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MEMORIAL
IN SUPPORT OF THE PETITION
' ' OP THE
INHABITANTS AND PROPRIETORS OF THE CITY AND ISLAND. OF MONTREAL,
PRAYINq^ THAT THE
ECCLESIASTICS OF ST. SULPICE
MAY NOT BE CONSTITUTED A
BODY CORPORATE AND ECCLESIASTICAL,
AND THEIR TITLE CONFIRMED TO CERTAIN VALUABLE SEIGNIORIES
AND ESTATES.
(
1 '-^
The claim of the St. Sulpicians to the Estates in their possession, lias frequently undergone investi-
gation by the high Law Officers of the Crown, both here and in England, and in every instance an
opinion has been expressed decidedly adverse to their pretensions.
The first official notice of this subject appears to be the Report of the Advocate General, Sir
James Marriott, in 1773, on the reference made by the Order in Council of the 14th June 1771, re-
lative to the laws and Courts of Judicature of Quebec.
In 1789, the Provincial Law Officers of the Crown submitted their " Observations and Remarks
respecting the St. Sulpicians at Montreal," confirming the opinion of Sir James Marriott.
In 180-1>, Mr. Attorney General Sowell prepared an able and comprehensive Report, a copy of
wfeicb will accompany this Memoruil. ^
In 1811, the whole subject was referred to tlje Imperial Law Officers of the Crown, and a joint
Ri^l^^de thereon, by Sir Chrihiopher Robinson, the Advocate General, Sir Vicary Gibbs, the At-
^^^Hf„eral, and Mr. Solicitor General Plumor, in which the opinion of those Officers is stated,
thatlffist. Sulpicians in Caiuula liad nut a niiIJ title to the lands transferred to them by the Commu-
'*lly at Paris.
Some further proceedings took place in 1S1!>, uikIit the Administration of His Grace the Duke of
Ricliiiioiid, tlie precise nature of wtucli is not pul.licly known, except in so far as lilay be judged by
the subsequent action of tlie novcrnmcnt.
Ill 1831, instructions were sent to His Excellency I^ord Aylmer, to rcquird the St. Sulpicians to
surrender the property to the Governnient.
Ill Vfi36, the subject was referred to the Commissioners of Infiuiry, who were unanimously of
(>niiii()ii thai the St. Sulpicians had not a valid tille to the r.,parably united to llio said Seminary, without any possibility of their lioing separated, for
any cause or reason whatsoever." In 16()7, the Seminary memorialized Hii Most Christian Majeaty,
praying that His Majesty would be pleased to Rrant to them lieltcrs Patent, to enable tliem to hold the
Island of Montreal in ini)rtmnin, und to establish a Seminary in the said Island. I.«tler8 Patent vrrrt
accordingly issued m the month ol May, lti()7, granting both Ihcso retjuests.
r"^
• 0.. the Burreader of Montreal to the Brif.lh Ar.y, several Ecclesiastics of St. Sulp.ce wer. found
residing in that city, but whether legally established as a Community is not known and mdeed adm.ts
Cf Ich doubt ; ll to these Ecclesiastics, calling themselves the Community of St. Sulp.ce of Mon-
treal, the Seminary of Paris made over by deed, in 176*, (after the cession of the Colony) the property
and estates m this country. ^. n i i u„i i:
In the year 1781, on the occasion of their tendering fealty and homage to S. Freenclc Hald.-
mand, thi. conveyance .was brought forward as constituting their only title ; although, subsequently a .
prior elaim has been set up founded on the letters Patent of 1667. As it is now adm.tted that he
St. Sulpicians of Paris had no right to sell or alienate these Estates, the only point of inqu.ry .s,.vvhe.
ther the Letters Patent alluded to, conveyed the property to the St. Sulpicians, as affirmed by ,l.m
The Letters Patent of 1667, are in the following words :-« Louis, by U.e Grace of God &c^&c.
Whe«a.the Ecclesiastics of U.e Seminary of St. Sulpi^, of the Fauxbourg St. Germam les Pan^
have humbly exposed to Us. that the Sieurs Faucamp, ^c. Sec. have, by Deed of G.ft, beanng date
the 19th March, 1763, given and conveyed to them the Seigniory of the Island of Montreal m New
France, with its appurtenan(^8 and de,,endencies, whither they have sent Prie.ts, who have laboured
m the convemon of the Savages with so much success, that ,they have determined to send out other
Priests, to the number of fourteen to establish a community, if it be our pleasure to grant to them the
necessary Letters Patent for this purpose. For these reasons, being well informed that we cannot do
anything more advantageous for the propagat.on of the Faith and for .he esUblishment of the Chnst.an
religion in our Provu.ce of New France, and being willing to fevou, the said Memonal.ts, we
have permitted, and by these presents do permit them, to erect a Community^nd Seminary o. Eccles-
astics in the Island of Montreal, there to labour, according to the int.n.ions of .fi^ Petitioners, m con-
formity with the Holy Councils of the Church, and the Ordinances of Our Kmgdom, in the convers.on
and instruction of Our subjects, and in.prayer to God for Us and Our Royal Successors, and the peace
of the Church and of Our Kingdom ; and the more to faclitate the saul Establishment, we have ac-
cepted, consented to and approved, and do hereby, under Seal of Our Chancery, accept, consent to
.nd approve the said danaiian, contained in the said deed of the 1 Uh March 1663, hereunto annexed ;
and of Our further Grace we have amortized, and do amortize the said Estate and Seigniory of Mon-
treal for ever, »s dedicated and consecrated to God, willing that it be for ever united to the.r Soc.ety,
without l^ng liable to be bound, mortgaged, or alienated by any individual member thereof, for any
cause or reason whatso^er, to be by them and their successors of the said Sem.nary and
' Community, enjoyed freely and al..olu.ely, without being held to dispossess themselves thereof to fur-
„i.h a Man vivant et mourant (as representing the Seignior,) .r to pay to Us or Our Successors any
fine, indemnity, or mutation rights, or other dues whatsoever, from all wh.ch we have reh.ved and
dischar^d them, and whatever sum the same be in amount. We do by these presents rebnqu.sh the
same iTtheir favour, on the condition of the payment by them of all rights and dues belonging to any
Seignior other thaa Ourselves ; and We enjoin Our trusty and well,beloved subjects, oldmg our Su-
preme Council at Quebec, and all others Our Officers whomsoever, whose duty ,t shall be, to cause
these presents to be registered, and to cause the said Ecclesiast.cs of the said Seminary to enjoy the
conJts thereof, fully, peaceably and perpetually, ceasing and causing to cea. all trouble and hm-
drance, &c. GWen at St. Omer, on the ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord, one thousand s.x
hundred and sixty-seven, and the thi«y-/ourth of Our Reign." Signed, " Lou.s."
It is almost superfluous to ofl^er a single observation on a d.K.ument where the meanmg .s so d.s
tmctly expre««d. « The said donation contained in the said deed of 19.h March, 1663, >s subject
,0 the condition « that the domain and property of the said Island shall for ever 1« inseparably united
,o the saul Seminary (of Paris) without be.ng liable to be separated therefrom for any cause or rea^
whatsoever," and this "said donation" His^% Christian Majesty "accepts, consents to and ap-
proves " " willing that it be for over united to their Society." There .. nothing vague or doubtful m
,h.s ded8rat,on of the Royal pleasure ; the donation was to the St. Sulpicians of Paris, and the « «».d
donation" is by tho L.>tle™ Patent "for over united to their Society." The absurdity of supposmg that
,1,0 words " to their Socie.v," were meant tomd.cate the St. Sulpicians pf Montreal, is still more np-
■ parent, when ,t ,» ronsidere.l, that " to favour the said Memorialists" was the moving cause why the
Lciiors Patent were msuetJ ; .t would, indeed, be a n.ost singular display of the Royal favour,, .f, «« ihe
1
St5 Sulpiciang of Montreal contend, the Letters Patent deprived " iho said MemorialisU" of the dona-
tion, instead of permittiog them to hold the Estates in mortmain as prayed for; such an interpretation
of the hoyal intention being yet more improbable as implying that the property waS bestowed on a
Community not then in existence, and which there was no certainty would ever be legally ettaWished
and competent to accept the deflation. Public documents of a later date^put it beyond all doubt that
the St. Sulpicians of Paris were the owners of these Estates. An Edict of 1693, other Letters' Patent
of 171*, and an Arret of the Council of State of 15th May 1716 established that fact; their title is
also affirmed in leases and deeds of concession executed in this Province, wherein the St. Sulpicians
of Montreal appear in the capacity of agents to"the Community at Paris ; and lastly, by the deed of ,
cession of 1764., wherein it is declared and admitted by both parties, that the St. Sulpicians of Paris
were the undoubted owners of the property and estates in this Colony. The evidence on this point is .
clear and convincing, and it follows as a natural consequence that the Estates in question are lapsed to
the Crown by right of conquest, as the property of a foreign Society domiciled at Paris at the tim§ of
the conquest and cession of the Colony. . •
The act of fealty ami homage, tendered by the St. Sulpicians to His Excellency Sir Frederick
Haldimand in 1781, and described by thejn as an abandonment by His Majesty of the rights of the
Crown in their behalf, scarcely merits serious notice. The extravagance of such a pretension will
at once be exposed by observing, that it rests on the supposition that rendering fealty and homage to
the Governor of a distant Colony is sufficient in itself to naturalize foreigners, yto constitute a body
corporate and ecclesiastical, to convey the right of holding lands in mortmain, ^d to dispossess the
Crown of estates and revenues worth about de500,000 ; and these important results are sai^d to
have been obtained contrary to the Royal instructions in that behalf, and against the provisions of an
Act of the Imperial Parliament, U Geo. IIL Cap. 83, excluding the St. Sulpicians from all right, title
or claim to these estates.
A reference to the authorities mentioned in a former part of this Memorial, and more particularly
to the reports of Sir James Marriott and Mr. Attorney General Sewell, wiil shew that the rights of the
Crown in this matter are not dependent on the decision of the Law Courts, and that the power of the
Crown may be legally and properly exercised for the gradual suppression of the Ecclesiastics ,of St.
Sulpice and the acquisition of the estates now in their possession, by adopting towards them the same
means which have already Wen used in respect to the Jesuits and ftecoUeta.
So far as the right of the Seminary is concerned, it cannot be controverted that the question
is open to be dealt with by the Government, as sound policy may dictate with a view to the general
interest of the Province ; but the Royal proclamation of 1763 conveyed to the landed proprietors an
assurance of grace and favour, which, it is believed, renders it obligatory on the Government to re-
nounce on the Estates of the Crown, the feudal due* and rights which have hitherto been enjoyed by
■ the St. Sulpicians, and which constitute the chief part of their revenues. This part of the subject has
already been noticed in a pai)er entitled •' Remarks on the proposed Ordinance to erect and endow an
Ecclesiastical Corporation, in the Province of Lower Canada." A copy of the " Remarks," and also
a pamphlet entitled, " Representation against the title of the Seminary to the Seigniory of Montreal,"
will be circulated along with this Memorial, and will li? found to contain much information on other
points, which, to avoid repetition, will not be introduced here.
Whatever may be determined upon, as'tothe claim" of the landed proprietors to be oncondition-
ally released from the payment Of feudal exactions, it would unquestionably be in the highest .legree
arbitrary and unjust to reject their petition for the fulfilment of the Royal promise, in order to l,estow
these Estates on the Ecclesiastics of St. Sulpice, who have no legal right to'the property, and .re ex-
cluded by Act of Parliament from any beneficial interest therein, and whose permanent establishment
as a Curiwrate Body, would be productive of many serious evils. The mere circumstance that the St.
Sulpicians have, lor along time, enjoyed the Revenues of these Estates, to the prejudice of the Peti-
tioners, certainly affi.rds no justification for continuing and jierpetuating the same injustice. The power
to dispossess the Seminary rested in the Gov^nment and not in the Censitaires, and the proceeding,
at various ,«riods, commencing with Sir James Marriott's Report in the year 1773, and continued nt
i/itervnls up to the appomtment of the Commissioners of Inquiry, in 1836, afforded sufficient grounds
for l.i-l,cving, thai the Government, beini^ fully informed as to the facts, was engng.^d in considering the
.1
Rubjeci, with a. view to its final scillement on just and equitable principles. The Petitioner* were in
no wiw accesBory to the delay in determining this question, atid it would be most unreasonable, on sucU
a pretext, to assume that tJ>e Crown has abandoned its power to -render impartial justice in the case,
and that the Imperial Parliament is thereby constrained to the adoption of a measure impolitic, partial,
and oppressive.
The following extracts of a despatch from Lord Aberdeen, to the Governor General of Canada,
dated the 1st January 1835, refusing the Royal sanction to. a Bill which had passed through both
Houses of the Provincial Legislature, will shew in what liglit the subject was then regarded by His
Majesty's Ministers, as affecting the rights of the British inhabitants of the Colony : —
" Again, the permanent line by which all existing and all future institutions for the education of
youth are to be distinguished from each other, merits peculiar attention. The one would be corporate
bodies, capable of acquiring property, without limit, and defending it without difficulty ; the other would
labour under all the ditTicullies and disadvantages of voluntary societies. The liberal and tolerant spirit
of the Legislature of Lower Canada is so directly opposed to every narrow principle, which would
foster peculiar religious opinions by exclusive civil piiviloges,^iliat the possibility of so injurious a con-
struction of rial exactions are
known to lie unpopular with the mass of French landed proprietors ; so much so indeed, thil in the list
of pretended grievances exhibited by tlie Canadian chiefs as justilying their rebellion, feudal dues and
rights are especially denounced, and their abolition, without any remuneration to the Seignior, is held
out as an inducement to the Censitaircs to join the rebel army. Notwithstaiiding tljis natural desire
to free their lands from feudiil servitudes, the St. Sulpicians have prevailed upon the French landed pro-
jirietorS of the Island of .Monireal, not only to refuse their support to a |)etition praying Uiat feudal rights
may be abolished, but t"|vi'li'ra humble request to the (rovcrnmeni that the title of the St. Suljiicians
may be confirmed, ami that lin'v m.-iy Imj invested with all the feudal^ rights and privileges, which they
possessed or eould h:ue exercised liefor'e the IRth day of Seple™B^76!), when the Colony apper-
inineil to His Most Christi.in Majesty the King of France. ThisTjiffien cliange of sentiment in the
French petiuoners, has Iwen ehielly brought aiioiit by niisrepre««MUiiig the intentions of the British inha-
liit.int^, and iiillaiiimg llie ie''j.'ui>i^>i.rtjudh fs ti\:\u illiterate and uninlbrmed population, thus furnishing
aiioliier evnlence of the impolicy .•iinl the d.inger of eslnlilishing and endowing an institution, powerless
:i- a means oi retaining the Frunco-(';iiniuliaiis m the observanca of their duties as British subjects, and
lormidable only when engaged in stimulating their enmity against those of another origin.
The partiality u( the projiosed measure is not less obvious than its impolicy. By the Act o( the
Imperial Parliameni Hist (ieo. HI. cap. 31, one-seventh of the lands then unconceded in the Province,
were set apart for the maintenance and support of a Protestant Clergy. Up to the present time, but a
inflinj; sum has been realized from this grant ; nor will the entire procoedd of the lands, when sold, b«
siirticient to fulfil the cx|)ectatior\^ of the Ix'gislature, in providing a racHlerate and decent suppcfrt for
the Protestant Clergy of this Province, who are in this respect in a much wone situation tlian the
Roman Catholic Clergy, to whom are secured by the Act H, Geo. HI. cap. &3, their accustomed
rights and dues, comprehending titfics, with all the advanlages of an immediate revenue, fully equal to
ilieir wants and of greater prospective value tiian the appropriation for Protestant purposes. With the
exception just named, there are no endowments • in Lower Canada, whether Ecclesiastical, Benevo-
rt
• A Rniiill laiiilwl i'i<««lp HBc<|iiriillii'il liy Ihr !«()■ Mr. M'Oill in (hr year IKIl, for tlir
i-«i iMi-liini-ril ..In ('i.|lrf;i', ImiI llir < ),>v,rniiidii li is iiinlril'UHi.1 iiulliilij? I"w;iril» I lux dI.ji'i i .iikI I Ik- iioBii;ii ik iioi yd
tiirnrtl inio I'ltti 1
\
lent or Educational, for the use and benefit of the British inhabitants, while there are numerous Institu-
tions possessed of great wealth for the exclusive advantage of the French. A list of some of these en-
dowments is subjoined ; — .
Seminary of Quebec ( possessed of ihe /oWounn^ JBi^o/es).— The Seigniory of Beauprt, containing ^^
about 520,000 acres, and the Seigniories of Isle aux Coudres, Isle du Cap Bonte, Coulange, St.
Michel, Isle Jesus, and Sault'au Matelot (in the City of Quebec).
Religieuses de VHopital General de Queiec— Seigniories of Perthier d'en Bas, and St. Augustine:
Hotel Dieu of Quebec. — Seigniories of St. Ignace and Cap Sant6 Port Neuf.
Ursulinet of Quebec— Seigniory of St. Croix, and a part of the City of Quebec.
Ursulines of Three /JiY-ers.— Seigniories of Riviere du Sud, Si. Jean, and Riviere du Loup.
Grey Jfuns of Montreal. — Seigniory of Chateauguay.
Hotel Dieu of Montreal.— Y\eh Nazareth, St. Augustine, and St. Joseph.
Seminary of Montreal. — The Estates and Revenues in possession of this Institution, will be more
particularly described in another place.
In addition to their Seignorial properties, the Nuns of Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal, pos-
sess landed estates and Rentes ptrpetuelles, to the value of about £300,000, a great part of their lands
within the Cities producing no revenue, from their refusing to appropriate tliem for building or commer-
cial purposes.
The estates above enumerated, constitute more than one-seventh in value, and nearly one-sevenih
in extent, of all the Seigniories in the Province, and are held by the respective Communities in -conti-a-
vention of the Imperial Act 14, Geo. III. cap. 83, conveying a solemn and deliberate Pariiameniary
pledge, that Canada as a British Province shall not be afflicted with those aggravated evils which en-
dowments of such a nature have proiluced elsewhere. Several of these Communities, like Ihe St. Siil-
picians, have no- legal title even by the laws of France, to the revenues which, by the culpable neglect
of the Government, they are permitted to enjoy ; one case out of many will lie cited, that of the Nuns
of the Hotel Dieu of Montreal, claiming to be Seigniors over the Fief Nazaretli, and other valuable do-
mains, but whose title is notoriously invalid, the lands never having been amortized in their favour, and
who consequently would not be entitled to retain the property although the Province were at this mo-
ment a dependency of France. Fief Nazareth containing about one hundred acres in a commercial
quarter of the City of Montreal, has been leased in small detached portions for building purposes, the
'Nuns illegally exercising the rights both of Landlord and Seignior, receiving a considerable tim as an
annual rent, besides exacting all the customar)- seigniorial dues and rights. In addition to these pro-
perties and estates, the Nuns of Quebec, Montreal and Three Rivers obtain an annual grant from the
Provincial revenue usually exceeding £3,000, for the support oliFoundWngs and for other objects ; a per-
petual annuity of £2000 j)er annum has been secured to the Roman Catholic Bis"hop of Quebec, and
five Collegiate institutions exclusively French generally speaking, with small landed estates are chiefly
sustained by annual grants from the Provincial Pariiamen I. The comparative numbers of the British
and French population, afford no justification for this marked partiality in favour of the latter. The
census of 183 1 is known to be inaccurate and, probably, designedly so on that head, but although pre-
pared, in a great measure, by French partisans, the British inhabitants are there stated as forming one-
fourth of the entire population, and there is little reason to doubt that, at the present moment, they con-
stitute one-third. When it is borne iri mind, that not eighty years have elapsed since Canada became
a British Colony ; that immigration, to any extent from the Parent State, only commenced about twenty
years ago; and that the settlement of Lower Canada, during the whole of that period, has lieen re-
tarded by Ihe operation of vicious laws, and latteriy by political events, the ultimate preponderance in
numbers of the British race, and that at no very remote day, cannot but appear as a natural conse-
quence to all who attentively consider these facts. The utter disregard to British interests, in per-
mitting the Religious Communities to retain estates and revenues of immense value, without any legal
title, and in disparagement of the national faith and honour, has long been the subject of complaint in
.the Colony, and the attempt now being made by the Provincial authorities, in the case of the St. Sul-
picians, to confirm and perpetuate that abuse, is rendered still more intolerable by the reflection, iliat
Mjj^recludes every prospect of an amicable adjustment of this i juestion^n terms fair and equitable to all
it
parties, and will, if carried into effect, be the certain means of introducing discord and civil strife here-
after. ■ '
"Various opinions have been expressed as to the probable amount the St. Sulpiciai)8 will realize,
if their title is confirmed on the terms proposed by the Provincial Executive. An accurate estimate, ^
under this head, capnot be prepared, without going into a previous valuation of all the landed proper-
tie's within the three Seigniories ; but the following estimate as to the Seigniory of Montreal, will, it is
believed, approximate pretty near to the truth. ' ^
The assessment on landed property within the City of Montreal, is 2J per cent, on
the rental ; and according to evidence furnished to the Commissioners of Inquiry in 1836,
the assessments in that year amounted to JE4150. Buildings being supposed to pay on an
average 8 per cent, interest, this would give the total vaUje of property with the city las . . £2,075,000
The Island of Montreal, exclnsive of the City, contains about 1*0,000 acres, mostly . ..
in a higl/state of cultivation. There are several villages in the Island, and numerous
country-seats in the neighbourhood of the city. An averagp valuation of £10 per acre, is
considered too low by tliose who are well informed on the subject 1,400,000
^ £3,475,000
The commutation fixed ky the Ordinance varies from 5 to 12J per cent., according to
the extent of improvement on the land. Assuming an average of 71 per cent., the St.
Sulpicians would receive for the commutation of lods et ventps . . . . i . . .* .1 £260,^25
Mills and water privileges '•^ • • ■
St. Gabriel Farm of 300 acres, comprised partly within the city limits. Fief Na-
zareth, adjoining this property, has been conceded on building leases, at an annual rent of
£3 for the eighth part of an acre ; and besides paying that ;ent, the lots bear a value of
from £10 to £75 each, according to situation. St. Gabriel Farm would certainly pro-
duce at present, if divided into building lots and sold on credit, a sum not less than
25,000
I
50,000
£335,625
The assessment on buildings within the city, is, genecally speaking, below the real' -
value, and on farms, orchards ahd vacant lots, forms no criterion as to the actual vvorth.
A few instances, in exemplification, will be given :— An estate belonging to John Red-
path, Esq. of 235 acres, of which tliat part only within the city limits is valuable, the
rest being mountainous and rocky, unfit either for" building or agricultund purposes.
This estate cost the proprietor £10,000, arfd is assessed in the city books at an annual
rental of £85. An estate, owned by the heirs of the late Simon M'Tavialt Esq., of 300
acres, adjoining the above named property, present value about £12,000, aB8e.ssed at »
£80 per annum. .^^W^rm and orchard, of about 40 acres, belonging to \he Hon. Chief ^
Justice Reid, prejpfiilue about £4,000, assessed at £36 per annum. A vacant lot
ofland, belonging to John Fisher, Esq, assessed at £6 per annum, present value about
£400. The assessed rental *»the(-e four properties collectively is £507, which ac- \
cording to the previous calculation, would represent landed estate to the value of
£2,587, and yield to the St. Sulpicians, on a commutation of 7 J per cent., the sum of
£194. The real value of these properties being £26,400, the St. Sulpicians would j»c-
tually receive £ 1 ,980, being more than ten times the amount previously estimated.
Not much more than one-fourth of the land within the city limits is yet built -^
upon, and taking that circumstance into view, together with the manner ir» which the
Assessment Roll is usually prepared, vacant lots being frequently altogether omitted, and ^
liie number of valuable buildings erected since 1836, the St. Sulpicians will, probably,^
receive (or commutation, within the City over and above the amount already stated, a
sum not less than -^ ••^ 50,000^ '
The arrears of Lods ei Ventes, in the City of Montreal, by the Seminars statement
t*) the Commissioners in 1836, amounted to 34,000
£419,625
f.^
«:
Tke account of arfeaw cllfferLng so mamrially l^ofh what waB expected, occaBioncd", at first, some <
,,«rplexity, until it became J^pown on inquiry, that anticipating the Seigniory would be assumed by •
the Crown as the result of the .'nvcst^ation then going forwi&, the.landeji proprietors, dunrtg^ the
years'lSSS and 1836, very generally compromised w.ft, the $i. Sulpicians for tbe arrearages ; both
parties being gainers^ by tlais arrangen,ent-the St. Sulpicians, in collecting for their own use revenues
to wliich they had no legal right, and the Cgnsitaires, in obtaining a considbmb|e ^ductmn on the.r re-
■ spective debts, and an acquii'tancc in full from the Seignior, in possession, who, by the Vrench law,^
however defective their title, can grant a good and valid discharge to the Censitaires for the se,gnu,nal '
dues and ff^hts. The excess of income over expenditute.'dqrhig the yea«i just named, must amount to
a large sum, ^yhich is, probably at th» present moment, deposited in the S^rtvinary's vault.
This mrg^^f^ud, together with the commutation o( Cens et Bentes, abort 900 acres of womh
lan.i and other landed egUte in aad near the cUy, will, coflectively, form more th«) an equivalent for
the few small fiefs held by other Jieligious communities and by individuals dependent on the Spignwry
of Montreal, and whiolj would olherw.se requirllobe deducted from the' estimated sum.which a fom- ^
mutation oft he Seigniorial rigJUs throughout the Island will produce. • . ', - '
The valueof tl.e other Seigm'ories held by the St. Sulpicians cannot be so satisfactorily established
as that of Montreal. The Seigniory of the Lake' of the Twojflountains and its augmentations contains
about 200,000 acres, a great part uncono*led and haviijg a valuable growtj^f timber. The numi.er ^
of inhabiiantB is supposed to 1)6 between 9000 and 10,000, and there are two villages of some magnitude,
St. Benoit and St. Scholaslique. The Seminary has two Corn Mills and eight or ten farms m its own
' management, and several Saw Mills and manufaclorirs are posscsselT by individual proprietors.
Tife Seigniory of St. Sylpioe contain, about 70,000 acres, all 'concede>|. The population ,s ab.Mit
. "12000. There are three villages in tins Seignior)-, St. Jacques, St. Sulp.ce, and L'A*somption, tl^e
'last flamed contains idfout 200 houses, .ftan/of them costly and commodious stone buildings. The
St. Sulpicians liave lour Corn \tills on H^Seigniory, and>here are eleven Mills belongw.g to indivi-
duals for sawing, /ardirfg and fulling, besides several manufacturing esUiblishments, a Distillery arwl
Brewery. The Cens et Rentes or fixed annua! rent are stated to be 10 sols (bd.) ^d half a bushel
of wheat for every tvventv superficial acres.
It would occupy too much 'space to go into a .ninute detail as to the probable sum to be levied
' on these two Seigniories on the terms provided in the Ordnance ; but it may be assumed ' With cer- ■
Cinly that tl.e capital represented l.v ti.e CeJ ei Rentes, the mills and farm property and the com-
- n.utat'.on of Lo,k d Vcnie, would amount ,0 n.ure than X 100,000, yielding to the .St. Sulpicians, ,
,he sAgniurv of Montreal, ,„clus,vo,. a sum total of about £520,000, i^ adduion to which diey
woiiUl ac.imre a valid title to neaily 150,000 acres of lan.i in the Sejmory of the Lal^e of Two Moun-
tains, and the Tirrears of < r„s el Rentes and, Lod. d Wnies on the two Seigniories dniounting it may
lie Supposed to a large sum. • " • V , <• r
\-he annual collection of Vensd Rentes to be continued as heretofore and the re.it. aHjir5if>^
, tbeirnnmeroii. mills and farms would provide in part fur the current ex,^nses of the St.' Sulpician.,
■ .„ul as Die r^ of conniuitatiot. for Lods d Vente. iti.reascs with the delay in^commuting, a^d landed
• pro-perty especially in the Commercial City of/Vlontroal may be expected to acquire a greater value m
Micceeding vears.'the preset.t value of this endowniet.t will nof vary materially from the estimate, al-
,|,ouah a considerabU time should elapse before the principal sum is paid up. Interest at the rate of
SIX percent, per annum, with ample security, ca* readily be obtained in the North American Provinces,
•a.,JtheSt.Sulpic,an3will consequently possess under the proposed arr^gement, a revenue at tho-
lowest calculation exceeding £30,000 per annum, to be employed at their own discretion for the ex-
clusive ^vantag^> of those professing their faith; other Roman Catholic communities being likewise
■ ' permitted to retain most extensive and valuable estates for the same purposes, Contrary to law, vVh.lc no
public provision whatever-iias been'Tnade .0 ..pply the wants of the Protestant population 4n those
respects. , ' » 1 . .1 d 1
Tim Mmi.tcnar,s.-heme of endowment in Lower f^anada, where rights secured by the Royal
promise and l,y Act/of tlw Imporial ra.llan.cnt ar. ,0 be set aside, and the Protestant landowners
,. „„pe||e,l to ,.ny '• du.>s nn.l' ri.liis" ,0 the Ron.ui CatliAlic Clergy, strongly contrasts with the recent
J
J
Ministerial
with a wid
Province v
" Brotestai
morejalui
to Proaten,
firms a Fi
from the 1
calamitou
means of
and-8usta
■ The
country 1
tion or d
equality
they cla
which" tl
expect.
Th
P.>liiioni
10 the
/
r
3
•■ \
* *
ime
I by
I the
iioth
Mies
re-
lawr
orial
ntto.
auU>
vooJt
It for
iwry
Rom-
I*
ished
itains
imlier
itiiite,
* own
\
J
< . 1 A. .v,f.hpTmncrialParUnmenlit4o be violated, but
MiniWrial .e^ure in Upi*rCafta.la, where also an ^;;-;;^;^] ^^J^^^^ ^ ^ ,„aow«d in t^.at
U a widely different intent, and the ^^ ^ ^^^^ ' ^w ^^^ and support of a
- Province with one-fifth of thelands specally W-'^^^/j^^^^^^ ,,, ^^^,^,^, Ordinance are ^
« Brotestant Oergy." The estates granted to ^ ^ ^^^^^'^J^^^ vy blow and di«.ur.«ement
„o.,,a.uab.ethan..l.eC.r«y^^^^^^^^^^
to Pro8te.vta"t'*ni in LowerCanada not «nly eBtabltsbe p the , Franco-Canadian,
. from the British tace, and to eher.«U ^ i^^dvocated by the Government, aa a
e'alamitouB resuU..that the Legi^twe ^^:^-'^l^'^^Z... „,,He St. Sulpiciane-wiU animite
' „eans of destroying..hat French n«ho»aW^,wh,cl%.endowme
- ^"C^-rsdo -
_ country n:.de.oil.ofB«.m.ss.^^^^ ^i! J K^. or wHh the ^.ct ^
tion or desire^to interfere w.th t e free exer ^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ctin^the rights of other...
. equality of civil rights now exisimg . .' ^ , j parliamentary favour and protection,
J expect. ^ , ^ ~ " . ^ , ' ' '
■ IX
Rhdlit
n, tlip
The
ndivi-
y and
Inislicl
levied
h cer-
s com-
)icians,
h iliey
Moiin-
it may
10 lilt' Q\jcpn. • ' ' ' - ~
^
i
/
JOHN FISHER,
Chairmiin.
., JV. BADGtEY,
Secretary.
•QJjtS of
picians,
landed
.alue in
laic, al-
5 rate of
oviiices,
! at tho-
^iie ex-
likewise
kVhilc no
In tiiose
\
■ ;
■r
f^-
e Royal
idowners
lie rt'crnl