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Un dee symboles suivants spparaltra sur la darni*ra image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: la symbole -^slgnlfle "A SUIVRE". la syinbole V signifie "FIN". tUL^Vi' »*'•"«*»••• t«WMux, etc.. peuver«t «tra «lm*s A des taux de reduction d:ff«rents Lorsque le document est trop grand pocir «tre reprodu.t en un seul c.'ich«. il est fiim« fi portir de I angle sup«rieur gauche, de gauche k droite. et de haut 9n bas. an pranant le nombre d images n^essaira. Las diagrammes suivants illustrent la m«thode. 22X 1 2 3 4 3 6 »■> /l4>^ 1 Aya^'Uu-^j -Hives ...;#■•■ 042 MEMORANDUM Concerni^s t»c Seigniory of Te.ra Fir,„a of Mingan, ^M speaal reference to a Report by Mr. Deputy ■ Surveyor Bo„e,.ette upon tke sunt Seigniory, fy ^. h. Dawson, Fcbntary, 1883, inheritance, b/IL, b^d' '^f ^^r ™ " "" ''^^ '>■ proprietor to propr etor wl, „,. ■ ' ^^ """-""S^ «>ntract, from rent, have beercolccl? ■ '"" ^"'^ ^'""^'^' ""d when present time-wl" , 1;;'"'°" ""^ '''™'» "■"" ''<»'" »" "■« a..d of enjoj-men t ndd" , 1 ' 77 T <^'='™'>le mode of transfer 8ueh cases have been Zw,, , "•'«'»' documents necessiry in for Sener„,i„„,,i'; ':«rptl" ""'"'""'' ""challen'^ed «"? them, it i„ ntter.; ^Z^TZZIlTT' '" "'""■ period as this, the very evisteni ,,f ^ ' "" '■««'"«e a called in quosl on I, LT "'" "" ''"''"<' "''ould be discover ti'at T U,e 'J ri'oOlT^™' n"" ""' ^"^^ '^"^ '" that it never existed at all "'™'"'' '"'^' »"■"''="" ««"> seigniory as Terra Firm of M,? "f' '.'"^'■'^ "'^^"^ ""« «"<^h » boundaries of it If u ! '^'.'"«''"' "' '^ '<«' «me to dispute the mtleconsequete "he erth'riT """'" »V-»="!"'"ion,'it is of other river be its easte „ imi f??""'' ''" '""^S"^'""'' "^ ""^ tern umu. if, a^ ,, „g^,^ maintained, the i rights gmntod wore merely fishing rights, to fish in a p„rt of the of Le r V^^,*"^ ^°™" '"'"'S"""' "'<"• '» «»''." - waste of time to d.sc>,ss the revocation of such rights. Eights which are <»mmo„ to all aro of no v„h,e_.hey require no f„™„, g ' „ and no e ahoratc revocation. Something more suhstantial must ex,st .n these r.ghts to call for ninety eight pages of argumen TlK, Eepor assumes the question at issue, and then argues on the assumption It speaks of the " pretended Seigniory of Min- gan, and „f the "pretended legal rights "of the SeigniorTof M.ngan The Mi,, e, Or.!onna„ce, are invoked fredy when supposed to support the views advanced ; but on page 1 those decisions of the Intendants which are ''/on.a, jJ^Ll^.Z here, become ",,„fc ,.,,„,„,;„,„.- „nd are held to bo of v ^y " eltlZrtr"- ^■'i'-' f"!"'"" »' '''"'*"'» "•'SM well take e.\ceptioii to the special pleading of the report. Passing however, from the form t„ the subject of the Kenort ■t wil be best, in order clearly to apprehen.J the ques on at' issue, to consider it under the following heads : Ist—Was there ever such a seigniory as that of Terra r irma of Mingan ? 2nd.~If there was ; was tlie grant revoked ? 3rd.-Was the grant that of a Seigniory, or of a fi.shin.^ license ? " 4th.— What was its extent ? It will be impossible to avoid a little repetition for the questions overlap each other to a certain extent. For conve- nience of discussion some such method is unavoidable. It must however, be premised that there are no private persons who claim the land in question. If such there were, they would be on behalf of the Crown, because in certain ca«es the rights of he Crown are imprescriptible. Still it must be borne in mind that one single definite admission of the title by the Crown ■•If- a part of the ih, it is waste Rights which formal grant, ^tantial must of argument, n argues on liory of Min- Seigniors of freely when ge j8, those nienfs " else- ) bo of very t well take the Report, liiestion at It of Terra f a fishing n, for the ''or conve- It must sons who would be 1 is raised rights of 3 in mind ^Q Crown f it would b<3 ctiuivaloiit to a now tillc n,„l , 'atct of»uch public rocog„i,ll"„;,l,i' "''' """ ""-' pnncplo of feudal law, w,..,. each i/ve:.;:^:';., ujf a tUIe" " ■;i-™,. Thi« volume ^!^y'^:;;:^jTT'r '" r'* Pning »u„l.a work, I CU bLZ t '^:,;r- -P^ofeo,... General of Lower r!in,wi.. r io<.. AJ- s purveyor- mi»»io„, wa» dedicated to Kit VV iiam iV'' ",'"' Tf "' ''"" Louour of presenting a cop^ i° jl!!';"' '^^ *" "'""" ''« '"«• ""^ •MvlXeConno^rawtl," '^"r"' «<"-^y> e^teud» " channel to the Eiv" ' t2^ o ?"; t^ "'' '"« '^'"'™''- " to Sienr Frangoi,, Bi»„r ^1 ef: C ^"^''"''"■^^Sth, ItiCl Col. Bonohe.te then give, the following abstract of the title : " ml'!):rJ'Z f;'''"''f ^'««»™-C«nce.,io„ du 25me fovrier " Oe, Corcoran. S du NoM "f:j..V"'"T ""^"'^ '° ^"^ " Esquimaux, ou les EsDa» writer l,a« put i„to italics), ,l„to, ll,at fl„. oastorn limit „r.l,„ Under ordinary circumstances the deed tn RJo. ^ .1 mmmmm exception of one single house wis than rln . . r . ^ «nd for a hundred ^ears • ter t .0 "^TTt ^" '''"'^' ^^^«' warehousesin the low r town ^' ,'""•«'' ^"*« ^^^^ -er their «p «. A ■, , ^"^ houses were nearly all hnilf •Ferland-Oours d'Histoire du Canada. Vol. 2, p. 134 Fer and-Cours d'Histoire du Canada. Vol. 2 i 304 tEdits et Ordonnances. Vol. 2, p 357 ^ « who nmtlL' a .siniilnr (leclarati..n In i -ci • <■..";..". The »tatj„;:!t:;':h ' i :r oi'.-s'rr' ",""■■ ":" "'■' 1721, i» within iih^ia'::,:'"'';'-''';'' '■■■ '"^'- "- ■■-•ir, w«» well known, the pr"i,"d " '"' "'•^■'"■■■"'^'■•- Tl.e even Canadian hirtorv wl' ," ,h!n ' "''" '"" ''"^'"'"''' "'"' ''""l<- "f e..oe. But in .h„ Act t t .■ S,"?/ ,™ ^h"' """" ''"^ '■^■'■"■ given " dont il, „e peuvent avoir Jo, • I ''™'"''' *'"' '» •• «"-ivC. au Palai, de ce te vil , ' r™ °"""" ''" ''""^^■'""'-' •'«umd le. vo„te,d,,lWa ■'/•'"'' "'"""'"• '^IS qui a eon- A» for the de»t notion oL ""•"," ^^"""^^ '"" '■'^=i»'--' would suffice ; but Ibitunalelv , T "«l<"'"vledgen,ent8 Not long arte; the n" h":^, i„ ^ .''",'';" ''7""^ "" --'• ]-'m„5„i, Bi,8ot died and J^LV , '' ""'' ^'""' Bi».sol, husband, Jaajues de Lnia ndp , I *^"""")- """"'""i '<■ second Louis Jolietr-ndered _ a,^ "", r ""' "' '''""''' 'CS". hi" tuloi i, ;,. In tho "f"""' ,""<' "1'P''«<1 '«■ n discharge from Here, then, is a solemn declarn«i\^« ^ ^ . event, by the guardian of the heTrs^h'at th. ^H '"''' "'"" "■« and the excuse is accented .„a1 '"'"' "^"'^ turned, appended to the sa-Tded is a J;^";?''''"'''^'"'^*^''- »" ^■■tificte. It is as follows ,- "^ '"'"'"'''»' ""''hea-eau's " .lACQl^KS DUCIIESNEAir, - Nnm rntillon. ^,,n ('harh. IWIIn', murrhumi, r.tuit h Mont- no, on .,. njluhr. raroif „j>,,rh', lu,.,,„v la o.nific Jr h /.,..,- nl/c ,lv Q,nJnrJ„t r,n,.,n„tT par Iv J\a ; re ,,,,1 anira la >„ut da U»ofrr aa ma/aicaa' .raofif d.nmr ; it ,,av iaah, h:s marrlanal}.,. '• 'jn ,1 avail la,s,h, ,la„H la jwtlsoa oi) il ,lnmara!t n, la ha,Mc rillr, " oal etc hra^liTH, mm ,j,Cia, ait fa> ran xannr. Et i,Hv Iv ilU Porlar " "jnre rt affirm,- ihraat noa.s i,av h Slvar Lualx Jnll'at arait lalnni " dam laihic „ai,.ua trols prtitv. ra..rtlr., daa. k.qavllf, e.tuient ' nva papuTN qui oat v^tc aami ljrmlec>i. '* JCa fctaou, ilv qaoi nom aroas siync I,- pr^ral, ,1 Inl,,,/ /'all '• '^>wur a nofre Scnrtairv i\ Qncl>er, Ir anf/rldiac xvptaahvc 1G82. ;; Et vmaite i:.t eHrrif-IMafiouar a rorajlual ni parr/amln, rv -Jod,rnalu aa dit S!n,r Jollaf, n,.drx.sa.s ao,nmr. Par laoi No- " lau'v, ijarde-notr da lio,j aotrv SIrv. va .a Prcro-sf^ dr Qncher- - ^on..snja6 an dit Qaehvr, rr arafrl^aajoar dr nans nullr ,U cent ' qmlre-nnyt-qaatn; slyne Gnaiplv m la ditc ropir vollationne. " GeNAI'LE. " This certificate of Diiclie.siieau's was fii-anted only thirty-five „ the direction of his father-in-law's »,hen.e With a v,ew to opening „p trade, he tnade, shortly after" sn": riage, an expedition to Hudson's Bay bv wiv of r.,1,,. T «.«..& and lell into the hands of an offim Jtll T' r i" tet """T'" '''' *^°""'-^' "''-'■ ^'"^ '" "P in Quebec ,„ those early days, he was a well-educated 11^ , He could converse with the Hudson's Bay officer L,t a^d tljbecme very good friends; so n.ueh so tl,: i a ';'„: ,'' ' Joints enemies accused him of trading with the English •Suite— Vol. 3, page 11. t Pierre Margry i„ Vol. 9, Revue Canadienne. 8 The trade with the Indians in the direction of Hudson's Bay was a royal reserve, known in French times by the name of the Domame du Eoi, and later by that of the King's Posta. It was carried on from Tadoussac, up the Saguenay and its tributaries, and Bissot and Joliet were interlopers. But they belonged to a powerful clique, favoured by the Intendant, Duchesnau, and opposed to the Governor, Frontenac, who was a friend of LaSalle In this clique were Aubert de la Chesnaye and the Sieur Leber, of Montreal, the wealthiest merchants of the country, and in spite of the complaints of the agents of the King's Farmers-Gen- eral, Johet would interfere with the trade which properly beloiiged to the Domame dn RoL This he could easily do from Isle-aux-(Eufs, the extreme western limit of Bissot's seigniory Boisseau, tiie agent of the Farmers General, had one of *Joliet's vessels seized ; but, in spite of his remonstances, the Intendant released the vessel, and contented himself with an ordonnance forbidding Joliet to interfere with this trade. Later on, he issued a second ovdonnoure to the same eftect, and, in a third, he inflicted a hxxQ on Johet and confiscated his vessel. For all that, the i^armers-General continued to complain of his operations. In 1678 the Intendant sent to France, dedicated to Colbert a map of Canada. It is drawn by Frnnciuelin. and is of little value geographically because those explorations which were to render the French name famous had only j ust commenced. La Salle was still in the West; Joliet had just returned. He had not re- ceived his concession of Anticosti. The Isles of Mingan were not conceded and Joliet had not commenced those voyages which settled the geography of the Labrador coast. The map is never- theless of importance, because it accompanied a Papier Terrier which was sent to France at the same time. Upon it is laid down extending between Isle-aux-CEufs and the Bay des Espa- gnoLs m large letters upon the main land, - Seigr urie dn ^^ieur Bmot, Not - fishing rights of Sieur Bissot." not - Post of Mingan of Sieur Bissot," for Mingan is not laid down at all, but * Pierre Margry.-Vol. 9, Revue Canadienne. 9 ^W-.n-le (iM Sieur Bissot. Duchesnoau probably knew what a heigniory meant. Fishing rights had not commenced at that time to he granted and besides ii" they had been it is absnrd to suppose that they woukl have been entered upon a Papur Terrier. In 1G79 the Intendant Duchesnau conceded to Louis JoHet and to Lalande (Madau.e Bissot's second husband), the Seig„ior3- the Isles and Islets of ..ingan ; and, in IGSO, to Louis Joliet the Ishnd of Ant.costi was granted, so that in the Bissot and Johet fannhes al the trade of the iNorth Shore centred. The male descendants of Bissot moved afterwards to the Illinois country and iounded the s.nlement now Vincenues ,n Indiana. Bissot devTn cennes took j:. „, the settlement of the Ohio and Illinois valleys. The female n.embers of the fanuly and the Joliet connection con- kl evt'"7;" ^''^"'.^i^^^^-^^^i-- •" the Gulf in their Seigniories, Th t. ' ! ' '^^^""u' '" ''''^' other, along the North Shore uno tb T-T"'r',- '''''"^' ^" '"'"^^' "^'^ ^^^'-^ ^ fl°«d of light upon the trials and disputes which must now be discussed. Bissot and Joliet had been long dead, wh.n in 1733 Wr rf "i P ^;«8"^'MI-' representative in Canada ofth; *a mei-GenenU Carlier, summoned the heirs Bissot before Intend- 21 ,TTv 'I "t "1 ^'"^"- ''''''■ ^" ^'^'^-^^ ^Weared Bissot's Cuo.„" '^'' '' ^^'^"°''*^'^'' ••""^"S ot'^-- l^«i^-«- The .bject of t^Bilot'' I"- "•"""' '" the/>o.c.W ,u i?oahat portion of ti.e Bissot Seigniory, extending from Isle-aux-(Eufs to Cane hrblld't.; F ' ''"'^ 'TT'' *" '^ '^^^"•^^' ^^'^'^ -^- '-d always tioubled the tanners of the D,nnau,e. His demand extends only f 61 "wb "r' '' ''"" ""r^' ''''' ""^'^^ ^'^^^''' ^he concession ll by fil :f tr"""""VV^'""'"-'^"^"«- '^1^^^^ pleaded the TJti/ r T^'"'^ documents, and that their title was ruaTv t « ' V. ' f ^" '' ^"""'^^ °^"^^ «" '^^ 10th of Feb- B fffof 1 .''^^,^f '^^^-■^'^—^--ertified to by the Jiailift of the Coma/ Svperieur as then existing of record. tra^^T\^'^ T ^^'P"^' '^^'' *^^^^'- ^^^ «l^i«^«d that all the beotfd toJh r """f."^' ""^"^^^« *« Isle-aux-CEuf belonged to the farmers of the Domaine under various Ordon. 10 annces, which he cited, and he demanded that the Farmer- General be maintained, " en .son droit, de faire seul, h Vex- " elusion de tons autres, la traito, chassc, pGche et com- "nicrce dans I'etcndiie dii dit Domaine dii Roi depuis " I'Lsle-raix-Coudro.s jusques et compris la dite Eiviere *Moi- " sy." lie distinctly admits that a concession was made of the territory in question, and, in order to induce the Seigniors to make a voluntary abandonment of it, he offers them a remis- sion, not only of the unpaid dues on that portion, but also of the nnpaid dues upon their establishment at Mingan. His words are : « Si mieux ils n'aimoient se desister de la concession en *' question et consentir a la rcnnlnn au domaine dc la Scu/neunc " de risle-aux-ffiufs." The formal judgement of the Int'endant reunites to the King s Domain : '' lu dit termin concede au dit " Sieur Bissot depuis et compris la dite Isle-aux-(Eufs jusqu'a la " Pointe des Cormorans qui est ti quatre ou cinq lieues an-dessous " de la dite Riviere Moisy." If then the scigncurie, as pretended in one portion of the Report, extended only from Islc-aux-(Eufs to the Sepi Mcs there would be no need of re-annexing to the Domaine the land between Sept Isles and Pointe aux Cormorans. And again, if the Seven Islands were the limit of the Seigneurie the trade' of the Moisic was already in the Domaine, for the Moisie is east of the Bay of Seven Islands, and, being on that theory outside of the Seigniory required no judgement to re-annex. Then again, it is clear that the question is one of a real seigniory or what can be the meaning of the words " adandon du terrain concede ? ". They cannot refer to a license to fish. And again, if the post at Isle- aux-(Eufs was seignioral, why should it be improbable that the post at Mingan was seigniorial ? Cugnet further requested, in that same trial, that the Bissots should be ordered to take out a neio title for the " etablissement " made by them at Mingan, " commencing from Cape Cormorant to the Baye des Espagnols." Mingan must have been something more than the fishing station which another portion of the report asserts it to be, because, whatever may be the location of the 1 ivi6re * Moi- ras made of 11 Baye des Espagnols, Cape Connorant and Mingau are distant eighty miles upon the map. The heir., acceoded to the propos- ition and asked for a new title. If „„ ,,ri^«„„,;„ existed both partic.s would not have concrred in asking for a ucz, title. Tliev at27.T)t '"' " "■"' r " '"""■"'""• •"■' "- "ords„o„i,„«^ rinciplc here laid doion, the Quebec " Act, Stat.U, Geo. in., Cap. S3, annexed to that Government all " such territories, islands and countries as had since the lO^/i of " February, 1763, heen part of the Government of Newfoundland, " and they were so to continue during His Majesty's pleasure:' The passrge in italics, with the clause in the Act itself, dis- poses of the theory that the French tenures were in any way affected by the change of sovereignty. So little did this notion obtain at the time that, in 1772, Thomas Dunn purchased of Mane Bissot, widow of Francois Vederique, one-fourth share in this seigniory, which she had inherited from her father, Francois Biasot, and, upon this transfer, the Crown received the " quint " due under seignorial law, and put Mr. Dunn into possession. All the particulars of the title, the loss of the deeds, and the undis- turbed and immemorial possession had in 1764 been publicly recorded in an Acte de Notori(3t^ published 'and registered in the year 1766. Mr. Dunn was one of the Judges of the Preroga- tive Court of Quebec, and in a position to know all the facts, as well as the law, of the case. The Acte de Notori^t^ was signed ;\A. 16 by twelve old and well known citizens of Quebec, besides the heirs, and establishes the notoriously immemorial title of the seigniory of Terra Firma of Mingan in the heirs Bissot, at that time, in a way which cannot be got over. Five years after, in 1777, Mr. Dunn purchased the .share of D'lle Belcour de Lafontaine, daughter of Charlotte Bissot, and m 1779 William Grant bought at Sheriff's .sale, the rights of Charles Johet d'Anticosti in the same seigniory. In 1781 a son of Charlotte Bissot sold his share to Francois Joseph Cu'-net This Mr. Cugnet was an eminent jurisconsult of Quebec. He had been Comelllcr au Conscil SHpcneur under the French lUgime and Attorney-General, under Governor Murray's Council He is known as the writer of the earliest published law-book in Canada. Ills " Iradc des ancienncs Loi., Co„(ume. d Umcjes de la Colonic tla Ccmuilar was printed at Quebec in 1775. This sale took place on the 12th October, 1781. On the 28th of May precedino: th^ seigniors rendered Foi et Ilommage. This Act is entered^upon the Register, but is objected to in the Report because it was not signed by the Governor. Why it was not signed, nowhere appears ; but Mr. Cugnet, who .vas in a position to know, did not hesitate five months after to purchase a share in the property. In 1784 a number of persons, heirs of Claire Bissot sold their interests to Thomas Dunn and to Peter Stuart. The' same purchasers, in conjunction with William Grant, bought out Mr Cugnet's shares in 1786, and thus acquired the whole property' In 1 /89, a notarial adjustment of these interests was made. In 1803, an official list of the Seigniories of Canada was pub- lished by Vondenvelden and Charland. This list contains the Terra Firma of Mingan. There was a map published at the same time to illustrate that list, and a reduction of this map is append- ed to the Report under consideration ; * and there, upon it is laid down plainly, extending from Cape Cormorant beyond the edge of the map (so that tlie eastern boundary could not be shown), "Pa;-< of the Seignlonj of Terra Firma of Mingan r of Min'gat'""' '^ *''■• ^°"'^'"' "" ""= P'-'^'^"^**^ '"g'^l ^l"*™^ of the SeigniorB of Terra Firma « (( (( it « t( (C (( 16 .f •.^'''^.w? "c'' ''." ''^''^' •'"P^^'tant one, and the reproduction of It, with the Seigniory of Terra Firraa laid down, aH a seigniory .8 very sati.taetory ; but the title of the map is too much curtailed by Mr. Bouchette to show its full value. The proper title can be found by any one, not having access to the map, in Mr. Fari- bttult s Catalogue. It is as follows :— " * Topographical Map of the Provinc-e of Lower Canada, com- piled from all the former as well as the latest surveys; taken by order of the Proviucal Government, by and under the direc tion of Samuel Holland, Esq.. deceased, late Surveyor-General p '\r^ ^'?:''"''''- Dedicated to His Excellency Robert Prescott, Esq, Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, &c., by William Von- denvelden lately Assistant Surveyor-General, and Louis T '^ I'cn?" Surveyor. Published by W. Vondenvelden, London, 1803. Th3 official value of the map is sufficiently evident by the title, but there .re two notes upon it which are omitted in the Report, but which have an important bearing, as showing what was the tenui-e of the properties laid down and also the conhrm- ation by the English Government of the old French grants. « Note IsU—lhe Selgniones of the Province, heing French grants, have orujmaUy been conceded, and since the conqueM, then have remained, andatill continue, under the feudal tenvre. All "lands on the contrary, lately granted by the English Government m the several townships here laid down, are held in free and common soccage. " Note 2nd.-The townships in the District of Gasp6 have been laid out in the year 1786, without regard to the ancient grants and part of the lands, in most ot them, have been granted, and are now held, under occupation certificates by Acadians refugee loyalists and disbanded soldiers. Two of a a a M.p.;r;c°rss:frLts^:::*-'--°""-^^^^ ^. 17 '• these traclH have since been claimed mule.- the old titles 'na,„ely Cl„„do>, and Port Daniel, ,„M of -M, W ' ^ '■punlmml by /he Gorernmad from Ihr ^„„^„vrf«,-.,." The passages in italics are important. On tnrning to the book which accompanied the n.ap the title will bo found as loll„ws,-"Extra,ts des Titres do, aneiennes concessionsdo terr^ enfiefct seigneurie, faites avant et depnis la conc.uete do U Nonvelle-France par le, armes britanniques, dans la nartie actn ellement appeK. le Bas-Canada ; .V J *,' „V,V 2 *wr ,' «™„ A, &cri,ahc de !a Province, e, par ce, offkier Jl^,Z I'^carU^toi^ographqnc de la dik Pror!„re d„ jL-Ga„ada ■ ^Z perm.ss.on dC.di6e il Son Excellence Robert IWtXt'Z un Uas-Unada. Le tout compile par William Vondenvelden .-devant assistant Arpenteur-Ce„,:.ral de la Province susdUe Tt m";:;' pI"?; ^b"";'"" ^;"™"'"' «" ■-""' Quebec tpr. mts par P. E. Desbarats, rue de la Montagne, 1808." The passage in italics shows that the map and the book are ^ be taken as one document and one of the highe t aSriw On turning to the list of titles at No. 90 is fou„d°the foHowh 5' "T<>>-nF;rmao/Ml,u,a,i.-Co,Komon du 25e K.vrior 1001 fa. te par la Compagnio an 8ieur Francois Bissot de kKiv le ! "mnnv n,\ i. „ , ' J^'^'i" '^ ^'^ ^^ande Anso vers les Esnui- 'Mrn?;d:p::CS""''^ '°"' -^-■—"W.echesurdcfu.. or ?tti-To:\r.-"^:rc„\':^^^^^^^^^^^^^ In 1806, the Attorney General claimed, for the Crown ih. A skilfu ench lawyer ras employed to arrange the 18 coinplicuted iiiteivstM. He ilivw tip ii dotiiilc'il account of the tlireu .suignorics of Antic(»Htl, Islutti of Miiigaii, and Terra-Firma of Mingan ; and the Crown received the seigniorial dues on all. Finally, in the year 1837, an Act of Ful d Ifominugc wan rendered to Lord (losford, as representative of Queen Victoria, full, complete and formal, in every respect, (stating in detail the main facty concerning the liuiit.s and tenure of tlie lief of Terra- Finna of Mingan, accepted and .signed by the Governor as repre- senting the Queen, and tiow of record in the Archives of the Province. This alone is sufficient title as against the Crown, nor need the proprietors go back of this. It is in itself deed, grant, title, to all the property described therein, in so far as the Crown is concerned, and would cover any defect of title, if such had existed. The history of Mingan as a Seigniory terminates, as did that of the other Seigniories of Lower Canada, in the Act of Parlia- ment 19th Vict., Cap. 53, and in the Cadastres of the Commis- sioners for changing the tenure. In these documents it is mentioned, and the touire is changed, as in the case of all the other seigniories. Tlie people who had to deal with it for over two hundred years were above the average in intelli- gence and yet there is ao vestige of a record of a doubt concerning it. Merciiants, Jurisconsults, Judges, Attorneys General, Sur- veyors, Surveyors-General, officials of all grades up to Governors- General have dealt with it as a seigniory. Questions as to the eastern boundary must have arisen, but never, until the year 1867, did any question arise as to its existence. Tile second question — was the grant ever revoked ? will not require a long discussion because it is really answered under the first head. It is, however, convenient here to group together some considerations which would have confused the previous statement; It cannot be denied that the French King had, and sometimes exercised, the power of revoking concessions. Instances are recorded, and several Edits et Ordommnces were issued, stating ?v. an^l putting into oHoct thono ,>o.vors. What is ,l..„io.l is that the K.„g cul rovoico the grant. The gra.it is provo.l-the rovLat 1 must a^o he proved. A date nu.st he gilen. The n J^r f t " Kmg Governor, or fntendant who pronounced it must ho d closed. The Governor Heanharnois and the Intendan Ho , a^ •"The penalty of re-union to His Majesty's nM,n„;., • oruuH ,„■ „c,„a, ,ettl.,„..„t „„ ,„o .™,t ti^, „"; "„ ":;;: .lay, .« .-t tu be ,„1<„„ |it,,.ally. It i, ,<„,„,, tlmt U ™„ " K tke place „r,e.- ,,„„e y„,„„; „,„, u,e (i„v,.„,„r ,„,U ,1™! f, alone c„„ pronounce the re-uninn, by vi.tne ol' the decree ,"f«^ Connc, o. State ofthe C.I, of July, 171], recited and con n od hy a later decree nf King's Council „f the loth „f May 732" ro tin, the lonnalitv of the pr„ceoding, bear, wit ^f; vhln n the year precedrng, the Par.ner., General extorted CvZtu' I W heir., t,,o territory ,Vou. .slo-aa.-nCn;' to ,o Co,™"a ,t" retcati'rb::in "7 '"r j""=""-""'- ■•-""•'•' "• p- « not, three year, later, in 1730, have warned Do Bro ^le olivl • Correspondence relative to Seigniorial Tenure, page 30. 20 any one ft*ko the iiinp of Ciuiadfv nnd follow down along the river from ^)temi du Lac to the Straits of Bolh;isle ahnig the North Shore (as also on the South Shore.) He will find n contimiouH y Cape ('orniorant on the Eiint. Fnmi that point to the Kcgashka, the Kcport w )uld have us bidieve, there existed a long interval of unconoeded land. At liie Kc- gashka commenced, as shown on the last nnip in the Report, a series of .short leases of nine or ten years. This territory of Terra Firma of iMingan then was without owner. If it was ever granted to private i)ersons, other than Bissot, the name of such person, or some faint indication of a claim, should be .shown. If it belonged to the Domu'me dn Itol, the Farmers-General, who rented that Domaine, would have been aware of it. It is too good a fishing territory (o have gone without an owner. That it did not form part of the Domaine is absolutely certain ; for, eleven day,-, after the judgment referred to, upon the 23rd of May, 1733, the Intendant and the Governor Beauharnois* issued an ordonnance defining the limits of the Domaine, and fixing the Eastern boundary— "yiw^u'a la Poinie ou Cap dea Cormoramr This boundary is also established by a map in the Archives of the Marine, at Paris, entitled, ' Carte du Domaine du Roy en " Canada, d^diee h Monseigneur le Dauphin, par le Ptire Laure, "Jesuite, raissionnaire do ces endroits," and dated 1733, the year of these judgments. At Cape C(>i inoiiint are the words " Borne du Domaine;' mid a few miles beyond, o the eastvarj, is the word " Mingan," The map exteuu.^ uuiy to fifty miles east of the Cape, and consequently tlie word Mingan could not mean Mingan harbour or island which are over one hundred miles east of Cape Cormorant. Moreover the word " Minyau " is upon the main- land, not upon the shore and can mean nothing else than the seigniory of that name. It is a most important document because it Av«3 made at the time of the trial under consideration. It proves the correctness of the views herein advanced concerning ♦ Edits et Ordonnancea, Vol. 2, page 358. r\^ 21 tho pftitiiil ri'-iiniM xinj; of tlic scijini t'.Mtabli.shes, leinaiiidor. . , ,. , ^. . -n-iiory to tilt. Domalnc, nnd it i..tabl,she«, of necessity, th. proprietc.rshlp of the .mtoucl.oci To th.. tlnnl question.-What was the natnre of this ^raiii •' the answer IS easy It is really an .were,] with the first. ,,Lstio, and w.th te fourth. In tho whole history of Feudal 'r.nl wheu was hu, et lUn.mujc ever ren.lered f(.r a trading nri^ Ie«e v lie Idea n; repugnant to the fundamental notion of feudal intti-" t iions. The onn of wor.ls is inconsistent with it. The nol 1 s o o trance could not, without degradation, engage in trade ; u d although the King permitted it in Canada because of the wan of occupation for the noblesse there and the difficulty they had in Ob aining an income in any other way, tho forms of tenure and ■tl s were eudal, and ./o/ ./ /......^e could onlv be ren.le'ed '-• I'UHl held in.A.. The Company of New France govern J a a proprietary government, and was constituted by Richelieu to that very end. It replaced in KWr h,« iVK,iiciieu to T.ri.;„i 111 1 , i^P"i» ta, 111 10 js, the commercial comnanv wl, d Imd l«,kc.d upon C,«,.d« ,« merely a pl.co for trade ■ „„d by th,, company,, according to Sir Lo„i„ L.ontaine ^L', pre ».ded m tl,e special Conrt to which w„, refe. -ed all o, ti„n, concern,„g Se,g„i„ri„l tenure, the feudal tonur, wa» fir» Itm » cment. 1 he m,«t nupurtant sraut.s i„ (Jana,: , were made hy ..» company, that of Jlontreal for in,tanoe. 1 ., year, after ul tTr:Z' f"tf''"'" ""-■'•-'y'l.-o.ernment.asSi., 1 but the titles of the company were in full lief. Besides it has b«,n shown that mutation fees were paid to the Crown When or fltrorwl "'"IT" ■; ","""""■' ""'"" ="--'0 Trade or t,.h Or when did such licenses pass by inh, ritance from ge.urahon to generation without rencial or dispute ? The Intendant Duchesneau supposed it was a seigne,. rie in 1C78 and as s.u=hrt has been bargained (or and sold f^r two hundred years As early as 1709, Jean Baptiste Bissot (known to er at B|»»o^de V,ncennes,) sold to Francois Brissonnet of MontrealhU •SeigQioriiil Decisions, 1856. mr ir^^'l! 22 share in the property. Is it likely that, in such a community as French Canada, such i)roperties would not be well known ? The Sieur de Vincennos was then settling in the West, but he found a purchaser in Montreal lor his undivided share oi' his father's estate. He is careful to reserve arightof refusal, in case Brissonet should want to resell. Men are fouufi in Montreal as witnesses: Claud St. Olivi'er, apothecary, and Rene Alary, carpenter. The notary, LePailleur, draws up the deed : it is registered and 2)invj>Iie by Begoii. And these men, living at the V3ry period, are supposed to have been dealing with an imaginary property, of which the superior acumen of ISG7 first discovers the non- existence ! ! ! Before entering upon the discussion of the fourth question, it will be advisable to consider some points raised in the Report, which do not fall under the four heads of this memorandum ; and, first, the question of the bearing of the Seigniorial Cimmiis- sion upon the status of" Terra Firma of Mingan." It is conclusively laid down in the Report that the declara- tion of the Commission does not constitute a title to this, or to any seigniory. A proposition so clear hardly required a legal opinion to support it. The Commissioners were appointed to change? the tenure of the land, and not to make grants. They could not add to the extent of a seigniory by their declaration, and, consequently, they could not detract from the extent of a seigniory. As stated by the Law Officers of the Crown quoted in the Report: " En un mot, le but de la loi est de changer la " tenure, et. non de regler et etablir le ,■ lignes de division d'un " seigneur avec un autre qui lui est limitrophe." Nevertheless, as " Terra Firma of Mingan " is in the cadastre along with all the other seigniories, there is a presumpti(m that it is a seigniory ; for the Commission was not appointed to change the tenure of licenses for fishing, or for trading with Indians. The cad- astre could not move the boundary of the property one inch to the westward o? to the eastward ; and, excepting so far ah the presumption aforesaid, it has no bearing on the case. In this one ~\, 23 «ing!e instance, tlie Commissioners may have enlivened their arduous labours by calculating the value, per arpent, of a license to catch fish on the main land of Mingan. The boundaries, however, of the thing, whatever it was, are not affected by the cadastre. Beyon.l the public acknowledgment of the tenure, both m the report of the Commission and the statute based upon it the action of the Commissioners has had no bearini.' on the ques- tion 01 course, as defining the tenure by which ihe propertv is now held, the statute is paramount. Tlie question of boundaries now suggests itself, and b.lbre entering upon that it isconvenient here to consider the maps appended to the report. Map A is Vondenvelden & Charland's map which, as we have seen (page 16) establishes the position of the seigniors. It can reveal nothing about the eastern boundary, however, for tlieir ine runs to the border of the map, and the lettering states that ^Zm ^T^."*'^^^ '' "'^^ "^-'-^ «^^'- ^<^^9>-o., of Terra F'u.na ofMngan, just .us, opposite to the shore, is inscribed "part ot the Seigniory of the Isles of Mingan " ; although it may be observed that all the islands now called Mingan are'well Tuhii the range of the map. Map B is a„ English map published by Mitchell in 1755, and liereforc before; the eonqnc.t of Canad.u It d„e,s not, of c„ ,"e contain any indication of thi. or ,„,,, oil..,- ,el,,u!or,j. it i« „ivTn' .n order to show that a group of the Mingan Islands' was called the nlZrr-"' ';'""?^' !""' "-' "™ 8™"P -'» i-licted in the phrase 't,«v, ?« &q„man,:" in the title. Upon this point Ad «u«l Bay-field remarks, " Clearwater Point,'whieh is'u Ue westward of St. Genevieve, • projects out s^ as to i.tevrupt tt- ^_ ™t,„uat,on of the chain of islands, and thus separates them to two divisions the easternmost of which has been called e Esquimaux Islands, a name which should be confined to the isknd properly so called in the western division." That ft^opinion IS correct can be seen on consulting the old French ♦ St. Lawrence Pilot, page 185. ;iii:! 24 maps which do not make this mistake ; for instance, Charlevoix map drawn by Bellin in 1744. The Company of NeV France in 1061 had not the advantage of consulting Mitchell's map of 1755 nor DesBarre's of 1780, nor le Mar<:.chal des Castries' of 1784 Another point proposed to be proved by this map is that the Ans'o rll p' ?" ^? ^"'™'^ ^y ^"'S Point on the west and Clearwater Point on the east. Now, as the writer of the Report has argued (on p 41) that the /..s,.'.^. of the title means 'to'' or as far as. it follows, on this theory, that the post of Mingan w,. not in the grantat all; because the Mingan settlement iseight miles to the eastward beyond Long Point on Vondenvelden's map. .how,"'.!"" "'■'•""^ "'" ""',''" "'* ^"'■donvoldon'» Map, for that »hows the »e.s,„ory stretching n» far to the Ea»t as the man extends, so the same nuyw are m,uje to show that Mont Joli, or Nata hquan Po,nt, ,s the Eastern bonndary of the Grande Ami in questio,^ The wnter of the report observes that ■• the ooaj trends Northwards,- an observation whieh is not verified by h maps; and h.s seeond theory fails, as does the first, to bri„l Mmgan w.thn, the boundaries of the grant. To repeat al/ he the Ommle A,we commenced on the West at Long Point. There- trC,f/™"*p"'''-''T''' '" '^''"'"^ ^«««, it terminated on plf !L ,"/ ^°'"'- , ^'" '^"'S™ '" ""'" '"»'-"« «»»' "f Long Point, and eould not on that theory have been in the grant. Now ^1 43 ., n\T '"' "V"^" *'^' '" Clearwater point; and, on Edari^fthT" °'"" *""' °" P"8" «'• ""^ Eastern boundary of the grant .s supposed to be at the Goynish, " in order SundarvTf T ""T""- "■" """"' ^-. " but tie Easter. boundary of the grant is insisted, on page 41, to be "unto" Ju^,u^ UGnuuU A... while the Goynish Wundar; overrlhes Grande Anse No, 1 by one hundred and twenty miles on the distance between Long Point and Clearwater Poir t. half '!ni,?7^'''^ •'" f '•"■"f'"'''''-' Jo^mcnt; and a page and a half of the Report .s devoted to it. The point to be demonstrated 26 i« that the - Esquimaux," which by maps A and B were i^hown to hi, islands, were in reality Indians. The writer of the Report attaches much value to this map. He says - Sieur de Champlain in h.s map entitled "Le Canada 1664," &c, &c; and, again, « this map of Champlain as contemporary with the period of the conces- sion. The "Esquimaux" in the title of the Seigniory could not have been both Indians and Islands; but, putting that question aside, the map is remarkable, for Champlain must have made it thirty years after his death. The title upon it, in the Report is imsleadmg by Its simplicity, » Le Canada faict par Sieur de Cham- plain 1664. The real title of the map explains the difficulty. It i«-Le Canada laict par le Sr de Champlain ; ou sont la Notivelle J ranee, a xNouvelle Angleterre, la Nouvelle Hollande, la Nouvelle Svede, la Virginie, &c. Avec les nations voisines, et autres Terres nouvellement decouvertes-suivant les M,5moires de P du Val Geographe du Roy d Paris, En I'lsle du Palais-Avec Privilege 1664 Champlain real maps contain no such namto divisions as this, but the "Esquimaux," who at that date were ctfrr Tm '"^"'" '^'^ '^"'"^ ""'''^ ^" '^^ Labrador Coast east of Great Meccatma and close to what is now Esquiuiaux Map D is given as conclusive authority for another theory concerning the Grande Ansc. It is stated to be " published at a ■'' bTfhec l^'t'f "' ''' f '^"'^^ ""' '''' «"lf '' St. Lawrence "Lsey- N .r^"''"''"' discoverer 'Sieur de Joliet himself. Now this is simply not the fact. The map bears upon It in the or ginal at Paris] the words ' Joannes Zo^^ F>.n,.el,np.>.u:' In this case also, the full title of the man dissipates the false impression made by the tracing. It is "Carte "Gnllede la Prance Septentrionalle contenant La .1 Jl " pays des Ilmois J^afe par le Sieur Jolliet." It was drawn by Pranquel n, then, and long after. Geographer to the kingl Quebec, for the Tntendant Duchesneau. and dedicated by the latter to Colbert, to whom it was sent. The story of this map is given mthe^grant of Anticosti* to Joliet ; as follows : • EnglialiEd of Seigniorial Titles page 420. 't** II - nhi-ii 26 ^^ "We, jointly with Monsieur lo Conite de Frontenac, &c., ^^ and in consideration of tl.e discovery which the said Sieur ^^ Joliet has made of the country of the Illinois, whereof he has ^^ given as the plan on which was drawn the n.ap which we sent two years ago to MonseioneurColhert &c , do jrive, grant &c." Ihe date of the grant is March, 1680-the n.ap was, then, made in 1078 at latest It was sent to France solely to illustrate " la ^(<-ro>nrrfr ,lu pays des Ilinois fnifr par le Sieur Joliet," and eontmned, as to the rest of the country, only the current geo- gniphical information already in Franqnelin's hands. The map was not made l,y Joliet- the discovery was. Joliet returned from t le Illinois and married Claire Bissot in the fall of 1675 He then went to Hudson's Bay. In 1679 his map of Hudson's Bay was drawn. It was not until 1081 that he went down to the Gulf and began those voyages which made him familiar with the geography of the mouth of the St. Lawrence; and it was not un il after iranquelin's death that he was made Geographer to the King at Quebec. The map in question was made and sent to France at least two years before Joliet had been down the uui. A glance at this map ami comparison with Bayfield's chart will show Its great inaccuracy and the impossibilitv of basing upon «uch a rough sketch the boundary of a property. There really IS no Grande Anse " or '• Great Bay " there, to which Spaniards rn W^. 1 T^ "' '''"'•' ^'^''''''- *^'"°"' Natashquan to Cape Whittle is the most dangerous and unsheltered part of the coast. But ,t does demonstrate one point very satisfactorily, and that IS, that iranquelin supposed the Baye des Espagnols to be iceU o tl,r m.t,ronl of tU. Natusl.jauu Jiinr. We shall see in another place where Joliet supposed it to be. Phil^? ^ i« J«^fle^7'« map. It is given to show the position of Philhpeau Bay. It shows, however, as well Spaniard's Bay ^thll ^'r^""'«' ''}'''^ ^^'^ it is given by very many authentic maps, far up in the Straits of Belleisle. Map F is De Barre's map, 1780, and map G is le Marechal de Cstiie s, winch do not seem to have any special object. DeBarre's gives tfie Esquimaux Islands among the Mingans. 27 Liout-Col B„„cl,L.tte'» ,„„,, „f 181.3 follows. It „l,o,„ tho l.™mlarj,,™attl,cCoy„i,l,; l,ut, a„ insi/ection of tleorS nmp ,., well „„ ,!,„ trad,,,-, p,.„v.. „„„,;. ,,,■ „„. 1 ,!,„ ," Lc ...» „„o., „„t „„.,, down. The boundary on ,!,„ east .left open ""• 'n.cer(a„M wlnclM,r„vostlnUtl,ep4cM-tywonta, lea"^^^^^^^^ Tnt^rrt rr ""■" "•'"- ^'" «— e'lt: Cl,.,rt"'''jri™"">T;"".''"," '■"''''"'"'" "'■ I'">'fi'-'M'» Admiralty n ;'"; , " '" ^"' ^' '" '!"•■ «eisnior», l,eoau»e tl.e writer of the Report h„» portrayed upon it a Ion, ,erio., of short dated hshn- "nces„,on., extendi,,, f,v„„ Iiollei,k. to the Ke,a»hka A, t ,"! und, It may fair y h. MoLevod that the Report would have given thcni. riic result of these documents, thus far is onlv f . i monstrate the existenoo ^r fi o '.^ ^'^^' ^^ ""'^ to de- Min^an and that it . '" ."^"'^'^ °^' '^^^^^'^^ ^^™^ "^ in„an and that its eastern boundary cannot under the most adverse theory be farther west than the Kegashka River tion^r'"°C'r''''' ^'"'" '^'' '"'^i^'^ «'^'^'" "' t5^« Keport. atten- ton may be directed to the fact that until the year 8 S map of 1815, we have seen, contained the Seigniory also tat 1820 I T"'" 'T'"'"''^ '^^'""' *« Goyish^nd fin d „ entitled .'r™ '"fr^' ™P"^'^»' <"««'«> document It'", <>nt.tled < Rapports d„ ComitC SpMal snr les chemins et antres 28 "communications int(5rieures. Ordonn6 h 6tre imprim^' par '^ I'Assemblc'je 10 mars 1829. Quebec, Neilson et CWan " The Sixth Report contains the following passage : - Votre comity s'est de plus procur(5 un plan figuratifdu fleuve St. Laurent depuis ^^ Kingston, dans lo Haut-Canada, jusqu'^ I'Anse Sablon sur la Lote du Labrador, avec les Seigneuries, Townships, etc.. dans la Frovince du Bas-Canada, et votre corait(5 a I'honneur de le pr6- " senter h votre Honorable Chambre romme fammf junilc d>, pre- " ^eut Rapportr The " figurative plan " referred to is a lar-e map attached to the Report, and is by William Sax, Provincial Land Surveyor. Upon this most important map thus adopted and printed by order of Parliament is laid down the " Sehwory of the Terra Fmnn of Miucja,;' m the words of the map.' It is given as commencing at Capo Cormorant, and extending to a point fifty miles east of the Natashquan, past the Kegashka. and close to the Olomansheeboo, up to which river, the North West Company and its successor the Hudson's Bay Company as tenants 01 .he Seigniors have been paying rent since 1803 to the present day. ^ In 1832 Lieut.-Col. Bouchette published his Topographical Dictionary m which the title to the Seigniory, and a description ot It, was given, as quoted at Page 3 of this memoran- duni. Let any one turn back to that citation and compare it with this statement at page 67 of the Report, - in fact the author (Col. Bouchette) treats the concession in the light of a fishin- ' ground extending from Cape Cormorant along the Labrador Channel to the River Goynish ; " he will then be able to iud-e of the candor of the writer who could make so misleadino- an assertion in a public document. A similar assertion at page 44 is yet more surprising. L, 1846 the writer of the very Report under consideration published a map, based upon the materials in the possession of the Government, to which, from his position, he had full access It IS a large and valuable map, and was much esteemed at the time of publication, and, indeed, much later, until the recent rapid \ imprini^' par 3wnn." The e comity s'est urent depuis ablon sur la , etc., dans la ur de le pr<3- utrflc (III pre- to is a large , Provincial hus adopted B " Seiijnio}')/ map. It is inding to a Jgashka, and North West y as tenants the present •pographical description memoran- compare it the author of a fishing B Labrador •le to judge leading an t page 44 is 29 changes rendered it of little practical use. Upon this mnn ni ^s laid down the Seigniory of Terra Finna o f^Mi gan? ^^h t' easern boundary unclosed at the Kegashka. And yet Tt pale 74 ot the Repor , the statement is made that " there is io record " vZL^'^T: ^r'^""^' "u^^^^^^ '^"^^"^^ *'- Archives" the Piov nee. But when he wishes to diminish the extent of the grant, the same writer, in the same Report, at pageGG gve^ from a record he c.tes, the title of the Seigniory, thc^date o the grant, and the number of arpents contained; and adds w t^^ apparent satisfaction '' tJie ini^ortan.. ,ftl. ./.i Jj' '.^'^ ihameiU mmmt well lie ihmhtril "HI < ".H""'! In 1857 the CommWoner of Crown Lands presented a Report to Parliament with an appendix, containing, amoi,.. TtlVers ^ map of Wer Canada. Upon this, unqnestio'^ibly "fficill "1 « al«^ hud down, a, extending from Cape Cormorant pa t ,1' Na tashquan, the " i,,,,,:,,,.,, ,,^- ,„ ,1 'jWra tlrj^ T^ eastern boundary is not shown because it overruns tlie Ller tf ^» ™p, which extends only fifteen miles east of Nat^^a:. In discussing the question of tlie eastern boundary of the nie trial of 1733, both because the real question then was of ^.m ary,„,.d because the writer of tlie Report make, t p've so many divergent propositions. If he had but one theor it vo«Id be necessary to refute that only, but he has fired off , toult of the present writer if his memorandum is tedious The d™ ::tir:;''"T i^-rf^p-'. '"-gh ^r the ri j„r aestructive of each other, , have to be considered lest it b- apposed that the disproof of any number of them imp es the admission of the unnoticed residuum. "^ tmm 30 It 1ms bc.o„ »l,„w„ ,h„t the. Fanners-Cmorai l,ad been for a lonj; ,,„r,o,l .ntorkTO,! witl, by ,b„ Minga,, SoVlr " "'""• ; "= ■■•8'"». '""1 Hint I bo object ai,Mo,l aZl to n.„ve tbu bo,„„lao. », i;„. „„,,y ,l,al ,„ f,„„rc' rouble could an,e. .Fnm, .1,„ ,„.™,„bb. to ,l,o »uc I,„ "^^ nance a appear, that, i„ 17t.7,tbe Faru,er,.Ge„eral1„u 1 ta,„e,l a .-rant pio/.s" and '^ ;„><„„'>) h. rrrn "ff^E^iHMnnh" M." ""i ""' '''.*' *^*'I'''^"«'« 'nt'aiiii.o- towards ns j^Hpn nolK ^o such expression occurs. It is j.ot " .. ,. i Espagnols." ' ^ ''^ ^'lyt-' tl^s the .ake of the ■•«„„»,„„ „f ^,„, „„„„ ^„^^ j^,^^ ^^ the Ciw.f wJr;;:H:u;:/;r;:rrt:hf:^^^ first sight very e.«v Tl,? f 1 , ' ""•' •'"»""-'■■ «'-'<'"» "' gnola;- Even thHril Vf T' '""" '" "'" " Bv" <)«» E«p.i- vo« top Je^te" • «:rj,^r tt^^^^^^^^^ 'r r- «t'en that the Esquimaux of fl.P fifi/ "'\«"i^l^^'iy- As we have !-..». . thevnnrtirroa^" --^^^^^^^^^ 32 pluccH. Goi.iK over the recorclH in order, we find thi« linut ex- presHcd in tlie following Ibrnis :— f 1GG8 ,t IS-" la Grande An.e, vers les Enqninmux, otl len ^ EHpagnols font ord.nairenient leur pCche." In the trial of 1733 ; Haye < es Espagnol«" i.s given as an equivalent In thepuh- 1.C records cf 1781, it is again "la Grand Anne, vers les Esqui- T "rJn^' •. • T ^«P'^«""^« >'"■'''"■''"' ordinairenient leur pCche." In 1803 It IS the same, with the tense of the verb changed back o the present « ./W." In 1832 Boucbotte nses also The same ioMM,w.th the present tense, and, in tjje final Act of Foi and I^>n,nnage ,„ 1837. it is ^^ c,oU„j n. far a. tl,r Great Bay to.anf. fhr hsrp,unau.r ,n/,rre the Spaniard, gma-alhj carried on their H>u.j, tins last IS the decisive limit; for it is inscribed upon the laiHer lerrur and signed by the Governor General. It is how- ever merely a repetition of the original grant. When the deed to Bissot was drawn, in the office of the Com- pany of New France in 1661, we may be sure there was amapof the country before the eyes of the grantors, and a definite purjLe in their minds. There are three marks which show this, they indicate a "Great Bay" which has those physical peculilritie^ included in the notion of an " An.e- it is " vers les Esquimaux" ndicating that the grantor knew where the Esquimaux were at that time. And it was a place where the Spaniards usually and continuously fished. The change of phrase and tense in later years shows that this habitual use of the " Great Bav" was for Home reason intermitted by the Spaniards; but, at the time of the first grant, a definite state of matters existed in the Gulf to which the final Act of Foi et Houunuyc in 1837 has reference'. In the title, the word « Anse " first challenges inquiry. It is from the latm Ansa and primarily signifies a handle, as for in' «tance, of a basket, stretching across and attached to both sides of any object. In nautical language it is applied to any indenta- tion of a coast marked by bold and prominent headlands; so far the Keport is correct in its disquisition upon this word. But an 33 >v.i inj, m 16,0 „f |„., t.x,,l,„„tio„» i„ Lake llurun cill, """ "• ' -" l<"">v" .c,,,,., ,„■ ,i„|„,,„, i„ ,1,^, , ,1 , f .""" '""'"" - "™'l- 'i«.V. TiK. iu,„l s ».|,i I li^i,' '" lur iiiiiii, lit tlio Hoiitli-ciist (.'\treiiiifv ,^^' tu.. i P -c„l„.,,..c, ,„,n,in,l,l, r„l,i|„ ,„.. i nuion«.r,lK. „ ;; a.s (iDnlirwl f/. If f I- I .1 joniM^ lilt imiiie (rrnnd A/mi applied to It, to winch the iiiiino '< (ivmu\ I'mi'm^ ' k i • -" ' "-' '■•■""• ' i^'-t .h,'::; :,lor,; ,w;;',:^ "- An .(,«, l,„„.,,.„r, it i, c.vide„t, i, la», tl,„„ „ Bay, therefore we fetnr:,''" " ':■"'"- "'■- '"-"""^ ^''■^'•- -• '■- whole of ..:: w er a i c',; v crt 'T "' "";; ^'™'' ""' ■' We, J 7)1 "iZ " 1 '■■"'boucl,ure de la G,-a„de Bayo, et les " eat da n"", " '"'' "°"' ''»"» '" «■■»>«''•■ B«yo, lie de h 34 :•, . •]. " diMtnnce out de tronto Houcm. La fhandc llayc A w)n t-m- " bdiichuro u'u qut' Hi'pt licuoH di- largo d'ui.o tono >i I'autro, " jiLsqu'il CO <|iio Vdiis ,s,.vo/ ari'ivo vi,s-h-vis In liaio dos " Chatoaux ; ot do h\ plus ontro, olio n'a pas plus do oinq liouos do " largour yt h I'opposito do JMano Sabloi, ullo a liuit liouos do " largour d'uiio torro i\ I'autro." A little later, in Hakluyt, we find a map inado by Mioliaol Lok, to illustrate Voraz/ani's voyage, in wbich (Irand Bay is laid down in the present Straits oflk'Uoi'sle. Jn Jlaldnyt is also Hudson s map, 1012, with '• '/'/„■ GmndJiay" in tlio same i)laoo. In Joan do Lm^t's map, 1040, '• (h-anjfe Ji2, dedicated to the Dutch West India Com- pany, gives la Grande Baye in the Straits. Bleau's map, Amster- dam, 1662, one of the very liighest authority, places " la Grande Baye "between Grand Moccatina and Grand Point on the La- brador coast. Creuxius's map, 1664, draws it nearer to the New- foundland co(ist opposite. Ilomann's map, Nuremberg, 1707, follows Bleau's in placing la Grande Baye on the Labrador coast extending between the two headlands of Grand Meccatina and Grand Point. •Jean de Laet, Hist, du Nouvcau-Monde, liv. II, cli. 2. I A, w)n cm- e ji riiutre, ]tuio dt'H t licut'H du lyt, wo (ind voyage, in )t' lJelloi.slc'. ninil Buji " amle Jiiijje* MY encIoHt'd in writer iw ire, que ces lateiuix, et JH commeii- autre, ellew nude Baye, le notnme !ars before fre<|u;»nted agnoifi qu; ills pour y H given on Florence in i Balene." ndia Com- p, Amster- la Grande n the La- the New- >rg, 1707, ador coast :atina and the t finhei TlicMo watern, an wo imo of the grant, tl ■iiKMi ; for that part of th 35 arc informed by Jean do Laet were, at re.s.,rt of Spanish as well as of French ' -0 coast abounds in sheltered bar- can anchor all the hsl iL' coast from Meceati '"ig season. This bors where vessel wi.i..i„ „,„i N„t,„i„i„„ ':i ri. i;l ,;:,"'"'^';^'"'^'"' •'■"«' on tli .H i,nit „f the co.Ht „ii; ,.,ii " , '^"'"- Hi" "nl.y placo -aii.u. wi,„ i,„,i th' oiico o 1 ':;':;";',.'"",'"■« "; " ™ain;ru;':;;r:r,;::;::;rri,:;"7'''''" '•™''""'---^'^^ ",,..,..1 • '^'"'""tyi lait, alioiit thivo mika t„ ll... iKirllivvavil arise, to tlii. li,.i..l,t„|- !■.«-. r . i """-" «" "lu '"- ""'"1 siioie IS |i)w Olid monotoiioiH Tl... ., • . ™»ay spit, mthor than bold hfulh.nd, T i , .^'"-l"'"" »'•'•• B.^ne i, thu, de,c,.ibed " Idli'^M t 'Ilir.r/.'CtlT -rttrthiist'ir'" "•■"'"' "-' ■■- '"'-^^^^ " deserve, the r^inie raintr '""' .,"'"" ""^"''"= """ " Bandy clifT, wh^re^d . ' 'i'""" "'" '«"""""i"" of the " quaii point the «idv rid ""':„'""""'•■" '=''"-'^"'''>' "f N'"«»h- K 36 on the North, is still called Grand Point on all maps ; and the pro- niontoryon the Sonth, is still called" rj^m;/./," sometimes " gL'' and sometimes -Great" Meccatina. In some maps (Cartwright's lor instance), it retains its name simply as « Grand Point " Cart- wright lived for many years on the Labrador coast. His work in o vols, quarto, is illustrated by a map of this region drawn by order of the Lords of Admiralty, by Lieut. Michael Lane, Sur- veyor of Newfoundland, and published in 1790. Upon it the two points are both called Grand Point simply. V 1 '"mu^ ^""""^ ^"'*' ^"^ '^'^^ ^"°^'"^- ^•^^' ^^'^ Spaniards used to hsh This IS a most important mark, and any bay where it can- not be shown that the Spaniards were in habit of fishing will not satisfy the demands of the deed. T?he presence of the Spaniards, in these northern waters, recalls the early days of the grant. The Spanish marine in those times was the most important on the Atlantic, and their vessels resorted to places in the north where only an occasional unex- plained name lingers to mark their early enterprise. Charlevoix tells us that on old maps the Bay Clialeur was called '* Baye des Espagnols » but in his writings, the name is applied only to what IS now Sydney harbour in Cape Breton. Still, however, in the north- ei-n part ot la Gramh Baye above described, the name Baw' ,Jc, Espagnohh^, survived. Thus is Popple's map, one of high autho- rity published in 1733, is laid down near Bradore Bay, * •' Bay rt B desEsiHajnolsr and in the map of North America published by John Senex in 1710, Spaniard's Bay is given at the same place. In lact, at that time it was matter of notoriety in England as we shall see, that the Spanish were fishing there In Jeffries' Map E, appended to the Report under review, Spaniard's Bay still remains laid down near the Strait of Belleisle. It is matter of history that the Spaniards and Spanish Basques were among the first in these noithern waters, and that the art of hunting whales was learned from them; so that when the English and Dutch first ipanish settlements 37 cnlored into the Crooulnml m„I S,,it.l,c,-R„n nshcrio.. • tl,,.,- .,„, M,c.„. l,„,-p„„,,„,. ft„,„ s,. Sob„„i„,, Now ,l,i„ ,„„.t ;,- ;^o: f »a» tW„ „„d long after, tl,o bet ground for w ,ale,. A rlwi.W near Brndore Bay wrote in 1841 tl.at ■• it wa« and i ytt t ,e *..,•„,„ of every sort of fi,,l, ,„„, f„„.I tl„.t re.sort to tl, ,„ , "fislnng gronnd in the world for seals- "t Tl„/si • however w„„ fisl,ed in this Bay „ad thiir IstaW Lt ": ^ INowlonndl. ml, { LaHontan, whoso letters were written between 1684 and lo94, and who acted for a time as Lieutenant d> R^" at Phjcenfa, speaks of the " Spaniards who follow the cod shty ..t Portochoaa. Th.s name has been corrnpted into " For !„ Cho,x ■ and on the maps of Newfoundland i the preset dav -ar the same locdity are other Spanish names. TlZ^lZ broke nt'irrrT," "'""" "' " '™"'-' ™'™'' "'« ^^'i^ orokc np n 1713. The presenee of Spaniards in that locnlitv » also .shown „,«n, a map pnb1ishe,l in 170.,, by G„ilta2 .0 1 Isle Prem,er Geographe dn Roy, who lays dow.f /,, ^,12 h,imsi,mk near the Straits of Bolleisle and -iv... Port r^- Port de Chonard. All these ...ts show t ,t Car"e, ho ,',?,' "" of the grant e.xtended as far as the present aX Bay Tl7 ;«.onu.s W Co,. Bonehette-s staten.e'nt that " o.dy t£\-,oS: -etirr": I'r 1 1'-1 ?r'Tt TT' "" ""•■'■• «»'""«■ "■"-"My '0- Cape R,che round by the north to Cape Bonavista. Prom On 1 R-hetothe Straits was then ealled " le Petit Nord •' ami I! • Scoresby— Arctic Regions. 1 See also Fortier's Report on Fisberies of the Gult; 1868. t La Hontan, Memoiieg, Vol. 2, page 11. Mr ■ I ;i|iiitei fi 38 Spanish Ambassaf^or claimed for the Spaniards ihc same rio-hts- because there the Frencli and Spaniards had from time immem- orial fished together. Consequently the treaty provided that the Spaniards should retain any rights they might have there subject to proof in the King's courts. The trials came on and because the Spaniards could not shew written titles they were ousted, and their name and memory faded away from these waters. Again the reader's attention is called to the date of the grant lOGl. Bissot who asked lor it had Jjeen in Canada since 1648,' at least, for he married that year. The grantor was the Company of New France in Paris. Those who drew and accepted the deed used language which conveyed to their minds a definite meaning, although at this distant period it may seem vague. The works of Champlain give a clue to the difficulty. He was the first Go- vernor for the Company, and his works were in every one's hands. His maps were the only French maps recorded as exist- ing at that time. The map ascribed to Champlain in the Re- port was made, as we have shown, by Duval three years later than the grant and thirty years after Champlai./s death, but the mf? maps of Champlain are in the splendid edition of his works published under the enlightened and generous patronage of Laval University. On them will ho found -Z« Grande B- eastwards fifty league;< below Mingan is Kegashka, the river and harbour, then Mascoiiroii, then the lijrierc e IkCr co^W^, Th! ntendant ordered the heirs Joliet to grant the re,,uired d A reference to the map at the end of the Report show, Iha !„ ta.ne, lease was east of Cape Whittle, and Pommere u's elm menced at Great Meccatina. In hi, judgment the I„te,!dant re He the hm,t,of the Joliet grant " ju«iu'4 1' An,e aux Espagnol • Thl Anse was therelore, according to the information laid dow non tt map appended to the Report, .«.. „f Grand M.„:a,i::^" u^ doubt yet remains, however, it will be set at rest hy a iud^ementt 1" 1742. In thi, case the heirs of Joliet complain that tC relt pa.d by the widow Pommereau for the Wet, oppo Ue her pest ., ■n,uffic,ent. Here reference to a map is not 'ec s^arv • the judgement states the locality to be Gro, Meccat „r rl .i ea^l o/Me,ea>,na-how much farther east is demonrfrated bv the evidence cited in the preceding page,. "'='"™"'"'«d ^y It has been shown that the eastern lin>it of Terra Firma of Mmgan was at Bradore Bay; and yet. the Crow, did make ot r do":; >«*--'«<- the Kega.,hk: wwcr: ion Zt"-^" "1 'h^ '«»' ™«P i» the Report under considera- tion. The circumstances under which these leases were granted ^e not now on record; but in the suit referred toinatrmer part of this Memoranaum, that of Gaslin vs. Peyre it ha, bee,^ rf-™ thata permission was given by the Intendant to Pe;:! •Editd et Ordonuanccs Vol. 2, page 550. fEdits et Ordonnancea Vol, 2 page 57o, 42 it '■;-!: i m m to use for a definite period an unoccupied portion of the Sei- gniory leased by Gastin ; and, as we have seen, the Joliet heirs were forced to concede land on their Seigniory for a limited oc- cupation and subject to a rental. This point was decided in an Ordonnance of 1739, and it was expressly declared to be without prejudice to the proprietary rights of the Seigniors {en mainte- nantle dUSiearde Lacjorgondlere et ,ses eo-heritiers dans lapos.as.nou des ditsuUs). By an application to the fisheries of a well-known principle under which Seigniors were obliged to concede vacant tarms, the Intendent was empowered to make grants in the King s name at a specified rental, if the Seigniors persisted in retusing. These concessions, laid down by the writer of the Re- port, were all short dated fishing and trading grants. Legar- deur s, for instance, was for ten years only. It was limited - yfaire le commerce avec lea scmvages et la pesche des Imps-marinsr It was not renewed, and the other short grants of later date covered a large portion of the same ground. It had no depth. The depth indicated on the map appended to the Report existed in the ima- gination of the draughtsman of 1867. not in the deed of grant of 1702. Lafontaine s grant was only for nine years, Vincent's for nine years, De Beaujeu's for six years. None of these were seigniories, or ever pretended to be such. Shortly after the conquest English residents began to acquire the rights of the Bissot heirs until in 1789, by purchase and m r- riage, the whole Seigniory of Mingan had fallen into the hrds of three persons, Messrs. Grant, Stuart and Dunn, who carried on the jTT r" ''' '''t '"''"' ""'"'''y '' b^ tb-r lessees, the Labrador Company. In 1803, the lease was made to th; North West Company as far as the Olomansheeboo, and the same Company bought the stores and outfit at the stations on that por- tion at he same time, but the fisheries on the more easterlv part werestill carried on by William Grant, one of the Seignio^ and o. •..., until, on April 30th 1808, all the posts occupied by him and h.s co-partners in the Labrador Company were sold by Sheriffs sale Some of the posts were on the seigniory of the Isles and Islets of Mingan. Among others on the main land are enumerated posts 43 ■ at Etamamu,Meccati„a, Mutton Bay, St. Augustine, Bradore and Blauc SaWon These poste, the houses, stores, provisl ""j outflt ^were bought i„ by the predecessors of the pre.;::, pt Finally it must borne in mind as essential to a proper comnre hension of this question, that, interesting as mav be °''". "^""l '«- of these antiquarian points, it is not nee s ar^I t ' .f^ ^Hh! proprietors. The land in q„e.,tion must be^lah„ed her t private persons or by the Crown. The proprietors ami ,V. ' decessors, from whom their title is derived InvThelTl '"'," possession of their seigniory, from 1661 ^867 F„r a rod"" two hundred and six vearH their nw,.ov u- ^ ^^ The short fishing g-t^^LgS^^.r: Xi^r^t:!' mterruption, and if it could such interruption «mTlvIv . ff^ upon the portion of the seigniory east of' the Ke^a fk A^ f end ofthe last century the Seigniors are l„„„d .^ ■ " pying the territory in its entire len'thLT, themselves occu- w.,ro.,..«„;r CtS :;=^^^^^^ the Olomansheeboo. "^ ^'"1^" Cormorant to As against the Crown the oh^sp nf i^u^ clear. The ACe ,e Foi ."'io:r;?of m^Trrdln'.', "'"n'^ archu-es of the Province, full, complete 'andTm 1 t ^° respect, would cover any informalities of .;tl7r ' "^"'^ fact existed ; and UforL w! Si™ ^t' ""^ ""'='' *"«* '" «/* This principle is fundatrh i^r.^lTTrif I M 44 : i!^ necessity of the old unsettled days, when feudalism arose, that king and vassal should declare openly their solemn obligations before the assembled court. In those warlike days records could not be permanently kept, but, by the open Foi el Ilommage at each mutation, witnesses could always be found who could testify, if the records should be destroyed. Now thenmtation fees were claimed by the Crown in 1806, and they were paid and the documents are of public record, and the seigneurs were in pos- session and have so remained. An Arh' ih Foi ci Hnmmofjf is title sufficient of itself against the Crown. Whoever questions it, the Crown cannot. This principle is self-evident upon the most cursory view. It is very clearly expressed in the following passage from Lefevre de la Phinche Traite da Domaine, Vol. 1 2ni(je 185 : " Lors done que le seigneur a re9u son vassal en foi, il ne lui " reste qu'une action pour le recouvrement des droits qui lui sont " dus." The seigniors hold an acknowledgement from the Kin"- " des droits qui lui sont dus." ° When then the proprietors of Term Finna of Mhujan are asked to show their titles, they need only refer the inquirer to the Regktre de Foi et Hommage, tome 4, p. 22, where it will be found that the Governor-General, Lord Gosford, as representing Her present Majesty, received the said seigneurs into Foi et Hommage for the " fief et Seigneurie de la Terre ferme de Mingan, situe " dans le Golfe de St. Laurent sur le cot6 nord, commen9ant au " Cap Cormoran en allant au Nord-Est jusqu'a la Bale appellee " la Grande Anse vers les Esquimaux, ou les Espagnols font ordi- " nairement la peche sur deux lieues de profondeur," elswhere described in the same document as having been granted to the Sieur Bissot in 1661. There are very few ancient titles to property clearer than that. 1 arose, that n obligations records could Hommage at I who could mutation fees paid and the kvere in pos- tself against nnot. This . It is very efevre de la foi, il ne lui i qui lui sont a the King an are asked [irer to the ill be found renting Her et Hommage iingan, situe men^ant au aie appellee Is font ordi- ," elswhere nted to the ilearer than i