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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seui clich6, 11 est film6 A partir de I'angle supArieur geuche, de geuche A droite, et de heut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'imeges nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent le m6thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 To the Right Honorable Edward jGeoffrey Lord Stanley, Her Majesty^ Principal Secretary of State for the Coloides. The Memorial of Adelaide Plantede St. Gabriel, Superior, Marie Louise McLaughlp de St. Henry, Assistant, Marie Louise Onejlle de Ste. Gertrude, Zelatrice, Isabella McDortild de St. Andr^, Depositaire, Angelique J. ijerri^re de Ste. Marie* and Marguerite Boissonault de Ste. Monique, forming the Council of the Com- munautd of the Religious Ladies of th( Ursulines of Quebec — Most Humbly Sheweth — That Your Jjordship's Memorialists are ag- grieved by a decision of the Executive bouncil of this Province contained in a Report of that Body approved by His Excellency the late Administrator of the Government, of the 13th December, 1841, (copy annexed)* in which it is recommended that certain property held by Your Memorialists at I'Ance des Meres for a period of a century and a half and disposed of by them in 1832 to Messrs. John U * Appendix (No. 1.) 2 John Malcolm Fraser, for Commercial purposes, should be taken from them and granted to a party, Jean Baptiste Laporte or his assignee, the said Jean Baptiste Laporte being up to the 30th April 1838, a sub-lessee of Your Memorialists, deriving all title to the said property from them, and bound under the terms of ihe said lease, to deliver up the property at the expiration thereof, with all improvements made upon the same. That it is necessary for a perfect understanding of Your Menorialists' case that they should represent to Your Lorlship that from the period of the cession of this Proviice in the year 1763 to the year 1827, the title* to ihe property of which Your Memorialists were in possession was never called in question, and that in 1608, Your Memorialists leased the property in question to the Honorable W. B. Coltman^ for a period of thirty years, which leasef was subsequently assigned by Mr. Coltman to Jean Baptiste Laporte. That in the said year 1827, proceedings were had by the Crown against Jean Baptiste Laporte at his own instigation, as it would appear by the Report of Council of the llth June 1841^ (annexed) (a report which like that of the 13th December 1841, Your Memorialists will have frequent occasion in the course of this Memorial to advert to,) to eject him from the property in question. That by a Judgment of the Court of King's Bench rendered ia 1828,$ the whole property was declared to be vested in the Crown, but subsequently, on the 30th July 1840 in Appeal, a Judgment || reversing that of the King's Bench was given, whereby it was de- termined, that Your Memorialists were the legal pro- prietors of the property lying above high water mark as defined on a plan aunexed to the said Judgment,^ * Appendix (^o. 2.) 5 Appendix (No. 6.) t Appendix (No. 3.) 11 Appendix (No. $.) t Appendix (No. 4.^ IT Appendix ^No. 7.) fi copy of which is subjoined, and the Beach below high water niark was adjudged to be Crown property. That after this solemn decision, Your Memorialists being acknowledged as the Riparian proprietors of the land in rear of the high water mark, they did not deem it of moment to contest the decision in Appeal as they anticipated that no possible objection would be raised to making them the declared Riparian prO' prietors, a grant of the Beach property In front of their own — a property which they had s(i long en- joyed without hindrance or molestation from the Crown. That Your Memorialists after the Juigment in Appeal applied to the Crown through tie Messrs. Prasers, who had acquired the property Vrom your Memorialists, by Petition, expressing the r desire to obtain a concession of the beach in froit of their property, at such a valuation as might be affixed, but the question being referred to the Executire Council by His Excellency Lord Sydenham^ that lody on the 1 1th June 1841, made a Report, which wa> approved by His Excellency the Governor in Count il whereby the prayer of their petition was rejected or the fol- lowing reasons : — 1st. — That the property should be pern itted to be purchased by Jean Baptiste Laporte, the Governmeiat being pledged to give him the said Lapor e a prefer- ence in case of the disposal of the Beach 1 )t, for that on the 1st March 1839, it was determined that the whole of the lot should be leased for a termi of twenty- one years, at the rate of £lOO per annum to Laporte, on his paying arrears at the rate of £10 per year for eight years, in consideration of large outlaws made by him on the property. | ; 2d. — Because the Messrs. Frasers, by issuming to acquire a title to property in opposition to the rights of the Crown, that property being at the time in liti- yp gation, had thereby acquired no claim to the favour, able consideration of the Government. ' dd. — Because it would be prudent to avoid the ne- cessity in all future interventions of the Crown in the matter in litigation, by disposing of the property without ^'garantie" That Your Memorialists would beg to remark upon these reasons in their order :-— 1st. — The Crown at the time in 1839, when pro* mise was made to Jean Baptiste Laporte of a lease of the property in question, was under the apprehension, that the uhole property as well above as below high water mark was in the Government, and although Your Memorialists conceive that it was unfair to wrest the property from your Memorialists, who had been in qiiet possession thereof for a century and a half, to gire the same to Jean Baptiste Laporte, their refractory tenant, who stood pledged by a solemn engagemeit to give them possession at the end of the lease, yet they could not contend against might, but when by the Judgment in Appeal, an appeal, which the Crown consented might be gone into, the pro- perty in rsar was declared not to be the Crown's but theirs, they had entertained a reasonable and well founded hope, that as, in all like cases, which have ever taken place in the late Province of Lower Ca- nada, no impediment whatever would, or could, be thrown in the way of their acquiring the beach in front of their property from the Crown, that property having been put in Commercio in the sale made by them to the Messrs. John and John Malcolm Fraser. 2d. — ^The promise given to Jean Baptiste Laporte of a lease, as that promise implies, was made under the supposition that he had made large outlays or improvements upon the property. It will be found on enquiry, that the allegations of Laporte in this respect are utterly untrue, and that such outlay was trifling in the extreme — the road was improved at the public expense, and it was the occupants of the houses, who constructed the same at their own cost. Had the Inspector General, (Mr. Primrose,) of the Domaine, and the Surveyor General, been deputed as they were, in a similar case of John Reynar, a Lessee of Your Memorialists, in the year 1834, wbo set up a claim precisely such as Laporte's, to have ascertained what outlay had been made by Mr. Laportje, a report more unfavourable to that person's allegattions would have been made, than was, in Mr.i Reynar's, whose claim was entirely set aside by the {then Gov- ernor in Chief and Executive Councilj of Lower Canada, and Your Memorialists maintairfd in their rights, i That the Crown having been by surpvise led to promise a lease to Laporte on certain Iconditions, cannot in justice be considered as bioding when the vested rights of a party, such as those of Ybur Memo- rialists were affected thereby. It has beei matter of continued occurrence that Reports of Council similarly obtained have been set aside by the Government. 3rd. — The Messrs. Frasor, when they purchased from Your Memorialists, had, as they still have the strongest ground to believe, that their title (vas good, and the decision in Appeal has shown^ that, that belief to a very great extent was not mfounded, a large portion of the property being declaimed to belong to Your Memorialists, and it would be hard indeed to visit Your Memorialists with an act of undue seve- rity« for doing that which was not illegal, and to the competency of the doing of which, no pbjection in fairness can be raised. 4tb. — ^The recommendation that Jean Baptiste Laporte should be permitted to purcl^ase all the ground belonging to the Crown without reference to the boundary, but that to avoid all further interven- tion of the Crown in the matter of litigation, the pro. i m (I II c« «( <( perty should be disposed of without '''garaniie" seems to Your Memorialists to be at variance with the re- commendation contained in the same report in rela- tion to another question of a similar nature, wherein it is said " that the Committee see no good reason why " it (a beach lot) should not be sold, giving those who " hold the land in rear a preference in the purchase,^* — and again in relation to the case of Your Memo- rialists, that, " unless upon mature consideration, the right of the Grown to the ground above high water mark should be thought by the Law OflScers clear and incontrovertible, the question had better be considered as settled by the Judgment of the Court of Appeals,'* in which case the ground be- tween high and low water mark (and that only) can be considered as at the disposal of Government. That Your Memorialists, on being made acquainted with tho Report of the Council of the 11th June 1841, above alluded to, lost no time in representing the injury inflicted on them thereby to His Excel- lency Lord Sydenham, the late Governor General, and His Excellency having made himself entirely master of the subject in all its circumstances and bearings, was pleased to order the Report in question to be reconsidered by the Executive Council. That it Laving been intimated to Your Memorial- ists that the great difficulty in the way of making a grant to Your Memorialists was the promise which had been given in 1839 to Jean Baptiste Laporte of a lease from the Crown, and it having been also sug- gested that an ofier on the part of Your Memorialists to compensate Mr. Laporte for his improvements would lead to the settlement of all difficulties, Your Memorialists, through the Messrs. Fraser, accord- ingly made such offer. That the reference for reconsideration by His Ex- cellency Lord Sydenham, was suffered to lay over, and no report was had thereon, previous to the death of IC (( l€ II IC II that Nobleman ; but recently, viz., on the 13th De- cember, 1841, a report was made by the Executive Council, in which that body after stating, — and Your Memorialists here beg to call Your Lordship^s atten- tion to the marked language of the Execv.tive Council when speaking of Riparian proprietors, — ** In the " disposal of the other beach lots at TAnce des M^res, the Council were enabled to put an end to all litigation and dispute about boundary by order- in"^ sales of the beach lots to the persons claiming to be Riparian proprietors or holders of Ithe ground immediately in rear of the lands of the Crown forming part of the river or on its shor^ where the disputed boundary was situated,*' — gb on to say, but in the present case, (that of Your Memorialists,) a lease has been ordered to Laporte, and the land in rear has been, as before stated, convened to the Messrs. Frasers by the Ursulines, so tUeit it is not in the power of the Government to sell the beach " lot to the owners of the land in rear without inva- " lidating the order in Council in favour bf Laporte" — and tinally it was recommended, ** that a sale to ** Laporte or his assignee of the beach jot bounded ** on the land side by the Ursuline Niins or their '< tenants wheresoever the boundary may happen to '* be, be made in conformity with the h%i order in " Council,"— (that of llth June 1841.) j That there are certain rules relating to the right of Riparian proprietors which stand admitted on all hands and which have too important a bearing to permit of their being passed over in silence : — Where a river constitutes, as in this case the boundary of a lot of land, it is not competent to any one to inter- pose between the Riparian proprietor and the waters of the river, any work whereby this, his natural boun- dary, can be taken from him — the consequence is, that if a grant be made to any one of the interval between high and low water mark, supposing that the i( (I It interval of ground is in the Crown, as a front ot the river, such ground can only, in justice as well as in equity, be made to the Riparian proprietor — and althou«;h a difference of opinion may be pretended to exist as to whether the Riparian proprietor of land lying upon a navigable river, bounded by that river, is not in Law entitled to the interval between high and low water mark, yet the weight of authority is de- cidedly in favour of the Riparian proprietor, and this has confessedly the sanction of the Roman Law, and has been adopted in the modern code of France, and it has also received the sanction of the Court of Appeals in a Judgment rendered in that Court as late as No- vember 1830, in the case of Fournier, appellant, and Ohva, respondent, a report whereof is annexed,* and it is a fact, that can be tested by enquiry, that in no instance whatever, that has taken place in Canada East (formerly Lower Canada,) has ever the beach in front of c Riparian proprietor been conceded to another without a preference of taking the same being first offered to such proprietor. That Yojr Memorialists pray Your Lordship to cause an enquiry to be made into all the circum- stances of their case with a view to a full understand- ing of its merits being arrived at, and a just decision being had, as well in regard to the law which prevails in this Province as respects Riparian proprietors, as with deference to the custom and usage which prevail within it — of the Crown making grants of the Beaches to such proprietors in preference to any other, and that Your Lordship will direct that Your MemoriaUsts be maintained in their rights, and that they do receive a grant of the Beach in question, the same being in front of their property at I'Ance des Meres. Quebec, 9fh February, 1842. ♦ Appendix (No. S.) mg "/» APPENDIX. No. I. Copy of a Report of a Committee of Council of the 13th December 1841, and approved by His Ex- cellency The Administrator of the Government, in Council on same day, on the Memorial of the Society of Ursuline Nuns at Quebec, &g. &c &c. The Committee of Council have had under consi- deration the Memorial of the Society of Ursuline Nuns at Quebec, praying the reconsideration of an order in Council approved by His Excellency the late Governor General, on the llth June 1841, relating to the disposition of a Beach Lot of land at I'Ance des Mer^s in Quebec. The Committee have also had under conjiJeration a proposal made by the Hon. Edward Caron on behalf of the Ladies of the Ursuline Convent, re- presenting that they are the guarantee of a title to the premises in question, which title it appears was made by them in perpetuity, reserving a rent, the Tenants being Messrs. J. and J. M. Fraser of Quebec, and offering to indemnify Mr. Laporte, to whom a Lease of the premises was ordered by the Executive Government of Lower Canada, in consi- deration of certain improvements, for these improve- ments, on condition that the Crown would sell its right to the Messrs Fraser. In the disposal of the other beach tots at TAnce des Mer^s the Council were enabled to put an end to all litigation and dispute about boundary, by order- ing sales of the beach lots to the persons claiming ta B *» 10 if ii 1, Iw I i be riverian prrprietors or holders of the ground im- mediately in rear of the lands of the Crown forming part of itie bed of the River or on its shore where the disputed boundary was situate, but in the present case, a Lease has been ordered to Laporte, and the land in rear has been, as before stated, conveyed to the Messrs. Fraser by the Ursulines, so that it is not in the power of the Government to sell the beach Lot to the owners of the land in rear, without inva- lidating the order in Council in favour of Laporte. The judgment of the Court of Appeals has desig- nated a certain boundary purporting to be the high water mark, leaving the Assignees or Tenants of the Ursuline Nuns holders of the land in rear. This judgment of the Court of Appeals appears to be still liable to be called in question by an appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, either on the part of the Government or on the part of the UrsuUne Nuns. At the time the lease was ordered in favour of Laporte, not only the beach lot bounded on the land side by the high water mark, but also a portion of the land ap to the Cape was considered to belong to the Government, and consequently no severance of the property adjoining the bed of the river from that within it was contemplated. The Committee in the order now under reconsi- deration, fiinding the Government under a pledge to give a Lease to Luporte, and finding also that by the judgiiicnt of the Court of Appeals, and the act of the Ladies of the Ursuline Convent the property unfor- tunately severed, and the question of boundary still open^ and tenants under the Nuns still insisting upon their right to the land down to low water mark, and La- porte or his assignee still insistiu;^ en the right to the shore up to the Cape by way of carrying into effect the order in Council in favour of Laporte so far as it could be done, and for the purpose of leaving the d im- ming e the esent id the ^d to is not beach inva- porte. desig- e high of the This l)e still to the her on of the ^our of le land 'tion of long to ince of >m that econsi- edge to by the t of the y unfor- ary still 3g upon and La- it to the to effect ar as it ring the 11 parties interested to contest their own rights without further litigation on the part of the Government, advised a sale to Laporte, of all the Beach Lot being the property of the Crown, wherever its boundary might be found to be, and the Committee understand the proposal of Mr. Caron on the part of the Ursuline Nuns to be made, with the object of forcing a com- promise which would avoid further litigation, and prevent the severance of the Beach Lot bounded by high water mark from the land in rear, which sever- ance would be obviously to the great detriment of both properties. Were the Government free of the order made in Lower Canada in favour of Laporte, the proposal made by Mr. Caron would appear to be fair and rea- sonable, — the beach Lot might then, as in the case of other lots, be sold to the proprietors of the land in rear, or if on the other hand the Ladies of the Ursu- line Convent had forborne to dispose of the land in rear until the boundary had been ascertained, or if they had then agreed as to the boundary, the whole property might, by their acting in concert with the Crown, have gone into the hands of one proprietor, and by the junction of the estates all further disputes might have been avoided. • But under present circumstances, the Committee do not feel at libertv to cancel the order in favour of Laporte or to force him or his assignee to part with any right which they may acquire under it. They think it righr that the Government at least should be free of all further legal contests, and they see no other means of producing this result than by carrying ino effect the last order, which may be substantially done by a sale to Laporte or his assignee of the Beach Lot bounded on the land side by the property of the Ursu- line N'lns or their tenants, wheresoever the boundary may happen to be, — the sale to be made in conformity with the last order in Council. 12 K I t"^ If V! P ft; 1} No. 2. FuRENT presentes les Rev6rendes Dames Marie Anne Louise Taschereau de St. Fran9oi8 Xavier, Su- pcrieure des Dames Religieuses Ursulines de Quebec, Marie Josephte Lafontaine de Therese de Jesus, Assis- tante, Marie Anne Brassard de Ste. Magdelaine, Zela- trice, Marie Marguerite Marchand de Ste. Ursule, Ddpositaire, Marie Louise Ignace Desroches de Ste. Ang^le, Marie Anne Arciiange Panet de St. Bernard, et Genevieve Julie Berthelot de St. Joseph, discrettes, toutes Religieuses du Couvent et Monastere des dites Dames Ursulines, composant la plus saine partie d'ice- lui, assemblees au son de la cloche au principal par- loir exterieur de leur communaute, en la maniere accoutumee, p^jur deliberer de leurs affaires. Lesquelles, de I'agrement et consentement de Sa Grandeur Monseigneur I'lUustrissime et Rev6rendis- sime Joseph Octave Plessis, Ev^que de Quebec, ont, par ces presentes cede, quitte et delaisse d titre de bail emphyteotique pour trentc ann6es entiferes et cons^cutives, qui ont commence le premier Octobre present mois, et finiront le dernier jour d'Avril de I'ann^e que I'on comptera mil huit cent trente-huit, promettant faire jouir paisiblement d Monsieur Wil- liam Bachelor Coltman, negociant, demeurant a Que- bec, a ce present et acceptant tant pour lui que pour Monsieur John Coltman, son frere et associd, demeu- rant k Quebec, preneurs, pendant le dit tems, sans neanmoins pouvoir ceder le tout ou partie du present bail, a qui que ce soit, sans le consentement expr^s et par ecrit des dites Dames Bailleresses ou de leurs suc- cesserices, c'est ^ savoir, un terrain de gr^ve situe d I'Ance des M^res, de cinq arpents huit pieds de front, prenant d basse maree allant en profondeur jusqu'st trois pieds vers la cime du cap plus has que I'endroit de la cime ou les animaux peuvent aller paitre, tenant 13 du c6te nord-est k un terrain cede k pareil tilre d Louis Dumiere, Ecuyer, maintenant reprdsente par Alexan- dre Munn, et du c6te sud-ouest aux terrains des Dames de l'H6telDieu, le tout sans obligation de parfournissement de mesure exacte, tel et ainsi que le dit terrain est actuellement et se poiirsuit et comporte, sans en rien r^server pour par le dit Sieur preneur ed dits noms, ses hoirs ayans cause, en jouir au dit titre durantle dit terns, et pour en prendre possession, faire ddguerpir touted personnes qui pourraient s'en ^tre empar6, et faire tout ce qui sera necessaire en son nom, a son compte et k ses frais, sans pouvoir rien repeter contre les dames bailleresses, ni faire diminuer la rente ci-apr^s fixee, pour raison des frais de pour- suite ou autres qu'il pourrait 6tre oblige de faire a cet efFet. Ce present bail ainsi fait k la charge par le preneur, ses hoirs, et ayans cause durant le dit terns, d'avoir soin du dit terrain sans faire ni souifrir faire aucun dommage ni deterioration sur icelui. En outre ce bail fait pour et moyennant le prix et sotnme de dix livres du cours actuel de cette province de rente em- phyteotique pour chacune des dites trente annees ; laquelle somme le preneur tant pour lui que pour ses hoirs et ayans cause promet et s'oblige bailler et payer aux dites dames bailleresses et a leurs successe- rices, en leur couvent, ou a leur ordre porteur des prdsentes, en esp^ces d'or ou d'argent ayant actuelle- ment cours, nonobstant mutation d'autre monnaie quelconque, moitie chaque six mois, excepte le pre- mier payement qui se fera pour portion de tems le premier Mai prochain, ensuite le premier Novembre, et ainsi continuer de six mois en six mois duraut le cours du present bail, a la fin du quel le dit terrain rentrera en la possession des dites dames, avec toutes les augmentations et ameliorations qui s*y trouveront de quelque nature et valeur qu'eiles soient, sans II 11 r I lb 14 qu'elles soient lenues de payer aucune indemnite ni d^dommagement pour raison d'iceux. Et pour I'execution des presentes, le dit Sieur pre- neur a elu son domicile en sa demeure. k Quebec, auquel lieu, etc., nonobstaut.etc, promettant, etc., obli- geant, etc., renon9ant, etc., fait et passe a Quebec, au parloir exterieur du couvent des dites dames baille- resses, I 'an mil huit cent huit, le vingt-un Octobre avant midi, et ont les susdites dames baiileresses, ainsi que le dit Sieur preneur, signe, lecture faite. Sr. St. F. Xavier, Superieure ; Ste. Ther^se de Jesus, Assistante ; Sr. Ste. Madeleine, Ztre. ; Sr. Ste. Ursule, Depte. ; Sr. Ste. Angele, D. ; Sr. St. Joseph, D. ; Sr. St. Bernard, D. WILLIAM BACHELOR COLTMAN. JH. PLANTfi, R. LELIEVRE. Pour copie conforme k la minute trouvee dans I'etude de feu Mtre. Jh. Piante, Notaire, ddposde dans les archives de ce district, vidimee et coUationnee par nous soussignes gardiens d'icelles et Protonotaires de la Cour du Banc du Roi, a Quebec, le 5 Mars, 1842. PERRAULT & BURROUGHS, B. B. R. No. 3. I ill H FuT present rHonorableWilliam Bachelor Coltman, I'un des merabres du Conseil Executif de cette Province, etnegociant, demeurant en cette ville, tant en son nom que comme procureur de Joseph Colt- man, Thomas Coltman, Frances Coltman et Char- lotte Coltman, ses freres et soeurs, demeurant en Angleterre, suivant leur procuration du neuf Novem- bre mil huit cent quatorze, par eux signde et scellee presence de temoins, munie des affidavits et autres formalitds requises pour son authenticity, certifi^e sin- 15 c^re et veritable par le dit Honorable William Bachelor Coltman, paraph6e de lui et des notaires soussignes pour demeurer ci-annexee. Lequel, aux dits noms, a par ces presentes volontairenient vendu, c6de, transport^, delaiss6 et abandonne d^s mainte- nant pour et jusqu'au dernier jour du mois d'Avril, de I'annee que Ton coraptera mil huit cent trente-huit, avec garantie des faits et promesses tant de sa part et de celle de feu Monsieur John Coltman, son fr^re, que de la part de leurs fr^res et soeurs constituans sus- nommeSj au Sieur Jean Baptiste Laporte, Boulanger, demeurant en la Haute- Ville de Quebec, rue Ste. Anne, k ce present et acceptant cessionnaire et acqu^- reur, pour lui ses hoirs et ayans cause a Tavenir, pen- dant le dit terns, c'est k savoir : tous les droits de possession, jouissance, profits, fruits et revenus et autres generalement quelconques qu'il a, ainsi que ses constituants susnomm^s, et que lui et eux peuvent avoir et pretendre sur un terrain de grere, situe a I'Ance des M^res, de cinq arpents huit pieds de front prenant £i basse maree, allant en profondeur jusqu'a trois pieds vers la cime du cap plus bas que I'endroit de la cime ou les animaux peuvent aller paitre ; tenant du c6t^ nord-est au terrain des Dames Religieuses Ursulines de cette ville, maintenant possed6 par la veuve du Sieur Alexandre Munn, et du c6te sud-ouest au terrain des Dames de rHdtel-Dieu, le tout plus ou moins, et tel que le dit terrain se poursuit et comporte sant jn rien r^server, disant I'acqu^reur le bien savoir et connaitre pour I'avoir vu et visits, et en est content et satisfait ; pour par lui ees dits hoirs et ayans cause en jouir de ce jourd'hui jusqu'au dit jour, dernier Avril mil huit cent trente-huit, de la m^me mani^re que ie dit Honorable William Bachelor Coltman, aux dits noms, pent en jouir en vertu du bail emphiteoti- que que les Dames Religieuses Ursulines en ont con- senti en faveur du dit vendeur, et cedant tant pour lui que pour feu Monsieur John Coltman son frere, par 16 actc i)ass6 devant Ics notaires soussignes, le vingt-un Octobre mil huit cent huit, mettant le dit acqudreur et cessionnaire en son lieu et place, droits, noms, raisons et actions. Les droits siisvendus appartenans, savoir, moitie au dit Honorable William Bachelor Coltman, en vertu du bail emphiteotique 8usdat6, et I'autre moitie k lui et a ses constituans susnommes, comme h^ritiers du dit feu Sieur John Coltman, leur fr^re. Cette vente et cession ainsi faite k la charge par le dit acqu^reur et cessionnaire ses hoirs et ayans cause, durant le dit terns, d'avoir soin du dit terrain, sans faire ni souflfrir faire aucun dommage ni deterio- ration sur icelui, de payer chaque annde aux dites Dames Religieuses Ursulines et a leurs successerices, en leur couvent. ou a leur ordre porteurdes presentes, en esp^ces d'or ou d'argent ayant cours lors de la passation du dit bail susdate, nonobstant mutation d'autre mocnaie quelconque, dix livres du cours actuel de cette Province, pour leur rente emphiteotique stipu- l^e au dit bail, payable moitie chaque six mois, les pre- miers de Mai et de Novembre de chacune ann^e, k commencer a courir pour I'acquereur du premier Mai prochain, jusqu'^ia fin du dit bail ; auquel tems le dit terrain rentrera en la possession des dites Dames Ursulines, avec toutes les augmentations et ameliora- tions qui s*y trouveront de quelque nature et valeur qu'elles soient, sans qu'elles soient tenues de payer aucune indemnite ni dedommagement pour raison d'iceux. Cette vente faite en outre pour et moyen- nant le prix et somme de cent cinquante livres du cours actuel de cette Province, en deduction de la- quelle somme le dit Honorable William Bachelor Coltman, Ecuyer, reconnait avoir re^u ^s dits noms, du dit acquereur celle de vingt-cinq livres courant, d^s avant la passation des presentes, et dont quittance a compte ; s'obligeant le dit Jean Baptiste Laporte acqu6reur, payer le residu du dit prix de vente au dit vendeur es dits noms en sa demeure a Quebec ou d 17 son ordre porteur des presentes en bonne monnaie courante, savoir cinquante livres dans le cours du mois d'Avril prochain, et soixante quinze livres pour par- fait payement dans le cours du dit mois d'Avril de l*ann6e que Ton comptera mil hait cent dix-huit, le tout sans inter^t, les payemens etant fails d leur dcheance, mais avec interlts a raison de six par cent sur chaque payement, k courir de leur ^cheance res- pective. Pour siirete de quoi le dit acqu6reur a affect^, oblige et hypoth^qu^ generalement tous ses biens presents et futurs, et specialement sans qu'une obliga- tion deroge a I'autre le susdit terrain, sur lequel le dit vendeur es dits noms aura un privilege special comme bailleur de fends. A ce faire etaient presentes et sont intervenues les Reverendes Dames Maiie Anne Louise Taschereau de St. Francois Xavier, Sup6rieure du Convent et Monast^re des Dames Religieuses Ursulines de Que- bec ; Marie Josephte Lafontaine de Ste. Ther^se de J6su8, Assistante ; Genevieve Julie Berthelot de St. Joseph, Zelatrice ; Marie Louise McLaughlin de St. Henry, Depositaire ; Marie Marguerite Blais de St. Pierre ; Marie Fran9oise Panet de St. Jacques ; Angdlique Judith de Ferri^re de Ste. Marie, toutes religieuses professes et discretes de la communaute des dites Dames LTrsulines, coroposant la plus saine partie de leur couvent, assembl6es au son de la cloche en la maniere accoutum^e, au principal parloir d'ice- lui, pour d^liberer de leurs affaires ; lesquelles de I'a- grement de Monseigneur I'Ev^que de Quebec, ont, par ces presentes, donne leur consentement, pour et au nom de leur dite communaute, au contrat de vente des autres parts, sous la condition expresse et sans la- quelle elles n'auraient point donn6 leur dit consente- ment, que le dit Honorable William Bachelor Colt- man s'obligera, comme il s'oblige par ces presentes, de demeurer garant et responsable solidairement avec C ff^ •h Hi III: iii 18 le dit Jean Baptiste Laporte, un d'eux seul pour le tout, sans division ni discussion, du payemeni annuel de ia rente emphiteotique portee au dit bail du vingt- un Octobre mil huit cent huit, sans aucune novation ni derogation aux droits d'hypoth^que que les dites dames ont en vertu du dit bail, excepts seulement qu'elles ne pourront en aucun terns, exiger h la fois du dit Honorable William Bachelor Coltman plus d'une ann^e de la dite rente, encore qu'elles en eussent laisse ecouler d'avantage, sans en avoir fait la de- mande au dit Honorable William Bachelor Coltman, Ecuyer. Et pour I'ex^cution des pr^sentes, les vendeur et acquereur ont elu leur domicile chacun en sa demeure actuelle ; auquel lieu, etc., nonobstant, etc., promet- tant, etc., obligeant, etc., renon9ant, etc., fait et passe a Quebec au principal parloir du convent des dites Oames Ursulines, I'an mil huit cent seize, le vingt-cinq Avril apres midi. Et ont les parties signd, lecture faite, excepte le Sieur Laporte qui a declare ne le savoir, de ce requis. CSigne,) W. B. COLTMAN. Sr. Marie A. L. Taschereau de St. Fran9ois Xavier, Sup6rieure ; Sr. Marie Josephte Lafontaine de The- rese de Jesus, Assistante ; Sr. Julie Genevieve Berthelot de St. Joseph, Zelatrice ; Sr. Marie L. McLaughlin de St. Henry, Depte, ; Sr. Marguerite Blais de St. Pierre, Discrete ; Sr. M. Fran9oise Panet de St. Jacques, Discrete ; Sr. Ang^lique Judith Ferri^re de Ste. Marie, Discrete. JH. PLANTS, R. LELIEVRE. Et le vingt-six Avril apr^s midi mil huit cent seize, pardevant les notaires publics a Quebec susdit et sous signes, est comparue Dame Ursule Phiset, Spouse du dit Sieur Jean Baptiste Laporte, ci-dessus de- 19 3ur le mnuel vingt- vation dites lement la fols n plus jussent la de- )Uman, deur et emeure Dromet- fait et ent des seize, le cepte le J requis. Xavier, de The- enevieve Adne L. arguerite Fran9oise Vng^lique nommd, de lui pour ce pr6sent duement autorisde k I'efFet qui suit, laquelle apr^s avoir eu lecture et com- munication de Tacte ci-dessus et des autres parts, a declare I'avoir pour agreable, et le ratifie par ces pre- sentes ; s'obligeant solidairement avec son dit mari, elle seule pour le tout, a I'entretiennement et execu- tion d'icelui. et notamment aux payemens de la rente emphyt^otique et au prix du dit bail, tant envers les Dames Ursulines qu'envers le dit Honorable William Bachelor Coltman, et au nom qu'il agit, sous la surete de tous les biens pre'sents et futurs de la dite Dame Ursule Phiset, qu'elle y a par ces presentes afFectes, obliges et hypotheques. Car ainsi, etc., obligeant, etc., fait et passe k Quebec, en I'etude, les jour et an susdits, et a sign6 avec nous, lecture faite. (Sign^,) URSULE LAPORTE, JH. PLANTS, R. LELIEVRE. (' Pour copie conforme t la minute trouvee en l*6tude de feu Mtre. Jh. Plants, Notaire, d6posee dans les archives de ce district, vidimee et collationnee par nous soussign^s gardiens d'icelles et Protonotaires de la Cour du Banc du Roi, a Quebec, le 5e Mars 1842. PERRAULT & BURROUGHS, P. B* R. NTfi, HVRE. sent seize, susdit et et, Spouse iessus de- [(fwr^^^ 20 No. 4. Copy of a Report of the Executive Council approved by His Excellency the Governor General, on the application of Messrs. Bonner and Peiry, and others, relating; to a certain property at i'Ance des M^res. The Committee of Council have had under consi- deration the several cases referred to, regarding claims to Beach Lots at Quebec, called I'Ance des Meres, and have agreed upon the following Report : The property called TAnce des M^res is situated on the River St. Lawrence, above the Mariners' Chapel at Quebec, and extends to Wolfe's Cove, above that city. According to a Report of the Inspector General of the Queen's domain, it may, in reference to the pre- sent proprietors or claimants, be divided into five sections— 1st. The permanent property, formerly belonging to Alexander Munn, consisting of 832 feet French measure, and joining on the east to the Ma- riners' Chapel. This Lot is said to consist of two extra parcels or concessions — one of 300 feet front, acquired from the LaCroix family, representing Mr. Rouer de Villeray, being that portion next the Ma- riners' Chapel, and the remaining 532 feet from the Ursuline Nuns, in 1782. The titles or concessions to Simon Fraser, are re- ported to describe the land conceded, as extending from the top of the cape to low water mark, and the premises in question are reported to have passed through many hands, under the above description. The Inspector General of the Queen's domain states, that from an examination of the ancient titles, he has no doubt, but that the description, including 21 the space between low and high water mark, was an encroachment upon the properly o( the Crown ; yet, as it appears that on these mutations of property, the Crown has taken the seigneurial dues without com- plaining of the descri()tion, or taking any proceeding to vindicate its rights. — The Inspector General ap- pears to be of opinion, that the Crown is in a manner estopped to assert an Estate inconsistent with the des- criptions thus admitted. It appears from examination of the papers before the Council, that the right of the proprietors to claim even down to high water mark, is extremely doubt- ful, as from ancient muniments, an intention to re- serve in the hands of the Crown a strip of land above high water mark is plainly expressed. In the case of one of the sections of the I'Ance des M^res property, this point was contested at law. and upon appeal from the judgment of the Court of Queen's Bench at Que- bec, the Court of Appeal held the right of the Crown not to extend above high water mark, but that to high water mark it did extend. j The Ursaline Nuns being the parly claiming against the Crown, commenced an appeal to the Queen in Council, but did not proceed in it, so that so far as the legal judgments of the Provincial Courts is concerned, the space of ground between low and high water mark, must be considered the property of the Crown, and the ground above it to the private proprietors. The Committee are of opinion, that unless, upon mature consideration, the right of the Crown to the ground above high water mark, should be thought by the Law Officers clear and incontrovertible, the ques- tion had better be considered as settled by the judg- ment of the Court of Appeals, in which case the ground between high and low water mark (and that only) can be considered at the disposal of the Gov- ernment. •22 Then the question will remain, sufrgested by the Inspector General of the Queen's domain, — whether the Government as regards section No. 1 , are to be considered estopped to assert the ri«;ht of the CJrown to the ground between high and low water mark, be- cause of the receipt of seigniorial dues upon the mutation of estate, and because of long possession in the claimants. The Committee are of opinion, that the matter should be allowed to remain as at present, the occupant not now claiming a confirmation of his Estate, but should be advised to ask for a confirma- tion, the Committee think it should be conceded as an admitted right of the Crown, and at a valuation. The second section of the property at I'Ance des M^res, consists of 360 feet French measure in front ; it is reported to have been leased by the Ursuline Nuns to Mr. Duniere for 40 years, the unexpired term of which came into the possession of Alexander Munn, about the year 1806 ; this term expired in 1836, when the lot being in possession of Mrs. Munn, an order in Council was passed, directing that it should be let at a rent of £100 per annum, and that the occupier should have a preference for the first term of 21 years. This order was made on petitions from Mr. Munn, and from J. Bte. Laporte, who pos- sessed the adjoining lot. It appears that Mrs. Munn did not take any lease of the premises from the GovernLaent for the beach lot, or pay any rent, but on the contrary, possession has been held since the expiration of the lease, and William Lampson , through Mr. J. B. Forsyth, by way of creating a colourable title against the Crown, procured from the Ursuline Nuns a conveyance to himself in perpetuity, of the lot, describing the property conceded as ex- tending to low water mark. William Lampson, who has purchased Mrs. Munn's claim, and who also, as above mentioned, purchased from the Ursuline Nuns in perpetuity, the property held by Munn, with a in 23 boundary extending to low water mark, now petitions for a grant of the beach and deep water in front. The Committee consider the claim for a grant to be inadmissible. They also are of opinion, that the plan of leasing the beach for short terms of years, is not productive of benefit, wMle it tends to complicate public business, — the Beach is not wanted for public purposes, and the Committee see no good reason why it should not be sold, giving those who hold the land in rear a preference in the purchase ; by so doing, all dispute concerninjj; the boundary must ceaye after a purchase in fee simple, — there is no longer any object to be gained in ascertaining the exact position ot the boundary, either on the part of the Crown or the pur- chaser. The Committee therefore respectfully recommend, that the petitioner William Lampson, be offered the beach lot, and a water lot to the ordinary debth of 22 feet, at a valuation by the Commissioner of Crown Lands, at its real market value, and a commutation of the seigniorial rights of the Crown in the lands held by him in rear thereof. i The third lot or section of the Crown property at I'Ance des M^res, consists of 908 french feet in front, — it was originally leased by the Ursuline Nuns to Messrs. Coltman on the 21st October 1808, for 30 years ; the unexpired term of which lease, came into the posses- sion of J. B. Laporte by assignment from Messrs. Coltman in l8l6. During the continuance of this term, Mr. Laporte being desirous of obtaining a renewal of the lease, and finding some difficulty with the Ursuline Nuns, inquired into the title, and gave information to Government which induced H. M. Attorney General to commence a suit against him as the tenant in possession. The Crown claimed in this suit not only the beach up to high water mark, but also from thence to Cape Diamond, and Laporte, being thus sued, called upon 24 :i. 1^^ .': 1 the Nuns as guarantees of his titl** they intervened in the suit, claiming low water mark as the boundary of their estate. Judgment in favour of the Crown to the full extent of its claim, was given in the Court of King's Bench ; against this Judgment the Ursuline Nuns appealed, and in July 1840, .Judgment was given against the Crown, as regarded the ground in rear of high water mark, and establishing in favour of the Crown its title to the ground between high and low water mark. It is remarkable, that in the Judgment, the Court of Appeals adopted as high-water mark, a hne drawn on a plan made by Mr. JSax, a deputy surveyor, who was employed to make a figurative plan of the locality for the assistance of the Court, w^hich line is in fact below the true high water-mark made, and was not intended to establish its exact locality, or supported in the proceedings by any evidence, shew^ing that it was a true line ascertained by actual survey. This line runs in an irregular manner and cuts through houses and cabins erected on the cape side of the road to the coves. The Ursuline Nuns, and the Crown have both de- clared their intention to appeal from this Judgment, but the former having failed to put in the necessary security, forfeitw^d their right to appeal, and the Crown have, therefore, the right to insist upon the Judgment as binding, or, on the other hand to appeal from it, and insists upon the full extent of its first claim. On the 7th March, 1839, it was determined, that this lot should be leased for a term of years, and in consideration of large outlays made by I aporte, that he should have the first lease of 2 1 years, on paying arrears of rent at £10 per annum for eight previous years, and the new rent being £100 per annum orders were issued to the Attorney General to prepare this lease, but its completion has been prevented by the following* circumstance. 25 Messrs. J. & J. M. Fraser, while the suit was in litigation, and after the first Judgment in favor of the Crown, procured a grant in perpetuity, from the Ur- suline Nuns, of the whole ground to the summit of the Cape, and extending from thence to low-water mark ; thus assuming to acquire a title to the ground in litigation, under colour of authority from the Messrs. Fraser, Mr. Wm. Lampson has taken vio- lent possession of the beach lot within v few days past, The Committee are respectfully of opinion that it would be inexpedient for the Government to continue the litigation. They also respectfully reiterate their opinion, that the plan of leasing for terms of years is inexpedient. The Committee are further of opinion, that the Government is pledged to Laporte to give him a preference in case of the disposal of the beach lot. The Committee are also of opinion, that Messrs. Fraser by assuming to acquire a title to property in opposition to the rights of the Crown, that property being in litigation, has thereby acquired no claim to the favorable consideration of the Government. They are also of opinion, that it would be prudent to avoid the necessity for all further intervention of the Crown in the matter in litigation, to dispose of the property, without guarantee of title. The Com- mittee, therefore, respectfully recommend, that Mr. Laporte be permitted to purchase the beach lot ex- tending to the ordinary depth of 22 feet water, and including all the ground belonging to the Crown in the lot, without reference to the boundary, but with- out ccrapromising the seigneurial rights of the Crown, on the property held by or under tne Ursuime Nuns, and that this sale be made on a valuation of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, to be reported and approved by your Excellency. The 4th section is under patent and no question is open relating to it. The 5th section consists of from 9 to 10 arpents in D 26 I. 'I 'Hi front, and was acquired so far as it could be from the UrsuHne Nuns, by Mr. John Fraser in 1832 — he shortly afterwards applied for a commutation of te- nure, ivhich was granted, but inasmuch as this would confer no title to the ground between high and low- water mark, it was agreed that this should be sold to him absolutely. For the purpose of ascertaining the value of the property, the title to which was to be com- muted, as well as of that which was to be sold to him, Messrs. William Philips and Robert Wood, were ap- pointed as experts, one on behalf of the Crown, and one on behalf of the purchasers. These gentlemen valued the commutable property above high-water mark at £2,224 7s. 6d. upon which a commutation fine of 10 per cent, was to be paid, and the property below high-water mark at ^285 for the ground and .£479 3s. 4d. for the improvements. The commuta- tion fine was paid amounting to £222. The claimants also paid the fees to Government Officers, on the patent for the property below high- water mark, amounting to <£25 1. 7s. 6d. Before the issue of a patent, however, the matter was again brought under the consideration of the Executive Council, and an order was made by the Governor in Council, from which the following is an extract : — <' But inasmuch as the Committee are of opinion, that the beach has evidently been undervalued by the experts according to their report of the 22nd October, 1835, they recommend that the premises be valued at 2d. per superficial foot, being the rate at which similar properties have hitherto been estimated in that neighbourhood, and that Mr. Fraser do pay an annual rent, to be calculated on the amount of such valuation, at the rate of 6 per cent. The property having been assigned in portions to Messrs. Bonner and Petry — these gentlemen severally petitioned to have patents issued to them, for their respective portions of the the -he te" ould bw- d to ; the com- him, J ap- , and emen water tation ►perty d and muta- iment high- nnatter of the by the is an 3inion, by the ctober, valued ; which in that annual uation, ig been 'etry — patents of the 27 beach, upon the terms stated in the last mentiuned order in Council. But these gentlemen have since petitioned repeat- edly to have the rent reduced, principally because, as they allege, a concession was made to Mr, JohnS. Campbell, of a beach lot upon more favourable terms. The petitioners have been answered by a Report of Council, entering into various distinctions between the two cases, and the Report goes to shew, that the instances were not parallel, and that the concession to Mr. Campbell was not more favourable under all the circumstances, than that to Messrs. Bonner and Petry. But the Committee do not, at this time time, think it expedient to enter into these questions of compari- son. They cannot say, that they would have assented to so palpable aa undervaluation, as that made by the experts, and in the disposal of the property of the Crown — they would have avoided carefully any com- parison of sales to be made, with others already per- fected. They think the only question must be, whe- ther the petitioners have or have not been charged more for the property, than its real bona fide value — and with a view to this question, the Comm** e are of opinion, that no injustice has been done. The Committee are respectfully of opinion, that even if the case attempted to be made out, of a great difference between the terms upon which the land was conceded to Mr. Campbell, and those upon which they purchased, was fully established, it would only have proved, that a great error had been committed in the case of the former sale ; and the discovery of an error is, in the opinion of the Committee, the weak- est reason in favour of its being perpetuated. For these reasons, the Committee respectfully recommend, that the claim of Messrs. Bonner and Petry be finally dismissed. The Committee have carelL.]y examined the claim of Mr. James Reyner, in relation to this lot and improvements thereupon, in which he claims pT-i 28 an interest, and for the loss of which he demands in- demnification, and are of opinion that he has not made out a case in which the Government can afford him any relief, and that his claim is inadmissible. Mr. Reyner held under a lease, by the terms of which he was bound to give up at its expiration all the improvements during its continuance, and the fact that the Nuns under whom he held were not entitled to the beach lot, and that he was therefore an unau- thorized possessor of Crown property, does not enable him to dispute in his own behalf, the title under which he held, or to place himself in a better position, than he would have been in^ had that title been legal. The Inspector General of the Queen's domain, reports upon a beach lot, not properly belonging to the L'Ance des M^res property, in which case, the Government in consideration of the Crown having received seigneurial dues, upon mutations of estate, in which the descriptions included the land between high and low-water mark, granted the beaeh lot at a nominal yearly rent of five shillings. The Committee, as the matter respecting this lot is settled, only think it necessary to remark, as in the case of the L'Ance des Meres, 1st section, that in such cases, they would not advise the party in posses- sion to be disturbed, yet they would avoid the instance quoted being made a precedent as in future cases where any action is required to confirm a title in pos- session acquired through inadvertence on the part of the Government, the full value of such confirmation •should be exacted. .... Council Chamber, > Montreal, 11th May, 1841. (A true Copy.) S. B. SMITH. Kingston, 26th August, 1841. »•>"> 29 No. 1574. ^ No. 5. Province of L. Canada, 7 District of Quebec, j IN THE KING'S BENCH. The twentieth day of April, 1831. Dominus Rex, vs. JEAN BAPTISTE LAPOB E of the Parish of Quebec, in the County of Quebec, in the District of Que- bec, Yeoman, Defendant ; and The said JEAN BAPTISTE LA- PORTE, PltintifFew garantte. vs. The Reverends Dames Marie Margue- rite Boissonnault de Ste. Monique, Supdrieure of the Convent and Communaute of the Ursulines of Quebec ; Marie Fran^oise Panet de St. Jacques, Assistante ; Gene- vieve Juhe Berthelot de St. Joseph, Zelatrice ; Marie Louise McLaugh- lin de St. Henry, Depositaire ; Marie Anne Archange Panet de St. Bernard ; Marie Louise O'Neal de St. Catherine ; Jane McKutcheon de Ste. Claire, Discretes of the said Communaute, residing in tlie City of Quebec, in the Countv of Que- bec, in the District of Quebec, in their said Convent, Defendants en garantte and intervening party. The Court having heard the Attorney General on behalf of our Sovereign Lord the King, and Mr. 30 Caron, Attorney for the Ursuline Nuns, as garants formelles of the above named Jean Baptiste Laporte, upon the issues raised as well upon the exception peremptoire en droit perpetuelle as upon the dtfense au fonds en fait, having also seen and examined the seve- ral exhibits and proofs of record and the figurative plan of Mr. William Sax, sworn surveyor, drawn in obedience to the Interlocutory Judgment rendered in this cause on the fourth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and thirty, and filed therein on the se- cond day of October following, and having maturely deliberated upon the whole, it is considered and ad- judged, inasmuch as the tract or parcel of Ground and Beach mentioned and set forth in the said infor- mation of the said Attorney General and described as follows, that is to say : — '• A certain Tract or parcel " Land situated in the Lower Town of Quebec, at a ** place called VAnce des Meres, containing five ar- •• pents eight feet, French measure, in front, by about ** seventy feet and upwards in depth, extending to " the foot of Cape Diamond, bounded in front by ** low-water mark, on one side to the north by land ** in the possession of Alexander IvIudp. or his repre- ** sentatives, on the other side to the south-west by ** land in possession of John Say ton Campbell, and in ** the rear by Cape Diamond" forms no part or par- '* eel of the ground sold by one Duquet to the said Ursuline Nuns, by deed, before Becquet, Notary Public, and witnesses, on the twelfth day of March, one thousand six hundred and seventy-one, and sub- sequently confirmad to them by the Intendant, — that our said Lord the King is the proprietor thereof. And it is therefore further considered and adjudged that the said Jean Baptiste Laporte do, within fifteen days from the service upon him of the present Judg- ment, desist from, quit and abandon, and after that delay that he be amoved from the possession and oc- cupation of the tract or parcel of Ground and Beach au 31 hereinbefore described, and that the same be rendered and delivered up to our said Lord the King ; and it is further considered and adjudged that our said Lord the King do recover his costs from the said Jean Bap- tiste Laportc. PERRAULT & BURROUGHS, B. B. R. No. 6. Province of L. Canada,) The 30th July, 1840. Court of Appeals, y The Ursuline Nuns of Quebec, Appellants ; and The Attorney General, yro Regind, Respondent. The Court having heard the parties by their Counsel, examined the Record and proceedings and deliberated thereon. It is considered that inasmuch as by the report of the Survey of William Saxe, re- ferred to in the Judgment of the Court below of the twentieth day of April, eighteen hundred and thirty- one, it appears that there is a space between the Gape Diamond and high water mark in the River St. Lawrence which the Crown cannot claim as the soil of the Tide-water, and whereof the Appellants have been legally in possession from time imme- morial, under titles which it was not the object of the information to try, the Judgment of the Court below has by awarding all the depth of land from low water mark to Cape Diamond, adjudged to the Crown more than ought to have been held and considered as its pro- perty, and the Judgment of the Court below is there- fore in this respect reversed : — and this Court giving the Judgment which the Court below ought to have rendered. It is adjudged and declared that all the land between Low -water mark of the premises described in the said Judgment and the place designated in the plan of William Saxe therein referred to by a line with 32 the letters g, h, i, k, I, and a, as that at which the tide did rise and would an;ain rise but for the obstacles in its way, shall be held to be the property of Our Sove- reign Lady the Queen, in right of Her Sovereignty as the soil of Tide water, and therefore it is con- sidered that the said Jean Baptiste Laporte, do within fifteen days from the service of the present Judgment desist from, quit and abandon the same, and that in default thereof he be amoved of the pos- session and occupation of the said tract and parcel of land and beach as herein awarded to Her Majesty in due course of law. The Court awarding no costs to either party either in this Court or in the Court below. And it is ordered that the Record be remitted to the Court below. Certified, E. DESBARATS, C. C. A. No. 8. Province of Lower Canada, 7 The 17th November, Court of Appeals^ } 1830. Louis Fournier, Appellant, and Jacques Oliva, Respondent. The Co'iFt having heard the parties by their Counsel, It is considered and adjudged that the Judg- ment of the Court of King's Bench for the District of Quebec, rendered in this cause on the twentieth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine, be and the same is hereby reversed. And it is further adjudged that the said Appellant be maintained in the possession and enjoyment of the Lot of Land men- tioned and described in the declaration in this cause filed, with injunction to the said Respondent not to trouble the said Appellant in the possession thereof in future — Condemn the said Respondent to remove and 33 carry away within fifteen days after signification of the present Judgment, the fence by him erected in and upon the said lot of land, and failing herein, doth au- thorize the said Appellant to prostrate and remove the said fence at the cost and charges of the said Res- pondent, and further condemn the said Respondent to pay to the said Appellant for his damages by reason of the matters complained of, the sum of five pounds with the Costs, as well in the said Court of King's Bench, as in this Court ; and it is ordered that the Record be remitted to the said Court of King's Bejich. Certified, E. DESBARATS, C. C. A. j*^ KT Sir, Kingston, 21st Feby. 1842. I had the honor, on Tuesday last, to pre- sent to His Excellency the Governor General, a Memorial of the Ursuline Nuns of Quebec to the Colonial Minister, praying that a Report of the Exe- cutive Council of this Province, dated 1 3th Deer. 1841, in which it was determined to deprive them of certain property of which they have been the possessors for upwards of 1 50 years, and to grant the same to one J. B. Laporte, their refractory tenant, or his assignee, might be set aside and quashed, — In the interview T had with His Excellency on the subject I respect- fully requested that His Excellency would be pleased to transmit the same to the Colonial Minister, mth his report and opinion thereon, as prescribed in like cases by the rules and regulations addressed to the Governors of Colonies from the Colonial Office as res- pects correspondence of individuals — page 92, section 3 — clause 5— until the decision of Lord Stanley was made known to His Excellency, and that no action E 34 should, as respects either reference for Patent or other- wise, be made in favor of Jean Baptiste Laporte or his assignee, and His Excellency was pleased to asE^ure me, after taking note of what I asked, that the matter should receive his attentive consideration. I now therefore beg, as agent of the UrsuliueNuns, that this letter may be laid before His Excellency by you, as containing in writing the prayer of the Ur- sulines, which I had the honor of but verbally mak- ing known to His Excellency on Friday. The plan of Mr. Sax, alluded to in the memorial to Lord Stanley, has been mislaid by me, but in the course of a few days a certified copy will be handed to you, to be attached to the Memorial and Appen- dix ; and I shall at an early day be enabled to trans- mit a printed copy of the memorial to Lord Stanley, and appendix thereto, to forward with the written one. I have, &c. ' ' (Signed) J. H. KERR TheHonble. D. Daly, Secretary, East. Sir, Secretary's Office, Kingston, 22d Feb. 1842. I am commanded by the Governor General to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st instant, relating to the Memorial you presented to His Excellency on Friday last, upon the subject of the claim of the Ursuline Nuns to certain property at I'Ance des Meres. ^ : c m In reply I am to inform you that His Excellency after a careful consideration of your statement of the case is unable to give you any other answer than the one announced to you on the 27th ult. His Excel- lency will of course readily transmit your Memorial to the Secretary of State ; but he sees no sufficient reason *ir^ himself for a reversal of the decision of the Executive Council, and after the very long enquiry that has now been had into the merits oi the case, he cannot consent to the further delay which the suspension of proceed- ings solicited by you would cause. 1 have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obt. servt., D. DALY, Secy. J. H. Kerr, Esq. &c. &c. &c. Sir, Kingston, 22d Feby. 1842. I have had the honor to receive your letter of this date, acquainting me in reply to my letter ad- dressed to you yesterday, in relation to the Memorial presented by me on the part of the Ursuline Nuns to His Excellency the Governor General, " that you had " been commanded to inform me that His Excellency, *' after a careful consideration of my statement of the case, is unable to give me any other answer than the one announced to me on the 27th ultimo, but that His Excellency will of course readily transmit the Memorial of the Nuns to the Secretary of State, ** but that His Excellency himself sees no sufficient reason for a reversal of the decision of the Executive Council, and that after the very long enquiry that has now been had into the merits of the case, His Excellency cannot consent to the further delay which the suspension of proceedings solicited by me " would cause." As representing the Religious Ladies of the Ursu- line Convent, I beg respectfully to intimate to you, for the information of His Excellency the Governor General, that the appeal rendered in July 1840, re- versing in part the judgment of the King's Bench (r (( tt <( <( (< (( tc i( 30 I in the case of our Sovereign Lord the King versos Jean B. Laporte, the Nuns intervening, will be imme- diately carried by these ladies to the law tribunal of last resort — the Queen in Council — their right to do which is undoubted and acknowledged to be so in the Report of the Executive Council of the 13th De- cember last. His Excellency is already apprized that the last law decision in 1840, has restored to the Nuns half of the property which the Crown in 1839 were about to grant to Laporte, their refractory tenant — and they are advised by the first law authorities in the Province that by an appeal to the Court of last resort, they will be declared to be the proprietors of the re- maining half. The opinion entertained by His Excellency that he cannot stay the issue of Patent although His Excel- lency win forward the memorial of the Nuns to the Colonial Minister, necessarily obliges the ladies to take this course as the only one open to them of ob- taining redress \for in case the Patent to Laporte or his assignee is signed the decision of the Colonial Minister, if favourable to their pretensions, will be of non avail to them i I therefore most respectfully pray, that Patent be not issued to Jean Bte. Laporte or his assignee till the appeal of the Nuns to the Queen in Council, which will be proceeded with as bool\ as the rules of Court permit, is finally pronounced, and that in the mean- time, His Excellency will be pleased to transmit the memorial of the Nuns presented by me, to the Colo- nial Minister, Lord Stanley. ^. I return to Quebec to-morrow, and I request your reply addressed to me there. i ^ ^ 1 have, &c. ^ (Signed) The Honble. T. Daly, Secretary, East. J. H. KERR. .M y- mm Sir, 87 Secretary's OrriCE, Kingston, 24th February, 1842. I am commanded by His Excellency the Governor General to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 22nd instant, praying, in behalf of the Ladies of the Ursulines Community of Quebec, that Patent be not issued in favor of J. B. Laporte, or hia Assignee, till such time as the appeal which they now propose making from the decision of the Court of Appeals in July, 1840, to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council shall have been carried through and a decision obtained upon it. I have the honor to be. Sir. Your most obedient Servant, D. DALY, Secretary. J, H. Kerr, Esq. &c. &c. &c.