..v^/-'^^ 
 
 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 'i^tik 
 
 I.I 
 
 11.25 
 
 ■a m 
 
 ^ as, 
 
 1.4 
 
 2.0 
 
 1.8 
 
 U 
 
 V] 
 
 <^ 
 
 /2 
 
 jym 
 
 'i^l 
 
 w 
 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sdences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 i\ 
 
 4 
 
 
 'b 
 
 SS 
 
 ^\ 
 
 
 ^<^ >*A- '^^^\ 
 
 \" 
 
 
 'Oi^ 
 
 ■Z^ 
 
 73 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
 
 <^ 
 
 
A 
 
 ^ 
 
 :\ 
 
 m 
 
 t. 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 
 
Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques 
 
 The Institute has attempted to obtain the best 
 original copy available for filming. Features of this 
 copy which may be bibliographically unique, 
 which may alter any of the images in the 
 reproduction, or which may significantly change 
 the usual method of filming, are checked below. 
 
 D 
 
 Coloured covers/ 
 Couverture de couleur 
 
 I I Covers damaged/ 
 
 Couverture endommagAe 
 
 Covers restored and/or laminated/ 
 Couverture restaur^ et/ou pellicul6e 
 
 Cover title missing/ 
 
 Le titre de couverture manque 
 
 Coloured maps/ 
 
 Cartes gdographiques en couleur 
 
 Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ 
 Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) 
 
 I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ 
 
 D 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur 
 
 Bound with other material/ 
 Reiii avec d'autres documents 
 
 Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion 
 along interior margin/ 
 
 La re liure serrde peut causer de I'ombre ou de la 
 distors'on le long de la marge int6rieure 
 
 Blank leaves added during restoration may 
 appear within the text. Whenever possible, these 
 have been omitted from filming/ 
 II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajouties 
 lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, 
 mais, lorsque cela itait possible, ces pages n'ont 
 pas iti filmAes. 
 
 Additional comments:/ 
 Commentaires supplAmentaires: 
 
 L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire 
 qu'il lui a iti possible de se procurer. Les details 
 de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du 
 point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier 
 une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une 
 modification dans la m6thode normale de filmage 
 sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. 
 
 The 
 tot 
 
 l~n Coloured pages/ 
 
 Pages de couleur 
 
 Pages damaged/ 
 Pages endommagies 
 
 Pages restored and/oi 
 
 Pages restaur^es et/ou pellicul6es 
 
 Pages discuJoured, stained or foxet 
 Pages d6colories, tacheties ou piqudes 
 
 Pages detached/ 
 Pages ddtach^es 
 
 Showthrougii/ 
 Transparence 
 
 Quality of prin 
 
 Quality inigale de I'impression 
 
 Includes supplementary materii 
 Comprend du materiel supplimentaire 
 
 Only edition available/ 
 Seule Edition disponible 
 
 j I Pages damaged/ 
 
 I I Pages restored and/or laminated/ 
 
 fyl Pages discuJoured, stained or foxed/ 
 
 I I Pages detached/ 
 
 rri Showthrougii/ 
 
 r~| Quality of print varies/ 
 
 I I Includes supplementary material/ 
 
 I I Only edition available/ 
 
 D 
 
 Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata 
 slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to 
 ensure the best possible image/ 
 Les pages totalement ou partiellement 
 obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, 
 etc., ont iti film^es i nouveau de fapon i 
 obtenir la meilleure image possible. 
 
 Thfl 
 pea 
 oft 
 filnn 
 
 Ori| 
 bag 
 the 
 slor 
 oth( 
 first 
 sior 
 oril 
 
 The 
 shal 
 TIN 
 whi 
 
 Mai 
 diff( 
 enti 
 begi 
 righ 
 reqi 
 met 
 
 This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 
 Ce document est film^ au taux de rMuction indiquA ci-dessous. 
 
 10X 14X 18X 22X 
 
 y 
 
 12X 
 
 16X 
 
 2CX 
 
 26X 
 
 30X 
 
 24X 
 
 28X 
 
 32X 
 
The copy filmed here hee been reproduced thenks 
 to the generosity of: 
 
 Douglas Library 
 Queen's University 
 
 The images appearing here are the best quality 
 possible considering the condition and legibility 
 of the original copy and in iceeping with the 
 filming contract specifications. 
 
 Original copies In printed paper covers are filmed 
 beginning with the front cover and ending on 
 the last page with a printed or Illustrated Impres- 
 sion, or the bacic cover when appropriate. All 
 other original copies are filmed beginning on the 
 first page with a printed or illustrated Impres- 
 sion, and ending on the last page with a printed 
 or illustrated impression. 
 
 The last recorded frame on each microfiche 
 shall contain the symbol —^(meaning "CON- 
 TINUED"), or the symbol y (meaning "END"), 
 whichever applies. 
 
 iVIaps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at 
 different reduction ratios. Those too large to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 L'exemplaire film* fut reprodult grAce A la 
 gAnArositi de: 
 
 Douglas Library 
 Queen's University 
 
 Les Images sulvantes ont M reproduites avec le 
 plus grand soln, compte tenu de la condition et 
 de la nettetA de l'exemplaire filmA, et en 
 conformitA avec les conditions du contrat de 
 filmage. 
 
 Les exemplalres orlginaux dont la couverture en 
 papier est ImprimAe sont fllmAs en commenpant 
 par le premier plat et en termlnant soit par la 
 dernlAre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'Impression ou d'illustration, scit par ie second 
 plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplalres 
 orlginaux sont filmAs en commenpant par la 
 premlAre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'Impression ou d'iliustration et en termlnant par 
 la dernlAre page ^u\ comporte une telle 
 empreinte. 
 
 Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur ia 
 dernlAre Image de cheque microfiche, selon ie 
 cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE". ie 
 symbols V signifie "FIN". 
 
 Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre 
 filmAs A des taux de rAduction diff Arents. 
 Lorsque ie document est trop grand pour Atre 
 reprodult en un seul cllchA, 11 est filmA A partir 
 de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, 
 et de haut en bes, en prenant le nombre 
 d'images nAcessalre. Les diegrammes suivants 
 lllustrent ia mAthode. 
 
 12 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
REPRESENTATION 
 
 \M 
 
 A.GAIX5T THS 
 
 WitU oC the ibrmfnarat to tiie Sbrf0ttCors af JHotitreal; 
 
 AKB 
 
 OBJECTIONS 
 
 TO TI!S 
 
 Froposed Ordfaamee for the JExtiactioB «rSeiBaiortel Dne* 
 
 IN TRX 
 
 CITY AND ISLAND OF MONTREAL. 
 
 Montreal: 
 
 WHNTB© AT THB IfORMmG COURIER OFrttNB, 
 
 1839. 
 

 c. •. 
 
 •B 
 
REPRESENTATION, 6ec. 
 
 At a Meeung of Proprietor, of Beal Property, In Ai, Seigniory, hotd In 
 
 h,s Cyonthe 17U.i„s.a„.,,oW.e into consideration ZtmU 
 
 he Wary to the Seigniory of thia Inland and tite objections to 
 
 Ac Ordmance now before the Special Council, for the exinction if 
 
 po,med Cha,rma„ and W. B.Bd..r,E^. SecretaryVl Meeting^ 
 
 lid 1 "^r r" *' M-ing Representain which „d 
 adopted, ordered to be printed and generally circulated:- 
 
 feudal Tenure, as they more immediately affect this City and Island 
 and to expose the grounds of objection to the Ordinancef now S 
 «.e Speca Council for approval, to '< Incorporate tie EcclZtZZ 
 
 ikey andSngntOry of tie Island of Montreal, the Fief and 
 Sngnunjofth. Lake of the Tv. Mountains, an^ ike fZ ^J 
 Seigmon, of St. Sulpice, in this Province ,-TomL7^ 
 
 <^.*«/ e^inction of Seigniorial lUgits and ^^tfZ ti. 
 
 :'^^'^^f'^'nii> of the eaid Fiefs and Seigniories, aZ^Jt 
 
 Tenure in ge„e,.l,.beyaresotn:elra:e:Tr^^^^^^^^^ 
 parties, and are so obvious a chprk t. ;,„ admitted by all 
 
 .atlon of property, as ^.Z^^tm^ZZl^l "^ '"' ''""" 
 ever, be improper to notice some of h ' " """^ "°'' '"'»'- 
 
 Civil slavery", wlch hatllTso Ju HtlCT'T' t'" T "''' 
 posed briefly to advert to the n».„j7!l ' " **''^''*'* P-*" 
 
 feudal retrlt, tan^t^UlT ™""'"-"- »"«*i »' ««<^, 
 
 And first, W, e< »e»<es.— This is a ri.ht of ih« <!.••. u 
 ".ent, from every purchaser of real estate! of a ol^r",'?"''''^- 
 every mutation thereof, to the amount ofX tSoft , T 
 •■me of the alienation, and upon everv -.,» T~- - """ *" 
 
 period than nin. yea. to tbramounVof.^^^—;:-- 
 
annual rent. This fine ia not only exigible upon the value of the groutidy 
 but upon all improvements of whatever description made at any time 
 iubaequent to the original concession of the ground, whether those im- 
 provements be in the nature of buildings, or cultivation ; and in its effects, 
 it acts not only as a tax upon industry, but as an exorbitant exaction 
 from the hard earnings of years of labour and economy, acquired for 
 the comfort and support of old age, and the maintenance and education 
 of a family. 
 
 Figures will clearly exhibit the enormity of this exaction: A. purcha- 
 ses fromB. a piece of ground of little or no value, say of the value of 
 JS120, whereupon B., by the mere effect of Law, becomes personally 
 liable to pay to the Seignior, the sum of J610, in addition to the amount 
 of his purchase money. B. afterwards improves his purchase, and 
 erects upon it buildings at his own expense and from his own earnings, 
 to an amount sufficient \yith that of his purchase, to make his proper- 
 ty actually worth to him, iJl,200. When he sells it, he is compelled 
 lo lose one-twolfth of that sum, because, being only worth that amount, 
 the purchaser from B., aware of the Feudal exaction, would pay him 
 thatvalue less jG 100, the amount of tlie fine for which his purchase 
 would render him personally liable to the Seignior. If the same pro- 
 perty be sold twelve times in as many months or days, for a sirailgr 
 amount, the Seignior would receive its entire value ; or, if at each suc- 
 cessive sale, it were found to have been improved to a similar, a greater 
 or less amount, by each successive purchaser, the same proportional 
 fine would be exigible by the Seignior from each successive purchaser, 
 as well upon the value of his purchase, as upon the money laid out by 
 him in the itoprovements. The same principle applies to land under 
 cuUivaticMi, and improvements in agriculture and the wages of labor are 
 alike made to contribute to this extortionate oppression. 
 
 As a further proof of the gross injustice of this Feudal exaction, it 
 maybe observed, (hat if houses and buildings covered to their full value 
 by insurance, be consumed by fire, the proprietor is entitled to receive 
 the whole amount of the insurance money, without any drawback for 
 lods et ventesy or, the insurance money may be received by the assignee 
 of the proprietor without any such drawback, er, an individual may 
 take down his house and buildings erected on gi-ound held under Feudal 
 tenure, and can not be compelled by the Seignior to erect similar or 
 other buildiflgs, nor pay him lods et ventes upon the value of the build- 
 ing taken down : examples these, which conclusively establish the 
 
 ._ji! _r*l V 
 
 4gi gjjj^^'^rj t»f» loudlv comnlained of-^ 
 
)f the groutidy 
 at any time 
 er those im- 
 in its effects, 
 tant exaction 
 acquired for 
 nd education 
 
 : A. purcha- 
 the value of 
 !s personally 
 > the amount 
 irchase, and 
 vvn earnings, 
 3 his proper- 
 is compelled 
 Lhat amount, 
 uld pay him 
 ^is purchase 
 e same pro- 
 for a similar 
 at each suc- 
 ar, a greater 
 proportional 
 ^e purchaser, 
 y laid out by 
 land under 
 ! of labor are 
 
 exaction, it 
 eir full value 
 d lo receive 
 rawback for 
 the assignee 
 lividual may 
 mder Feudal 
 ct similar or 
 of the build- 
 jstablish the 
 
 -!v 
 
 It sbouM likewise be borne in mind, that the value of the fine in- 
 ereases with the improvements made, and the income of the 
 Seignior increases with the increased value, from whatever cause, 
 of real estate held under Seigniorial Tenure, and without any contribu- 
 tion or assistance on the part of the Seignior to augment the value of his 
 Seigniory, and without any outlay, further than is required for public 
 purposes, from every inhabitant of the Province. 
 
 Feudal retrait is the next in order of oppression, and is a right of 
 pre-emption, by the Seignior, to assume to himself any purchase made 
 by his tenant, (censitaire,) of real property in his Seigniory, however 
 advantageous it may be to the purchaser, upon payment to him by the 
 Seignior, of the actual purchase money and the expenses of the pur- 
 chase. This right is only exigible within forty days, from the time of 
 the exhibition to the Seignior of the purchaser's litle, which the Law 
 requires him to do in that time, a period which is extended .or thirty 
 years after the purchase if the title be not exhibited, unless the Seignior, 
 during lhat period, divest himself of his right by receiving the lods ei 
 venies of the purchase. If the propertv have changed hands fifty times 
 In that interval, and no title have been exhibited and no lods et ventes 
 received by the Seignior, he may deprive the last purchaser of the 
 properly, either for the amount of his purchase or for that of the first 
 oar any intervening acquisition. As a familiar illustration, A. sells a 
 property to B., for JElOO, B. to C, for £200, C. to D., for £300, and 
 no titles have been exhibited nor lods et ventes paid, the Seignior with- 
 in 30 years after the sale from A., may deprive D. of his purchase upon 
 payment toD. of £100, the amount of A.'s sale and the expenses in- 
 curred by D. on his purchase. It must at the same time be remarked, 
 that however valuable or extensive may be the amount of the improve- 
 ments since the date of A.'s sale, the Seignior is not liable to pay any 
 part of them, and can only be compelled to refund such expenses as 
 may have been incurred for the necessary protection and preservation 
 of the property under the first sale, from ruin and destruction, leaving 
 to D. his recourse as he may be advised against his vendor for the re- 
 eovery of the balance of his purchase money. 
 
 The infamy of this exaction is too gross to jieed any remark. 
 
 BanaliU is a right enjoyed by the Seignior, to compel all persons re- 
 siding within the limits of his Seigniory to grind at his mill all grain 
 in their possession, and wJiich they require to have ground, whe- 
 ther it be the produce of the Seignorial land, or have been imported by 
 
 -icc^Tviicie, lu uc suizca, if 
 
 th(>m. otnA in HAraiih in M^n<u* all H. 
 
 mil* mn^A^ 
 
found on the high road, and confiscated to his profit. In the exeicm 
 of this right, the Seignior may likewise prevent Millers living beyond 
 his Seigniory, from seeking grain within its limits, to grind at their mill 
 out of his Seigniory. A vassallage more oppressive than this can 
 scarcely be conceived, especially in a trading country ; and it is pe- 
 culiarly aggravating in this province, inasmuch as it not only tends to 
 check agricultural improvement, but also to repress enterprise in the 
 manufacture of the products of the soil, and at the same time to cramp 
 the interests of commerce. 
 
 Other exactions equally as oppressive as the foregoing might be en- 
 umerated, ')ut it is believed that these suffice to shew the evils of this 
 iniquitous tenure. It. is this system which it is intended to legalize 
 and practically enforce, by the operation of the Ordinance above men- 
 tioned, which, professing to relieve the censitaires of this City and 
 Island from its exactions, more closely rivets chains already too op- 
 pressive, by giving to the Seminary of Montreal, a title to the Seig- 
 niory which they never previously possessed. 
 
 The grounds upon which rest the objections to the title of the Semi^ 
 nary to the Seigniory of Montreal, are so substantial and have so fre- 
 quently been before the public, that they only now require to be briefly 
 recapitulated. 
 
 1st. The fair and undeniable conclusion to be drawn from the terms 
 of the three articles of the Capitulation of Montreal, in reference to the 
 religious communities and Priests then existing, among the number 
 whereof was the House of St. Sulpice at Montreal, is that their exist- 
 ence depended upon the pleasure of the King ; and it is a fact that no 
 such existence has since been legally acknowledged by the Sovereign. 
 2d. At the time of the Capitulation of Montreal, the Ecclesiastics of 
 St. Sulpice at Paris were the actual and acknowledged proprietors and 
 possessors of the Seigniory of Montreal, and the Sulpicians established 
 in this city were merely their agents or receivers. By the subsequent 
 treaty of peace of 1763, the French inhabitants or others who had 
 been the subjects of the French King, were allowed to sell the estates 
 which they possessed in the Province, provided it were to the subjects 
 of His Britannic Majesty. That condition was not observed in this 
 case, and the Members of the Seminary of Montreal were so satisfied 
 of their want of that distinguishing characteristic to enable them to pur- 
 chase or take real property in this province, that after the executing of 
 the Deed of Cession by the Seminary at Paris to them in 1764, the 
 Ecclesiastics of Montreal obtained letters of deniisenship from theCrown. 
 
8(1. At tho Capitulation above referred to, the Ecclesiastici 
 of St. Sulpico at Montreal neither had nor professed to have any 
 corporate capacity, nor was any claim or reservation made therefor on 
 their behalf either in the terms of the Capitulation, or in the subsequent 
 treaty of peace of 1763, whereby, as a corporate-body, they could ac- 
 quire real estate in the Province ; and no act of incorporation has 
 since that time been conferred upon them, nor did they, at the Capi- 
 tulation nor at any time before or since, obtain any legal right to hold 
 the said Seigniory in mort-main, nor obtain Sovereign permission there- 
 for. The pretended cession in the Deed of Gift of 1764. from the 
 community at Paris, could not, therefore, confer upon the Seminary 
 here any title to the Seigniory of Montreal. 
 
 4.th. Assuming, for the sake of argument, that rights and privileges 
 may have been reserved at the Capitulation, it is common sense sup- 
 ported by public notional law, that a subsequent treaty, which is the fi- 
 nal decree, may modify or set aside any such reservations. By the 4th 
 Article of the definitive treaty of peace of 1763, it is evident that the 
 pretended reservations in the Capitulation of Montreal were altogether 
 done away with, as far as the possessions of the religious orders were 
 concerned, and the Province became subject to the British Govern- 
 ment under the same laws as the remainder of the kingdom, namely 
 the laws of England, subject to subsequent modification by competent 
 Legislative authority. 
 
 5th. Not only did the community of Sulpicians at Montreal possess 
 no corporate capacity at the time of the Capitulation nor of the treaty of 
 Peace, but His Majesty could not by the laws of England, and conse- 
 quently in fact did not, confer upon them such an incorporation. By 
 the terms of the treaty of 1763, the full exercise of their religious wor- 
 ship on/y, is secured to His Majesty's new Roman Catholic subjects, 
 as far as the laws of Great Britain permit, and the Act of 1774, and 
 the subsequent Royal instructions in 1775 and since, amply confirm, 
 that religious tolerance, subject [however to the same limitations and 
 to the King's supremacy according to the laws of England. 
 
 6th. In confirmation of the dependent existence of the community 
 of Sulpicians at Montreal upon the King's pleasure, as gathered from 
 the articles of the Capitulation, the Act of 1774, secures to His Majes- 
 ty's Canadian subjects in this Province, the enjoyment of their proper- 
 ty and possessions, in as ample and beneficial a manner as before any 
 BriUsh regulations on the subject had been made ; but thepmmims of. 
 ikt religiofu orders and communUies were expressly excepted. More- 
 
 r 
 
8 
 
 ^k' 
 
 over, by the inslructiona to the Governo« of Canada from 1775 donm- 
 wardi), the Seminariea of Quebec and Montreal were only allowed to 
 " continue to possess and occupy their houses of residence, and their 
 other houses and lands, to which they were lawfully entitled, on the 
 15thof September, 1759." It would be a gross perversion of plain lan- 
 guage, to extend the simple meaning of these terms, to the possession 
 and exercise of the right of Seigniory over the Island of Montreal. 
 
 7th. The invitation to Hia Majesty's subjects, contained in the Roy- 
 al proclamation of 1763, to settle in this colony and to acquire such 
 lands as might be in His Majesty's power to dispose of upon grants to 
 Buch settlers, upon the terms and moderate quit rents, services and ac- 
 knowledgments appointed and settled in the other colonies — the sub- 
 sequent confirmation of the rights of such settlers acquired under 
 that proclamation — the positive exception of the iwssessions of the re- 
 ligious orders coupled with the subsequent suppression of two of them 
 and the assumption of their estates by the Crown — and the mere per- 
 jTiission of occupan^cy given to the Seminaries of Quebec and Montreal, 
 
 •ncur in establishing His M?»jesty's power over the Seigniory of Mon- 
 t,oal, and confirm the vested rights of those settlers under the letter of 
 the proclamation, to grants of land in the said Seigniory which it was 
 actually in His Majesty's power to bestow upon persons inhabiting mix 
 resorting to the colony, and specially upon the moderate rents and 
 services appointed and settled in the then other colonies of the Crown. 
 8th. In confirmation of the above objections, reference may also be had 
 to the opinion given at different times, by the eminent law-officers of the 
 Crown, of tTie absolute want of title in the Seminary of Montreal to the 
 Seigniory of this Island ; and as if to corroborate and strengthen tbo«e 
 objections, the provisions of the proposed Ordinance, which it is well; 
 known were prepared by a learned Counsel of this city under the ex- 
 press direction of the heads of the Seminary, not only give them a title 
 to the Seigniory, which they themselves acknowledge in the preambte 
 to be doubtfal, but likewise invest them with a corporate ecclesiasti- 
 cal capacity, which they never possessed nor were allowed to possess. 
 
 Other objections equally if not more forcible than the foregoing, 
 might be advanced against the pretensions of the Seminary, but it is be- 
 lieved that these will suffice for the present purpose. 
 
 IPhe oppressive and vc^tious character of the Feudal Tennve, hav- 
 ing been Constantly and ^erally felt by ill classes of the British inha- 
 bitants dfthis City and Island, iformed one of their most promrnfint'griev- 
 anees. Petitions and remonstrandeB tipon this subject were frequentiy 
 
1775 dowm- 
 ' allowed to 
 ce, and their 
 iticd, on the 
 of plain lan- 
 le possession 
 ontreal. 
 i in the Roy- 
 icquire such 
 pon grants to 
 ices and ac- 
 es — the sub- 
 uired under 
 ns of the re^ 
 two of them 
 ie mere per- 
 id Montreal, 
 ory of Men- 
 tha letter of 
 'hich it WHB 
 labiting mix 
 e rents and 
 'the Crown. 
 jT also be had 
 ifficersof the 
 ntreal to the 
 ngthen those 
 ch it is well ; 
 nder the ex' 
 them a title 
 he preamblie 
 i ecclesiasti- 
 1 to possess. 
 e foregoing, 
 but it is be- 
 
 fenui«, hav- 
 BritiiShlhha- 
 nrrtenfgriev- 
 re frequently 
 
 add««ed by U,em to .he Crown anj .0 their fellow subject., and a. 
 a,, gave „,e .0 a determinaUon on tbo par, of .He Govern™^, ,„ 
 pmvde for the extmo.ion of feudal burden, in this City and l"l n 
 Upon a .«cen. occaaion, n petition as respectable from .he nu^tr of 
 .asupporers as from their character and possessions, was prTn,^ 
 o a h,gh provincial authority, deprecating the con inuanrtf tte 
 obnox.ous tenure, and denying the claim of the Seminary. This Pe 
 .u^n hke prevous remonstrances, «>ceived none ofTha, attembn 
 wh,eh,t,s,gne. had been encouraged to expect, andthesuyec Z 
 peared .0 have been altogether dropped, when it became accU wC 
 known that an Ordinance, .0 legalise the title of the Se^^T^^a 
 the same fme professing to provide forthegradual extincion o's ig 
 monal burdens had been submitted by Sir John Colbohnb to the 
 
 ^ed and of rece.v.ng His Excellency's sanction, of the terms of 
 
 were a, slake, had no knowledge and had received no i„ti„,a,ion. 
 
 of iir-*K .•''''''°"'"'"^""* '"«'• wanting to enforce the objection, 
 of Che ,„hab,tan,s, except in a .^spectful but hasty remon tTce 
 
 tt eZl ^r '"' "" ''*'"'™"' """*« Seigniorial difficulties, 
 the exuaordmary character of the pretensions of the Seminary, as em 
 
 «tepr,v,lege however extravagant will be claimed, and that every feu- 
 
 estto Iril"''''!^ : ""'"'""'"' °'""' ^"*™»'"=^ "> 'hose ec- 
 Zm 1 1 "' '"^'™" "f*" ^''■■S"i<"y «f ">- Wand. 
 
 .he^ranT2d;rcrr.:/tr; ^^^'«™p°- -^-^-y 
 
 nance that if ITwu' P"™'™ """^ined in the Ordi- 
 
 nance that t shoold be sanctioned by the Imperial Parliament it did 
 
 notbe^me.aw.b«.ap.ci.ely simiia, OniinaL was Ut^yt mi 
 edtoAe Special Council for approval by His Excellency Charts 
 le "JlIfTrt*""™"" of which has been sJspenTdt 
 
 ierdttat^ii^tfrd^r ''^'''-'" -'^''-^^- 
 
 .he"dZtft"f*°' "' °''""""" P"^'™"-f the Ordinance, and 
 destgn of confemng upon ,he Seminary of Montreal, powe.^ ,„d 
 
-J^, 
 
 I,' 
 
 I 
 
 10 
 
 privileges utterly at variancs with the security and eujoyment of real 
 property in this City and Island, are bo generally and so little under- 
 Btood, that it has been considered expedient to point out and expose die 
 substantial objections which may be urged by the inhabitants to the 
 claim of the SerJnary now attempted to be legalized, as well as the pal- 
 pable defects in the Ordinance itseit : and as His Excellency could 
 not be aware of the paramount objection to the principle as well as to the 
 details of the proposed law, a petition ia in course of preparation, pray- 
 ing His Excellency to withdraw the obnoxious Ordinance from before 
 the Special Council, in which the interests of the inhabitants and their 
 bpinioTis are altogether unrepret?ented, and to refer it to the wisdom of 
 theUn'ted Provincial Legislature, wherein alone those inhabitants will be 
 properly represented, and where the merits of the question will be fully 
 and openly discussed and ample justice done to all parties. 
 
 The objections to the Ordinance rest upon the following among ma- 
 ny other equally substantial grounds. 
 
 1st. Because it erects the Seminary of Montreal into an ecclesiasti- 
 cal corporation or body corporate ecclesiastical, with all the rights and 
 privileges incident thereto, and which by law might or could be used 
 and possessed by any other EcclesioMical Corporation^ but leaves those 
 rights and privileges undefined and unknown, thereby enabling the Se- 
 minary to claim and possibly to acquire the oppressive and absolutely 
 despotic privileges exercised in Europe, in some of the darkest ages 
 of Christianity ; privileges which no enlightened modern community 
 could have contemplated or would endure, and which the liberal prin- 
 ciples of Her Majesty's Ministers, at open variance with even civil 
 corporate rights and powers in Great Britain, could not with any con- 
 sistency to their characters as Statesmen, sanction or enforce in this 
 Province. 
 
 2d. Because the Provincial Legislature of Lower Canada, as now 
 constituted j has no power or authority to erect or create cny ecclesias- 
 tical corporations in this Province, inasmuch as exercising only the 
 same power and privileges in legislation, which were possessed by the 
 late Provincial Legislature, that Legislature did not possess the absolute 
 power of establishing such ecclesiastical bodies : and the recent statute 
 of 2d and 3d Vict. ch. 53, enlarging the previous Legislative powers of 
 the Governor and Special Council, enacts that no law shall be made 
 altering or affecting the temporal or spiritual rights of Ecclesiastics in 
 
 tniQ V'r'^'"**'''^ l-nflFOHw' t\loir»l»f 1»/»clf*i/»4it»/» 4Ka T.AiMCi1atiirX^ mr\r\m\.^Aim AiAtn 
 
 i 
 
 erectinj^ 
 I ally in < 
 
 I ^'^ 
 I this Pr< 
 
 ? Soverei 
 
 I tained i 
 
 I tiers, u] 
 
 I other C 
 
 Tenure 
 
 that ves 
 
 * the Brit 
 
 Free an 
 
 specific 
 
 4. B 
 strance! 
 the Fei 
 firming 
 
 I tions a 
 
 % moreov 
 
 belongii 
 
 f poratioi 
 
 3 that Co 
 
 ' as fully 
 
 Paris 01 
 
 I ofSept( 
 
 without 
 
 those S< 
 
 sion, 63 
 
 which t 
 
 5. B 
 ous to t 
 tations < 
 been hi 
 themsel 
 that the 
 ver»ime 
 comper 
 questioi 
 
 txrillinrrl 
 '"&' 
 
 ance, tl 
 
 m 
 
 "^r 
 
Ji 
 
 oj^ment of real 
 o little under* 
 and expose die 
 abitants to the 
 !ve\\ as the pal- 
 cellency could 
 s well as to the 
 )aration; pray- 
 ce from before 
 tants and their 
 the wisdom of 
 ibi tants will be 
 >n will be fully 
 s. 
 ig among ma- 
 
 lii ecclesiasti- 
 the rights i^nd 
 could be used 
 ut leaves those 
 abling the Se- 
 and absolutely 
 e darkest ages 
 :n community 
 e liberal prin- 
 ith even civil 
 with any con- 
 nforce in this 
 
 na.la, as now 
 cny ecclesias- 
 ising only the 
 jsessed by the 
 IS the absolute 
 recent statute 
 live powers of 
 hall be made 
 icclesia^tics in 
 
 11 
 
 erecting' any such ecclesiastical corporation in this province, and speci- 
 ally in this ibiand. 
 
 3. Because the said Seigniory of Montreal, since the Conquest of 
 this Province, has always of right and justice been in the power of the 
 Sovereign to dispose of, and been subject to the Royal promise con- 
 tained in the Proclamation of 1763, for the grant of the same to set- 
 tlers, upon the moderate Quit Rents appointed and settled in the then 
 other Colonoies of the Crown, and without any reference to Seigniorial 
 Tenure ; and because the Ordinance not only deprives the Crown of 
 that vested right, but at the same time abrogates the rights acquired by 
 the British settlers, to grants from the Crown in the said Seigniory in 
 Free and Common Soccage,which the subsequent Imperial Act of 1791 
 specifically allowed them to claim and demand* 
 
 4. Because, contrary to the constant and reiterated respectful remon- 
 strances of the said settlers to the Sovereign, against the continuance of 
 the Feudal Tenure, the said Ordinance would have the effect of con- 
 firming the Seigniory of this Island as a Seigniory, with all the exac- 
 tions and oppressions of the Feudal Tenure incident thereto ; and 
 moreover of investing that Seigniory and all the rights and privileges 
 belonging or in anywise appertaining thereto, in the Ecclesiastical Cor- 
 poration thereby constituted ; confirming those rights and privileges in 
 that Corporation and declaring them to be good and valid in the Law 
 as fully and to the same extent, as the Seminary of Saint Sulpice at 
 Paris or the Seminary of Montreal or both together, before the 18th day 
 of September 1759, might or could have held or enjoyed the same, 
 without any definite or kno\7n specification of the extent or nature of 
 those Seigniorial rights and privileges : in the generality of the conces- 
 sion, establishing in favour of the Corporation, every Feudal exaction 
 which the most Feudal times of Old France could have enforced. 
 
 5. Because it establishes a right of commutation exceedingly oner- 
 ous to the inhabitants, and infinitely greater in amount than the expec- 
 tations or the previous demands of the Seigniors themselves, which had 
 been hitherto limited to securing the competent means of support for 
 themselves and for their establishment ; and because it is well known 
 4hat the Seminary at no very distant period, were in treaty with the Go- 
 ver«iment to abandon their claim, in consideration of a fixed money 
 compensation, for the special purpose of effecting a settlement of the 
 question, at which time, the sum of £100,000 would have been 
 
 twillinmtr onnnr\^aA Kir ♦!■>/% C^wv^JMnM** ««.U£>m*^»««^ U-. ♦Ui* — -^ — .--. — J /^-J:. , 
 B'j "••'wptT.U i/jf mu i^utiiiuorv ^ tYiicicas, Uy ilic UlVpuSCU \JrUUl- 
 
 ance, they will be at once invested with triple that amount. 
 
 m 
 
 "^iir 
 
13 
 
 W6. Because the Ordinance specifically provides for the continuance 
 of the right ofbanalitd, until after a majority of the censitaires in each 
 of the Seigniories of Montreal, St. Sulpice and Lake of the Two 
 Mountains, ehali have effected a commutation of the Seigniorial Ten- 
 ure, thereby limiting a period for the cessation of the obnoxious Feudal 
 privilege, virhich is not only delusive but can scarcely be anticipated to 
 arrive within any given reasonable time. 
 
 7. Because it confirms to the Seminary all and every the Seigniori- 
 al exactions which have been already described and which have not 
 hitherto been enforced from their want of title, an impunity of which the 
 Ordinance will at once and for ever deprive the inhabitants and which 
 they feel confident will not be allowed to continue beyond the passing of 
 the Ordinance. 
 
 8. Because though the Ordinance professes to require the invest- 
 ment in public stocks of the monies arising from the commutation of 
 Seigniorial burdens, with the exception of je30,000 which may be by 
 the Ecclesiastics invested in purchase of real estate affording income, 
 it contains no provision as to what period those investments are to be 
 made, while at the same time authority is given to the Ecclesias- 
 tics to purchase and hold any other real property, and to any amount 
 destined for purposes of religion, charity or education, provided the 
 same produce no income, whereby with the command of the capital 
 which will be at their disposal, an incalculable amount of real estate 
 upon this island may become subjected to mort-main, and municipal 
 as well as general improvement, be thereby greatly retarded. 
 
 9. Because the moving consideration ofthe original concession of the 
 Seignioiy, confirmed by the subsequent public acts and frequently ac- 
 knowledged by the Ecclesiastics,was for the instruction and edification of 
 the inhabitants generally of Canada, then comprehending both Provinces 
 and with the intent that the net income of the Seigniory and the in- 
 crease thereof should be employed for the advancement of those ob- 
 jects, a consideration affirmed in the strongest terms by the House of 
 Assembly in 1830, in a petition to His late Majesty deprecating the 
 diversion of that income to any other purpose ; whilst by the terms of 
 the Ordinance, the proceeds and revenue of the Seigniory will be ab- 
 solutely and altogether diverted from Upper Canada, and will be appli- 
 ed in Lower Canada, only in such a manner and for such purposes as 
 the said Ecclesiastics may think proper, or if applied at all for instruc- 
 
 on and ( 
 nstructio 
 
 10. B 
 jcal Cor 
 
 ith the < 
 f the pr 
 
 ivil and 
 ut parti 
 xceedin; 
 
 11. B( 
 nsions ( 
 al estati 
 ge to th 
 ecause 
 arliamei 
 nd imme 
 
 :|legally p 
 ;|bsolutel] 
 mnuance 
 |Bes partiz 
 fvery ad 
 Feudal bi 
 I 12. ar 
 |fthe Or 
 Hie wisdc 
 w'ictoria, 
 •tituting t 
 by confiri 
 treal, thei 
 private pi 
 further th 
 of Feudal 
 and dues 
 lar preten 
 Lake of 
 gislation 
 Seigniorie 
 controul 
 Statute 2c 
 
m 
 
 he continuance 
 itaires in each 
 i of the Two 
 eigniorial Ten- 
 loxious Feudal 
 anticipated to 
 
 the Seigniori- 
 lich have not 
 y of which the 
 ints and which 
 [ the passing of 
 
 re the invest- 
 >mmutation of 
 zh may be by 
 irding income, 
 lents are to be 
 he Ecclesias- 
 o any amount 
 provided the 
 •f the capital 
 of real estate 
 ind municipal 
 ;d. 
 
 cession of the 
 Irequently ac- 
 edification of 
 )th Provinces 
 
 and the in- 
 of those ob- 
 he House of 
 )recating the 
 the terms of 
 Y will be ab- 
 vill be appli- 
 
 purposes as 
 11 for instruc- 
 
 ^on and edification, will be applied towards the sectional education and 
 ^istruction of a portion only of the population. 
 
 I 10. Because the contemplated establishment of the said Ecclesias' 
 fical Corporation without definite or known powers, and its investment 
 ^ith the command of immense wealth in proportion to the general wealth 
 4f the province, will confer upon the Ecclesiastics an influence both 
 pDivil and Ecclesiastical, which when possessed by any corporate body, 
 but particularly by one of the nature in question, cannot fail of being 
 Exceedingly dangerous. 
 
 11. Because the Ordinance contains no reciprocity between the pre- 
 jnsions of the Ecclesiastic? and the claimants to the free possession of 
 ;al estate in this Island, inasmuch as its provisions secure every privi- 
 ;ge to the former without any corresponding advantage to the latter; 
 because it is at utter variance with the intention of the Imperial 
 Parliament declared in the 2d and 3d Victoria, cap. 53, for the general 
 ^i\ immediate extinction of Feudal rights and dues in this Island, by 
 plegally providing only for their gradual extinction, thereby not only 
 |bsolutely and illegally creating Feudal burdens but affirming their con- 
 pnuance for an indeterminate period ; and because it illegally authori- 
 ses partial commutations, whereby the inhabitants will be deprived of 
 |very advantage anticipated to arise from the general extinction of 
 ITeudil burdens in this Island. 
 
 f 12. and last. — Because the Provincial Legislature in the provisions 
 %f the Ordinance has exceeded the limited authority intrusted to it by 
 flie wisdom of the Imperial Parliament in the Statute of 2d and 3d 
 "iTictoria, cap. 53, and which it did not possess under the Statute con- 
 itituting that Lsgislature in the year 1837, 1st and 2d Victoria cap. 9, 
 by confirming the pretensions of the Seminary to the Seigniory of Mon- 
 treal, thereby assuming a right of legislation between individuals as to 
 private property over which the Legislature could exercise no controul, 
 further than to provide for the liberation of that property from the effect 
 of Feudal burdens, by the absolute extinction of the Seigniorial rights 
 and dues claimed by the Seminary ; and moreover by confirming simi- 
 lar pretensions of the Seminary to the Seigniories of Saint Sulpice and 
 Lake of the Two Mountains, thereby assuming a similar right of Le- 
 gislation as to private property in those Seigniories, over both of which 
 Seigniories the Legislature is expressly restricted from exercising any 
 controul in this respect by the express exception contained in the said 
 Statute 2d and 3d Victoria, cap. 53. 
 
14 
 
 The f(n«going reasons independent of the impolicy and inexpediency 
 of establishing the Feudal tenure in this City and Island, being con- 
 sidered sufficiently powerful to warrant the most strenuous and deter- 
 mined exposition to the pretensions of the Ecclesiastics, have been 
 published with a view to make the inhabitants in general of this island 
 acquainted with the objections which exist, both in principle and detail 
 to the proposed Ordinance. 
 
idiency 
 g con- 
 
 deter- 
 e been 
 I island 
 
 detail