of fuel under their control for their own purposes, let the loss to the owners of the wood, or the wants of the people of Mont- real, be what they may. The conclusion to be drawn from those facts is that the Northern Colonization Railway ought to be under a separate and Independent management, with no amalga- mating connection with other railroads. In no other way can it serve the purposes for wiiich it was originally intended. The opponents of the By-law and the Act confirming it, apart from the objec- tionable form which the project has gradu- ally assumed, are desirous of a railway con- nection between Montreal and Ottawa. But they complain that the measure has been carried in the City Council, and has rec<3ived the sanction of the Provincial Legislature by means of persistent intrigue and misrepresentation ; that the By-law imposes a heavy burden on the owners of real property in Montreal, by the il- legal votes of electors who possess no such property ; that the grant to the Northern Colonization Railway is excessive, especially when it is considered that the harbour of Montreal has to be enlarged and improved at a heavy expense to the city ; and that the scheme as now designed would be an injury, not a benefit to the interests of Montreal . The complainants have likewise been advised that there are valid legal and con- stitutional objections to the proceedings in this matter. It is for these reasons that they have prayed for the disallowance of the said Act of the Legislature of Quebec by His Excel- lency the Governor General in Council. DOCDMBNT NO. 2. MEMORANDUM. Showing that lazes which have been im- providently aasnmed for the payment of Municipal Loans have been frequently reostedon technical and other grounds, and the objeocumi sustained by the Courts ; and that saoh resistance is eqie> oially to be apprehended, when the Loans have been oontraoted for purposes which, even at the time, are not ap- proved by considerable numbers of the intelligent part of the Commuoity. and when It has been found necessaiy to re- sort to unusual measures to secure their adoption : Few subjects have attracted the attention of American jurists and statesmen to the same degree as that of municipal subscrip- tions to railways. In the early days of railway enterprise, legislative acts sanction- ing such subscriptions were the rule, and although from the first strongly attacked as wrong in principle, they were universally upheld, as far as one can judge from the writers on the subject, by the state courts, and even by the United States tribunals. What a change, however, has of late years taken place in the jurisprudence and in public opinion, can be gathered from almost every report of the decisions of the Supreme Courts of the Slates which comes to hand. In the States of Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, California and Illinois, such subscriptions are being mercilessly set aside by the Courts as contrary to the spirit, if not the letter of the State constitution, while in other States such as Pennsylvania, the Courts energetically condemn the system as per- nicious and dangerous, but hold that it .can not be altered by judicial authority, which has resulted in the enactment of an express constitutional provision, prohibiting such subscriptions for the future — and New York and other States have either followed or are following in the same direction How bitter must have been the experi- ence which has led to this revolution appears from the language used by the most eminent judges and writers. In one case we are informed that ruin and disgrace have been the invariable and legitimate consequences of the system, and the end is noi yet. " Wc know, say the court, in another case, the history of these " municipal and county bonds ; how the « legislature, yielding to popular excite- " ment about railroads, authorized their •< issue. How grand jurors, and County " Commissioners, and City Officers were « moulded to the purposes of speculators. " How recklessly railroad officers abused « theover-wrought^confideuceofthe public, m " and what biirdeni) of debt and taxation *' have reflulted to the people " ; and in the series of letters published by Oovernor Haight, uf California, on the subject, which have attracted universal attention the following passage occurs : " The *' scenes, he says, which transpire in legis. <' latures in our time, the lack of conscience « exhibited ; the power of organized cor- <> ruption outside and inside these bodies ; " the audacious attacks upon the public in- " terest and upon private right ; the popu- " lar apprehension when legislatures con- " vene, and the popular satisfaction evinced <■ at their adjournment, are significant of •* the necessity that the judiciary should *' vindicate the constitution, and secure •' the public safety by confining legislatures '< within their legitimate powers." In two words the result in the United States has been this : Where the subscriptions have not been directly and openly repudiated, they have been prohibited for the future; and innocent investors have been left to enforce their claims as best they could, by execution upon unwilling communities, which have resisted the levy as that of an unjust and fraudulent tax ; and, a circum- stance worthy ot remark is, that the deci- sions above mentioned were rendered many years after the original investment, and not only reversed the established juris- prudence, but did so on purely technical grounds. Nor is the experience of the United States singular in this respect. The history of the Canadian Municipal Loan Fund is fresh in the memory ot all . The capitalists who invested therein were, at onu time, in great danger of losing their money ; and, when the Government, for its own protection, stepped iu, they were well 8ati8fied,in many cases, to accept a compromise, although the result was the more or less arbitrary con- version of a loan bearing six per cent in- terest, into one bearing five. The case of the City of Hamilton and the great losses suffered by its creditors, are also well-known. Neither is the trouble in store, in consequence of the dealings with Lower Canadian municipalities in the interest of the North Shore Railway Com- pany, a secret, and what the ultimate effect upon the credit of the country must be, can be seen by the present position in the markets of the world, of the individual States in the Union, to say nothing of the United States themselves. It is in the light of such facts that the oonrae panned by the promotorg of the ly- law now in question, must be considered, and the full significance realised of the na- ture of the precedent sought to be intro- duced. In the first place, when the Company after nearly three years efforts, had lost all hopes of convincing the City Council, it had recourse to legislative assistance to re- peal the provision of the City Charter re- quiring a two-third vote to pass a By-law of this kind, after which it interfered with the whole force of its organization in Municipal elections and secured the required bare majority of the Council. Appeals to local, national and religious prejudices, political and municipal combinations, the judici- ous outlay of money, and the parading of a long procession of St. Jerome habitantt through the streets of the city with their hundreds of loads of wood for the benefit of the poor were trusted to do the rest. Not satisfied with this, the Company en- deavoured, by surprise, at the end of the previous session of the Quebec Legislature, to introduce in the City Charter a clause for the purpose of qualifying as voters on the By-law, those who by reason of the non- payment of their taxes would otherwise bare been disqualified, some 11,000 out of 19,000 Municipal electors. And although the attempt In that form was frustrated, the desired object was afterwards indirectly ob- tained in a still more insidious manner, and the disqualified voters have been actually allowed to vote on the By-law. The opponents of the By-law relied on its being one which the Courts would set aside, and it passed in the Council on the distinct understanding that its validity would be ju- dicially tested. On this understanding they brought their suits at law. They could not join in, and thereby give to a certain extent their sanc- tion to, the proceeding of taking a popular vote, for they could not possibly control the results of such a vote, except by a scrutiny, which it was not clear that the law had provided for, while it was certain that such a scrutiny would be a long and tedious pro- ceeding, and would leave them liable in the meantime to a distress warrant without previous judgment for the amount of the assessment under the by-law. But tha moment they brought their suits at law it. became apparent that the Attorney-Genevali had decided in advance that the Courts, wouldbe closed against them, and that he relied upon the support of the Legis- lature of Quebec. Upon, this point i tbti correnpondnnce with the Attornoy- Uouoml, tho iipplicntion of t)i«) CompaDy for nn Act to ratify th« hy-liiw, the form of th(! n(>tir«t to tho public thnt Huch an uppli. cation woiiiti IxMniui*', titu hill aH introducml compared witli the hill an pnHHt'd, the writ. tt'U protfNt of the Company a^ainNt the LfgiHiatiire iillowin^, and the coMMcquent n-fiisiil of the Lc^riHlatiiru to allow any evi- dt-nce to ln« adduced in Hupport of tho allr- pitionH of the pliiintitTH in the pendinp; HUU« which the bill wan intended to Hiip- preHH, the nature of these al legations, and, finally, the memorial of the opponentH of th« bill to the Lieiitenant-(lov«>rnor praying that it Hhonid not be Hanctioned, all these dociiiiientH diflcIoRe and eNtablirih be- yon«l all doubt a Hfato of thinK« fortunately without precedent in the annals of British legislation. And the result is that a by-law has been so fur sanctioned, which is A)jainst the interests of the city of Mon- treal, all tho conditions on the strenj^th of which it has received support from the ea*t end of the city being such as must necessarily be altered by future legislation. In the meantime the real estate of the city is to be taxed by the vote of those who have no property, and who have nothing to pay under the by-law . Under these cirrumstances the memor- ialists feel that no alternative is left to them, and that it is their duty to contest this by-law by every constitutional means in their power. Provincr of Quebec, » District of Montreal. / To the Honourable Gedeon Ouimet, of the City of Montreal, Her Majesty s Attorney General, in and for the Province of Que- bec. The Petition of Henry Lyman, Thomas Cramp, Alexander McGibbcm, William Murray, Harrison Stephens, William Clenrtinneng, Romeo H. Stephenp, of Mont- real, Esquires, humbly represents; — That your Petitioners are proprietors ol Real Estate in the City of Montreal, and as such interested in contesting the validity of the by-law voted by the City Council of the City of Montreal, on the third day of April, instant, for the purpose of taking one hun- dred thousand sliaris in tho Montreal Colonisation Railway. That they are, to wit, your Petitioners are ready and willing to give security for the amount of all costs which Her Majesty's Qovernment for the Province of Quebec may incur by reasoQ of Ruch contostatton, said security to be given in such manner, and for such amount, as you may deter- mine. Wherefore, your Petitioners pray that you may allow the said contestation to be instituted in your name in the manner pro- vided by the nine hundred and ninety seven article of tho Code of Procedure, and that tho undersigned Attorney may be by you empowered to sign your name in the prosecution of the said contestation. And your Petitioners will ever pray. (Signed) Eomd. Uarnard, For Petitioners. Montreal, IGth April, 1872. The suit intended to ho instituted against the Corporation of Montreal being solely for the purpose of contesting tho validity of tho By-Law passed by the City Council on the third day April instant, by which the Corporation of Montreal is authorized to take one thousand shares in tho Northern Colonization Railway, and there being no reason shown which might induce the be- lief that the Corporation of Montreal has violated the provisions of the Act by which it is governed, or has become liable to » forfeiture of its rights, or has exorcised pri- vileges and franchises which does not be- long to it or is not conferred upon it by law, the Attorney-Gen.eraI does not see that ho is empowered by law to allow his name to be used in the proposed suit. Gedeon Odimet, Attorney-General . Montreal, April 18th, 1872. i Montreal, 18th April, 1872. To the Hon. Oedeon Ouimet, Attorney-Oeneral : Sir, — We have been shown by Mr Barnard, Advocate, the memorandum in writing sign- ed by you in answer to our petition asking to be allowed to use yout oilicial name in pro- ceedings to test the validity of the By-law of the Corporation of Montreal authorizing the subscription, by the Mayor, of stock to the amount of $1,000,000 in the Montreal Northern Colonization Railway Company . The grounds taken by you in withholding your consent to such proceedings are that no reason is shown to induce the belief that the people of Montreal have violated the pro- visions of the Acts by which it is governed. This we had supposed to be unnecessary, but in respectful deference to your opinion to the contrary, wo beg leave now to state some of the leading grounds of objection to the TBiidity of the By-law in qaeition, rlii : The &th And 6th Beotioni of the Statute 34 Vic 0. 37, and the proviaioni of the various Bailway AotH refer to an abitolute and not to a conditional aubtoription of Htootc, and aa we are advised, the condi- tional aulMcriptiona authorised by the By- law would be illegal; and, moreover, aeveral of the conditiona are thomMulvea illegal. 2. The City Council has by law no power todelegatu ita authority, aa it hai done in the By-law, in one instance to the Finance Committee (Sec. 1—6), and in another (Sec. 1) to the majority of the Directory repre- aenting the atock aubacribed by the city. 3. The aeotion of the By-Law (Sec. 1 k 2) relating to the appointment of Directora, la illegal and in direct contravention of 34 Vic, C. 37, Sec. 6, which provides what number of Directora to reprenent the Cor- poration ahall be agreed on by the Railway Company and the City corporation, and cannot be fixed by a vote of ,the City Coun- cil aa illegally provided in the By-law. 4. Aa the 6th Section of the 34 Vic, 0. 87, refers aa to formalitiea to any atatute to be paaaed in lieu of Chap. 24 and 25 of the Con. Stat, of Lower Canada, the Municipal Act of 1870, and particularly Section 497 thereof applies, and, therefore, the By-law is null, as being made subject totheratiflca- of the Municipal Electors generally, when it should have been made subject to the ratification of the Municipal Electors, pro- prietors of Real Estate only. 5 . The By-law being conditional the as- sessment cannot be absolute. In respectfully urging upon you to give consent to the use of your official name in proceedings to test the validity of the By- law in question, we beg to state that we are owners of Real Estate in this city and interested to prevent the imposition of illegal taxoB upon it, and that many other proprietors of Real Estate to a large amount are also desirous of having the validity of the By-law legally tested. We may add, that we are not actuated by any motives of hostility to the M. N. C. R., (although we consider the amount voted excessive), but we are^only anxious to have our just rights and those of other proprietors of Real Estate in the city established and protected. We h&ve the honour to be, Sir, Your obed't servants, We the undersigned owners of Real Estate in the City of Montreal, respectfully join in th# ri^qne^t oootaiiMd in tha foreg*^ ing i()tter. (Signed,) Edwakd MaoKat. John Ramxin. JamM Johmitom. H. MmiRo. J. Batlib. Montreal, 23 Aont, 1872. MoNBiiuR,— Une action a eta intentee par vona, oomme Avooat de Monsienr Molaon, oontre la Corporation de Montreal pour faire mettre de eote le reglement dont ae plai- gnent MM. Lyman et autrea, et je ne puis, en conaequence et tant qve durera ce prooM, prendre la demande de oea meaiiaurs en conaideration. J'ai I'honneur d'etre Votre, etc., OiDMii OcimT, Procurenr-Oeneral. Ed. Barnard, Ecr. Province of Qaebec Diatrict of Montreal a In the Superior Court. • To Honorable Qedeon Ouimet, Attorney Qeneral j»ro Regina, Petitioner, and The Mayor, Alderman and Citi- zena of the City of Montreal, Defendants. To any of the Honorable the Justices of Her Majeaty'a Superior Court for Lower Canada, acting in and for the said Diatriot of Montreal and residing in the aald City of Montreal . The petition of the Honorable Oedeon Ouimet, of the City of Montreal, Her Ma- jesty's Attorney General for the Province of Quebec, who proaecutea in tnia behalf for and in the name of Her Majeaty, complain- ing of the Mayor, Aldermen and citizena of the City of Montreal, a body corporate, duly corporated, and existing under and by virtue of the laws of this Province, Defen- dants. Respectfully Showeth : That on the third day of April last past the Defendants, in Council assembled, pass- ed a certain By-law numbered fifty-nine, whereby the Mayor of the said city was, sab- ject to the consent of the qualified electors of the said City of Montreal, first had and obtained, authorized and required for and on behalf, and in the name of the said corpora^ tion of the said City of Montreal, to 8ub> scribe for and take one hundred thousand shares (equal to $1,000,000,) of stock in the Montreal Northern Colonization' Railway u Company chartered by Act of Parliament of this Province, upon certain terms aad con- ditions set forth in the said By-law number- ed fifty-nine, of which a copy is hercTvith pro- duced, to form part of these presents, and to which the said Petitioner specially refers. That the said City Council did on the fifth day of April last past, issue and cause to be publicly issued a certain notice whereby the qualified electors of the said city were notified to assemble in general meeting to approve or disapprove of the said By-law, and further notifying them that should a poll be demanded the voting should take place on the said By-law on the twenty-ninth day of April last past, and on every juridical day following, up to the teeth day of May instant inclusive, as the whole will more fully and at large appear by reference to the said notice, a copy whereof is herewith produced, and fyled to form a part of these presents, and to which the Petitioner specially refers. That in so enacting the said By-law the Defendants have violated the provis- ions of the acts by which they are governed and have exercised a power not conferred upon them by law, and that the said By-law is in consequence illegal, null and void, and so ought to be held and declared for the following amongHt other reasons : — 1 . Because in and by an Act of Parlia- ment of the late Province of Canada passed in the session held in the 14th and 15th years of Her Majesty's reign, intituled •• An Act to amend and consolidate the provisions of the ordinauce to incorporate tlie City and Town of Montreal, and of a certain ordinance and certain acts amending tbe same, and to vest certain other powers in the Corporation of the said City of Mon- treal," it was and is enacted, " That it shall be lawful for the said Council of the said city of Montreal to borrow, on the credit of the said city, such sums of money as the said Council of the said city may think proper I'o borrow on the credit of the city; provid- ed always that the total amount borrowed and remaining unpaid, exclusive and inde- pendent of the amount due, or to become due, for the purchase of the Montreal Water Works, authorised to bo made in and by the act passed in the seventh year of Her Majesty's reign, and intituled, "An Act to authorize the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Montreal to purchase, acquire and hold the property now known as the Montreal Water Works, shall not exceed at any time the sum of , one hundred and fifty thousand pounds currency ;" which sum has long since been borrowed upon the credit of the said city and remains unpaid, and the said Defendants have not been by any subse- quent act or law authorized to borrow upon the credit of the said city any sum of money for the purpose of gi anting aid to any Rail- way or for paying on subscription of stock in any Railway Company, or for any of the objects or purposes set forth in said By-law. 2. Because in and by the said cited act it is enacted that it shall be lawful for the Council of the said Corporation (subject to the provisions of such act) to make By-laws " for the raising, assessing and applying such moneys as may be required tor the execution of the powers with which the said Council is now or may be hereafter in- vested, either by imposing tolls and rates, to be paid in respect of any public works within said city, or by any means of a rate or assessment tc be assessed and levied each and every year, on real and personal property, or both within the said city, or upon the owners and occupiers thereof in respect of such property, provided that such assessment may in any one year, amount to but shall not exceed one shilling and six- pence in the pound on the assessed and yearly value of the property liable to such assessment, '• which assessment to the amount of one shilling and sixpence in the pound has already been made by tne Defendants under By-lawa now iu force, and the said Defendants have not been by any subsequent act or law authorized to levy any assessment for the purpose of granting aid to any . Railway or for paying any subscription of stocks in any Railway Company, or for any of the objects or purposes set fwrth in the said By- law. 3. Because the said Corporation has no power by law under any circumstances to take shares iu the said Railway, in a con- ditional manner, and moreover that the conditions mentioned in the said By-law impose, and eacli and every one of them are and is contrary to law, and in particular that the said Corporation cannot impose an absolute assessment to dsfray the expendi- ture to be incurred under a conditional By- law, the conditions of which may never be fulfilled or may not be fulfilled at the time and in the manner mentioned in the said By-law . 4. Because the said conditions are more- over illusory, and such as cannot bo en- forced either against the said Company or the creditors of the said Company, and 15 that the only effect of the said conditions will be to deceive the electors called to vote upon the said By law, and induce them to vote in favour thereof on the supposition and belief that the amount subscribed can- not fail to be profitably and judiciously ex- pended, when in reality the said conditions as a security for the proper and advan- tageous expenditure of the moneys voted by the said electors, are of no value what- ever, and that in consequence the said By- law is utterly unreasonable, inequitable and unjust. 5. Because by the said By-law the said Corporation is attempting to delegate its authority in important particulars, and more specially in so far as deciding as to the satisfactory nature of the subscriptions of half a million of dollars of stock by other municipalities, and also as to the option of paying in cash or debentures at par the amount which the said Corporation might be bound under any by-law legally passed to pay by reason of the subscription for stock in the said Railway, and the said By- law is in consequence null and void. 6. Because the section of the said By-law referring to the Directors who are to pro- tect the interest of the said Citv of Mon- treal in the Board of Directors of the said Railway, is not in accordance with, but on the contrary, is in violation of law in sev- eral and essential particulars, and more particularly in the respects following : The (Statute provides that such number of Directors not exceding three, exclusive of the Mayor, as may be agreed upon between the said Railway Company, and the said City Council shall be elected by the latter, and consequently the City Council could not alone determine, as it does in and by the said By-law, that two Directors shall represent the city of Montreal on the Board of Directors of the said Railway, nor could the said City Coun- cil enact as it does, in and by the said By- law that the City Council shall elect two pertions generally to be Directors, the Sta- tute requiring that the Directors shall be chosen from among the members of the said Council, nor could the said By-law provide for an annual alection of such Dir- ectors, the Statute prescribing that the said Directors may be elected and as circum- stances may require, removed, and others chosen instead, nor could the said By-law stipulate that the right of the said City Council of appointing Directors should not be affected by any changs in the governing body, or in the constitution of the company, such stipulation being illusory and illegal, and the said By-law is in consequence nail and void. 7. Because by law, the only municipal electors qualified to vote on the said By- law are the municipal electors who are pro- prietors of real estate within the said city, and that the said By-law being made sub- ject to the vote of the municipal electors generally, is in consequence, null and void. 8. Because none of the formalities re- quired by law to be observed by the said Corporation in the passing of a By-law for taking stock in a railway have been obser- ved, and that all the proceedings of the City Council of the said Corporation in con- nection with the passing of the said By-law numbered fifty-nine [No. 59] have been, and are irregular, illegal, null and void. All which the said Petitioner is ready to verify, prove and maintain, when and as this honourable Court, or one of the Jus- tices thereof, may direct, and the Petitioner refers to the affidavits herewith fyled in support of the present petition and of the allegations therein contained. Wherefore your Petitioner, for and on be- half of Her Majesty, prays that a writ do issue in due form of law commanding the Defendant^ to appear before your Honours upon such days as your Honours may ap- point, to answer the Petition, and that by the judgment rendered iu this behalf it bie declared and adjudged that in enacting the said By-law numbered fifty-nine [No. 59] the said Defendants have violated the pro- visions of the acts by which they are gov- erned and have exercised a power not con- ferred upon them by law and that the said By-law be declared to be illegal, null and void, and he set aside and annulled, the whole with costs. Montreal, May 1872s Montreal, 7th May, 1872. To the Honourable Gedion Ouimet, Attor- ney-General. Sir, — We, the undersigned, duly quali- fied Electors of the City of Montreal, and owners of ratable real property situated therein, have the honour to present to you a petition prepared for your signature, for the purpose of testing the validity of By- law No. 59 of the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of the City of Montreal, authoriz- ing the subscription by the Mayor of the said city, of stock in the Montreal Northern Colonization Railway Company, to the ex- tent of one million dollars. In requesting you to sign the said peti- tion, or to authorize some legal gentle- le man to sign it in jour name, we be^ to say that we are adviseid by counsel that in pass- ing the- said By-law, the Corporatioa of Montreal has violated the provisions of the Acts by which it is governed, and has ex- ercised a power not conferred upon it by law, and that in consequence the said By- law is illegal, null and void . We are prepared to offer you any security you may require to indemnify the Govern- ment against cost in the proposed proceed- ings. This communication will be handed to you by Mr. C. P. Davidson, advocate, our attorney, who is fully authorized by us in the pren:isep. In conclusion, we respectfully urge upon you our right as electors, and owners of property liable to assessment under the By- law referred to, to have the legality of the By-law tested at our expense, in your name as Her Majesty's Attorney-General, as pro- vided by law. The grounds of objection urged by us are serious and not frivolous, and we are satisfied you will feel it to be your duty at once to acceed to our request. We have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servants, (Signed) A. W. Osilvib, Patbick Larkin. No. 1630. '! Department of the Law Offices ' of the Crown. Quebec, May 18, 1872. R. No. 5962. Sib,— In reply to your letter, of the 14th instant, I am directed by the Honourable the Attorney-General to intimate to you, that, inasmuch as proceedings taken by Mr John. R. Molson, calling into question the validity of By-law No. 59 of the Corporation of the City of Montreal authorizing the sub- scription of 100,000 shares in the Montreal Northern Colonization Railway Company, are now pending at the Superior Court at Montreal ; he (the Attorney-General) can- not grant the application of Messrs. Ogilvie and Larkin for permission to use his name as Attorney General to test the legality of the same By-law, so long as Mr. Molson's case is not adjudicated upon. I have the honour to be, sir. Tour obedient servant, JosKPH A. Dbfoy, Assistant L. 0. r!. To C. P. Davidson, Esq, Advocate, Mon- treal. i