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A N '•
A C C O U NT
O F T H E
PROCEEDINGS
O F T H E
BRITISH,
And other Proteftant Inhabitants,
OF THE
Province of QUEBECK,
In NORTH-AMERICA,
In order to obtain
An HOUSE of ASSEMBLY
In that Province.
LONDON:
Sold by B. White, at Horace'* Head, Fleet-Stre€t.
MDgCLXXV.
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A N
ACCOUNT
OF
The Proceedings of the Britifh
and other Proteftant Inhabitants ot
the Province of Quebeck in North
America, in order to obtain an
Houfe of Affonbly in that Pro-
vince.
N the month of Odober 1773, the Brl-
tiili, and other Proteftant inhabitants of
the province of Quebeck, having waited
above ten years for the accompli (h men t of the
King's promife of granting them a Houfe ot
AfTembly, as foon as the fituation and cir-
cumftances of the faid province would admit
thereof, contained in the royal proclamation
of October 7, 1763 ; and finding the incon-
Veniencies of being without a regular and
conftitutional legiflature ; and being of opi-
B 2 nion-.
m
I 4 J
nion, that the fituation and circumftanccs of
the province did admit the calling an aflem-
bly, and make the doing fo not only pradti-
cable, but in a high degree expedient -, they
held meetings together to confer about pre-
paring petitions both to his majefty's fervants
in the province, and to his majefly himfelf,
in order to obtain one. And on this occa-
fion they invited his majefty's new fubjeds,
the Canadian, or French, inhabitants of the
province, to join w^ith them in their conful-
tations upon this fubjedl. The account they
have tranfmitted of thcfe confultations is as
follows.
A T a meeting of the Britifh inhabitants
"^^ of the province of Quebeck, at the
houfe of Miles Prenties, innholder, in the
upper town, Quebeck^ Odtober 30, 1773,
being Saturday :
* Mr. John M'Cord, on holding up hands,
was chofen prefident.
* The iirft queftion. Whether it is not ex-
pedient to petition for a Houfe of AfTem-
bly.
' Anfwer, Yeas 38, to 3 Nays.
* Refolved, That a committee of eleven be
appointed, and that feven of the faid number
may be efteemed a full committee (in cafe
any of the gentlemen named fhould be fick
or out of town) to draw up a petition, and
lay it beforfc another geneAl meeting.
"^ ' And
<
i
* a
*
' t
' b
' o
as
Jenkin Williams, .
Thomas Walker,
John Lees,
Zuchary Macaulay,
John M'Cord,
[ 5 1
* And the following gentlemen were ac-
cordingly voted to form the faid committee,
viz,
* William Grant,
' John Wells,
* Charles Grant,
* Malcolm Frafer,
* Anthony Vialars,
* Peter Fargues,
* The committee then appointed to meet
at Mr. Prenties's on Tuefday next at four
o'clock in the afternoon.
* Malcolm Frafer was chofen fecre tary to
the committee.
* Refolved, That a copy of thefe minutes
be fent by the committee to the gentlemen
of Montreal.
* Nov. 2, I773> at Prenties's.
* A majority of the committee having ac-
cordingly met, viz.
* Thomas Walker,
* Charles Grant,
* John Lees,
' John M'Cord
William Grant,
Jen -Tin Williams,
Zacli \ry Macaulay,
Malcolm Frafer.
* The committee, judging it to be regular
* firfl to prefent a petition to the lieutenant-
* governour in council, and not in the firfl
* inflance to the king, have
* Refolved,
4
i
n.
It i
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* Rclblvcd, That a petition be addreiTed
and prefented to the lieutenant-governour in
council i and, a draft of fuch petition hav-
ing been accordingly framed, it was fur-
ther refolved. That it be tranflated into
French, and that fome of the principal
French inhabitants be requefled to meet the
committee at four o'clock on Thurfday
evening next at Prenties's.
* Refolved, That a copy of the above pro-
ceedings, with a copy of the petition above-
mentioned, be transmitted to Montreal by
next pod:, and addrefled to Mr. Gray, to
be communicated to the inhabitants of
Montreal.
Copy of a letter of invitation fent to the Cana-
dian gentlemen, dated Nov. 2, 1773.
* Meflieurs,
* T ES affaires et la fituation adluelle de la
* ^^ province ayant befoin que fes habitans
* y portent quelque attention; et nous fou-
* fignes ayant ete nommes par une nombreufe
* affemblee des anciens fujets de fa majefte
* comme un corps de committe pour faire
* quelque chofe a cet egard : Nous vous in-
* vitons de nous rencontrer au taverne de
* Prenties jeudi a quatre heures apres midi,
* afin de vous communiquer nos idees, et de
* f^avoir les votres, fur des matieres qui nous
* intereffent egalement. Nous avons Thon-
* neur d'etre, 6cc.'
N. B.
t 7 ]
N. B * This letter was figncd by the whole
eleven members of the committee, and ad-
drelTed to Mcflieurs De La Naiidicrc, De
Rigauville, De Lery, Cugnet, Perrault,
Duchenay, Derchcneaux,Tafcheraii, Compte
du Pres, FVemont, Pcrras, Marcoux, lier-
thelot, and Dufau, of Quebeck, and to
Monlieur Tonnancourt, of Trois Rivieres,
then at Quebeck.
• Nov. 4, 1773, at Prenties's.
' The following members of the committee
having met, viz.
€
<
*
€
€
.1
Jenkin Williams,
Charles Grant,
John Lees,
Zachary Macaulay,
John Wells,
William Grant,
John M*Cord,
Malcolm Frafer,
Thomas Walkcf.
B.
* And the following French gentlemen
having attended this meeting in confequence
of the invitation fent them, viz.
Monf. Defcheneaux, Monf. Tonnancourt,
Marcoux, Perras,
Cugnet, Berthelot,
Perrault, Compte duPres.
* Mr. William Grant was chofen chairman
of the committee, and a tranflation into
French of the petition intended to be pre-
fented to the lieutenant-governour being
read, the opinion of the French gentlemen
* prcfent
[ 8 J
prcicnt was required ay to tlie nieafurc un-
der conlidcration : and, after Ibme conver-
fation on the ibbjedt, the quelHon heing
put. Whether they think it neceflliry (from
wliat has been debated) to convene their
felluw-citizens, it was unanimoully voted
in the uMirmative.
* Mr. Defcheneaux and Mr. Perras have
undertaken to convene the new fubjedls at
two o'clock on Saturday next.
* The committee to meet on Monday next
at Prenties's at fix o'clock in the evening.
* Nov. 8, 1773.
* The following gentlemen met at Prenties's.
* Mr. Williams, Mr. Walker,
* Mr. Wm. Grant, Mr. M'Cord,
* Mr. Lees, Mr. Wells.
* Mr. Frafer,
* It was refolved to write a letter to Mr.
Defcheneaux, to beg he would let the com-
mittee know if the new fubjedls had taken
any meafures in confequence of what was
communicated to them at the laft meeting, and
what thofe meafures were. But, Mr. Def-
cheneaux being out of town, the letter was
fent to Mr. Perras, who returned the
anfwer annexed.
' Refolved, That a letter be fent by the
committee to Francis Maferes, Efq; in-
* clofmg
C\
i
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(
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(
c
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* doling the above minutes with a drai't of
* the petition.
* The committee to meet when fummoncci
* hy the fecrctaryj as the bufincls will depend
* on the letters to Ik- received from Montreal.
Copy of the letter wrote to Mr. Perras,
Nov. S, 1773.
* Monfieur,
' T ES Menieiirs dn committe afTemblcs
* *-^ chez Prenties vous prient d'avoir la
* bonte de les informer fi les nouveaux fujets
* oat pris quelques mefures fur ce qui vous
* a etc communique Jeudi dernier; et fi vous
* pouvez leur faire part de refolutions prifes
* par vos coneitoyens, vous obligerez beau-
* coup ces melTieurs. On attend I'honneur
* de votre reponfc par le porteur : et j'ai
* I'honneur d'etre, >
* Monfieur,
• Votre tres humble fcrvitcur,
Signc, Malcolm Fraser.
Follows Mr. Perras's anfwer.
* Moniieur, Quebec, le 8 9^^'^ ^711'
^ r E depart precipite des vaifTeaux pour
* ^ I'Europe ne m'a pas permis de repondre
' fuivant mes delirs aux attentions de mellieurs
* du committe. Cependant j'ai vii quelques
u.ia
» 1 I. V
f
n
^^
c
uns
Hi
t
10
3
unr^ (le mcs concitoyens, qui lie me paroifTent
pas difpofcs a rafTemblce, comme quelques
Lins d'cntre nous le voudroient. Le grand
nonibre Temporte, et le petit efl reduit a
prendre patience. J'ai I'honneur d'etre, 6cc.
A true copy. Malcolm Frasek,
Sccrctarv to the committee.
Af!:er this rcfuliil of the French inhabitants
of the province to join with them in their
petitions for an aflembly, the Britifh and
proteftant inhabitants refolved to proceed in
thii' bulinefs by themfelves, and without the
concurrence of the others, lamenting that a
fpirit of jealoiify had prevented them from
uniting with the Englirti in a meafure which
would have tended to the common benefit of
them all. The Britifli and proteilant inhabi-
tants therefore refolved, without further heii-
tation, to apply to his majefty for the accom-
pliihn\ent of the royal promife above-men-
tioned, by eflablifhing an houfe of alfembly
in the province. But firfl:, as the governour
of the province, and, in cafe of his abfence,
the lieutenant-governour of it, had, by the
commillion of the governour, a pow^er to fum-
mon an aiTembly, they thought it molt regu-
lar to make an application for this purpofe to
Hedor Theophilus Cramahe, Efq; who was
at that time lieutenant-governour of the pro-^
vince ;
VI ]
noi
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vincc; general Carleton, who was the gover-
nour in chief, being then in England. Accor-
dingly, on the 3d of December, 1773, ^-^^^V
prefented to him the following petition.
' To the honourable Iledlor Theopliilus
* Cramahe, Efq; his majefly's lieutenaiu-
* governour and commander in chief of tlu
* province of Quebeck in council.
^ The petition of the fubfcribers, his majcily's
' antient fubjeds, the freeholders, mcr-
* chants, traders, and other inliabitiiiU-s of
* the faid province.
* Humbly fheweth,
^ 'T^HAT whereas his moft excellent m.i-
-■' jcfly, by his royal proclamation, bear-
ing date at St. James's the 7th day of Octo-
ber 1763, (out of his paternal Ccire for the
fecurity of the liberty and properties of thofc
who then were, or fhould thereafter becc-mc,
inhabitants of the four fcveral eovernment:.
therein mentioned) did publiili and dcehVvC,
' That he had, in the letters patent under the
*■ great feal of Great-Britain, by wliicli the
* faid governments were conflituted, been
* gracioufly pleafed to give cxprefs power and
* dire(flion to his ^overnours, that fo foon ns
* the Hate and circumftanccs of thofe go-
* vernments would admit thereof, they il-ould,
* with the advice and confcntof the members
v^ 2
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of his councils, fummon and call general
aiTemblies within the faid governments :
And that he had been graciouily pleafed to
give power to his faid governours, with the
confent of his faid councils, and the rcpre-
fentatives of the people, to make, conftitutcy
and ordain laws, flatutcs, and ordinances,
for the public peace, welfare, and good
government of thofe provinces, and of the
people and inhabitants thereof. And whereas
his mofl excellent majelly, in purfuancc of
his faid royal proclamation, by his letters
patent to his governours, has been graciouily
plcafed to give and grant unto them full
power and authority, with the advice and
confent of his faid councils, under the cir-
cumflances aforefaid, to call general allem*
blies of the freeholders and planters within
their refpedive governments. And alfo,
whereas your petitioners (who have well
confidered the prefent flate and condition of
the province) do humbly conceive, that a
general aflembly of the people would very
much contribute to its peace, welfare, and
good government, as well as to the im-
provement of its agriculture, and the ex-
tenfion of its trade and navigation ; they do
therefore moll humbly pray your honour
(with the advice and confent of his majefty's
council^ to fummon and call a general
alfembly of the freeholders and planters
witiiin your government, in fuch manner as
you in yourdifcretion ihall judge moll proper.
* Signed,
tys
;ral
ters
as
)er.
•d.
Sii^ncd,
[ '3 1
* Alexander Frafcr,
* Simon Fralcr,
* Adam Lymburner,
* Alexander Davilbn,
* Murdoch Stuart,
* Daniel Morrifon,
* Samuel Jac<>bs,
* John Lees, junior,
* James Price,
* Robert Woolfey^
* Jacob Rowc,
* John Renaud,
* Michael Cornud
* Simon Fraferi junior,
* James Hanna,
' Jonas Clarke, minor,
' N. Bayard,
* J. D. Mercier,
* Edward Chinn>^
' John Thomfon,
* Edward Antill,
* R. Huntley,
* Daniel Robertfon,
* John Blakej
* John Neagle,
' Richard M'Neall,
* John Burke,
* Alexander Paterfon,
* James M*Gil1^
* Jenkin Williams,
' William Grant,
* John
^
I*
^i
signed.
{ H ]
John M'Cord,
P. Fargues,
Charles Grant,
Malcolm Frafer,
Zachary Macaulay,
John Wells,
John Lees,
James Tod,
James Gumming,
Alexander Martin^
D. Lynd,
John Lynd^
Daniel Gallway,
Daniel Munro,
George King,^
James Dyer White,
Lawrence Ermatinger,.
William Haywood>
James Finlay,
William M'Carty,
Jofeph Toney, ^
Alexander Henry,
James Bindon,
Alexander Hay,
Jofeph Howard,
George Singleton,
Levy Solomons,
Richard Dobie,
John Lilly,,
Richard Murray ji^.
Randle Meredith,
'i
\
* Robert
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Signed J
* Robert Wilcocks,
' J. Melvin,
« R. Hope,
* Henry Boone,
' John W. Swift,
* Charles Hay,
* Charles Lemarchant,
' Thomas M'Cord,
^ James Sinclair,
' Peter Mills,^
* John Halfted,
* Lauchlin Smith,
' James Gordon,
' Ralph Gray, ^
* Edward William Gray,
* Thomas M'Murray,
* James Morrifon,
* George Mcafam,
* J. Maurer,
* Thomas Walker, jim.
* John Wharton,
* Jacob Vanderheyden,
* Thomas Walker,
' John Cape,
* Samuel Holmes,
* John Dumoulin,
* Ezekiel Solomons,
* Alexander Henry.
¥
To
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To this petition the (liid licutcnant-grn'crriour
returned for aniwcr, on the 1 1 th Jay of the
lanic month of December 177.^, that the (lih-
jed of it was a matter of too much importance
for his majeily's council of the faid province
to advife, or for him to determine upon, at a
time that, from the belt information lie had
received, the nftairs of the faid province wer^-
likely to become the objci^t of public regula-
tion in Luio-laad. *
Upon the receipt of thi* anfwcr from the
faid licutenant-governour, (which indeed was
no other than they had expeded,) the peti-
tioners determined to prepare another petition
to be prefented to his majcfty himfelf for the
tame purpofe. They accordingly did prepare
fuch a petition, together with a memorial to
the earl of Dartmouth, his iiiajefly's fecretary
of llate for America; which were as follows.
* To the king's moil exacllcnt majefty.
* The nioft humble petition of the fubfcribers,
* your majefty's antient and loyal fubjeds,
* freeholders, merchants, and planters, in
* the province of Quebeck, in North-
' America,
* Sheweth,
npHAT whereas your majefly, by your
•*• royal proclamation, bearing date at
Saint James's the feventh day of Odober,
one thoufand fevcn hundred and fixtv-three.
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was mofl gracioudy plcafcd to puhllfli and
declare, *' that out of your majesty's pa-
ternal care for the fecurity of the liherty
and properties of thofe who then were, or
ihould thereafter become inhabitants of
the four fcveral governments therein men-
tioned (of whicTi this your majerty's pro-
vince was denominated to be one) your
majefty had in the letters patent, by which
the faid governments were conftituted,
given exprcfs power and diredion to your
governours, that fo foon as the flatc and
circumftances of thofe governments would
admit of it, they Ihould, with the advice
of your majefly's councils, fummon and
call general alTemblies within the faid go-
vernments refpeftively, in fuch manner and
form as is ufed and dirc(^tcd in thofe colo-
nies and provinces in America, which are
under your majefly's immediate govern-
ment. And alio, that your majelly had
been gracioudy pleafed to give power to
your faid governours, with the confent of
your majefly's faid councils, and the re-
prefentatives of the people fo to be fum-
moned as aforefaid, to make, conflitutej
and ordain laws, flatutes, and ordinances,
for the public peace, welfare, and good
government of your majefly's faid colonies,
and of the people and inhabitants thereof,
as near as might be agreeable to the laws
of England, and under fuch regulations and
D *' reflrictions
vas
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' ivllrivillons as arc ufcd in other colonics."
Anil whereas it has graciouily pleafcd your
niajelly, in the letters patents of coni-
niilhon to your captain-general, and go-
vernour in chief, and in cale of his death, or
during his abfence, in the letters patent of
conimillion to your majefly's lieutenant-
governour of this proviiice, to give and grant
unto him full power and authority, with
the advice and confent of your niajefty's
council, fo foon as the fituation and circum-
(lances of this province would admit of it,
and when and as often as need lliould re-
quire, to fummon and call general allem-
blics of the freeholders and planters, within
this government, in fuch manner as he in
his difcretion fhould judge moft proper.
And whereas your petitioners, whofe pro-
perties, real and perfonal, in this province,
are become very confiderable, having well
confidered its prefent ftate and circumftan-
ces, and humbly conceiving them to be fuch
as to admit the fummoning and calling a
general alTembly of the freeholders and
planters ; did, on the third day of December
lafl part, prefent their humble petition to
the honourable Hedlor Theophilus Cra-
mahe, Efqj your majelly's lieutenant-go-
vernour, and now commander in chief,
ftating as above, and humbly praying, that
he would be pleafed, with the advice and
confent of your majefty's council, to fum-
* mon
1
ffi
[ '9
»i
inon and call a general aflcmbly of the frcc-
hoklers and planters within this government,
in fuch manner as he, in his difcrttion,
fliould judge moft proper. And your nia-
jefty's fliid lieutenant-governour, on the
eleventh day of Decemher hill pall, after
having taken the fiid petition into his con-
fideration, was pleafed to inform your pe-
titioners, that the fuhjed of the faid petition
was a matter of too much importance for
your majefly's council here to advife, or for
him, your faid lieutenant-governour, to de-
termine upon, at a time that, from the hell
information, the affairs of this province were
likely to become an objedl of public regu-
lation ; but that he would tranfmit the faid
petition, by the firfl opportunity, to your
majefly's fecretary of flate.
* Your majefly's petitioners being fully
convinced, from their refidcnce in tlic pro-
vince, and their experience in the aliairs
of it, that a general afTembly would very
much contrib'ute to encourage and promote
induflry, agriculture, and commerce, and
(as they hope) to create harmony and good
underflanding between your majefly's new
and old fubjedts; mofl humbly fupplic.it j
your majefly to take the premifes into your
royal confideration, and to direft your ma-
jefly's governour or commander in chief to
call a general afTembly, in fuch manner,
and of fuch conftitution and form, as to
D 2 * your
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your majcfty, in your- royal wifdom, (hall
Teem bell adap
fart*, and good
Its peace, wel-
leem bell adapted to lecure
government.
And your petitioners, as in duty bound,
fhall
ever pray, 6cc.
Montreal, Jan. lo.
'774.
Signcdj
* Jenkin Williams,
' John Welles,
' Randle Meredith,
* Alexander Davifon,
* John Lees, junior,
* N. Byard,
' P. Mills,
* John Halfted,
* James Tod,
' Arthur Davidfon,
* John Majer,
* J. Melvin,
* Simon Frafer, junior,
* Duncan Munro,
* W.Lindfay,
* D.Lynd,
' William Laing,
* William Keith,
' Charles Hay,
* Daniel Morrifon,
* "'Charles Grant,
^ William Grant,
Zachary
rhall
wcl-
und.
Signed,
^
iry
I 21 ]
Zachary Mncaulay,
John M*Cord,
Adam Lymburncr,
John Renaud,
Alexander I'lafcr,
Jonas Clarke Mi not,
Murdoch Stuart,
Mich. Cornud,
Robert Woolfey,
D. Gallway,
lliomas M*Cord,
John Rofs,
John Burke,
Francis Smith,
Rod. Macleod,
Godfrey King,
John Saul,
George Jenkins,
Malcolm Frafer,
John Lees,
Alexander Martin,
Simon Frafer,
Henry Boone,
Charles Lemarchant,
John De Mercier,
Jacob Rowe,
James Sinclair,
George King,
Zachary Smith,
John Lynd,
James Hanna,
John White Swift,
i
R,
HI
Signed,
I
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[ 2a ]
R. Gray,
' Robert M'Fie
Alexander Lawfon,
' Frederick Petry,
^ Francis Anderfon,
' Hugh Ritchie,
' George Hipps.
' Daniel Robertfon,
' John Wharton,
' Dumas,
Samuel Morrifon,
George Singleton,
Alexander Paterlbn,
Charles Paterfon,
Peter Arnold,
Edward An till,
John Lilly,
* John Porteous,
* John Thomfon,
* Edward Chinn,
/ G. Chriftie,
* ChabranddeLifle, miniflcr,
* Piei^re du Calvet,
* J. Grant.
* Alexander Hay,
* Edward William Gray,
* Richard Huntley,
* John Blake,
* James Blake,
* George Meafam,
•*^ Richard Dobie,
* Thomas Walker,
* Thomas
€
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Signed,
[ 23 1
Thomas Walker, jun.
Richard Walker,
William Weir,
John Kay,
William M'Carty,
Lawrence Ermatinger,
James D. White,
•Thomas M'Murray,
James Morrifon,
Jean Bernard,
Richard M'Neall,
Jofeph Howard,
Jacob Vander Heydcn,
Ezekiel Solomons,
Levy Solomons,
James Doig,
James Finlay,
John Gregory,
BenjaiAiin Frobifher,
Jofeph Bindon,
James M'Gill,
John Stenhoufe,
Alexander Henry,
Solomon Milleberges,
William Murray,
Alexander Henry,
James Price,
William Haywood,
Jean El. Wadery,
Hugh Tarries,
John Sunderland,
Samuel Edge,
* Abraham
If ill
■u
l*i
Signed,
[ 24 ]
' Abraham Holmes,
' Samuel Holmes,
* Richard Livingfton,
' John Richardfon,
* John Jones,
' Robert Simpfell,
* James Frafer,
* James Noel,
* J. Pullman,
* Robert Gruckfhank,
*^John Neagle,
* Peter Forbes,
* Allan M*Farlin,
* John Trotter,
' Nich. Brown,
* Phillip Brichmerr,
* Edward Cox,
* Rpger M*Cormick,
< Phillip Loch,
* John Marteilhe,
•^ James S. Godard,
^ Peter M*Farland,
* Andrew Porteous,
* C. Dumoulin,
G. Ycung,
Thomas Duggan,
J* Duggan,
William -Aird,
John Migad, majof,
' Daniel M'Killip.
y
To
^
/'
.4 ,
■J
To
[ 25 ]
' To the right honourable the earl of Dart-
* mouth, one of his majefly's principal
* fecretaries of ftate.
* The memorial of the freeholders, merchants,
* planters, and others, his majefty's antient
* and loyal fubjedls, now in the province
* o^ Quebeck,
* Shevvethy
^T^HAT your lordfhip's memorialifls, en-
-■• couraged by the capitulation of Ca-
nada, confirmed by the definitive treaty of
peace, and his majefty's royal proclamation
of the 7th of Odbber, 1763, did purchafe
lands, plant, fettle and carry on trade and
commerce in this province to a very con-
fiderable amount, and to the manifeft ad-
vantage of Great-Britain, in confident ex-
pe(il:ation of the early accomplifhment of
his majefty's faid proclamation, giving ex-
prefs power and dire(fl:ion to his governour,
with the advice and confent of his council,
to fummon and call general aflemblies> to
make, conflitute, and ordain laws, ftatutes,
and ordinances, for the publick peace, wel-
fare, and good government of the faid pro-
vince, as near as might be agreeable to the
laws of England. For which reafons your
memorialiits have drawn up and tranfmitted
herewith, their molt humble petition to
the king, praying his majefty will, out of
his royal and paternal care of all his dutiful
E * and
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and loyal ruhjeds of this province, be gra-
ciouily plcafcd to relieve them from the
apprcheniions they arc under of their pro-
perty being endangered, and lofing the fruits
of their labour, expofed to ordinances of a
governour and council, repugnant to the
laws of England, which take place before
his majeily's pleafure is known, and are
not only contrary to his majefly's corn-
million and private inllrud:ions to his faid
governour, but, we prefume, equally grie-
vous to his majefly's new and antient fub-
jeds.
' Your lordfhip's memorialifts further fee,
with regret, the great danger the children
born of proteftant parents are in, of being
utterly negleded, for want of a fufficient
number of proteftant paflors, and thereby
expofed to the ufual and known afliduity of
the Roman Catholick clergy of different
orders, who are very numerous in this
Country, and who, from their own immenfe
funds, have lately eflablifhed a feminary
for the education of youth in this province,
which is the more alarming, as it excludes
all proteftant teachers of any fcience what-
ever.
* Wherefore, your lordfhip's memorialifls
humbly pray, that you will be pleafed to
prefent their faid petition to his majcfly,
and alfo pray your lordfhip's interceflion and
good offices in that behalf,
* And
I
■ gra-
1 the
i
■ft!
[ =7 ]
* And your lordfliip's memorialills, as
' in duty bound, Ihall ever pray.
Montreal, Jan. 1 5,
^774-
"Edward. W. Cray,
R. Huntley,
Lawrence Ermatinger,
William Haywood,
A committee ap-
* pointed at a ge-
* neral meeting of <i
* the inhabitants
of Montreal.
James M'Gill,
James Finlay,
[ Edward Chum.
This petition and memorial were fent over
to Francis Mafcres, Efq; curfitor baron of
the exchequer, (who had formerly been at-
torney-general of the faid province, and had
redded conftantly in it for three years, from
September 1766, to September 1769) in
order to be by him prefented to the earl of
Dartmouth : and he did accordingly prefent
them to that noble lord foon after he had
received them, that is, about the beginning
of the month of March, 1 774.
In the courfe of thefe proceedings, tlif
committees appointed by thefe petitioners to
frame their petitions, and condutil the profe-
cution of them, (which were two in number,
one for the diftridl of Quebeck, and the other
for the diftrid of Montreal) wrote the fol-
lowing letters to Mr. Maferes, whom tluy
had thus employed to deliver their petitions to
lord Daitdiouth.
E 2 ^ S IR,
[ 28 ]
'! ; li
; 'i^'
fl
't
%
M
SIR,
-|;«.i
Quebeck, Nov. 8, 177
^'
* A S you appear to have the true interefts
* ■**• of this country at heart, we take the
liberty to trouble you with the draught of a
petition which the Englifli inhabitants of
the province have determined to prefent to
the governour and council. It is now the
general opinion of the people, (French and
Englifh) that an aflembly would be of the
utnioft advantage to the colony, though they
cannot agree as to the conilitution of it.
The Britifh inhabitants, of whom we are
appointed a committee, are of very moderate
principles : they wifh for an aflembly, as
they know that to be the only fure means
of conciliating the new fubjefts to the Bri-
ti/h government, as well as of promoting
the interefts of the colony, and fecuring to
its inhabitants the peaceable pofTeflion of
their rights and properties. They would
not prefume to diAate. How the aflembly
is to be compofed, is a mgXter of the mofl:
ferious confideration : they fubmit that to
the wifdom of his majefty's councils. What
they would, in the mean time, requefl you
to do, is to inform the miniflry and the
publick, that a petition is prefented (for it
will be fo in a few days) to the governour
here, to call an affemblyj and that if he
does not grant their requefl, they will im-
mediately apply to his majefly, from whom
' thev
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you
the
im-
lom
thev
[ 29 ]
* they have the mod fanguine hopes of a
* gracious reception. They beg your intereft
* in promoting fo laudable an undertaking,
* and hope you will excufe the liberty they
' have taken.
' We arc, with elleem,
* SIR,
* Your mofl: obedient and moft
* humble fervants,
* William Grant,
' Jenkin Williams,
* Thomas Walker,
* John Welles,
* John M*Cord,
* Zachary Macaulay,
* Charles Grant,
^ John Lcee,
* Malcolm Frafer.
*• To Francis Mafcrc?, Elqj
SIR,
Quebeck, Dec. 9, 1773.
* A S a committee named by the Englifh
* -*^ gentlemen of this place, we did our-
* felves tlie honour to write to you the 8th of
* November, by the (loop Dolphin, inclofing
* to you a copy of the draught of our petition,
' and requeuing you (whom we knew to be
' intcrelled for the welfare of this province)
* to
/
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f 30 ]
to difFufc at this jundurr, when fome re-
gulations appear to be projeAing, fuch inti-
mations of our fentiments and proceedings,
as you might conceive to be neceflary in our
behalf. We prefented our petition to the
lieutenant-governour the 3d inftant, figned
by ninety gentlemen of Quebeck and Mon-
treal. He was pleafed to receive it witli
politcnefs, and to inform us, that he would
take it into confideration, and, when he
fhould have confulted his majefty's council,
that he would favour us with his anfwcr.
A board of council has been held, but their
refolution remains as yet fecret. We can-
not flatter ourfelves that the prayer of our
petition will be granted, and therefore it is
the fenfe and refolution of all his majefly's
antient fubjeds, a few, very few, only ex-
cepted, (nnd it is the fecret wifh of a great
number of Canadians) fo foon as we receive
the lieutenant-governour's anfwer, to pe-
tition our fovereign to grant us that power
of legiflation, which he has been gracioufly
pleafed to promife us by his royal proclama-
tion, and which the welfare and good go-
vernment of the province have, for fome
time, ftood in need of. We intend to
trouble you with our petition to the king,
and we write by this poll to the principal
merchants of London intereflied in this
province, requefting their afliftance in our
favour, in conjunction with you; and, in
* order
i
1
[ 3^ ]
order to facilitate the intercourfe between
you and them, we fend Mr. John Paterfou
a letter, deliring him to a(ft in the matter
according to your diredions. We cannot
refrain from apologizing for the trouble we
have given you, and yet we mufl, at the
fame time, earneftly entreat your further
good offices in our behalf, as well by your
influence with your friends, as by your
weight with the king's minifters. We
hope to have it in our power to make you
fome grateful compenfatjon. For the pre-
fent, we can only beg leave to alTure you,
that we are, with great efteem,
f
I
SIR,
* Your mod obedient,
* humble fervants.
John Lee^r
Malcolm Frafer,
John M*Cord,
William Grant,
Jenkin Williams,
John Welles,
Charles Grant,
Zachary Macaulay.
SIR,
I
[ 32 }
Quebeckj Jan. 13^ i774«
SIR,
*
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"17^ E did ourfclves the honour to write to
'^ you the 9th of December, by poll,
under cover- to Mr. John Paterfon. Since
which, the lieutenant-governour has fa-
voured us with the anfwer recited in our
petition to the king. We now take the
liberty to trouble yoU with the petition,
together with a memorial, to the earl of
Dartmouth. A copy of the petition has
been given to the lieutenant-governour,
which he has undertaken to tranfmit to the
fecretary of ftate.
* Depending on your ability and zeal to
promote the true interefl and welfare of this
province, we entertain fanguine hopes that
you have already paved the way for a favour-
able reception. Without further apology,
permit us to intreat you to prefent this pe-
tition and memorial to lord Dartmouth,
and to fupport our meafures with fuch
arguments as will naturally occur to you
from your perfonal knowledge of the pro-
vince.
* Trufting that you will continue your dif-
interefted good offices, for which we hope
to be able to teflify our grateful acknow-
* led8;ments.
;^l
III!
f^3 1
nte to
r poll.
Since
IS fa-
in our
ie the
tition.
earl of
m has
rnour.
to the
seal to
3f this
;s that
ivour-
) fl
ology,
is pe-
louth.
'4
fuch
D you
•
\
J pio-
r dif-
hope
now-
lents.
* ledgments, we have the honour to fubfcribc
* ourfelves,
' SIR,
* Your rrioft obedient,
* and very humble fervants,
' Zachary Macaulay,
* Malcolm Frafer,
' Jenkin Williams,
* John Welles,
* William Grant,
' John M'Cord
* John Lees,
* Charles Grant.
SIR,
Montreal, Jan, lo, 1774.
'TpHE committee of his majefty's antient
•■' fubjeds refiding at Quebeck, having
taken the liberty of tranfmitting to you, by
this poft, a petition to his majefty, praying
he will be pleafed to grant them a houfe of
alTembly, together with a memorial to lord
Dartmouth, requefting his intercefTion and
good offices in that behalf j we, the fub-
fcribers, appointed a committee for the fame
purpofe, for the diftridt of Montreal, being
a(fluated by the fame principles, and fully
perfuaded that, from your knowledge of
the country, and known good difpoiition
F * towards
• i hi
M
[
34
]
tovvanis it, you will intcrefl yoiirfclf in
promoting any cllablilhment for its welfare,
have prefumcd to trouble you with a peti-
tion to the king, (igned by the inhabitants
of this diilrid, and a inemofial to lord
Dartmouth, which we beg you will deliver
to his lordship, and take fuch further mea-
fures as may conduce to the accomplilh-
ment of the undertaking.
* As the fucccfs of our endeavours muJl
greatly depend upon' you, we earneflly in-
treat that you will be pleafed to reprcfcnc
the necefllty of the meafure to his lordlhip,
in fuch a manner as rtiall appear to you
moil proper, and you will confer a laltinp;
obligation on the inhabitants of this pro-
vince, which will be ever gratefully re-
membered by them.
* We have the honour to be, with the
* greatefl regard and efteem,
* SIR,
* Your moft obedient,
' humble fervants,
* James Finlay,
* James M*Gill,
* Edward Antill,
* Edward Chinn,
* Edward William Gray,
' R. Huntley,
* William Haywood,
* Lawrence Ermatinger.
' To Francis Maferes, Efq;
And
[ 35 1
* And on the 19th of M;u•cl^ 177.J Mr.
Malercs returned them an am \cr to ihcir
l^itters, which was as follows ;
Inner Temple, March 19, 1774.
♦ Gentlemen,
T Have prefented the papers you have done
•*■ me tlie honour of tranfmitting to me,
concerning your delire of having an houfe of
afTembly in the province of Quebeck, to
my lord Dartmouth, and have waited upon
his lordfhip at his levee fince I did fo. But
his lordfhip has not informed me of the
fentiments of himfelf, or any other of his
majefty's miniftcrsof ftate, concerning your
rcquert: fo that I cannot yet tranfmit to
you any information upon that fubjcdl.
But I conjedlure, that his majcfly's fcrvants
arc of opinion, that the flate of the province
is not yet quite ripe for the eftabliflunent of
an aflembly, and that tliey rather incline,
for the prefent, to fupply the want of one
by eflablifliing a legillative council, nomi-
nated by the king, with fufficient pov/ers
to do the neceffary bufinefs of the province
till the more natural and conflitutional mea-
fure of a general afTembly fliaU appear to
them more pradicable. If fi^iyh a council
fhould be cflabjifhed, 1 hope it will be made
F 2 * as
' k
I ).
fi''.
1 1 1
{ 36 ]
as popular and independent as may btf, that
it may be rcfpc(5led by the people, and adl
agreeably to their fenfe and true interefts.
With a view to which, I have fuggcfted to
his majefty's minifters, and others, that it
would be expedient that the members of it
fhould be tnirty-onc in number, and not
cither rcmoveable or fufpendiblc by the
govcrnour; and that fcvcnteen of them
fhould be ncceffary to make a houfe, and do
bufmefs ; and that a fortnight's notice fliould
be given in the Quebeck gazette before
every meeting of them, to prevent the go-
vernour's packing them; and that every
member mould be at liberty to propofe a
bill in it, as well as to affent to tnofe pro-
pofed by the governour ; and that it (hould
not have the power of laying taxes, but
only that of making laws ; and that it
fhould confifl only of pfoteftants. But
whether this plan is approved or not by his
majefly's minifters, I know not. If it
fhould be approved, and carried into exe-
cution, I confefs I fhould think the inhabi-
tants of the province would be likely to be
governed more happily under it for feven or
eight years to come, than under the influ-
ence of an afTembly into which the papifls
fhould be admitted. As to an aflembfy of
proteflants only, I fee no objedion to the
eflablifhment of one, but the danger of
^ difbbliging
I ■•.'(!
[ 37 1
difobliging the Ciitholicks of the province,
who are lb much fupcriour in num!>er. If
that can be got over, and the Catholicks
can be brought to acquicfcc in the eret^tinii
of an afl'cmbly in which they are not per-
mitted to fit, by indulging them with the
hberty of voting in the election of the mem-
bers of it, as I remember to h.ive heard
fomc gentlemen fugged when I was in the
province, or by fome other compromifc or
expedient, I (hould be very glad to fee your
petition for an afi'embly immediately com-
plied with, ;Vo indeed I fuppofe it would in
that cafe be. But whatever miy be my
own opinionr. upon this fubje(fl, I fhall al-
ways faithfully and chcarfully re]">refent
your's to the king's minifters, and deliver
fuch papers and meflages as you fliall think
proper to entrull to me. And in order to
facilitate the attainment of your wifhes, I
here beg leave to hint to you, that I believe
it would greatly contribute to that end, if
you would previoufly declare, that you con-
ceive the Britifh parliament to have a com-»
pleat legiflative authority over the province
of Quebeck, and that fuch authority will
continue after the eftablifhment of an af-
fembly; and that you, and the other peti-
tioners, are willing that every member of
fuch future afTembly fliould be required to
recognize the faid fupreme Jiuthority in
V m
! H.ii,
f,'''
.:i,i (
*i;^ .si
r 38 ]
every article whatfoever, both of legiilatlon
and taxation, in the plained and ftrongeft
terms, before he is permitted to take his
feat. Such a previous declaration would
greatly tend to remove the prejudices now
fubfifting in the minds of many people in
England againft the eredion of new houfes
of affembly in America, ariiing from the
conduct of the affembly at Boflon, and in
others of the American provinces, in totally
denying the fupreme authority of parlia-
ment, and thereby difmembering and di-
viding, as much as in them lies, the Bri-
tiih empire into fo many diftind: and feparate
ftates, independent of each other, though
fubjedl to the fame king, like the eledtorate
of Hanover. I know nothing that would
contribute more to your obtaining an affem-
bly, than your making a declaration of this
kind. I hope foon to wait on lord Dart-
mouth again, and to hear from his lordfhip
the king's anfwer to your petition. When
I have received it, I will tranfmit it to you
without delay. In the mean time, I return
you rny fmcere thanks for the iionour you
have done me, in approving my endeavours
for the fettlement of the province of Que-
heck, and your declaration of your belief
that I am heartily interefted in that good
caufe, to which I fliall always think it the
greatefl glory of my life to have contributed,
* if
%
y .'^' ii
!'^:55iiil'
I
t 39 ]
if any of the meafures I have propofed for
that purpofe fhould hereafter be adopted,
though at prefent I fee but little reafon to
flatter myfelf that they will be fo. I re-
main, with great regard,
* Gentlemen,
* Your mofl obedient,
* and humble fervant,
* Francis Maserts.
To the committee of
* the petitioners for
* an aflembly in the
* province of Que-
* beck.
From the foregoing proceedings^ petitions,
and letters, it appears in the iirft place, that
feveral of the principal French inhabitants of
Quebeck, (as Monfieur Defcheneaux, Mon-
lieur Marcoux, Monfieur Perras, and Monfieur
Cugnet, 6cc.) were inclined to join with the
Englifh inhabitants in petitioning for a houfeof
aflembly, though, out of refpedt to the fenti-
ments of a majority of their countrymen who
were of a different opinion, they at lall de-
clined doing fo.
And, fecondly, it appears that the Englifh
inhabitants have adled on this occafion with
great moderation with refped: to their new
fcl low- fubj efts the Canadians, by declaring,
in their petition to the king's majelly, that
thcv
m
m
Hi
^ « '•
•ml
'-»
',.][,
'■fflili !
im
i 'il
4;
iiv
I
:i?:'|l
t 40 ]
they are willlnt^ to accept of an affembly of
iucb form ami i'onjiitution as bis majeflyy in
hii roxdl ivifihmt jl:all think fit to cjlablipo ;
and thereby intimating, that if his majeily
fliall think tit to admit fome Roman-Catholick
members to fit in it, they fhou'd make no
objedion to it, notwithftanding the hopes
they might have hitherto entertained of being
governed by an aflcmbly confifting of pro-
teftant members only, in purfuance of the
dircdions given by his majeily upon that
head, in his two commiifions of governour
in chief of the province to general Murray
and general Carleton, and in conformity, as
they had conceived, to the fundamental max-
ims and conftitution of the Britifli govern-
ment. They could not, however, be pre-
vailed on to go a ftep further in this courfe,
and join w^ith the Canadians in defiring his
majeily to lay aiidc the diftindion of pro-
teflants and papifts in forming an alTembly,
and to admit perfons of both religions into it
indifcriminately, though, if hismajefty (hould,
(for reafons unknown to them, or of which
they did not perceive the force,) think fit to
do fo, they were ready to acquiefce in his
deciiion. And this refufal to join with the
Canadians in that requeft was, as I have been
credibly informed, the true reafon why thofe
Canadians who had exprefTed a liking for the
government of an aflembly, refufed to join
with the Englifh in their prefent endeavours
to obtain one.
Con-
1
t 41 1
ibly of
(lyy in
ablijh ;
najefly
tholick
ake no
hopes
f being
)f pro-
of the
n that
'ernour
Vlurray
lity, as
l1 max-
jovern-
)e pre-
courfe,
ng his
pro-
smbly,
into it
lould,
which
fit to
in his
th the
e been
thofe
or the
o join
ivours
Ion-
M
Concerning the Eftabiifhment of a
Legriflativc Council in the Province
of Qiiebeck.
THE fought of cftablillurig a legiflatlve
council in the prcfvince of Quebeck,
inftead of an aflembly, took its rife as follows.
By the commiflions of captain-general and
governourinchief of that province, fuccefiively
granted to general Murray and general Carle-
ton, the king had empowered the gofvernour,
*' as foon as the fituation and circumftances of
** the province would admit thereof," andwhen,
and as often as need (hall require, to call a gene-
ral affembly of the freeholders of the province,
in fuch nianner as he, the faid governour, in
his difcretion, fhould judge mofl proper, or
accoramg to fuch further powers, infl:rud:ions
and authorities, as fhould be at any time
thereafter given to him under his majefty's
fignet or fign manual, or by his order in his
privy council. And in the following claufes
of the faid commiflions, his majefty had di-
redtcd, that the members of fuch aflembly
fhould take the oaths appointed by the ftatute
of the ift of George I. that is, the oath of
allegiance, the oath of abjuration of the pope's
G authoritv.
i
M
M
«
[ 42 ]
''i'*' >■
M i :;
u
fi'"
a\irhc;ritv, i^nd the oath of abjuration of the
prettruitr's right, to the crown, nnd fliould
make and fubicrihc the declaration agjiinft
tranUihliantia^tion ; and then had given power
'.itui authority to tlic governour, with the
luivice and conlcnt of his majefty's council of
the laid province, and the afTembly, fo eleifled
and qualiried, to make laws, ftatutes, and
ordinances, for the public peace, welfare,
and good government of the faid province.
The council of the province was not^ella-
blifhed by the commillion of the governour
under the great feal, (which feems rather
ft range -, nor do I know the reafon of it ;)
but by his majelly's inftrudions under his
lignet and fign manual. The members of it
have hitherto been twelve in number ; and
live have been fufiicient to make a board, and
tranfa<5l bufmefs. And it has often happened,
that not more than five have been prefent at
the councils that have been held in the pro-
vince : but in general, there have been fix
members prefent at them, and fometimes,
though but feldom, as I remember, feven or
eight*
By reafon of the great number of Roman-
Catholicks in the province, who could not
take the oath of abjuration of the pope's
authority, and make the declaration againfl
tranfubftantiation, and who therefore muil
have been excluded from the alTembly -, and
by reafon alfo of the fmall number of pro-
teftant
te
hi
it
€1
'I III
1
pro-
fix
Mif
[ 43 1
teft^int inhabitants in the province, whc» had
become freeholders of the province, or owners
of landed property in it, his majefty had judged
it to be hitnerto inexpedient to fummon a
general alTembly.
Yet, that the province might not be totally
without a legiflature in it to regulate the inha-
bitants of it upon a variety of emergencies
that muft necelTarily arife in it in the ordinary
courfe of human affairs, it feemed necellary
to delegate a power of legiflation of fome kind
or other, to fome perfon, or perfons, refiding
in the province.
And accordingly his majcfty, by an inflruc-
tion to his governour under his royal fignet
and lign manual, did empower his faid go-
vernour, before and until an aflembly of the
freeholders (hould be fummoned, to exercifc
a certain very limited legirtative authority in
the province, by and with the advice and con-
fent of the council of the province only, and
without tlie concurrence of an affemhly ; to
wit, ** an authority to make fuch rules and
** regulations as fliould appear to be necellary
" for the peace, order, and good government
** of the faid province; taking care that no-
** thing be paued or done that Ihall any ways
** tend to aifedt the life, limb, or liberty of the
** fubje<fl:, or to the impofing any duties or
** taxes."
But no mention h made in the goveniour'5;
eonimiflion under the great feal of Grcat-
G 2 Britain,
[ 44 ]
? v
Ih
?'
P''!l
ii't
Britain, of any fuch power of making rules
and regulations for the province with the
confent of the council only.
Two obfervations naturally occur concern-
ing this limited legiQative authority thus dele-
gated to the governour and council by his
majefty's faidinftrudion.
In the firfl: place, it may be doubted whe-
ther a power of this kind could be legally
communicated to the governour by any other
inftrument than letters patent under the great
feal of Great- Britain, publickly read and no-
tified to the people, to the end that the adls
done by virtue of them may have a juft claim
to their obedience. For otherwife they might
alledge, that they were faithful and loyal fub^
jedls of his majefty, and ready to pay obedi-
ence to every thing that his majefty's felf fhall
ordain for them, and likewife to every thing
that (hall be ordained for them by his ma-
jefly's governour of the province, by virtue of
powers properly communicated to him by his
majefty: that, confequently, they will obey
him in every thing that he fhall do by virtue
of the powers conveyed to him in his majefly's
commillion of goveri^our under the great feal
of Great-Britain, which had been publickly
iliewn and read to them ; but that in things
not warranted by the faid commiflion, but faid
to be done in purfuance of certain private
inflrudlions that had not been made known to
them, and which they are therefore uncertain
whether
■'.!
; rules
:h the
iccrn-
dele-
)y his
whe-
egally
other
: great
id no-
le adls
claim
might
il lub.
obedi-
ffliall
thing
ma-
ue of
by his
obey
virtue
cfly's
t leal
ickly
hings
t laid
rivate
wn to
ertain
icther
[ 45 ]
whether he has received or not, they cannot
prefume that he ads by his majefty's autho-
rity, and therefore are not bound to obey him.
And if this reafoning is juft, as it appears to
me to be, the confequence muft be, that the
private inftrudion before mentioned could not
have legally conveyed to the governour and
council of the province the legillative autho-
rity mentioned in it, fmall and narrow as it
was.
And, in the fecond place, if a private in-»
ftrudtion, under the king's fignet and fign-
manual, Ihould be deemed to be a legal me-
thod of communicating a legiflativc authority,
yet the power conveyed to the governour and
council of the province by the inflrudtion
above-mentioned, was evidently too narrow
for the purpofes of good government, lince it
is almoll impoffible to make an effedual regu.-
lation upon any fubjedt witliout in fome de-
gree alfeding, if not the life or limb, yet
at leafl: the liberty of the perfons who are to
be bound by it.
It feemed therefore to be necelTary to pro-
vide fome more adequate legiflature for the
province, and to ellabliili it in ,a manner that
could be liable to no objedtion.
Six diiferent methods of doing this had
occurred to thofe perlons who had had occa-
iion to refled: upon tliis fubjedt. The lirfl:
was to fummon an aiTembly conlifting of pro-
tcl1:ants only, agreeably to the king's com-
iniiTions
in
l-H
f)i ;,
!!!'
III
[ 46 ]
milTions of governour in chief to general
Murray and general Carlcton, and to what
was underilood by the Britilh inhabitants of
the province to have been prom i fed by the
proclamation of Odober 1763. The fecond,
to fiimmon an aflembly confifting of pro-
teflants and Roman-Catholicks indilcrimi-
nately. The third, to fiimmon an aftenibly
confiding of a majority of proteftants, but
with an admifTion of a limited numbt;r of
Roman-Catholicks. The fourth, to delegate
to the governour and council only, without
an aflembly, a power to make laws to hind
the province; and, in order to make the
council more refpedable in the eyes of the
people, to increafe the number of its mem-
bers, but with an cxclufion of Roman-Ca-
tholicks, in purfuance of the direc^lions of
the governour's commifiion with refpedt to
the council already fubfifting in the province.
The fifth, to delegate fuch a legiflativ^^ power
to the governour and council lb increafed in
number, but with an admiflion of Roman-
Catholicks and proteflants into it indifcrimi-
nately. And the fixth and laft, to delegate
fuch a power to the governour and council fo
increafed in number, with an admilTion of
only a certain number of Roman-Catholicks
into it.
Of thefe fix different fpecies of legislatures
for that province, the three firft, which pro-
pofed to eftabliili an ail'embly of fome kind
or
■1^
'4
or o
the
general
") what
mts of
by the
fecond,
)f pro-
le ri 111 i-
Tenihly
ts, but
iibcr of
lei f gate
vithoiit
to bind
ike the
of the
> inem-
um-Ca-
ions of
pedt to
ovince.
power
afed in
.onian-
rrimi-
elegatc
ncil fo
ion of
lolicks
latiires
:h pro-
kind
or
\ ,7.
[ 47 1
or other, were difapprovcd by the greater part
of his majcdy's minifters; the earl of Hills-
borough being the only perfon in office who
feemed inclined to any of them. The other
miniflers all turned their thoughts to a legilla-
tive council. This being therefore the mea-
fure that fteined likely to take place, Mr.
Maferes endeavoured to contrive a legiflative
council of as free and independent a conlli-
tution as he could; to the end that their pro-
ceedings might be refpe(ited by the people,
and their ordinances be readily obeyed by
them, as bein^: the refult of their own free
fentiments and unbiafled deliberations for the
wclAire and improvement of the province,
inftead of the effed: of a flavifh compliance
with the didates of the governour. With this
view, after converfing upon the fubjed with
Mr. Thomas Walker of Montreal, and Mr.
John Paterfon of Quebeck, two eminent
Englifli merchants fettled at thofe places, and
known lovers of liberty and the Englifli con-
Aitution, he prepared a draught of an adt of
parliament for eliabliihing a legiflative council
of the free and independent nature abo/e-
mentioned, in the province ; in which it was
provided, that the number of members in
the council already in being (liould be in-
creafed from twelve to thirty-one ; and that
the members of it fliould be quite indepen-
dent of the governour, inftead of being liable
to be fufpendcd by him, as they had hitherto
fl
11
■H
m
\
'•4
•I'!
■ii!
be
en
!':i
It (
,1 III
fhi
M4
I ; il
^inl
. (
t 48 I
been ; and that they flioiild Tign their names
in the regifter-books of the council to the
ordinances for which they fliouldvcrtc; and
that fcventeen of them fhoiild be ncceflary to
do bufinefs as a legiikaivc body ; and that
they fhould be |5aid for their attendance, in
order to induce them to attend in confiderable
numbers ; and that there fliould be a fort-
night's notice given in the (iuebeck gazette
of every intended meeting of the council 3
and by the particular deiire of Mr. Walker
and Mr. Faterfon, (ab Mr. Maferes thankfully
acknowledges,) it was further provided, that
they Ihould have no power wliatfoever of im-
poling taxes in the province. And, laftly,itwas
provided, that this unufual inftrument of go-
vernment (hould continue only for 7 years, to
the end that the inhabitants of the province
might always have within their view, and that
too at no great diftanceof time, the accomplifh-
ment of the royal promife made to them by
the proclamation of 0(ftober 1763, of being
governed, with relpe<5t to matters of legifla-
tion, by an aflembly of the freeholders of the
province, ^s jhon as the fituation and circiim^
fiances oj thepro'uince wotild permit. With thefe
provifions, and the other precautions taken in
this draught to make the legiflative council as
free and independent as poflible, and as fit as
might be to become a temporary fubftitute for
the more conftitutional mode of government
by an aflembly of the freeholders, thofe gen-
tlemen
,r
tien
com I
'U
r ii;
,.-'■'
[ 49 ]
.-''
names
to the
ej and
lary to
id that
ice, in
dcrable
a fort-
gazette
ouncil 2
Walker
nkfully
;d, that
of im-
y,itwas
: of go-
ears, to
rovince
nd that
pHfh-
em by
f being
legifla-
of the
\circum*
th thefe
iken in
mcil as
IS fit as
Itute for
Irnment
Ife gen-
tlemen
tlemen did declare, that they were willing to
acquiefce under it, and did coniidcr it as a Icfs
■H dangerous inltrunient of government, for a
^ fmall number of years to come, than an
aflembly compofed indifcriniinately of pro-
teftants and Roman-Catholicks, though far
inferiour in freedom and utility to an allcnibly
compofed of proteftants only, agreeably to
what the king had twice exprefsly directed
in his commilHons of governour of the pro-
vince, and to what they had underflood to
have been meant, though it was not di-
ftindly exprefled, by the promife of an
allembly in the royal proclamation of Odobcr
1 763. In this draught of an adl of parliament
for eflablifhing a legiflative council in the
province for fevcn years, the preamble was
purpofely made very long, in order to fhew
the grounds and reafons upon which it was
fuppofed that fo extraordinary a meafure was
become expedient, and in confequence of
which it might be expedled that it would be
chearfully acquiefced in, for a few years to
come, by both the French and Englifh inha-
bitants of the province.
This draught was as follows.
H
D:'. AUGHT
' '■•■ I'M
m
[ S'> ]
',(
' 4^;: 'IH'
fl^i;.
^1 ^:
i
J'icaiiii
DivAnciiT of ail Acl; of Par-
liairiLiiL for invtfl.iiig tlic
Covcrnour and Council of
the I'rovincc of ^^icbuck^
witlunit an AiTembly of
liij I'lccholdcrs of the
ilnnc, with a Power of
makino; Laws and Ordi-
nances for the Peace, Wel-
fare, and good Govern-
ment of the (liid Province
dnring the Space of Seven
Years.
WIIKREXS his mopL excel-
lent niajcAy, the now king,
by his letters patent, under the great
leal of this kingdom, beariiig date
the twenty-firlt day of November,
in the fourth year of his reign, and
r,Acr praiu- in the year of our Lord Chrifl, one
MouriMmray", thoufand, fevcn hundred, and fixty-
jviih ihc con- three, appointing the honourable
council of the James Murray, cfquirc, to be cap-
province, to tain-pfeiieral and eovcrnour in diief
call an ullcni* t) o
biy. i n and over the province of Quebeck
in North- Am jrica, then lately ceded
to
%
%m
[ S' ]
to the crown ol* Cjrcat-Jjrir.ilii Uy
the iM'cnch king by the definitive
treaty of peace concluded at I'^aris
in the month of February of the
lame year, was plealed to ^;-ran£
unto liim, the faid James Mm. .'.y,
a power, witli the advice and c( Si-
lent of his majefty's council of the
laid province, lb Iboii as the fitu-
ation and circumflanccs of the laid
province would admit tliereof, and
when and as often as need ihoukl
require, to iiimmon and call |_;ene-
ral affemblies of the freeholders and
planters in the laid provijice:
And his laid majelly was thereby oatVs and >]:.
further pleafed to direc^l tlie fiid ;',';'';,\,ire,i 'of
i!;overnour to require the perfons '■''■\ rAcr.^-n
thereupon duly elected by the ma- ny^
jor part of the freeholders of tlic
refpecitive parifhes or precincts ol'
the laid province, and fo returned,
to take the oaths mentionet! in a
certain adt of parliament pa'll .1 in
the Jirll: year of the reign of king
Ckorge the firll, andintitled, "./^^'
at} for ibc j iirthcr jccnriiy of bis }iL'-
jcjlfs pcrjon and govcnimc7it, and ibe
fuccefjion of the croii'u iii the heirs of
the late prince fs Sophia^ being pvi,^
teflantSy and for cxiinguijbing /Zf
hopes oj the pretended prince oj IVuieSy
II 2 L...d
/.: ^M
m
i%!.^i.
'.V:
m ,,. II
M. !
i! il
^' is
Legiflaiive
power j.':ant-
ed to die faid
governour, to
be exercilcd
*vith the ad-
vice and oon-
fent of the
council of the
faid province
and fuch af-
fcmb]y.
t 52 ]
and his Open and fee ret abet f or s-^' and
likewife to make and fubfcribe the
declaration againft the Rcr"\i(h doc-
trine of tranfubftantiation mention-
ed in an adt of parliament made in
the twenty-fifth year of the reign
of king Charles the fecond, intitled,
** An aB for prevent 'mg dangers which
may happen from popijh reciifants ;"
before they are permitted to fit in
the faid affemblies :
And was pleafed to impower the
faid governour, by and with the
advice and confent of his majefty's
council of the faid province and
fuch ailembly as aforefaid, or the
major part of them, having previ-
ouily qualified themfelves in the
manner aforefaid, to make, confli-
tute, and ordain, laws, ftatutes, an4
ordinances, for the publick peace,
welfare, and good government of
the faid province, and of the people
and inhabitants thereof, and of
fuch other perfons as fhould refort
thereunto, and for the benefit of
his faid majefly, his heirs and fuc-
cefTors, taking care that the faid
laws, ilatutes, and ordinances,
fhould not be repugnant, but, as
near as may be, agreeable, to the
laws and flatutes of this kingdom :
And
ii'^iiii
■'I
[ S3 1
And afterwards his faid majefly
was pkafed to give the fame pow-
ers, authorities, and diredlions, to
Guy Carleton, efquire, the prefent
governour in chief of the faid pro-
vince, by other letters patent un-
der the great feal of Great-Britain,
to the fame purport and efFed: as
thofe above-mentioned :
And whereas it hath not hitherto
been found pra(5ticable, by reafon
of the general prevalence of the
Romifh fuperftition amongft his
majefty's new Canadian fubjeds in
the faid province, to fummon and
call a general affembly of the free-
holders and planters in the fame,
that are willing to qualify them-
felves to fit in fuch aflembly in the
manner above-mentioned, by tak-
ing the oaths above-mentioned, and
taking and fubfcribing the declara-
tion aforefaid, without too much
reftraining the freedom of eledtion
of the faid new fubjeds, by re-
ducing them to a neceflity of chu-
fing proteftant reprefentatives, of
whom it may often happen that
they fhall have but little know-
ledge, in preference to Roman-
Catholicks of their neighbourhood
and antient acquaintance, in whom
they
The like
power and di-
reflions were
afterwards
granted to
governour
Carleton.
Difficulty of
procuring an
afleinhly qua-
lified as alx)ve,
by reafon of
the general
prevalence of
the Romifh
fuperftition.
iiW-;
mi
^ M
■P'f
in tl-.f i;ovLr
noiir aiKl
council \v:th-
<jiit an alii lu-
I'iy, for the
gocid j;-vcrn-
iiicnt oi ihc
province.
[ 5+ ]
^'r^^lVfi'l'^"'!^ tlicy may place a great confidence :
aii.iiiMy'ac and for divers other reafons it is
rrdcnt. j^.^j. thought expedient as yet to
iLimiiion an afl'einbly in that pro-
vince :
Sa'c'-n !: And whereas no power of mak-
tivc ujihoiity ino- laws and ordinances for the
fiid province, hath hitherto been
granted by his faid moft excellent
nia jelly, to the governour and
council of the faid province only,
\^'itllout the concurrence of an
afkrnbly of the lame, by either of
the above-mentioned tv/o com-
inilllons of captain-general and
governour in chief of the faid pro-
vince, or by any other inftrumcnt
under the great feal of this king-
dom : but only an in{»:ru<^Hon hatii
been given by his fiid jnajclly, to
his faid governours, under his ma-
jcHy's lignet and lign-manual, com-
municating, or purporting to com-
municate, to the faid governours, a
certain very limited legillative au-
thority, to be exercifed by them by
and with the advice and confent of
the council of the faid province
only, without an aliembly, to wit,
an authority to make fuch rules and
regulations as lliall appear to be
neecirary for the peace, order, and
goo i
■\
idcncc :
ns it is
yet to
pro-
at
)f muk-
for the
o been
icellcnt
ir and
:e only,
of an
ither of
coni-
il and
id pro-
rumcnt
s king-
m hath
illy, to
lis iiia-
1, com-
com-
ours, a
ve aii-
icni by
fent of
'ovincc
to wit,
les and
to be
:r, and
1400 1
^11
[ 55 ]
uood government of the laid pro-
\ iiice, taking care that nothing be
palTcd or done that lliall any ways
tend to affect the Hfe, limb, or
liberty of the fiibjed, or to the
irnpofing any duties or taxes: and
this legiilative authority has been
found, by the experience of feveral
years, to be too narrov/ for the pur-
pofes of good government in the
laid province :
And whereas it will therefore
contribute to the welfare and good
government of the laid province
lor the time to come, until fucli
time as it lliall be thought expedi-
ent by the king's majelty to fum-
mon a general alfembly of the free-
holders of the fame, that a more
ample leeiflative authority lliould
be delegated to his majefly's go-
vernour and council of the lame :
and, for that purpofe, that the
number of members of the faid
council (which has h'tlierto been
only twelve,) Ihould be confide-
rably increafed ; and that their
offices of counfellors to his nva-
jefly for the faid province ihould be
made independent of the governour
of the fame : to the end that tb.ey
may not only acl with freedom in
th'jir
[."xpcdicricy
of delc.i^acm?;
a niMre ample
Ifj^illative
authority to
the govurnour
and council
only.
An J nv'kirg
the \:'.\d cuuti-
cil more nii-
miTous ih m
it i" at prcfcnr,
ami iiKlvpcii.
dariC ct ihti
povcmjur.
1
mi h
'I- If: ,
■>A -vi
'k
Such alegifla-
tive council is
likely to be
more agree-
able to the
Bricifh inha-
bitants of the
laid province
than an aflem-
bly into which
the Koman-
Catholicks
Ihall be ad-
mittcd.
[ 56 ]
their deliberations for the good of
the faid province, but alfo be ge-
nerally thought to do fo by his
majefty's fubjedis in the fame, and
may, in confequence of their juft
and wife condud in the exercife of
this high authority for the welfare
and good government of the faid
province, become the objeifts of
general eileem and reverence in the
fame :
And whereas the eflablifhment
of fuch a legiflative council in the
faid province is not likely to give
any difguft, or offence, to thofe of
his majefty's antient Britifh fubjedls
who are already fettled in the faid
province, or who may hereafter
refort thither, but rather to be
thought a juft and neceflary mea-
fure by them, and much lefs dan-
gerous to their liberties and wel-
fare than the immediate conftitu-
tion of an aflembly of the free-
holders and planters of the faid
province, if, (contrary to the di-
red:ions of his majefty's commiflion
of captain-general and governour
in chief of the faid province, a-
bove-mentioned,) any Roman-Ca-
tholick members (hould be ad-
mitted
I
I
•I
mitl
rityl
coul
la)
and!
proj
anyl
bita
'I'iiiiill.
m
[ S7 ]
mittcd into it j provided the autho-
rity delegated to fuch legiflativc
council be only that of making
laws and ordinances for the welfare
and good government of the faid
province, and not that of impoling
any duties, or taxes, on the inha-
bitants of the fame, which they
conceive to Idc a power much more
liable to be abufed than the for-
mer, and confequently lefs fit to be
intrufted to any perfons in the faid
province, (of what rank or perfonal
character whatfoever,) that are not
the cxprefs reprefentatives of the
freeholders and inhabitants of the
fame; and provided alfo that the
ellablifhment of fuch legillative
council be made only for a fmall
number of years, and until it fliall
be thought practicable and expedi-
ent to ered a proteftant aflembly
in the faid province, agreeably to
his majefty's commiflion of cap-
tain-general and governour in chief
above-mentioned, and to the ge-
neral pradiice obferved in all the
other Britifh provinces in North-
America :
And whereas the eftablifhment
of fuch a legillative council in the
laid province is likely to be more
I agreeable
Provided that
they are only
impowcred to
make laws, or
ordinance?,
but not toim-
pofc taxes.
And that fuch
legiflative
council be
continued
only for a
fmall number
of years, and
till it is found
expedient to
fummon an
airembly of
proteilants.
And fjcli %
Icgiilative
council is
likely to be
more a^ree*
I' ii
. 'i'l
W\
m
m
m
;,)• • >
'it if
M^
[
]
d';ii(; to the
<.'ar.a.ii.iri; in
jhc laid pr( -
vmre tian tn
?.fi'"ir.b!y cor.-
itlliiig of only
}.!')r( Uarit
membtrs.
01 the go-
vernment of
Canada dur-
ing it's fiib-
jedtion to the
French King.
The Gover-
tiuur.
The Inten-
danr.
The biftiop of
Quebec.
agiecable to liis majeily's new Ca-
nadian iubjedlis in the fame than
the conflitution of an aUbmbly of
the freeholders and planters of the
faid province that fhould confift:
only of proteftant members, agree-
ably to the diredlions of his ma-
iefty's commiffion of captain -gene-
ral and governour in chief above-
mentioned , by reafon that in the
prefent ftate of the laid province,
and during the general prevalence
of the Roman-Catholick religion
in the fame, very few of the faid
Canadians could become members
of fuch affembly :
And whereas in the time of the
French government of the country
of Canada, or New France, of which
the aforefaid province of Quebeck
then made only a part, the autho-
rity of the French king was in-
trufted principally to three officers
of great diftindtion ; to w^it, firft,
the military governour, called Go-
*vernour and lieutenant-general Jor the
king in the Jaid country ; and, fe-
condly, the principal officer of the
civil government in the fame, called
the Intendant of jujiice, police, and
re'-oemie hi the fame \ and, thirdly,
the bifliop of Quebeck; and a
council
m
M.
m
mei
lavn
ord(
H^'ili
iw Ca-
,e than
iibly of
of the
CO 11 fill
agree-
is ma-
i-gene-
above-
in the
evince,
valence
m
M
'A
K
[ 59 ]
council nominated by the faii
French king, called the fovereign
council y OY fuperiour council y of ^e-
bccky which confifled of the faid
three great officer? and twelve other
members, of whom eleven were
laymen, and one was in ho^y
orders : <•
And the faid intendant of juftice,
police, and revenue, was authorifed
by his commiflion from the faid
French king, not only to exercife
a very great judicial power in the
faid country in all matters what-
soever appertaining to the admini-
flration of juftice, both criminal
and civil, but alfo to exercife a con-
fiderable degree of legiflative power
in the fame, namely, to make, in
conjun(5tion with the faid fovereign,
or fupcriour, council, of Quebeck,
all fuch regulations as he fliould
judge to be neceffary for the gene-
ral police, or good government, of
the laid country ; and, in cafe he
fhould judge it to be more expedi-
ent for the fervice of the French
king to proceed herein without the
faid council, to make the faid re-
gulations by his own fingle autho-
rity, without the concurrence of the
laid council, if the f^id regulationiJ
rehted only to civil matters :
I 2 And
The Supe-
riour council.
Power of the
Intendant and
Siiperiour
council to
make regula-
tions for the
general po-
lice, or good
government
of the faid
country.
Power of tie
Intendant to
make luch re-
gulations by
hi"' own iingia
authority in
civil inaueis.
I ...
,i/i A ^^
|j ;fe4;
¥M-
I ■ !i,
; ,&>
Many impor-
tant icgula-
tiors were
made for the
laid country
by the laia
Intendants
and iuperiour
councils.
But the faid
liuenuants
?.nd fiipcrioiir
councils were
rot impovver-
cd to impol'e
taxes in the
tiid country.
The eftablifli-
mcnt of fuch
a legiflative
council, as is
above-men-
tioned, bears
a relcmblance
to the afore-
faid method
of govern-
ment, by the
Intendants
and fuperiour
councils, ufed
in ihe faid
province in
the time of
Its fubiedion
tf the French
t 60 ]
And many regulations of great
importance were, accordingly, made
in the faid country by the faid in-
tendants and fuperiour councils,
and by the faid intendants alone,
without the faid councils, which
were chearfully fubmitted to by
the inhabitants of the faid country,
and were carried into execution in
the fame :
But the faid intendants and fu-
periour councils were never im-
powered by the faid French king
to impofc any duties, or taxes, on
the inhabitants of the faid country :
but the fame were impofed only by
the faid French king himfelf by
his own edids :
And whereas the eftabliflnncnt
of a numerous legiflative council
in the faid province of Quebec k,
made independant of the governour
of the fame, and reftrained from
impofing any duties, or taxes, on
the inhabitants thereof, in the
manner above-mentioned, bears a
confiderable refemblance to the
faid former method of government
in the faid province by the autho-
rity of the intendant and fuperiour
council of Quebeck, during ths
fubjedlion of the faid province to
the
[ 6i ]
the French king; and is evidently
lei's likely than the faid former me-
thod of government to be abufed or
perverted to ambitious or opprefliv^
purpofes, by reafon that the power
thereby delegated to fuch legillative
council, to make laws and regula-
tions for the welfare and good go-
vernment of the faid province, will
be intruded to a greater number of
counfellors than the faid fupcriour
council of Quebeck v/as compofed
of, and that the governours of the
fdid province will in no cafe what-
foevcr be impowered to make any
of the faid laws and regulations
alone, or without the concurrence
of the faid council, as the faid in-
tendants were formerly authorifed
to do:
And therefore there is great rea-
fon to fuppofe that his -majefly's
new Canadian fubjeds in the faid
province, (who were formerly ufed
to the faid method of government
and legiflation by the intendants
and fuperiour council of Quebeck,
and were well pleafed and fatistied
therewith,) will greatly approve,
and be fully fatisfied with, the me-
thod of government herein before-
mentioned by the governours of the
laid
But js ]'i\
likely to be
alnifcd topiir-
poles oi op-
predion.
And there-
fore il.cre iz
rcaibn toJiope
that his M>i-
jefty's new
Canadian ("ii'o-
jects will be
latifrtcd with
the eftabliflj-
ment of fucli
a IcgiHati^'e
council.
. ! I
' I
it *i
f-^
In
kl ''i
[ 62 ]
; ;«•
I ■ !! ■.
m
Djlegation of
a Ic^jiflative
authority to
thcGovernoiir
and council
of the faid
province only,
without an
aflfmbly of
the freehol-
ders in tiie
fame, for the
fpace of feven
ye us.
fald province and a numerous and
independant legiflative council; and
will efteem the eftablifhment of
fuch a council to be a juft, and
prudent, and lalutary mcarure in
the prefent circumftances of the
laid province :
I. IT IS THEREFORE OR-
DAINED AND ENACTED by
the king's moll excellent majefly,
by and with the advice and confent
of the lords fpiritual and temporal,
and the commons in parliament
alTembled, that for the fpace of
feven years, to be computed from
the firft day of January, in the year
of our Lord Chrift one thoufand,
feven hundred, and feventy-four, it
fliall be lawful for his majefty's
captain-general and governour in
chief of the faid province of Quc-
beck, or, in his abfencc, the lieu-
tenant-governour, or commander
in chief, of the fame, for the time
being, by and with the advice and
confent of his majefty's council of
the faid province only, and without
any aflembly of the freeholders and
planters of the fame, to make,
conftitute, and ordain, laws, fta-
tutes, and ordinances, for the pub-
lick peace, welfare, and good go-
vernment
,1 ii
■ 'nil
m^
[ h ]
vcrnment of the laid province, and
of the people and inhabitants there-
of, and of fuch other perfons as
Ihall refort thereunto, and for the
benefit of his faid majefly, liis heirs
and fucceflbrs, taking care that the
faid laws, flatutes, and ordinances,
Ihall not be repugnant, but, as near
as may be, agreeable, to the laws
and Itatutes of this kingdom, in
the fame manner as the faid James
Murray, by virtue of his corn-
million above-mentioned, might
have done with the confent of both
the council and afl'embly of the
faid province.
II. PROVIDED always, and ProvideJ ti.t
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER
ENACTED, that none of the faid
laws, iVatutes, or ordinances, ihall
in any degree tend to the impofmg
any duties, or taxes, on the inha-
bitants of the faid province; and
that, fo far as any of them Hiall
have any fuch tendency, they fiiall
be utterly void and of no effed or
authority whatfoever.
III. PROVIDED ALSO, and ^Ju'»^'^r of
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ""t;;;^;^
ENACTED, that the faid council """^''•
of the faid province Ihall for the
future confilt of thirty-one mcni-
tlicy iliall nut
have the
power ut iir."
poling Juiisj,
or taxes.
n
,.'h
t : m
1
)ers
ilMi i . ,,!
•1
t ■
[ 64 ]
hers refident in the iliid province,
They (h. 11 all ^vho (luW quiilify themielvcs for
take tlie uliial , • . , z^. . *' 1 . 1 .1
oathsand de- the laid ofhccs by taking the oaths
chration mentioned in a certain adt of par-
aHHinlt tran- n- 1 • .l r n. c
lubiumiation. liament palled in the nrll year ot
the reign of king George the firil,
and intitled, ** ^/i a^I for the further
Jecurity of his mqji'/iys pcrfon and go^
*vcrnmc}ity and the Jucceljion of the
crciun in the heirs of the late pri72cefs
Sophia, being protejiants^ and j or ex-
iinguij}:ing the hopes of the pretetided
prince of Wales, and his open a?id
fecrct abettors -" and by making and
fubfcribing the declaration againft
the Romilh dodrine of tranfnb-
ilantiation mentioned in an a6t of
parliament made in the twenty-
fifth year of the reign of king
Charles the fecond, intitled, '* jln
a^ for preventing dangers whid) may
happen J rom popijh recu/ants )" before
they are admitted to fit in the faid
council.
IV. PROVIDED ALSO, and
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER
ENACTED, that, in order to
give validity to any new ordinance
that fhall be palfed by the faid
council of the faid province of
Quebeck in purfuance of the au-
thority
intc,
for
3aths
par-
:ar of
fii-a,
irtbcr
f the
'ifjcifs
jr ex-
tended
1 mid
g and
gainft
nfnb-
adof
enty-
king
h may
)efore
faid
and
lER
ir to
lance
faid
:e of
le au-
lority
i 6s ]
thority granted to them for that Nw"i^«f "^
•\,« • 1 • rv r !• members ne«
purpole by this aa of parliament, ceiFary to
it (hall be ncceflliry that there be "*,*n/„°''^''
prefent at the pafiing of every fuch
ordinance at lead feventeen mem-
bers of the faid council ; and that
thofe of the members of the faid
council prefent on fuch occalion And every
who (hall approve and give their nuiTbc figned
votes for fuch ordinance (hall, in [;/ ^"^^ »"«^'"-
rt . r /• 1 1 • rr • "crs who vote
teltimony or luch their aiient to it, for it.
fubfcribe their names to the origi-
nal tranfcript of fuch ordinance,
which (hall be kept among the re-
cords of the faid council, and like-
wife to two other copies of the
fame, which (liall be tranfmitted
with all convenient difpatch to his
majefty's fecretary of (late for
North-America, in order to be laid
before his majelly in his privy-
council for his approbation or dif-
allowance.
V. PROVIDED ALSO, and arc required
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER b'^otX"'
ENACTED, that no perlbn (liall i-^^^ ^''""•^'i-
be capable of being a member of
the faid council that is not com-
pleatly thirty years old ; and that f^«""" ^^
*i ' A ^ ^ r \ r • 1 -1 t'fir appoint.
the members ot the laid council nu-nt \<. ii •
fliall be appointed to the faid office ^^'^ '■^^•^-■-
of counfellor to the king's majcfty
K ' for
'ii >;,■
/yi 't>
\^%i.
^ i:
,1 VJl '
Manner in
which they
may be re-
moved from
it.
[ 66 ]
for the faid province, either by his
majefty himfelf by letters patent
under the great feal of Great-Bri-
tain, or under his privy feal, or by
an inflrument in writing under his
Hgnet and fign manual, or by his
governour in chief, lieutenant-
governour, or commander in chief
of the faid province for the time
being, by letters patent under the
publick feal of the faid province ;
and that the faid counfellors fhall
not be either removed from the
faid offices of counfellors to his
majefty for the faid province, or
fufpended from the exercife of the
faid offices for any time, how fhort
foever, by the governour in chief,
or lieutenant-governour, or com-
mander in chief, of the faid pro-
vince, but only by the king's ma-
jefty himfelf, his heirs and fuc-
ceflors, by his or their order in
council.
VI. PROVIDED ALSO, and
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER
ENACTED, that, whenfoever the
governour, or lieutenant-gover-
nour, or commander in chief, of
the faid province, ftiall think pro-
per to fummon a meeting of the
council of the fame, in order to
deliberate
i
■II
I': y
[ 6; ]
deliberate concerning any new law,
or ordinance, which fhall appear
to be neceflary for the welfare and
good government of the faid pro-
vince, in purfuance of the autho-
rity granted to him by this ftatute,
he fhall publifh a proclamation for
that purpofe, giving due notice of
the day on which fuch meeting of
the faid council fhall be holden, in
the printed news- paper of the faid
province, called the Quebeck Ga-
zette, at leafl fourteen days before
the day appointed for the meeting
of the faid council. And all ordi-
nances that fhall be made by the
governour and the faid council
without fuch previous notice in the
faid publick news-paper of the day
on which the faid meeting of the
faid council is to be holden, fhall
be utterly void and of no efFe(ft
whatfoever, any thing herein be-
fore mentioned to the contrary
thereof in any wife notwithflanding.
VII. And IT IS HEREBY
FURTHER ENACTED, that in
every meeting of the faid legiHa-
tive council of the faid province
for the purpofe of making new
laws, or ordinances, for the wel-
fare and good government of the
K 2 fame.
Fourteen days
notice fhall be
given in the
Quebec ga-
zette of every
meeting of
the faid legif-
lative council.
%
Every mem-
ber of the laid
lec^iflative
council fhall
b.' ac liberty
to bring any
bill into the
fame, as well
|J
as to aifent to
a bill propof.
eJ to the faid
council by the
Governour.
fi
iM
[ 68 ]
U
ir • '■ '
fame, it ihall be lawful for every
member of the faid council freely
to propofe and bring in, to the faid
council, any bill that he Ihall ef-
teem fit to be paiTed into a law, or
ordinance, in order that it may be
firft confidered by the faid council,
and pafTed by them, and then pro-
poled to the governour of the faid
province for his afTent ; as well as
for the governour of the faid pro-
vince to propofe any bill that he
may think ufeful and Ht to be paiTed
into a law, to the faid council for
their confideration and afl'ent.
And a fhort account, or memorial,
of every bill fo prefented by any
the r*eTordf of member of the faid council Ihall
the faid coun- be entered by the clerk of the faid
council amongft the proceedings of
the fame, even though the faid bill
fhould not be approved by a ma-
jority of the faid council, or, being
approved by fuch majority, fliali
not receive the governour's afTent.
VIII. And, in order to encou-
rage the feveral members of the faid
council to be diligent and regular
in their attendance at the meetings
thereof, and to defray the expences
they may incur by fuch attendance,
and likewife to reward them for
their
And s memo
rial thereof
Jhall be enter
cil.
''H
umm
'.m
% or
be
ma-
)eing
hail
*ent.
■cou-
faid
ular
ings
nces
nee,
for
[heir
f
i 69 ]
their ufeful labours therein for the
public benefit of the faid province,
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER
ORDAINED AND ENACTED,
that it ihall be lawful for the go-
vernour, or lieutenant-governour,
or commander in chief, of the faid
province, to iffue h's warrant to
the receiver-general of the publick
revenue of the fame, to pay to
each member of the faid council
that /hall attend any meeting of
the fame for the purpofe of mak-
ing laws and ordinances for the
welfare and good government of
the faid province, and fhall con-
tinue at the faid meeting until the
end, or diflblution, of the fame,
fuch fum of money, not exceeding
two pounds of lawful money of
Great-Britain, as he fhall think
proper, out of fuch monies arifing
within the faid province, and liable
to be applied to publick ufes in the
fame, as fhall then be in the hands
of the faid receiver-general ; tak-
ing care that on every fuch occa-
fion an equal fum of money fhall
be paid to every counfellor who
fhall have fo attended at the faid
meeting, without any diflin<5lion,
or
The mem-
bers of the
faid council
fhall receive
out of the
public reve-
nue of the faid
province a re-
ward for their
trouble in at-
tending the
meetings of
the fame, not
exceeding
two pounds
ftcrling to
each member
for every at-
tendance.
>"4
■ >i*,t
■'■I
USmS
M.
^.S,k
-< iff
1% I.
1 ■• I'
I I.
But no one
member oF
the faid coun-
cil Ihall re-
ceive more
than one hun-
dred pounds
in one year
on this ac-
count.
Every mem-
ber of the faid
council, who
fhall be ab-
fent from the
faid province
for the fpacc
of a year,
without the
Governour's
leave in writ-
ing for that
purpofe, (hall
thereby lofe
his office of a
counfellor.
[ 7° ]
or partiality; and that the money
paid on this account to any one
member of the faid council in the
fpace of one whole year fhall never
exceed the fum of one hundred
pounds of lawful money of Great-
Britain, although the meetings of
the faid council, at which fuch
member fhall have attended, in
that fpace of time, fhould happen
to be more than fifty.
IX. And IT IS HEREBY
FURTHER ENACTED, that,
if any member of the faid legifla-
tive council of the faid province
fhall at any time be abfent from
the faid province for the fpace of
one whole year without having ob-
tained a leave of abfence from the
governour in chief, or lieutenant-
governour, or commander in chief,
of the faid province, in writing,
and caufed the fame to be entered
among the records of the faid coun-
cil before his departure from the
faid province, his office of coun-
fellor to the king's majefty for the
faid province fhall thereupon ceafe
and become vacant at the end of a
year from the day of his departure
irom the faid province -, fo that, if
he fhould afterwards return into
the
the!
ca|
fai(
aga|
of
offil
or
'.;■ ''<V
(if J
%
I :,v
W
noney
ly one
in the
never
mdred
Great-
ngs of
i fuch
ed, in
lappen
REBY
, that,
legilla-
rovince
It from
pace of
ing ob-
om the
enant-
chief,
/•riting,
entered
I coun-
om the
coun-
for the
n ceafe
d of a
arture
hat, if
n into
the
t 7' ]
the faid province, he fhall be in-
capable of fitting and voting in the
faid council, unlefs he Ihall be
again impowered to do fo by means
of a new appointment to the faid
office.
And, if any member of the faid
council, after having obtained a
leave of abfence in writing from
the governour of the faid province,
or the lieutenant-governour, or
commander in chief of the fame,
and having caufed it to be duly
entered in the records of the faid
council before his departure from
the faid province, fhall be abfent
from the faid province for the fpace
of one whole year beyond the time
allowed by fnch leave of abfence,
his faid office of counfellor to the
king's majefly for the faid province
fhall thereupon ceafe and become
vacant at the expiration of the faid
year beyond the time allowed in
his faid leave of abfence, in the
fame manner as if he had at firll
gone out of the faid province with-
out any leave of abfence from the
governour thereof, and had con-
tinued to be abfent from the fame
for more than a whole year.
And
Abfence with
the leave of
the Gover-
nour, if con-
tinued for a
year beyond
the time al-
lowed by the
faid leave,
fliall have the
fame cfFecl.
[ 72 ]
■J
ficeof a coun-
icllor.
Thrpe years ^^^^ ^O leaVC of abfcnCC frOlTl
ablence trom i ^ • i • • i »
the province, thc laid provincc given by the go-
thrcover! vcmour, OF licutenant-govemour.
Hour's leave or commander in chief, of the fame,
il'met'fhatl"^' (though it (hall have been given in
have the ^me writing, and entered among the
priving a *^ records of the faid council, as is
incmbcr of above dire(fled) fhall enable any
the laid coun- , r i /- • i m
cii of his of- member oi the laid council to re-
tain his faid office of counfellor of
the faid province during more than
three years abfence from the fame :
but at the end of the faid three
years his faid office of counfellor
fhall ceafe and become vacant, and
he fhall be incapable of fitting and
voting in the faid council without
a new appointment to the faid office
of a counfellor of the faid province.
X. PROVIDED always, and
faid province IT IS HEREBY FURTHER
S*" le^gTfla. ENACTED, that in all other
live council, matters, not relating to the mak-
but only as a . ^ H ^
council of ad- mg, or palling, any laws, Itatutes,
vice and affif- qj. ordinances, for the faid province,
tancc to the i j •/' j rrn- 1
governour, it but to the adviliug and allilting the
Scnt^to fum" governour, or lieutenant-governour,
mon only or commaudcr in chief thereof, in
them^ih^c day ^^^ cxccutiou of thofc parts of the
before they commiffion of captain-gencral and
meet ; and le- . t ■ r r i r - ^
ven members govemour in chief oi the laid pro-
ftiaii be a fui- yincc in wliich the faid eovernour
iicient num- . ,. ^ , ^ - t t. i •
bet to do bu- IS directed to aa with the advice
*"^*"^- and
Where the
council oi thc
an
fai
th<
or,
nai
chi
bei
:-7T
e from
he go-
rrnour,
I fame,
iven in
ng the
, as is
le any
to re-
ellor of
re than
; fame :
I three
mfellor
It, and
ing and
without
d office
t
:^
r 73 ]
and affiftan^Je of the council of the
fame, it fliall not be neceflary for
the governour of the faid province,
or, in his abfence, for the lieute-
nant-jrovernour, or commander in
chief, of the fame, for the time
being, to fummon the whole le-
giflative council above-mentioned
by a proclamation publiOied in the
Quebeck Gazette fourteen days be-
fore the time appointed for the
meeting thereof, in the manner
above diredled : but it fhall be
fufficient for the faid governour,
or lieutenant-governour, or com-
mander in chief, of the faid pro-
vince for the time being, to fend
particular fummonfes in writing to
the feveral members of the faid
council who live in the town in
which the faid council is to be
affembled, or within the diflance
of two miles from it, or, (if there
are more than twelve of the mem-
bers of the faid council refident in
the faid town, or within the faid
diflance of it,) to any twelve of
the faid members that he ihall
think fit, on the day immediately
preceding that on which the faid
council is to be affembled : and,
L if
r
ilil
»
1'
mi,
M
>i ^
t 74 ]
if I'even, or more, of the faid coun-
fellors fo fummoned ihall attend
at the faid meeting, it fliall be
lawful for the faid governour of
the faid province, or, in his ab-
fence, for the lieutenant-govcr-
nour, or commander in chief, of
the fame, to proceed to the exe-
cution of the aforefaid parts of the
faid commiflion of captain-general
and governour in chief of the faid
province, by the advice and aflift-
ance of the faid feven, or more,
members of the faid council, or
the major part of them ^ any thing
herein before-mentioned to the
contrary hereof in any wife not-
withftanding.
f
A
I
i
:•¥'
"1
.1
A RE.
the
ii
i"?*.
.4
i
r^;
;
[ 75 1
I coun-
attend
lall be
our of
lis ab-
■gover-
lief, of
le exe-
of the
general
lie faid
I affift-
more,
icil, or
Y thing
to the
fe not-
"I
I
RE-
A REMARK concerning the Power
of Taxation in the faid Province.
IT remains to be confidered by whom the
taxes neceflary to be levied in this province
fliould be impolbd. Now this, it is appre-
hended, may befl be done by the parUament
of Great-Britain itfelf. A fmall duty of about
three-pence a gallon, upon fpirituous liquors
imported into the province from Great-Bri-
tain 5 another fomewhat larger (as, perhaps,
fix-pence a gallon,) upon thofe imported from
the Weft-India iflands ; and a third, larger
than either of the former, (as, perhaps, a
fliilling a gallon,) upon thofe imported from
the other Britifli colonies in North-America ;
and a moderate excife (of, perhaps, lix-pencc
a gallon,) upon thofe made in the province
itlelf j are generally confidered by perlons who
are acquainted with the faid province as the
littell taxes to be raifed in it. And many
people are of opinion that thefc taxes would
be ufeful to the laid province, not only in tiie
firft and moft obvious manner, to wit, by
producing a revenue for the maintenance of
its civil government, but alfo by checking tlic
great drunkenncfs that now prevails in it from
ihe immoderate ufc of fpirituous liquors by
^ the
^ii^i
I
V- i-
r, 'it '
[ 76 ]
the Canadians, which is the confequencc of
its pieient low price. Next to thelc duties,
many people arc of opinion that a certain
fm:.ll tax upon houfcs that was levied in the
time of tlie French government in the faid
province, and which is therefore, perhaps, in
ilrict nefs of law, already legally due to the
king's majefly, ought to he revived -, and that
a linall tax (of perhaps three fhillings a head
by the year,) ought to be impofed on fuper-
flucus horfes, of which it is generally allowed
there is much too great a number in this
province. When thefe, or any other more
convenient taxes, are once eflablifhed by a
competent authority, fuch as that of the Bri-
tidi parliament, it will, probably, not be ne-
cefTary to raife any more taxes for feveral
years ; perhaps for the whole time that this
above-mentioned legillative council fhall con-
tinue in the province : and therefore the
government of the province may be very well
carried on by the laid legiflative council,
though they are not inverted with a power
of t;ixation. I^at this is not the cafe with
the power of making laws and ordinances:
for that is a power which there will probably
be continual occafion to make ufe of for the
due regulation of the faid province : and
therefore there is a kind of nccefTity to dele-
gace that authority to foine relpedabie body
of men, (either council or alfembly,) re(iding
in the laid province.
And,
leg
me
th<
as
'4
[ 77 ]
And, if, (though it does not feem pro-
bable) it ihould become necelTary to lay any
further taxes upon the inhabitants of the faid
province during the continuance of the faid
legiflative council, and before the cflablifli-
rnent of a protelbint aflbnibly, in tlic finie,
the faid new taxes might be impofed, as well
as the firfl taxes above-mentioned, by the
authority of the Hritifli parliament : and, in
this cafe, it mi^ht be convenient, (in order to
furnifh tlie parliament with that d-^ree of
information concerning the jituation and cir-
cumflances of the fliid province, which would
be ncceflary to enable them to exercife this
power with judgment and ability,) that the
governour and Icgillativc council of the laid
province, whenever they thought that any
new tax ought to be im.pofed, Hiould draw up
a plan, or propofal, for the impofition of fuch
new tax, fetting forth the occalion there was
for raifmg money, the quantity of money
neceflary to be raifed, and their reafons for
advihng that it fhould be raifed by the parti-
cular tax which they propofe and recom-
mend : and that they fliould publilh the faid
plan, or propofal, in the Quebeck gazette,
for the information of the inhabitants of the
faid province, and to give them an opportu-
nity of remonllrating againft it, in caie they
difapprove it ; and at the lame time lliould
fend over a copy of it to his majefty's fecretary
of flate for America, to be laid before his
■m
inaititv
J .1
[ 78 ]
majcfty In council, nnJ, if approved of by
him, to be brought into the noufc of com-
mons, and palled into an ad: of parliament.
With thefe precautions it feems reafonable to
fuppofe that the property of the inhabitants
of this province would be as fecure againll: a
wanton, or injudicious, exercife of the power
of taxation, as if the taxes were to be granted
only by an aflembly of their own chufing.
In the month of June, 1774* an ad of par-
liament was palled for the government of the
province of Quebeck, by which a legillative
council of a different conftitution from that
above defcribed, was eflablilhed in the pro-
vince, and this for an indefinite length of
time. As this ad: has given much uneafinefs
to many of the inhabitants of that province,
and feems likely to give much more if it is
not either repealed or amended, it is judged
proper to recite it here at full length.
If r
An
. .'«;,i-
'f
':■ >4-\
[ 79 ]
of by
com-
iment.
ible to
3itants
linll: a
power
ranted
^
)f par-
of the
iflative
u that
e pro-
th of
lafinefs
vince,
f it is
udgcd
•^
An
An A£l for making more
cft'cdtual Provifion for the
Government of the Pro-
vince of Quebcck, in
North-America.
WHEREAS his majcfty, by ivcamhic.
his royal proclamation,
bearing date the feventh day of
Odobcr, in the third year of his
reign, thought fit to declare the
provilions which had been made
in refped: to certain countries,
territories, and illands in America,
ceded to his majefly by the defini-
tive treaty of peace, concluded at
Paris on the tenth day of Febru-
ary, one thoufand fcven hundred
and fixty- three : and whereas, by
the arrangements made by the faid
royal proclamation, a very large
extent of country, within which
there were feveral colonies and
fettlements of the fubjed:s of
France, who claimed to remain
therein under the faith of the faid
treaty, was left, without any pro-
vifion being made for the admini-
ilration of civil government thereins
aiid
^\-w
f.'M :
I-.
I So ]
and certain parts of the territory
of Cunadu, where fedentary fifhe-
ries had been ellabUflied and carried
on by the fubjedts of France, in-
habitants of the faid province of
Canada, under grants and concef-
fions from the government thereof,
were annexed to the government
of Newfoundland, and thereby
fubjeded to regulations inconfiftent
with the nature of fuch 5.fheries :
May it therefore pleafe your moft
excellent majefty that it may be
enadted ; and be it enacled by the
king's moft excellent majefty, by
and with the advice and confent of
the lords fpiritual and temporal,
and commons, in this prefent par-
liament afTembled, and by the
authority of the fame. That all
the territories, iflands, and coun-
in North-A- trics in North-America, belonging
"onging to" to the crown of Great-Britain,
Great Brhain, bounded on the fou.h by a line
from the bay of Chaleurs, along
the high lands which divide the
rivers that empty themfelves into
the riv'!r Saint Lawrence from thofe
which fall into the fea, to a point
in forty-five degrees of northern
latitude, on the eallern bank of
the river Connedticut, keeping the
fame
Ihc territo
ries, iflands
and countries
."■1
\
al(
.>!f,:
iit
■1
|;
rritoiy
fifhe-
carried
:e, in- |
nee of -
:oncef-
bereof.
•nment
hereby
ififtent
Series :
r mod
lay be ';
by the |
[ty, by '
ifent of
iporal, ^
It par- J
»y the
iat all
coun- '
)nging 4
ritain, -4
I line 1
along 1
e the 1
> into 1
thole i
point
thern
ik of :l
gthe .
lame . |
1
[ 8i ]
iame latitude diredly weft, through
the lake Champlain, until, in the
fame latitude, it meets the river
Saint Lawrence ; from thence up
the eaftern bank of the faid river
to the lake Ontario j thence through
the lake Ontario, and the river
commonly called Niagara ; and
thence along by the eaftern and
fouth-eaftern bank of lake Erie,
following the fiiid bank, until the
fame ftiall be interfedted by the
northern boundary, granted by the
charter of the province of F^enfyl-
vania, in cafe the fame ftiall be fo
interfedled ; and from thence along
the faid northern and weftern bcm-
daries of the faid province, until the
faid weftern boundary ftrike the
Ohio : but in cafe the faid bank of
the faid lake ftiall not be found to
be fo interfedted, then following
the faid bank until it ftiall arrive at
that point of the faid bank which
ftiall be neareft to the north- weftern
angle of the faid ^province of Pen-
fylvania, and thence, by a right
line, to the faid north-wcftern angle
of the laid province j and thence
along the weftern boundary of the
faid province, until it ftrike the
ri\er Ohio ; and along the bank of
''M
I
M
the
[ 82 ]
'm
«'
'* V *■
fn
annexed to
the piovince
ot Quebec.
Not to affcdl
the bdiuid,!-
ries of any
other colony ;
nor to ma!:e
void other
rights foimer-
]y granted.
tlie lliid liver, weflward, to tlie
banks of the JVIiHiirippi, and north-
WLird to the ibuthern boundary of
the territory granted to the mer-
chants adventurers of England,
trading to Hudfon's Bay i and aUb
all fuch territories, illands, and
countries, v/hich have, fince the
tenth of February, one thouilind
{even hundred and fixty-three, been
made part of the government of
Newfoundland, be, and they are
hereby, during his majefty's plea-
furc, annexed to, and made part
and parcel of, the province of Que-
beck, as created and eftabliflied by
the faid royal proclamation of the
fevcnth of 0<5tober, one thoufand
fcven hundred and fixty-three.
Provided always. That nothing
herein contained, relative to the
boundary of the province of Qiie-
beck, fhall in anywife affedl the
boundaries of anv ot) cr colony.
Provided always, a;id be it en-
ad;ed. That nothing in this adt
contained Ihall extend, or be con-
llrued to extend, to make void, or
to vary or alter any right, title, or
pofTcflion, derived under any grant,
conveyance, or othcrwife hov/fo-
evcr, of or to any lands v/ithin the
{liid
iT
J
t
by
to
'linl
[ 83 ]
find province, or the provinces
thereto adjoining; but that the
llune fliall remain and be in force,
and have effect, as if this adl had
never been made.
And whereas the provifions, made Former prrw..
by the flud proclaniution, inrcfpeft f,:";,;; :,; '^
to the civil government of the faid to he null an i
province of Qncbeck, and the )^"'^j^'',L.
powers and authorities given to the
governour and other civil officers
of the faid province, by the grants
and commilTions ilTued in confc-
quence thereof, have been found,
upon experience, to be inapphcablc
to tile ilate and circumflances of
the faid province, the inhabitants
whereof amounted, at the conqueif,
to above fixty-five thoufand perfons
profeffing the religion of the church
of Rome, and enjoying an efla-
blifhed form of conftitution and
fyflem of laws, by which their
perfons and property had been pro-
tedcd, governed, and ordered, for
a long feries of years, from the firit
elhibliihment of the faid province
of Canada ; be it therefore further
enaded by the authority aforefaid.
That the faid proclamation, fo far
as the fame relates to the faid pro-
vince of (^lebeck, and the rom-
M 2 miffion
■ ^^
I 'I
ft
iia
I jVB
Hr i'
.-..f V
'^ vi 1
it ni
urn:
If'
■ V ,1 "
I- K
'l I
[ 84 ]
miflion under the authority where-
of the government of the faid pro-
vince is at prefent Jvdminiftered,
and all and every the ordinance and
ordinances made by the governour
and council of Quebeck for the
time being, relative to the civil
government and adminiftration of
juftice in the faid province, and all
commiilions to judges and other
officers thereof, be, and the fame
are hereby revoked, annulled, and
made void, from and after the firll
day of May, one thoufand feven
hundred and feventy-five.
And, for the more perfedl fecu-
rity and eafe of the minds of the
gion.'fubjedi* inhabitants of the faid province, it
to the king's is hereby declared, that his ma-
hyASiEhZ jefty's fubjeds, profeffing the reli-
gion of the church of Rome of
and in the faid province of Que-
beck, may have, hold, and enjoy,
the free exercife of the religion of
the church of Rome, fubject to the
king's fuprcmacy, declared and
eftablifhed by an a£l, made in the
firft year of the reign of queen Eli-
zabeth, over all the dominions and
countries which then did, or there-
after fliould belong, to the imperial
crown
Inhabitants of
Quebeck may
profefs the
hei
where-
lid pro-
iftered,
ice and
/ernour
for the
e civil
Ltion of
and all
1 other
le fame
:d, and
the firll
1 feven
fl fecu-
of the
nee, it
is ma-
le reli-
)me of
f Que-
enjoy,
gion of
to the
d and
in the
en EH-
>ns and
there-
nperial
crown
[ 85 ]
crown of this realm ; and that the
clergy of the faid church may hold,
receive, and enjoy, their accuftomed
dues and rights, with refped to fuch
perfons only as fhall profefs the faid
religion.
Provided neverthelefs. That it
fhall be lawful for his majefty, his
heirs or fuccefTors, to make fuch
provifion out of the reft of the faid
accuftomed dues and rights, for the
encouragement of the proteftant
religion, and for the maintenance
and fupport of a proteftant clergy
within the faid province, as he or
they fhall, from time to time, think
neceflary and expedient.
Provided always, and b^ it en-
adled. That no perfon, profefTing
the religion of the church of Rome,
and refiding in the faid province,
fhall be obliged to take the oath
required by the faid ftatute pafted
in the firft year of the reign of
queen Elizabeth, or any other oaths
fubftituted by any other ad in the
place thereof; but that every fuch
perfon who, by the faid ftatute is
required to take the oath therein
mentioned, fhall be obliged, and
is hereby required, to take and
fubfcribe the following oath before
the
and the clergy
enjoy their
accu Homed
dues.
Provifion may
be made by
his Majefty
for the fup'
port of the
proteftant
clergy.
No perfon
profclling the
Romifh reli-
gion obliged
to take the
oaih of I Elir.
but to take,
before the
governour,
&c. the fol-
lowing oath.
I
i
c ■•; -
f4m
!»!f|'i.
J ''■
iii^
The onih.
[ 86 ]
the governour, or fuch other per-
fon in fuch court of record as his
majefly fhall appoint, who are
hereby authorifed to adminifter the
fame; videlicet.
I
A. B. do fincerely promife and
fwear. That I will be faithful,
and bear true allegiance to his ma-
jefly king George, and him will de-
fend to the utmofl: of my power,
againft all traiterous confpiracies,
and attempts whatfoever, which
fhall be made againfl his pcrfon,
crown, and dignity; and I will do
my utmofl endeavour to difclofe
and make known to his majefty,
his heirs and fucceffors, all trea-
fons, and traiterous confpiracies,
and attempts, which I (hall know
to be againfl him, or any of them;
and all this 1 do fwear without
any equivocation, mental evafion,
or fecret refervation, and renoun-
cing all pardons and difpenfations
from any power or perfon whom-
foever to the contrary.
So help me GOD.
Pcrfons rcfu- And cvcry fuch perfon, who lliall
?"?'^ini?t^^'r nededl or refufe to take the faid
to be luiJjecc C3
to ii.e penal- oath before mentioned, fhall incur
^^ '"^^^ ' '^^^ ^^ liable to the fame penalties,
forfeitures.
forft
W:
[ 87 ]
forfeitures, difabilities, and inca-
pacities, as he would have incurred
and been liable to for negle^^ting or
refufing to take the oath required
by the laid Itatutc palTed in the firil
year of the reign of queen Eliza-
beth.
x^nd be it further ena(51ed by the iiisMr.ay"^
authority aforefaid. That all his l^^^^^^^^:;:
majefty's Canadian fubjcdts, within orders exltp.
the province of Quebcck, there- ^J]^J,;i!i?p'::;''^
lieious orders and communities ieiJic»ni, fcc
only excepted, may alfo hold and
enjoy their property and pofleiiions,
together with all cuilomsand ufages
relative thereto, and all other their
civil rights, in as large, ample, and
beneficial manner, as if the faid
proclamation, commiflions, ordi-
nances, and other ads and inllru-
ments, had not been made, and as
may confift with their allegiance to
his majefty, and fubjedtion to the
crown and parliament of Great-
Britain ; and that in all matters of
controverfy, relative to property
and civil rights, relbrt fliall be had
to the laws of Canada, as the rule
for the decifioQ of the fame ; and
all caiifcs that Ihall hereafter be
inllituted in any of the courts of
juflice, to be appointed w^ithin and
for
anJ in nnt'
teis of con-
tr.)vcrfy, v:-
(ore to be hai!
ro xbr. laws of
C'aiuiu.i for thff
dcciiiyr .
t^-f
ri . H
1 'K
\i :
Not to extend
to lands
granted by
his Majefly
in common
foccage.
Owners of
goods may
slienate the
fame by wii],
&c.
[ 88 ]
for the faid province, by his ma-
jefly, his heirs and fiicceflbrs, rtiall,
with refpedl to fuch property and
rights, be determined agreeably to
the faid laws and cuftoms of Ca-
nada, until they fhall be varied or
altered by any ordinances that (hall,
from time to time, be palTed in the
faid province by the governour,
lieutenant-governour, or comman-
der in chief, for the time beine,
by and with the advice and conlent
of the legiflative council of the
fame, to be appointed in manner
herein after mentioned.
Provided always. That hothinn;
in this ad: contained Ihall extend,
or be conftrued to extend, to any
lands that have been granted by
his majefty, or (hall hereafter be
granted by his majefty, his heirs
and fuccelTors, to be hoi den in free
and common foccage.
Provided alfoy That it fhall and
may be lawful to and for every per-
fon that is owner of any lands,
goods, or credits, in the faid pro-
vince, and that has a right to alie-
nate the faid lands, goods, or cre-
dits, in his or her life-time, by
deed of fale, gift, or otherwife, to
devife or bequeath the fame at his
i
«;i
ini
h(
in|
eil
Ci
pn
or
US ma- H
;, fliall, H
rty and H
ably to H
tried or H
itfhall, ■
[ in the H
ernour, H
mnian- |l
being,
conient
of the
manner ^^
lothlno;
extend.
to any
ted by
fter be
s heirs
in free
all and
ry per- |
lands.
d pro-
alie- 1
or ere- 5
le, by
''ife, to
at his
or %
vince.
[ 89
or her death, by his or her laft will
and tefhment ; any law, ufage, or
cullom, heretofore or now prevail-
ing in the province, to the contrary
hereof in any-wife notwithftand-
ing; fuch will being executed, if executed
either according to the laws of ;heTaw"Vf°
Canada, or according to the forms Canada.
prefcribcd by the laws of England.
And whereas the certainty and Criminal law
lenity of the criminal law of Eng- ^e comfnucd^
land, and the benefits and advan- ''? ^'^*= Pilo-
tages refulting from the ufe of it,
have bcei\ fenfibly felt by the in-
habitants, from an experience of
more than nine years, during which
it has been uniformly adminillered;
be it therefore further enaifled by
the authority aforefaid. That the
fame fliall continue to be admi-
niftered, and fhall be obferved as
law in the province of Quebeck,
as rtell in the defcription and qua-
lity of the offence as in the method
of profecution and trial and the
punifliments and forfeitures there-
by infli<5ted ; to the exclufion of
every other rule of criminal law,
or mode of proceeding thereon,
which did or might prevail in the
faid province before the year of our
Lord one thoufand feven hundred
N and
?!
' i
)
l^i
4 i *'
m
His Majcrty
may appoint
a council for
[ 90 ]
and lixty-foiir ; any thing In this
adl to the contrary thereof in any
refped notwitlilh\nding; fubjeC.t
ncverthelefs to Inch alterations and
amendments as the governour, lieu-
tcnant-governour, or commander
in chief for the time being, by and
with the advice and confent of the
legillative council of the faid pro-
vince, hereafter to be appointed,
fliall, from time to time, caufc to
be made therein, in manner herein-
after directed.
And whereas it may be necellary
to ordain many regulations for the
the affairs of luturc wcltare and good govern-
thc province j nie^t of the provlncc of Quebeck,
the occalions of which cannot now
be forefeen, nor, without much
delay and inconvenience, be pro-
vided for, without intrufting that
authority, for a certain time, and
under proper reflridlions, to per-
fons relident there : And whereas
it is at prefent inexpedient to call
an afl'embly; be it therefore eii-
aded by the authority aforefaid.
That it fhall and may be lawful
for his maj elly, his heirs and fuc-
ceflbrs, by warrant under his or
their fignet or fign manual, and
with the advice of the privy coun-
cil,
'r' i! '"i' ''
Hi
hi
4
I
[ 9' ]
cil, to continue and appoint ;i
council for the affairs of the pro-
vince of Quebeck, to confiil ol'
fiich perfons refidcnt there, not
cYcceding twcnty-tlirce, nor lefs
than feventeen, as his majefty, his
heirs and fuccefTors, fliall beplcafed
to appoint ; and, upon the death, wiiich coun-
removal, or abfence o{ any of the ^'1 '"^y miht
members or the laid council, in witn c.>iiicii;
like manner to conftitute and ap- °oir|^ ^'^''""
point fuch and fo many other pcr-
\on or perfons as fliall be necellary
to fiipply the va( ancy or vacancies;
which council, I'o appointed and
nominated, or the major part there-
of, (hall have power and authority
tr) make ordinances fc^'^^the peace,
wclfirc, and good government, of
the fiid province, with the confent
ol' his majeily's governour, or, in
his abfence, of the lieutenant-go-
vernonr, or commander in chief
U)V the time being.
Provided always. That nothing Thccoiuic
It
in this a^'l contained fliall extend pow"'cd lo
to authorifc or impower the laid lay caxcs,
legillative council to lay any taxes
or duties within the laid province,
fuch rates and taxes only excepted
as the inliabitants ot any town or or buiidin-^s
di.'^rict within the laid province excepted.''
i- '.>1
N 2
may
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Photographic
Sciences
Corporation
33 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580
(716) 873-4503
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Ordinances
made to be ^
laid before his
Majelly for
his approba-
tion.
Ordinances
touching reli-
gion not to be
in force with-
out his Ma-
jcfty's appro-
bation.
[ 92 ]
may be authorifed by the faid coun-
cil to affefs, levy, and apply, with-
in the faid town or diftrid, for the
purpofe of making roads, ere6ting
and repairing publick buildings,
or for any other purpofe refpedling
the local convenience and oecono-
my of fuch town or diftrid.
Provided alfo, and be it ena(fted
by the authority aforefaid. That
every ordinance fo to be made,
fhall, within fix months, be tranf-
mitted by the governour, or, in his
abfence, by the lieutenant-gover-
nour, or commander in chief for
the time being, and laid before his
majefty for his royal approbation ;
and if his rr^jefty Ihall think fit to
difallow tRereof, the fame fhall
ceafe and be void from the time
that his majefty's order in council
thereupon fhall be promulgated at
Quebeck.
Provided alfo. That no ordinance
touching religion, or by which any
punifhment may be inflidled greater
than fine or imprifonment for three
months, fhall be of any force or
effed, until the fame fhall have
received his majcAy's approba-
tion.
Provided
(hi
tU
joi
fei
th(
da.)
un
5 ]<!■•,(;, Al"''
1 coun-
, with-
for the
Tefting
ildings,
pedling
tecono-
enaded
, That
made,
2 tranf-
•, in his
-gover-
lief for
fore his
bation ;
k fit to
e fhall
e time
uouncil
ated at
linancc
ch any
greater
)r three
3rce or
1 have
proba-
ovidcd
.:-.4.
■ii
1
[ 93 ]
Provided alfo, That no ordinance
fhall be palled at any meeting of
the council where lefs than a ma-
jority of the whole council is pre-
fent, or at any time except between
the firft day of January and the firfl:
day of May, unlefs upon fome
ureent occafion, in which cafe
every member thereof rcfident at
Quebeck, or within fifty miles
thereof, fhall be perfonally fum-
moned by the governour, or, in
his abfence, by the lieutenant-go-
vcrnour, or commander in chief
for the time being, to attend the
fame.
And be it further enadlcd by the
authority aforefaid. That nothing
herein contained iliall extend, or
be conftrued to extend, to prevent
or hinder his majeliy, his heirs and
liiccelibrs, by his or their letters
patent under the great feal of Great-
Britain, from creeling, conllitut-
ing, and appointing, luch courts of
criminal, civil, and ecclefiallical
jurifdid:ion within and for the faid
province of Quebeck, and appoint-
ing, from time to time, the judges
and officers thereof, as his ma-
jcfty, his heirs and fucceffors, fliall
think
M f'
When ord:-
rances are to
be pailed by a
majority.
Nothing to
hinder hi«
Maicfty to
conltitute
courts of" cri-
minal, civil,
and ecclefia-
ftical juril'dic*
tion.
m
k
:/.! '
■•r 'U'
i
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ill '
^;4H
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ill
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:':i!^)^
[ 94 ]
think neceflary and proper for the
circumftances of the faid province.
All afts for- Provided always, and it is hereby
rnerly made , ^ ^i • • ^u- A
are hereby in- enacted, That nothing in this adt
("J'^iutnt'" contained fnall extend, or be con-
xnc province* /•% * i « «
ftrued to extend, to repeal or make
void, within the faid province of
Quebeck, any ad or a^f's of the
parliament of Great-Bri uan
tofore made, for prohibinn;
ftraining, or regulating, t'lc iv: ; •
or commerce of his mije ty ? co-
lonies and plantations in A.nerica ;
but that all and every the laid a'5. ' ,
and alfo all adts of parlijin ut
heretofore made concerning or re-
fpedling the faid colonies and plan-
tations, fhall be, and are hereby
declared to be, in force, within
the faid province of Quebeck, and
every part thereof.
Ti. ''*P —
p_
■i 'i'-
The difference between the legillative coun-
cil propofed above in the draught of an adl of
parliament which was prepared by Mr. Maferes,
and approved by MefTrs. Walker and Paterfon,
and that which is eflablifhed by the foregoing
adt of parliament, will bell appear by com-
paring them together, article by article, in
ibme fuch manner as the following.
rlan
iii'iii. .
ik' i
3r the
vince.
lereby
lis adt
i con-
• make
nee of
^f the
h"*e-
' y '^-.
.'. "* -^
1 erica ;
d a'5-.-,
[Jirifiit
or re-
i pian-
lereby
within
and
coiin-
adof
aleres,
erfon,
'going
com-
;le, in
rlan
[ 95 ]
Plan of a Legiflative Council for the
Government of the Province of
^eiecky propofed by Mr. Ma/eres^
and approved by Mr. Thomas Wal-
ker^ of Mo7jtrealy and Mr. John
Paterfon^ of ^lebeckj Efigiiflj Mer-
chants of eminence fettled in thofe
Towns.
I. 'TpO confift of thirty-one members, all
•^ proteftantg, and thirty years old.
REASONS.
Becaufe if Roman-Catholicks are admitted
; into the council, there is no good pretence for
not having an aflembly, agreeably to the king's
proclamation and commillions to general Mur-
ray and general Carleton.
The large number thirty-one is in order to
give weight to the proceedings of the council.
The age of thirty years is fettled for the fame
reafon, as nothing would make the council more
I contemptible than filling it with young fellows
I of two or three and twenty.
I II. To continue for only feven years.
i REASON.
; This is to keep in view the king's promife of
I calling an aflembly as foon as the circumftances
I of the province will admit thereof.
III.
Uil
V.J. -i
,]!i- \ ■'■h.
''■I
^[i^i^iy
c
u
H '
[ 96 ]
III. Not to have the power of impofing
taxes.
REASON.
Becaufe this power, though not in itfclf greater
than that oF making laws for the province, is
thought to be more liable to be abuled.
IV. Seventeen members (hail be neceflary
to do bufinefs.
REASON.
This is to prevent the governours from pafling
ordinances in councils compofed of their
favourites and dependants.
V. The members who vote for any ordi-
nance (hall fet their names to it in the coun-
cil-book.
REASON.
This is to make them cautious what ordi-
nances they confent to.
VI. A fortnight's notice to be given in the
Quebeck Gazette before every meeting of the
council for legiflativc purpoles.
REASON.
This is to prevent the governour from aflem-
bling the council fuddenly, when only his fa-
vourites and dependants are at hand, and likely
to attend it.
VII. The members of the council to be
paid a fum not exceeding forty (hillings each
lot every time tliey attend the council upon
lei^iflative
V\ 1 •
pofmg
greater
ice, is
ceffary
pafling
their
f ordi-
; coun-
t ordi-
ill the
of the
aflem-
his fa-
likely
to be
[S each
upon
[iflative
[ 97 ]
iegillative bufinefs : with a provlfo that, if the
attendances are more than fifty in a year, no
member (hall receive above lool. on that ac-
count.
REASON.
This is to Induce the members to attend the
council in confiderable numbers, fo that there may
be ufually twenty-four or twenty-five members
prefent at the pafling of an ordinance ; to the
end that the ordinances may have the greater
weight with the people, an4 be the more readily
obeyed. Without fome fuch provifion, it is to
be feared that the council would not be well
attended.
VIII. Abfence from the province for a year
without the governour's leave, or for a year
beyond the time allowed by his leave, fliaJl
make the perfon fo abfenting himfelf ceafe to
be a counfellor.
IX. Abfence from the province for three
years, even with the governour's leave, or re-
peated leaves, for the whole time, fhall make
the perfon fo abfenting himfelf ceafe to be a
counfellor.
X. Every member of the council fliall have
a right to bring a bill into the council, as well
as to aflent to one brought in by the govcr-
nour.
O
REA^
'n 1
m
[ 9^5 ]
^'f 'f
„4;l"
REASON.
Bccaufc without this power the proceeding;'
of the council would be too much under the
dircdion of the governour.
XI. But the governour (liall liave a negative
to a bill propofed by the council.
XII. The counfeilors to be appointed by the
king, and removed by him at his plcafure by
his order in his privy council, but not by his
fignet and fign manual -, and not to be remove-
able, or fufpendible, at all by the governour.
REASON.
The counfeilors are made thus independent
of the governour, to the end that they may
adl freely according to their judgements in the
exercifc of their legillative authority, without
implicitly obeying the diredions of the gover-
nour through the fear of being difplaced ; and
alfo to the end that the people may believe that
they adl with this freedom and independance,
and refped them and the ordinances they pafs,
on that account. I am confident that coun-
feilors that may be removed or fufpended by
the governour will never be fuppoled by the
generality of the people to adt freely and in-
dependantly, (whatever, from their particular
difpofitions of mind, they may really do,) and
confequently will never be refpeded by them,
nor their ordinances chearfully obeyed. The
depen dance on the king's pleafure, to be exer-
ciled in his privy council, is quite another thing.
XII.
m.
the
t 99 ]
XIII. Where the council is aflcmhlcd as a
council of ftate only, and not as a legiilative
council, it (hall be fufHcient to fummon only
twelve of the counfellors (fuch twelve as the
governour (hall think fit,) one day before the
meeting of the council ; and feven counfellors
fliall be a fufficient number to do bufmcfs.
REASON.
It might be very inconvenient and the caufe
of much delay, to reft rain the governour from
doing thofe executive duties of his office, to
which the concurrence of the council is made
necefTary by his commiflion, without aflembling
the whole council in the manner above pre-
icribed.
This is the plan of a legiflative council pro-
pofed two years ago by Mr. Maferes and ap-
proved by MefTrs. Walker and Paterfon. It
might perhaps be a proper addition to it, to
provide that the governour and four fifths of the
council might, if they thought it necelTary, fuf-
pend a member of the council till his Majefty's
plcafure about removing him was known.
O 2
View
m
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,: I-
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I '00 ]
View of the Legiflative Council for
the Government of the Province of
Rebeck eftablillicd by the late Ad
of Parliament.
I. 'T^O confift either of Seventeen members,
-*- or of twenty -three members, or of any
intermediate number of members at the king's
pleafure. And they may be all papifts, or even
popifh priefts, if the king (hall fo pleafe ; and
of any age the king fhall pleafe above twenty-
one years.
REMARK.
It is faid that his majefly has, fince the paHing
of this ad of parliament, eftablilhed a legiflative
council of twenty-'three members, of whom
feven are Canadians and Roman-Catholicks, to
wit, Monfieur de la Naudicre, Monfieur de
Rigauville, Monfieur de Saint Ours, Monfieur
Centre coeur, Monfieur Beleftre, Monfieur de
Lery, and Monfieur La Corne de Saint Luc.
Now, fince his majefty, in his royal wifdom,
has thought fit to make this new council confift
of twenty-three members rather than of feven-
teen, and to chufc only feVcn of the twenty-
three from amongfl: his Roman-Catholick fub-
jcds in that province, and thofe all laymen,
it feems reafonable to defire that the number
oi the counfellors in this new legiflature fhould
be fixed by ad of parliament to be at leafi:
twenty-
m
[ '01 ]
twenty-three, and that the number of Roman-
Ca.iiolick members of it fliould be fixed at
fevcn, which are the numbers chofen by his
majcfty, and that it fliould be provided that the
latter fliall all be laymen. For if this is thebeft
method of conftituting the new council, it is
obvious that it would be better for the piovince,
and more agreeable to the nature of a free go-
vernment and the notions of people who have
been ufed to one, that this bell method fliould
be ftridly prcfcribcd by a pofitive law than he
left to the dilci ction, or arbitrary choice, of the
perfon who wears the crown, which, though
it is now enjoyed by a wife and beneficent mo-
narch, may devolve hereafter upon perfons of
a ditTerent charadcr. The principal difference
between a free and an abfolute government con-
fills in this i that in the former the fubjeds en-
joy their liberty and property, and other advan-
tages of civil fociety, by virtue of the law alone,
without being obliged for them to the humanity
or difcretion of any man or fet of men whatfo-
ever, but in the latter they hold them at the
pleafure of the lovereign. The number there-
lore of the counfellors in this new legiflature
ought to be fixed by a pofitive law to be at leall
twenty-three, inflead of being left to vary be-
tween the numbers of feventeen and twenty-
three, as the king for the time being fliall think
fit : and the number of Roman-Catholick coun-
fellors ought in like manner to be fixed, fo as
not to exceed feven, with a provifion that they
iliall all be laymen.
But
• ^':.
'-^'/if^''^
ma
i;i''l
til!'"'
[ '02 ]
Put I will venture to go one ftep further, and
to atlirm, that the number of the members of
this Icgiflative council ought to be incrcafed to
thirty-one. For, if it fliould be pofliblc to find
eight perfons more in the province, over and
above the twenty-three counfellors already ap-
j>ointed, that arc fit to be members of this
council, I prcfume it will hardly be denied that
it will be beneficial to the province that thefe
eight perfons Ihould be added to the council ;
fmcc it is obvious that a council confifting of
thirty-one members is more likely to adl with
freedom and independency, and to know the
liitc and condition of the province, and confe-
quently is a fitter fubflitutc for a general afTem-
bly of the people, than one that confifts of fewer
jncnibers, the individual members of both be-
ing fuppofed to poflefs the fame degrees of merit
and ability. It is therefore only necefiary to
ihew that eight, or more, perfons may be found
ill the province who may be reckoned worthy
to be members of this council, and who are by
no means inferiour to fome of the perfons already
admitted into it. Now this, I prefume, may
be fafely affirmed of the following perlons,
who are none of them as yet members of the
council. In the firfl: place, there are two, or
more, new judges, who are now going into the
province; who, if they are fit tor the great
othces they are to fill (as I do not doubt they
are, and know one of them to be in an emi-
nent degree,) muft alfo be Angularly fit to be
membersi
[
103
]
members of this legiflative council. In the
next place, there arc Mr. Dii Mas Saint Martin,
and Mr. Dii Calvct, two protcftant gentlemen
of Montreal, who were fettled there in the time
of the French government, and who have aded
as jufticcs of the peace for that diftridl with
greaf diligence and integrity for many yoarc,
and are very much refpedcd in the province,
and the latter of whom is not only ma^er of z
fortune that makes him independent, but p«l-
felTed like wife of a great independency of i'pirit
and temper that renders him peculiarly fit to
be a member of a Icgillative body that is not
intended to be totally fubfervient to the govcr-
nour. In the next place, there is Mr. Marttiil,
a native of Old France, and a protellant, who
had quitted France and fettled in England long
before the conqueft of Canada, and who tor
many years together difchargcd the ofiice of a
juftice of the peace for the diflridt of Queheck
with great activity, and the utmoft purity of
charadler, (and this at a time when that office
had a civil jurifdidlion annexed to it in matters
under the value of five pounds of the currency
of the province, or 3I. 15 s. fterling,) and who
of late years has held the office of a judge of
the court of common-pleas at Montreal with
the fame good reputation ; by the exercife of
which offices he is become intimately well ac-
quainted with the fentiments, the manners, the
wants and wifhes, of the general body of the
Canadian as well as Englifli inhabitants of the
province.
■
VR
1
* * * vl'^aJf'
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♦ 4
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I 104 1
-Viiit
•>y>':
province. In the next place, there are Mr.Thortias
Walker of Montreal, and Mr. John PaterfoA of
Quebeck, two eminent merchants of excellent
underftanding and character. The former of
thefe was appointed a juftice of the peace for
the diftridt of Montreal by governour Murray ;
and while he a<fted in that office, was much
refpeded for the integrity of his conduct in it
by all ranks of people, and was extremely be-
lov.ed by the Canadians, and confidered" by
them as their patron and protedor. He was,
as every body knows, aflaulted, and mod
cruelly wounded, and left for dead, by eight
or nine armed ruffians in difguife, on the 6th
of December, 1764, in confequence (as is
moft probable,) of a difpute he had had with
fome gentlemen of the 28th regiment of foot,
who were then quartered at Montreal, concern-
ing the manner of billeting the officers and
Ibldiers on the inhabitants, and of the great zeal
he had (hewn to redtify fome abufes and op-
preffivc pradtices in that bufinefs which had
been the fubjedt of much complaint at that
time. His whole condudt on this occafion
(hewed his courage and his publick fpirit in
endeavouring to correct: thofe abufes. But it
was attended with many unfortunate confe-
quences to himfelf. Amongft others it pro-
duced his difmiffion from the office of a juftice
of the peace by governour Murray, who had
appointed him to it. This dilmiffion Was the
cffcd of the governour's refentment for fome
complaints
[
10
1
complaints Mr. Walker had made againfl hlui
for not endeavouring with fufficient activity
(as he thought,) to difcovsr and bring to juftice
the ruffians by whom he had been fo ill treated.
But it was not approved by the king's majefly.
For Mr. Walker, in the fpring of the year 1766,
obtained a letter from general Conway, (at that
time fecretary of ftate for that department which
comprehended America,) to general Murray,
or the commander in chief of the province for
the time being, informing him that it was his
majefty's pleafure that Mr. Walker fliould be
reftored to the office of a jufticc of the peace.
But neverthelefs it is a fadt, (however ftrange it
may appear,) that Mr. Walker has never been
fo reftored from that time to the prefent day.
Thefe cruel and unmerited misfortunes, which
have arifen chiefly from his publick fpirit, feem
to be a realbn for advancing him to the office
of a member of this legiflative council, for
which his good underftanding and independent
temper peculiarly qualify him. In the next place,
there is Mr. Jourdain of Montreal, a perfon of
good fenfe, in good circumftances, and much
refpeded there : and at Quebeck there is Mr.
Richard Murray, who is a man of good fenlc,
good temper and charader, and who has mar-
ried a Canadian woman. And to thefe it may
perhaps be proper to add, for the honour ami
fnpport of the proteftant religion, the reverentl
Mr. Montmollin, the proteftant mlnifter of the;
church of England at Qucbcck, and the
P rcvcrciul
« ■■L mm \
mm
■m
[ Jo6 J
reverend Mr. Do Lifle, the proteftant minidcr
of the church of England at Montreal.
Perhaps alio it might be proper to add, for
the fake of preferving a friendly intercourlc
between the military gentlemen and the civil
inhabitants of the province, (which is now
happily reftored, by the moderation and good
behaviour of the troops, after the unfortunate
interruption of it for lome years by the aflault
upon Mr. Walker, and the proceedings fubfe-
quent thereto,) I fay, perhaps it might be pro-
per to add, for this important reafon, the two
commanding officers of the troops at Quebeck
and Montreal. Yet I mention this with fome
hefitation, as I apprehend many lovers of li-
berty in the province will be of a different opi-
nion. Thefe are no lefs than thirteen perfons,
all proteftants, mofl of whom, I doubt not,
will be allowed by perfons acquainted with the
province to be fit to be members of this council.
And I am perfuaded that feveral more fuch
might be mentioned by gentlemen who have
been lately in the province, and who are bet-
ter acquainted than I am with its prefent flate
and inhabitants. But if only eight of thefe
perfons are fit to be made members of this
council, it is fufficient to fupport what is above
advanced, that the number of its members
ought to be increafed to thirty-one.
1 will venture to obferve further concerning
this legiflative council, that, if it is intended to
be any check upon the power of the governours
of
[ 107 ]
of the province, and not to a£l in compleat
fublcrvicnce to their diredions, the members of
it, or at leaft fome of them, ought to be ap-
pointed by the recommendation of other perfons
than the governour of the province, and to be
fuch perfons as are known to be of independent
tempers and principles, and not hkeiy to com-
ply, againft their judgments, with the dicftates
of the governours : and that this is the only way
by which the legiflative council can be rendered
refpedable in the eyes of the people, and their
ordinances find a ready and chearful obedience
from them.
II. This council is to continue for an inde-
finite time, or till another adt of parliament
fhail put an end to it.
REMARK.
This removes the profpedl of having an
aflembly to an indefinite diilance, fo as almoft
to defiroy all hopes of it. And, further, this
indefinite continuance of the legiflative council
is contrary to what is dated as fit to be done in
this very a6t in the preamble to this claufe. For
that preamble mentions the neceflity of intrud-
ing the legiflative authority of the province, for
a certain time^ to perfons refident therein. See
above, page 90. Why therefore is it intruded
to thofe perfons by the claufe itfelf y^r an uncer-
tain^ or indefinite^ time?
III. Not to have the power of impofing
taxes, except in certain cafes.
P 2 RE-
t Jo8 ]
Uik... '•
imi
im ■ 1
REMARK.
The exception is pretty large, and loofely
worded.
IV. A majority of the whole number fhall
be neceflary to do bufinefs ; that is, nine mem-
bers, if the council confifts of feventeen, and
twelve, if it confifts of twenty-three. "
REMARK.
This number is confiderably lefs than feven-
teen, and therefore their ordinances will be lefs
regarded by the people.
V. The members who vote for any ordi-
nance are not required to fign their names to it.
VI. No notice is required to be given in the
Quebeck Gazette of the meetings of the council
any number of days before-hand.
VII. No provifion is made in the zOl for
paying the counfellors for their attendance at
the councils, in order to induce them to attend
in confiderable numbers.
REMARK.
It is indeed faid to be the intention of the
miniftry to give the counfellors a falary of one
hundred pounds a year a-piece. But this is not
to depend upon their diligence in attending the
councils, and therefore will have little, or no,
effe<5t in procuring a numerous attendance. Nor
is it ealy to fee of what benefit to the pro-
vince this manner of beftowing two thoufand
three hundred pounds a year of the public
money
[
109
]
money is likely to prove. The obvious ten-
dency of it is to make the counfellors exceedingly
dependent on the govcrnour, and fubfervient to
his inclinations.
VIII. It is faid in the adl that upon the
death, removal, or abfence of any one of the
counfellors it fliall be lawful for the king to
make another counfellor to fupply fuch va-
cancy.
REMARK.
By this claufe it (hould feem that any ab-
fence from the province, (even with the go-
vernour's leave) for any time how (hort foever,
will vacate a counfellor's feat in the council.
Yet this can hardly be fuppofed to be the in-
tention of the makers of the adl. This claufe
therefore ftands in need of a fuller and more
diftindt explication.
IX. It is not provided by the a£t that every
member of the council (hall have a right of
propofing an ordinance as well as that of alTent-
ing tu one propofed by the governour.
REMARK.
There is fome danger from the want of
fuch a provifion that the council will not
think themfelves at liberty to do any thing
more than afient to, or diffent from, the ordi-
nances which may be propofed by the Gover-
nour ; which would put the legislative autho-
rity too much in the hands of the Governour.
X. There
'*-r!l
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X. There is nothing in the adl which hin-
ders the king from delegating to the governour
a power of removing or fufpending the coun-
fcliors at his pleafure.
REMARK.
If fuch a power of removing, or fufppnding,
the counfellors fliould be delegated to the go-
vernour, (as it has been witli refpcflt to the
former council eftablifhed by the king's in- •
flrudions before this adl was palled,) it would
make them be looked upon by the people of
the province as the mere creatures and tools of
the governour, which would much diminilli the
refped: and obedience that would be paid to
their ordinances.
It is therefore now much to be wiflicd that
the legillative council eflablifhed by the late
adl, feeing that it is fo exceedingly dependent
in its prefent conftitution, may be rendered
more independent, and confequently more
refpedable in the eyes of the people who are
to be governed by it, by adopting, (in a bill
to explain and amend the former,) the re-
lki(ftions and precautions above-mentioned,
or fuch others as may be better fitted to obtain
that end. And likewife that its continuance
may be limited to fome fhort period of time,
as feven years, in order to give the inhabitants
of the province (Canadians as well as Englifli,)
fome profped: of having the royal promife in
the proclamation of Odtober, 1763, of being
governed by an alTembly of the freeholders of
the province, one day or other carried into
execution. Of
I ^'I ]
'M
Of the Proceedings of divers of the
French Inhabitants of the Province
of Quebeckj in Oppofition to thofc
of the Britifh and Proteftant Settlers
in it, for obtaining a Houfc of
Affembly.
A^
BOUT the month of Odtober, or No-
vember, 1773, divers of the French Ro-
man-Catholicks in the province of Quebeck
prepared and figned the following petition to
the king, for fettling the laws and civil go-
vernment of the province j and alfo the fol-
lowing memorial concerning the matters con-
tained in the petition, in which memorial they
ftate the grounds and reafons of the feveral
requefts contained in the petition. Thefe
papers were ,tranfmitted to the earl of Dart-
mouth, his majefty's fecretary of ftate for
America, about the month of December,
1773, ^"'^ v/Qve received by him about the
month of February, 1 774 ; and the petition
to the king was foon after prefented to his ma-
jefty. This petition and memorial, with the
names of the perfons who iigned them, were
as follows.
[ 112 ]
A Petition of divers of the Roman-
Catholick Inhabitants of the Pro-
vince of Quebeck to the King's
Majefty, figned, and tranfmitted
to the Earl of Dartmouth, his Ma-
jefty's Secretary of State for Ame-
rica, about the Month of Decem-
ber, 1773, and prefented to his
Majefty about the Month of Fe-
bruary, 1774.
Au Roy,
' SIRE,
TT" O S tres-foumis et tres-fideles nouveaux
^ fujets de la province de Canada prennent
la liberte de fe profterner au pied du throne,
pour y porter les fentiments de refpedt, da-
mour, et de foiimiflion dont leurs coeurs font
rcmplis envers votre augufte perfonne, et
pour lui rendre de tres-humbles anions de
grace de fes foins paternels.
* N6tre reconnoiflance nous force d'avoiier
que le fpedacle effrayant d'avoir ^te conquis
par les armes vidtorieufes de v6tre Majefte
n'a pas longtems excite nos regrets et nos
larmes. lis fe fontdiflipes a mefure que nous
avons appris combien il eft doux de vivre
fous les conftitutions fages de I'empire Bri-
' tannicjue.
li*
[ "3 ]
tanrtique. En effet, loin de refTentir au mo-
ment de la conqu^te les trides effets de la
gene et de la captivite, le fage et vertueux
General qui nous a conquis, digne image du
Souvel'ain glorieux qui lui confia le comman-
dement de fes armees, nous laifla en pofTef-
fion de nos loix et de nos coutumes. Le
libre exercice de n6tre religion nous fut con-
lerve, et confirme par le traite de paix : et
nos anciens citoyens furent etablis lesjuges
de nos caufes civiles. Nous n'oublirons jamais
cet exc^s de bont^ : ces traits genereux d'un
li doux vainqueur feront conferves precieufe-
ment dans nos faftes -, et nous les tranfmet-
trons d'ige en age a nos derniers neveux.—
Tels font, Sire, les doux liens qui dans le
principe nous ont fi fortcment attaches a
v6tre majefte : liens indifTolubles, et qui fe
reflerreront de plus en plus.
* Dans Tan nee 1764, votre Majefte daigna
faire celler le gouvernement militaire dans
cette colonic, pour y introduire le gouverne-
ment civil. Et des 1 epoque de ce change-
mcnt nous commen^ames a nous apperce-
voir des inconvenients qui refultoient des loix
Britanniques, qui nous etoient jufqu'alors in-
connues. Nos anciens citoyens, qui avoient
regie fans frais nos difficultes, furent remer-
ciez : cette milice qui fe faifoit une gloire de
porter ce beau nom fous votre empire, fut
iupprimee. On nous accorda a la verite le
droit d'etre iures : maisj en mcme terns, on
Q * nous
■i"
i [ 'Hi
hous fit eprouver qu*il y avoit des obftacles
pour nous a la pofiedion des emplois. On
paria d 'introduire les loix d'Angleterre, infi-
niment fages et utiles pour la mere-patrie,
mais qui ne pourroient s'allier avcc nos cou-
tumes ians renverfer nos fortunes et detruire
entierement nos pofleflions. — - Tels ont
et^ depuis cc terns, et teis font encore, nos
juftcs fujets de crainte ; temperes neanmoins
par la douceur du gouvernement de votre
Majefte. •■
* Daignez, illuftre et genereux Monarque,
diffiper ces craintes en nous accordant nos
anciennes loix, privileges, et coutumes, avec
les limices du Canada telles qu'elles etoient
cy-devant. Daignez repandre egalement vos
bontes fur touts vos fujets fans diftindtion.
Confefvez le tjtre glorieux de Souverain d'un
peuple libre. Eh ! ne feroit-ce pas y donncr
atteinte, (i plus de cent milles nouveaux fujets,
foumis a votre empire, Etoient exclus de votre
fervice et prives des avantages ineftimables dont
joiiiflent vos anciens fujets ? — Puifle le ciel,
feniible a nos prieres et nos voeux, faire jouir
v6tre Majefte d'un regne aufli glorieux que
durable 1 Puifle cette augufte famille d'FIan-
ovre, a laquelle nous avons prete les fermens
de fidelite les plus foiemnels, continuer a
regner fur nous a jamais !
* Nous finiflbns en fuppliant votre Majefte
de nous accorder, en commun avec fes autres
fujets, les droits et privileges de Citoyens An-
' glois.
•[ "S ]
glois. Alors nos craintes feront difTipees : nous
filerons des jours f^ialns et tranquilies ; et nous
ferons toujours pr^ts ^ les facrifier pour la
gloire de n6tre prince et le bien de notre
patrie.* ' \" ,
* Nous fommcs, avec la fubmifllon la plus
< profondc'^-^^i;^ '-'^
' ' ■* ^^'
* Dc votre'Majefte,
* Les tres-obciflant, tres-zeles, ct
* trcs-fideles fujets,
* Fr. Simon net,
' * Landrieve,
' De Rouville,
* De Rouville, fils,
* Longueuil,
* Hertel Beau bafTin,
* St. Difier,
* John Vienne,
* La Perier,
* Le Palliau,
* J. Daillebout de Culfy,
* Gordien de Cuify, fils,
* La Corne, fils,
* Picotte de Beleftre,
' St. Ours,
* St. Ours, fils,
' « Chevalier de St. Ours,
I'efchaillon,
« Carilly,
*La
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[ n6 ]
La Corne,
LeMoine,
Quinfon de St. Ours,
puy., . . .
Pouvret/
Centre ca*ur,
St. George Du Prcj
Des Rivieres, . '
Louvigny de Montigny
Montigny, fils,
Sanguipet, ; >
t/. rqrlier,
Jean Crittal,
J. G. Hubert,
Pierre Pajiet, fils,
Fr. Cariau,
Pierre Foretier,
Landriaux,
L. Defoui,
J. G. Piljet,
^ La Combe,
Fr.La Combe,
Ch. Sanguinet,
Jobert,
J. Sanguinet,
M. Blondeau,
S. Chaboille,
Eauge,
J.' G. BourafTa,
J. La Crpix,
/p. Panet,
GiafTon,
J. B.
ii\''
. :r
>•,('
•I »
f "7 ]
* J. B. Blondcan,
* Valles,
* Le Grand,
* Pillet,
* L. Baby,
* P. Pillet,
' Hamelin, fils,
' Laurent Du Charmc,
* Fouchcr,
* Berthelot,
* Lainber St. Omer,
' Meziere, ; .
* De Bonne,
* St. Ange,
* Gamelin.
A Memorial of the foregoing French
Petitioners in Support of their
Petition.
* Memoire pour appuyer les demandes des
' tres foumis et tres iideles nouveaux fujets
* de fa majefle en Canada.
* f 'Augmentation d'un fi vafte pais, tel
* "**' qu'il etoit lors du gouvernement Fran-
* 9ois, dont le nombre des habitants excede
* adtuellement plus de cent milles ames,
* dont les dix-neuf vingtiemes font nouveaux
* fujets 3 — lavancement de fon agriculture;—
* lencouragement
ii'
' 1
' ' Lit*
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[ n8 ]
rencouragement de la navigation et de fon
commerce; un arrangement a faire fur
des fondements inebrantables, qui puiiTe
deraciner la confulion qui y regne, faute
de loix fixes et autorifees;— font des points
prefeatement en confideration qui font dig-
nes de la fageffe du gouvernement.
* La confervation de nos anciennes loix,
coutumes, et privileges, dans leur entier,
(et qui ne peuvent etre changees ni alterees
fans detruire et renverfer entierement nos
titres et nos fortunes,) eft une grace et un
adle de juftice que nous efperons de la
bonte de fa majeftc. •
* Nous demandons avec ardeur la partici-
pation aux emplois civils et militaires.
L'idee d'une exclufion nous efFraye. Nous
avons prete a fa majefte et a Taugufte fa-
mille d'Hanovre le ferment de fidelite le
plus folemnel : et depuis la conquete nous
nous fommes comportes en- fideles fujets.
Enfin notre zele et notre attachement nous
feront toujours facrifier nos jours pour la
gloire de notre fouverain et la furete de
letat.' '
* La colonic, telle qu'elle eft fixec main-
tenant par la ligne de quarante cinq degres,
eft trop refl*erree dans fes limites. Cette
ligne, qui la borne, pafle a environ quinze
lieiies au deflus de Montreal : et cepen-
dant c'eft de ce feul c6te que les terres fe
* trouvent
[ "9 ]
trouvent fertiles, et que peut s'etendre
avec plus d'avantage Tagriculture. Nous
fupplions que, comme Ibus le terns du
gouvernement Francois, on laifFe a notre
colonic touts les pais d'enhaut connus fous
les nems de Miflilimakinac, du Detroit, et
autres adjacents jufques au fleuve du MifTi-
ifippi. La re-union de ces pedes feroit
d'autant plus necefTaire a notre pais que, n y
ayant point de juftice etablie, les voyageurs
de mauvaife foi, auxquels nous fournilTons
des marchandifes pour faire le commerce
avec les fauvages, y reftent impunement
avec nos efFetSj ce qui ruine entierement
cette colonic, et fait de ces pofles une re-
traite de brigands capables de foulever Its
nations fauvages.
* Nous delirons auffi qii'il plut a fa ma-
jefte re-unir a cette colonic la cote de La-
brador, (qui en a ete auffi fouftraite,) telle
qu'clle y etoit autrefois. La pefche du
loup marin (qui efl le feule qui fe fait
fur cette cote,) ne s'exerce que dans lefond
de rhyver, etnedure fouvent pas plus d'une
quinzaine de jours. La nature de cette
pefche, qui n'eft connue que des habitants
de cette colonic; — fon peu de duree ; —
et la rigueur de la faifon, qui ne permet
point aux navires de refter fur les cotes ;~^
combinent a cxclurre touts les pefcheurs
qui viennent de I'Angleterre.
* Nous
;''.y
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[ I20 ]
* Nous reprefentons humblement que cette
colonic, par les fleaux et calamites de la
guerre et les frequehts incendies que nous
avons efTuies, n'eft pas encore en ctat de
payer fes depenfes, et, par confequent, de
former une chambre d'aflemblee. Nous
penfons qu* 'un confeil plus nombreux qu'il
n a ete jufques ici, compofe d'anciens et
nouveaux lujets, feroit beaucoup plus a
propos.
* Nous avons lieu d'efperer des foins pater-
nels de fa majefte, que les pouvoirs de ce
confeil feront par elle limitees, et qu'ils
sapprocheront le plus qu'il fera poffible,
a la douceur et k la moderation qui font la
bafe du gouvernement Britannique.
' Nous efperons d'autant mieux cette grace
que nous poffedons plus de dix douziemes
des feigneuries et prefque toutes les terres en
roturcs.
i J' • =
i
. • . : ■ ; ! ■ • ■ , J . ;. . .
-i r ■■ ■ 1 - < _ • • • ■ .
Fr. Simonnet,
Landrieve, - • -
De Rouville, ■ [ ■ ' - ■'
De RouviMe, fils ' ' '
Hertel Beau baffin, -
St. Dificr, - .... : j
In. Vienne,
La Perier, j
Le Palliau,
J. Daillebout de Cuify.
Gordien de Cuily, fils,
U
[ '21 ]
[uify.
1.3
R
La Corne, fils,
Picote de Beleftre,
St* Ours,
St. Ours, fils.
Chevalier de St. Ours,
refchalllon,
Carilly,
La Corne,
Le Moine,
Qiiinfon de St. Ours,
Guy,
Pouvret,
Centre coeur,
St George Du Pre,
Des Rivieres,
Louvigny de Montigny,
Montigny, fils,
Sanguinet,
L. Porlier,
Jean Crittal,
J. G. Hubert,
Pierre Panet, fils
Fr* Cariau,
Pierre Foreticr,
Landriaux,
L, Defoui,
J. G. Pillet,
La Combe,
Fr. La Combe,
Ch. Sauguinet,
Jobert,
J. Sanguinet,
M. Blondeau,
S. Cluboille,
Eauge,
i m
M
^m
m
'f
M:
ir
il,^if ;J
'i "Its i'< ' 'i
Ii
[ 122 ]
Eauge,
J. G. Bourafia,
J. La Croix,
P. Panet,
,; -' (iiaflbn,
J. B. Blondeau,
Valles,
Le Grand,
Fillet,
L. Baby,
P. Pillet,
Hamelin, fils,
Laurent Du Charmc,
Foucher,
Berthelot,
; Lamber St. Omer,
Mtziere,
De Bonne,
St. Ange,
Gamelin/
The two foregoing French papers, beine;
tranllated into Englifli, are as follows.
Tranflation
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[ '23 ]
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Tranflation of the foregoing Petition
of divers of the French Inhabitants
of the Province of Quebeck to the
King's Majefty, which v^^as figned
about the Month of December,
1773.1 a^d prefented to the King
about February, 1774.
'SIR,
"VT'OUR moft obedient and faithful new
^ fubjeds in the province of Canada take
the liberty to proftrate themfelves at the foot
of your throne, in order to lay before you
the fentiments of refpecS, affed:ion, and
obedience towards your augufl perfon, with
which their hearts overflow, and to return
to your majefty their moft humble thanks
for your paternal care of their welfare.
' Our gratitude obliges us to acknowledge,
that the frightful appearances of conquefl
by your majefty 's victorious arms did not
long continue to excite our lamentations
and tears. They grew every day lefs and
lefs as we gradually became more acquainted
with the happinefs of living under the wife
regulations of the Britifli empire. And
even in the very moment of the conqueft,
we were far from feeling the melancholy
eifeds of reftraint and captivity. For the
R 2 * wife
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[ 124 ]
wife and virtuous general who conquered
us, being a worthy reprefcntative of the
glorious foveteign who entrufted him with
the command of his armies, left us in
pofleflion of our laws and cuftoms : the
free exercife of our reUgion was preferved
to us, and afterwards was confirmed by the
treaty of peace j and our own former coun-
trymen were appointed judges of our dif-
putes concerning civil matters. This excefs
of kindnefs towards us we fliall never forget.
Thefe generous proofs of the clemency of
our benign conqueror will be cartfully pre-
ferved in the annals of our hiftory ; and we
ihall tranfmit them from generation to gene-
ration to our remoteft pofterity. Thefe,
Sir, are the pleafing ties by which, in the
beginning of our fubjedtion to your ma-
jefty's government, our hearts were fo
llrongly bound to your majefty j ties which
can never be diflblved, but which time will
only flrengthen and draw clofer.
* In the year 1 764, your majefly thought
fit to put an end to the military government
of this province, and to eftablifh a civil go-
vernment in its ftead. And from the inftant
of this change we began to feel the incon-
veniencies which refulted from the intro-
dudtion of the laws of England, which till
then we had been wholly unacquainted with.
Our former countrymen, who till that time
had been permitted to fettle our civil difputes
* without
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without any expence to us, were thanked
for their fervices, and difmifled : and the
militia of the province, which had till then
been proud of bearing that honourable name
under your majefly's command, was laid
afide. It is true indeed we were admitted
to ferve on juries : but at the fame time we
were given to underfland, that there were
certain obftacles that prevented our holding
places under your majefty's government.
We were alfo told that the laws of England
were to take place in the province, which,
though we prefume them to be wifely fuited
to the regulation of the mother-country for
which they were made, could not be blended
and applied to our cuftoms without totally
overturning our fortunes and deflroying our
pofTeflions, Such have been ever fmce the
asra of that change in the government, and
fuch are flill at this time, our juft caufes of
unealinefs and apprehenfion -, which how-
ever we acknowledge to be rendered lefs
alarming to us by the mildnefs with which
your majefty's government has been admi-
niftered.
* Vouchfafe, moft illuilrious and generous
fovereign, to diflipate thefe fears and this
uneafinefs, by restoring to us our ancient
laws, privileges, and cuftoms, and to ex-
tend our province to its former boundaries.
Vouchfafe to beftow your favours equally
upon all your fubjedts in the province,
* without
ti^'
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i'^
[ ,26 ]
* without any diftindion ! Prefcrve the glo-
* rious title of fovereign of a free people : a
* title which furely would fufFer fome dimi-
* nution, if more than an hundred thoufand
* new fubjedls of your majefty in this province,
* who had fubmitted to your government,
* were to be excluded fiom your fervice, and
* deprived of the ineftimable advantages
* which are enjoyed by your majefty's antient
* fubjedts. May heaven, propitious to our
* wifhes and our prayers, beftow upon your
* majefty a long and happy reign ! May the
* auguft family of Hanover, to which we
* have taken the mofl folemn oaths of fide-
* lity, continue to reign over us to the end of
* time !
* We conclude by intreating your majefly
' to grant us, in common with your other
' fubjeds, the rights and privileges of citi-
* zens of England. Then our fears will be
^ removed, and we fhall pafs our lives in
* tranquillity and happinefs, arid fhall be
* always ready to facrifice them for the glory
* of our prince and the good of our country.
* We are, with the moft profound fub-
* miflion,
* Your majefty's moft obedient, moft loyal,
* and moft faithful fubjeds,
* Fr. Simonnet, &c. &c.'
IVanflation
[ 127 1
'til
Tranflation of the foregoing Memo-
rial in Support of the Reqiiefts
made by his Majefty's moft obedi-
ent r.nd moft faithful new Subjects
in Canada, in their Petition above-
mentioned.
npHE improvement of fo vaft a country
■■' as Canada is, if confidered as having
the fame boundaries as it had in the time of
the French government ; sl country in which
there are at prefent more than an hundred
thoufand inhabitants, of whom more than
nineteen in twenty are new fubjefts of the
king ', the increafe of agriculture in this
country ; — the encouragement of its trade
and navigation -, — a fettlement of the laws
by which its inhabitants are to be governed,
built upon folid and immoveable founda-
tions, fo as to remove and cut up by the
roots the confufion which at prefent over-
fpreads the province in confequence of the
want of clear and known laws eftabliflied
by an inconteftable authority ; — are points
which are now propofed to the confideration
of the Britifh government, and are wof tliy
objeds of its attention and wifdom.
* The continuance of our ancient laws,
cuftoms, and privileges, in their whole ex-
* tear.
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tent, (bccaufc it is inipoHiblc to change or
alter them without deltroying and totally
overthrowing our titles to our eftates and
our fortunes ;) is a favour, and even an ad
of juftice, which we hope for from the
goodnefs of his majefly. . -
* We ardently deli re to be admitted to a
fliare of the civil and military employments
under his majefly 's government. The
thought of being excluded from them is
frightful to us. We have taken the moft
folemn oath of fidelity to his majefly and
the augufl family of Hanover: and ever
fmce the conqueil of the country, we have
behaved like loyal fubjedls. And our zeal
and attachment to o.ir gracious fovereign
will make us always ready to facrifice our
lives for his glory and the defence of the
flate.
* The province, as it is now bounded by a
line pafling through the forty-fifth degree of
north latituc* j*;» is confined within too narrow
limits. This line is only fifteen leagues
diflant from Montreal. And yet it is only
on this fide that the lands of the province
are fertile, and that agriculture can be cul-
tivated to much advantage. We delire
therefore that, as under the French go-
vernment our colony was permitted to ex-
tend over all the upper countries known
under the names of Michilimakinac, De-
troit, and other adjacent places, as far as
* the
■siffiitMysu^ij..
[ »: ]
the river Miflifllppi, fo n .y iv .v be en-
larged to the fame extent. A\ , this re-
annexation of thefe inlaiul pofts u this f >-
vince is the more neceflliry on account ut
the fur-trade which the people of this ^ fO-
vince carry on to them; bt'caiire, in t/i3
prefcnt (late of things, as there are no courts
of juftice whofe Jurildidion extends to thofe
diftant places, thofe of the fadlors we fend
to them with our goods to trade with the
Indians for their furs who happen to prove
difhonefl continue in them out of the reach
of their creditors, and live upon the profits
of the goods entrufted to their care : -which
intirely ruins this colony, and turns thefe
ports into harbours for rogues and vagabonds,
whofe wicked and violent condufl is often
likely to give rife to wars with the Indians.
* We delire alfo that his majefly would be
gracioufly pleafed to re-annex to this pro-
vince the coaft of Labrador, which for-
merly belonged to it, and has been taken
from it fmce the peace. The fifliery for
feals, which is the only fifhery carried on
upon this coaft, is carried on only in the
middle of winter, and fometimes does not
laft above a fortnight. The nature of this
fifhery, w^hich none of his majefty's fubjeds
but the inhabitants of this province under-
ftand J the fhort time of its continuance ;
and the extreme feverity of the weather,
which makes it impoflible for ilups to con-
S * tinue
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tiiuie at that time iipbn the coafts ; are clr-
cumilanccs whicli all confpire to exclude
any lillitrrneri from Old England from hav-
ing any Hiarein the condu(ft of it.
* We further moll: humbly reprefent that,
by means of the ravages and calamities of
the late war, and the frequent fires that
have happened in our tov^ns, this colony is
not as yet in a condition to defray the ex-
pences of its own civil government, and
confcquently not in a condition to admit of
a general aflcmbly. We are therefore of
opinion that a council that fliould confift of
a greater number of members than that
which has hitherto fubfifted in the province,
and that fhould be compofed partly of his
majefty's old fubje<5ls, and partly of his new
ones, would be a much fitter inftrument of
government for the province in its prefent
ilate.
* We have reafon to hope, from the pa-
ternal care which his majefty has hitherto
fliewn for our w^elfare, that the powers of
this council will be reflrained by his majefty
within proper bounds, and that they will be
made to approach as near as pofiible to the
mildnefs and moderation which form the
bafis of the Britifti government.
* We hope the rather that his majefty
will indulge us in the above requefts, be-
caufe we poftefs more than ten out of twelve
* of
ber
are,
[ li' ]
* of /! the felgniories in the province, and
* ahnoft all the lands of the other tenure, or
* which are holden by rent-fervicc.
* Fr. Simonnet, &cc. Sec*
f*
•s
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efty
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the
the
It is eafy to fee that the foregoing petition of
the aforefaid French inhabitants of Canada has
been made the foundation of the adt of par-
liament above-recited. But there is reafon to
think that this petition is by no means agree-
able to the general fenfe of the body of the
Canadians, notwithflanding it pretends to be
fo. For, in the firft place, it may be obferved,
that the number of names to this petition is
only fixty-five, v^^hich is a much fmaller num-
ber than thofe which were figned to the pe-
tition of the Englifli for an aflembly, which
w^ere 148. And to make up this num-
ber of iixty-five names, fome of the pe-
titioners have made their children fign it, who
were either young men under twenty-one years
of age, or lads of fifteen or fixteen, or younger,
at the feminary of Quebeck. Of this kind
are, as I am informed, Mr, Peter Panet, the
fon, and Mr. St. Ours, the fon, the latter of
whom was born in the year 1760, a month or
two after the furrender of the country to Sir
Jefiery Amherft, and therefore was, at the
time of figning this petition, about i 3 years of
S 2 age.
!*^'k.l»
t '32 1
age. And infinite pains were taken, (xfj I am
aflured from good authority,) by the popifli
biHiop and his clergy, to procure the figna-
lures that are found to it. For the truth is,
that the majority of his majelly's new Cana-
dian fubjedls of the induftrious fort, (that
were engaged in trade or agriculture, and had
not been officers in the French king's troops,
or held other employments under the French
government,) have rather expreffed a liking
for the general body of the laws of England,
iince they have had experience of them, than
a wi(h to fee their former laws reftored ; hav-
ing enjoyed, and being always ready to ac-
knowledge that they have enjoyed, a greater
degree of liberty for their perfons, fecurity
for their property, and encouragement to the
exertion of their indultry in trade and agri-
culture, fince the introdudtion of the laws of
England into the province, than ever they had
known before, together with, what they va-
lue perhaps more than all the reft, an exemp-
tion from the infolent and capricious treatment
of their former fuperiours. And, in purfuancc
of this favourable opinion entertained by them
of the Englifh laws, great numbers of them
were, fome time after the arrival of the late
acl of parliament in the province, difpofed
(as my correfpondents in the province afTure
me in the moft pofitive terms,) to join with
the Englifh inhabitants in petitioning his ma-
jefty for the continuance of the Englilh laws,
and
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and were only deterred from doing fo by falfe
alarms fpread amongft them by their fuperi-
ours concerning the dangers to which cheir
religion would be expofed if they were to joiil
with the Englifh in any publick reprefentation
whatfoever. The paffage of the letter of my
correfpondents, in which they relate this im-
portant fadl, is fo remarkable, that I beg
leave to tranfcribe the very words of it. They
are as follows. " In juftice to the bulk of
the Canadian inhabitants, who have for-
merly fmarted under the rigour of the
French government, and the caprice of
petty tyrants of thofe days, we muft con-
fefs that they prefer infinitely Englifh law,
which fecures their liberty and property,
and gives a free fcope to their induftry, and
dread falling again under the laws and
cuftoms of Canada. This we declare upon
our own certain knowledge, as very great
numbers throughout the province have
offered to join us in petitioning for the
continuance of Englifh laws, and difavow-
ing their confent, privity, or knowledge of
the petition which was fent hence laft year
in their names, though figned only by a
few perfi;ns in the province. But when we
had prepared a paper, at their defire, for
them to fign, expreffmg thefe well-known
fads, they informed us that they were
with-held by their fuperiours, and com-
manded not to join the Englifh in any
** publick
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" publick rcprefentatlons : for, if they did,
they would infallibly be deprived of their
religion ; but, if they remained quiet, they
might depend upon it that the Englifli laws
would not be changed." Thefe are the
words of a letter dated at Quebeck on the 1 2 th
day of November, 1 774, whicli is figned by
the following gentlemen,
Thomas Walker,
John Aitkin,
John Welles,
John Lees,
Zachary MacAulay,
James Price,
Randle Meredith,
John Blake,
Ifaac Todd,
who are appointed by the other proteftant
fettlers of the province of Quebeck to prepare
their petitions to the king's majefly and the
two houfes of parliament for a repeal or
amendment of the late adt of parliament for
the government of that province. It feems
reafonable therefore to conclude that the fore-
going French petition and memorial did not
contain the fenfe of the bulk of the Canadians,
and that it was by no means neceffary to their
fatisfadtion, that the whole body of the French
laws upon civil matters Ihould be revived, and
tlie Englifli laws upon thofe fubjeds fup-
prelled i
or
>
nch
and
fup-
lledi
[ 135 ]
prefled ; but that, on the contrary, that great
and valuable end might have been better at-
tained by continuing the general body of the
civil as well as criminal laws of England, and
reviving or confirming only fuch parts of the
former French laws as related to the tenures
of land, the manner of conveying and fettling
it, and the tranfmiflion of it to new pofTeflbrs
by dower and inheritance upon the deaths of
its owners, and, perhaps, a few other heads of
French law relating to their domeftic peace
and family concerns. And to fuch a revival
of only thefe parts of the French laws the
Britifh and proteftant fettlers in the province
have often declared that they iliould not have
had the leafl objedlion.
In the next place, it may be obferved con-
cerning the foregoing petition, that the great
obje(ft of the perfons who have figned it, is
evidently to be admitted to places of truft and
profit, and, in order thereto, to have that part
of the law of England repealed and aboliflied
wb'ch difqualifies Roman-Catholicks from
holding them. It is againft this part of the
Englifli law that they exprefs thcmfelves with
fo much warmth, as being opprefiive and tyran-
nical in a high degree, and boldly expoflulate
with the king, (to whom they had before ufedfo
many expreliions of fubmillion and gratitude,)
as treating them in that refpedt like a nation
of flaves. " 0?2 720tis accorda a la 'veritc le droit
" d'etre juris: mais^ e?i mhne tans, on 71011 s Jit
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[ '36 ]
epyoircer qiiil y avoit des objlacks pour nous c)
la pojfeffion des emplois, Confervez le tittle
glorieux de fouverain d*un peiiple lihre. Eh I
ne fcroit'Ce pa^ y donner atteinte, fi p^^^ ^^ cent
milks muveaux fujetSy foumis a voire empire,
etoiejit exclus de voire fervice^ et prives des
avantages inefiimables dont joUiJj'ent vos and ens
Jujets f Nous Jinijfons en fuppliant voire
tnajejle de nous accorder, en commun avec fcs
autres Jujets^ les droiis et privileges de citoyens
Anglois^ The ineflimable advantages en-
joyed by his majefty's antient, or Britifh, fub-
jedls, and the rights and privileges of citizens
of England, are, in their opinion, the capacity
of holding places of truft and profit. I fhall
only obferve, in anfwer to this opinion, and
the requeft they ground upon it, that, if this
capacity conftitutes the rights and privileges
of an Englifhman, and the want of it makes
a man a flave, many a natural-born fubjeft of
his majefty, that was never out of England,
and never thought but with horror of drawing
his fword againft the crown of Great-Britain,
is a total ftranger to thole rights and privileges,
and, in their fenfe, an abfolute Have. For not
only all the Roman-Catholicks both of Eng-
land and Ireland, (notwithftanding the great
number of them in the latter country,) and
in every other part of the Britifh dominions,
are excluded from this privilege, on account
of the dangerous and hoftile nature of their
religion to the government of what they call
a heretick
religio
than t:
r ^z7 ]
a herctick king and parliament, but even all
Pre(byterians and Quakers, and other pro-
teflant diiTenters from the church of England,
in England and Ireland, labour under the fame
dilability, unlefs they confent to remove it by
occafionally conforming to the ceremonies of
the eliabliflied church. Yet, as they fully
enjoy the fame degree of liberty of perfon, and
fecurity of property, with their fellow-fubjedls
of the church of England, and the proteftant
diiTenters have alfo a fort of toleration of their
religious wor/hip, (though far lefs compleat
than that which the Canadians have enjoyed,
ever fince the peace, of the worfliip of the
church of Rome,) they are tolerably well
fiitisfied, and do not complain to the king that
he treats them as llaves, becaufe they are not
admitted by the laws of the land to places of
trull and profit. Surely therefore the Cana-
dians, who are a conquered people, and were
fo lately in arms againft the crown, ought to
have been fatisiied with the full enjoyment of
their property of every kind, moveable "and
immoveable, (which was granted them by the
capitulation,) together with fo much of the
French laws and cuftoms as is neccliary there-
to, (which will be found upon examination
to be the laws of the tenure, alienation and
fettlement, dower and inheritance, of landed
property, and, 1 believe, nothing more;) ajid
the full enjoyment of the religious worlhip
prcfcribed by the church of Rome, (hoftile as
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it is to the Britiili name and nation,) by a
compleat legal toleration, but without an efta-
blifhment, or compulfive provifion for the
maintenance of the Romifh clergy ; and with
the privilege of ferving on juries in all cafes
both criminal and civil, and of exercifing the
profeflions of notaries, (or licenfed fcriveners)
attornies and advocates ; and with a partici-
pation, (in common with their new fellow-
iubjed:s, the Britifli fettlers in the province,)
of thofe valuable parts of the law of England
which prote<ft in fo eminent a manner the
liberty and property of all the fubjedts of the
crown. And, to do them juftice, I am per*
fuaded that the bulk of them have been fatif-
fied with thefe advantages which they have
enjoyed ever (ince the peace, though a fmall
number of perfons, who have but little con-
nexion with, or influence over, the body of"
their countrymen, have, through a defire of
obtaining places of truft and profit, follicited
his majefty for more.
This capacity of holding places of trufl and
profit is of importance to but very few pexfons
in the province, to wit, only to thofe perfons
who might hope, in cafe their former incapa-
city were removed, to obtain fome public
employment. For, as to the body of the
people, it is evident they can never expedl to
obtain thefe places : and it is pretty certain
that they are in general better pleafed with
feeing the offices of judges, and other places
of
con-
[ '39 ]
of power and authority, exerclfed by Englifli-
men, than by their own former Tuperiours ;
having found by experience a greater degree
of juftice, impartiahty, and moderation, in the
conduct of the Englifh officers, and, in gene-
ral, a greater degree of mildnefs in the Eng-
lifh government in all its branches, than ever
they had known under the French. And
many of them have often, as I am well aflured,
expreffed great terror and uneafinefs at the
bare mention of a propofal to re-inveft their
former fuperiours, who had prefided over them
in the time of the French government, with
their ancient authority. Their agreeable fur-
prize at the mildnefs of the Englifh laws and
government they have fometimes expreffed in
words of the following purport. *' II faut
avoiier que les loix d'Angleterre font fort
douces, et que nous avons ete fort heureux
depuis que Mefiieurs les Anglois ont con-
quis le pais. Car nous avons notre religion
tou: a fait libre, avec nos pretres et nos
eglifes, tout comme auparavant : et puis on
nous laiffe tranquilles, chacun chez foi,
fans nous rien oter par des impots, fans
nous faire travailler ni marcher a des poftes
eloignees pour le roi, fans nous rien dire,
ni demander, en pleine et parfaite paix et
furete, comme des petits rois. Cela ell
feulement trop bon pour durer : et nous
craignons qu'un jour on nous faffe fentir un
revers de tout ce bonheur qui nous fera re-
gretter le bon terns d' aujourd'hui."
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[ HO ]
Thclc are the fentiinents which the common
Canadian countrymen iiave been often heard
to cxprefs. And Mr. Cugnet, (a very fenfible
Canadian gentleman of Qnebeck, but who is
fufficicntly given to complain of the condition
of himfelf and many of his countrymen iincc
the conqucit,) has often told me, that the
common Canadian peafants, (who are called
the ILilnUiniSy and who live in the country
upon their own freehold lands, and who arc
nine-tenths of the whole Canadian people,)
arc gainers by the change of government ;
and tliat the only fufferers by it are the inha-
bitants of the towns, and more efpecially the
noblcirc, gentry, and other perfons who had
civil or military offices under the French go-
vernment, or grants from the king of France
of exclufive rights of trp^ling at particular
polls and dillricls with the Indians for furs,
of all which advantages they have been
deprived by the change of government.
And he ufed to add, as a further misfortune
to the inhabitants of the towns, that the
peafants now fold their corn and other pro-
viiions to them at too high prices, w^hich
they were not allowed to do under the French
government, but were obliged to bring it to
market, and fell it at fuch prices as the in-
tendant fhoujd, by a proclamation iiliied for
that purpofe, have dire(^ted. Thus even the
exemption of the country-people from this
very arbitrary power in the intendant, or go-
vernour, is made a matter of complaint againil
the
[ '4> ]
the
this
the Englifli government by fonie of the perfons
to whom the exertion of fuch a power would
appear to he convenient : I lay, appear to be
lb ; becaule I am pcrlliaded it would not really
he lb, but that the price of corn will in hdi
be lower in the towns of Quebeck and Mon-
treal upon the fvi^c plan of the Englifli go-
vernment, which permits the countrymen to
get what prices they can for it, and thereby
encourages them to grow it in as great abun-
dance as poffible, than if the price of it was
liable, as under the French government, to
be regulated at the difcretion of the governour.
I prqliime, therefore, that the reader will join
with me in concluding that it is not the greaf
body of his majelly's new Canadian fubjedts
that are dillatislied with the Englilh laws and
government, but only a fmall number of per-
fons (confifting partly of the noblelTe, or
gentry, of the country, and partly of the dif-
carded officers of the French government,
both in the civil and military line,) whofe
views and interefts are totally diftind: from,
and, in fome degree, even contrary to thofe of
the body of the people, that have excited the
complaints that have been made againil them,
and have expreffed lb eager a delire of being
rendered capable of enjoying places of trult
and profit. However, it muil be confelTed,
that there are among the names that are fub-
fcribed to the above-mentioned petition thole
of fome perfons who arc not of this narrow
cliis.
J ^
m
%M
.^■1
I
■4'
t' '
1« .4
. t i'
II
[ '42 ]
clafs. Such are thofe of Mr. Le Moine, Mr.
St. George Dupre, and Mr. L. Porlier, who
are, I believe, refpedablc merchants, and
whofe opinions and inclinations deferve regard.
Such are likewife thofe of Mr. Meziere, Mr.
Peter Panct, the father, and Mr. Sanguinet,
who are all notaries, attornies, and advocates,
at Montreal. And there are feveral other
names to it of perfons who are fo far from be-
ing either of the noblefle, or of the body of
the difcarded civil or military officers of the
French government, that they are, as I am
well aflured, what the French call des coureins
des boisy that is, a fort of low traders, or,
as it were, pedlars, who go up into the
interiour, or upper, country of the Indians,
near the ^vo. great lakes, with packs of
goods to traffick with the Indians for their
furs. Thefe perfons are, we may prefume,
but little concerned about the continuance
of the Englifh laws, or the revival of the
French laws, in the province, and ftill lefs
fo about the capacity, or incapacity, of bis
majefty's Roman-Catholick fubjeds to hold
places of truft and profit, which are things
that lie totally out of their fphere and view.
And therefore it is probable that they have
been over-perfuaded by the popifli bilhop and
his clergy, and perhaps terrified by threats of
excommunication, (fuch as were ufed by the
faid bifhop in the cafe of Mr. Levi^is de
Lotbiniere, a Romifh priefl: of good family
in the province of Quebeck, who fell under
his
[ '43 ]
hss difpleafurc in the year 1771,) into figning
the foregoing French petition. As to the
above-mentioned, and any other, French
lawyers in the province, it is natural enough
for them to wllh for a compleat revival of the
French laws, in order to get all the law-
bulinefs of the province into their own hands,
to the exclulion of the Englifh lawyers who
now enjoy a confiderablefhare of it, which they
tranfadt very much to the fatisfadion of their
clients, Canadian as well as Englifli. But the
wifhes of thofe gentlemen, grounded on a view
to their own particular intereft, ought not to
be fuppofed to govern the fentiments of their
countrymen on this fubjedt, whofe intereft
will often be found (by reafon of their con-
nexions in trade with the Englifh merchants,
who carry on much the greateft part of the
trade of the province,) to lie on the other fide.
But, if we {hould fuppofe that all the per-
fons whofe names are fubfcribed to the fore-
going French petition, do really and eagerly
defire (as fome of them certainly do,) to be
rendered capable of holding places of truft
and profit, (which feems to be the burthen of
the fong and the great objedl of their making
this petition,) does it follow that it was proper
to gratify them in this requeft ? or is it likely
that the granting it will remove their com-
plaints ? — Is it not rather to be expected that
their fuccefs in obtaining this requeft, of be-
ing made capable of holding places of truft and
profit.
ri'i
r ■' " 1i
(i.%i:
B«;.
iiik
m.
[ H4 ]
profit, will be only an introduction to their
making a fccond requcll of a more lubftanti-.il
nature than the firil:, that of being actually
admitted to places of that fort? And this is
a rcqueft with which it is almofl impoffiblc
to comply. For what places are there in
the province for them to hold, noiv that the
objedl:ion of incapacity, on account of their
religion, is removed by the late ad: of par-
liament ? This queftion may be bcft anfwered
by confidering all the civil employments in
the province. They are as follows. That of
governour in chief of the province held by
his excellency major-general Carleton ; that
of lieutenant-governour of the province,
lately exercifed by the honourable Hed:or
Theophilus Cramahe, Efq; that of chief
juftice of the province, held by tlie honour-
able William Hey, Efq; that of attorney-
general of the provinc', held by Henry
Kneller, Efq; that of receiver-general of the
publick revenue of the province, held by Sir
Thomas Mills ; thofe of fecretary of the pro-
vince, clerk of the council, clerk, [or regiftcr
of the inrollments of deeds and patents, and
commiflary of the ftores, all held lately, by
one patent under the great feal of Great-
Britain, by Henry Ellis, Efq^ (who was for-
merly governour of Georgia,) and fince, upon
the furrender of Mr. Ellis*s patent, by virtue
of a fecond patent under the great feal of
Great-Britain, by a Mr. Roberts, a relation
of
u
[ >45 ]
of the late lord Clivc, and executed by Mr.
George Allbp, his deputy ; thofc of tlic two
judges of the court of Common-pleas at Quc-
beck, held by Mr. Mabane and the honoura-
ble Mr. Thomas Dunn ; that of clerk to the
laid court, held by Mr. Shepherd ; tliofe of
the two judges of the court of Common-picas
at Montreal, held by captain John Frafer,
and Mr. Martehl ; that of clerk to the Taid
court, held by Mr. John Burke, in puriiiancc
of a mandamus from his majclly in the year
1767; thofe of the two clerks to the court of
King's-bench, the one for the criminal bufi-
nefs, called the clerk of the crown, and tlic
other for the civil bufinefs of the court; thofc
of judge of the court of Admiralty, and of
the king's advocate in the faid court ; thofc
of the provofl-marllials, or Ihcriffs, of the
two diftrids of Quebeck and Montreal, helil
by Mr. Jacob Rowc and Mr. Edward Gray ;
that of furveyor-general of the king's lands in
the province, held by captain Holland, an
officer of the Royal American regiment, who
diilinguifhed himfelf by the fervice he did iu
the defence of the town of Quebeck, when it
was belieged by the chevalier de Levy after
the defeat of general Murray's army on the
27th of April, 1760, and who is an excellent
engineer and furveyor, and of indefatigable
induflry, which he has been for fcveral years
paft, and is IHII, employing, by order of the
board of trade and pluiuatioiis, iu making a
U niQit
r*^
''J
■Hi
1+6 ]
V r. 'i
mail accurate purvey of all the provinces
in the northern dillridt of North- America j
that of naval oiHcer of the province, held by
a Ton of Sir Cecil Bifhop, and executed by a
deputy rending in the province 5 an inferiour
ofhce, ci two, of fniall value, in the cuiloms,
under the colle(flor and comptroller of them ;
thofe of overfeers of the chimnies in the towns
of Quebeck and Montreal ; thofe of grand
njoycrs, or furveyors of the highvsrays, of the
diftrids of Quebeck and Montreal ; which
(being little more than nominal offices, with
falaries, or penfions, of lool. a year annexed
to them) have been already beftowed upon
two Canadian and Roman- Catholick gentle-
men, Mr. de Lery and Mr. de Rouville -, and
that of fecretary to the governour and council
of the province for the French language, or,
in plainer Englifh, tranflator of the ordinances
of the governour and council, and of all other
publick inftruments of government, into
French; which is held by Mr. Cugnet, a
very ingenious and able Canadian gentleman
before mentioned, who is alfo of the Romifli
religion, and who is well ikilled in the French
language, fo as to be able to write it as well as
fpeak it corredtly, and is alfo well acquainted
with the cullom of Paris, and other laws and
cufloms that were obferved in the province in
the time of the French government, Thefe
arc all the civil employments that (as far as 1
can rccolle'it, who have refided three years at
Quebeck,)
[ HI J
I, A
Quebeck,) have hitherto fubfifteJ in tiir
province. Now which of thefe can be givcn
to the foregoing French petitioners, who have
fo eagerly defired to have their incapacity of
holding places of trufl and profit taken off?
Not, I prefume, thofe of governour and
lieutenant-governour, nor thofe of the chief
juftice, attorney-general, and clerk of the
crown, who are all to be concerned in the
adminiftration of the criminal laws, which
by the late adt are to be thofe of England :
nor thofe of judge of the court of Admiralty,
and king's advocate in the faid court, for a
likereafon; nor, probably, thofe of the judges
of the two courts of Common-pleas at Que-
beck and Montreal, fince even in thefe courts
fome of the laws of England are to take place,
(to wit, thofe ads of parliament which have
exprefsly mentioned the American colonies,)
notwithftanding the general revival of the
French laws upon all matters of property and
civil rights : and I am confident that, if the
EngliOi judges of thofe courts fhould be re-
moved to make room for Canadians, it will
by no means contribute to the fatisfadion of
the general body of the Canadians, who have
learned, by ten years experience, to value the
uprightnefs and impartiality of the Englilh
judges of thofe courts. Nor can Canadians
be well appointed to the offices of colleftor
and comptroller of the cufloms, or the other
offices in the culloms ; iincc thofe require
iy- I
U 2
lonse
■t
ft ; . .
'■y\
f 'V
i
V-P.
[ '48 ]
ibme knowledge of, and pradlce in, the laws
of England, that relate to that department of
government, which are ftill to continue in the
province. Nor does it feem probable that the
receiver-general of the revenue, or the naval
officer of the province, or the furveyor-general
of the king's lands, or the king's patentee
under the great feal of England of the offices
of fecretary of the province, clerk of the
council, regifter, or clerk of the inrolments
of deeds and patents, or Mr. Burke, the clerk
of the court of Common-pleas at Montreal
by virtue of his majefly's mandamus, will be
difmiffed from their refpedive offices to make
room for Canadian fucceflbrs, notwithftanding
all thofe offices will become vacant on the firlt
of May next by virtue of that very fingular
claufe in the late act of parliament which enadts,
*' that the king's proclamation of Odober 1763,
'* fo far as it relates to the province of Qu'.
beck, and the commiffion under the autho-
rity whereof the government of the faid pro-
vince is at prefent adminiftered, and all JUid
** every the ordinance and ordinances made by
the governour and council of Quebeck for tlic
time being, relative to the civil government
** and adminiftration of juftice in the faid pro-
*' vince, trmi all commijjious to judges and other
*' ojicers thereof^ Jhall be revoke d-^ (innulJcd^ and
*' made 'void, from and after the fir ji day of May,
one thoiif and [even hundred and fei-eniy-five -y'
vvhich is a method of revoking and annulling
tir:
<i
i(
<(
(<
((
<c
^n
a>iu
th'
'S
[149 ]
the king's patents under the great feal, that
mufl be confefTed to be perfedly new and
wonderfully expeditious, and a great improve-
ment upon the tedious old method, prcfcribcd
by the law, of bringing a writ o{ J( irr foc/'/is
before the lord chancellor to repeal them. But
all, or mod of thefe ofliccrs, we may prcliimc,
will be again appointed to thcfe ofliccs. The
only remaining employments are thole of the
two provoft-marihaLs, or iherilf*:, of the two
diftrivfts of Quebeck and Montreal, and the
clerk of the court of Common-pleas atQiie-
beck, and the clerk of the court of King's-
bench for the civil bufmcfs, iind the two
trifling offices of ovcrfcers of the chimnies in
the towns of Quebeck and Montreal, fup-
poling the ordinance that eftabliflies them,
(and which was made for preventing by their
means the frequent accidents by fire to which
thofe towns were found to be fubjedt,) to be
dill in force, notwithftandingthewide-deflroy-
ing words of the claufe above -recited, which
annuls, amongfl other things, all ordinances
of the governour and council that are relative
to the civil governmerc of the province.
There are therefore only thefe fix offices which
one might fuppofe the Canadians to have fome
expedtation of enjoying. And thefe are mofl
of them, if not all, filled by perfons whom it
would be generally thought harfh to remove
from them. And indeed, if the revival of
the French laws and government had been
quite
'>.'
hi
I
1
!i
tt(.
t »5o 1
quite compleat, fo that the very fame civil
offices fliould have been revived as were exer-
cifed in the time of the French government; —
and a refolution had been taken totally to dif-
regard the claims and interefts df all the Eng-
lilhmen vs^ho are now in pofleffiort of employ-
ments in the province, and to fill the new
offices intirely with Canadians, if proper per-
fons could be found amongft them to difcharge
the duties of them ;— I am perfuaded it would
have been found impoffible to do fo, by reafon
of the want of a fufficient number of Canadi-
ans or Frenchmen in the province properly
qualified for this purpofe, moll of thofe per-
fons of ability who filled thofe offices in the
time of the French government having either
gone to Old France foon after the peace, or
being dead in the courfe of the fourteen years
that have elapfed fince the conqueft of the
province. For, as to the Canadians them-
felves, as contradiftinguifhed from the natives
of Old France, it is in vain to feek for fuch
perfons amongfl them, becaufe their educa-
tions are not fuch as qualify them for thefe
employments ; infomuch that in the time of
the French government the moft important
civil offices in the province, fuch as thofe of the
principal judges of the courts of juftice, and
the procureur-general du roy^ as well as thofe of
the governour and intendant, were filled by
natives of Old France.
Upon
[ '51 1
Upon the whole, therefore, Iprefuine it
now appears that the removal of the incapa-
city to hold places of truft and profit in the
province, . arifing from the profeflion of the
Roman-Catholick religion, can be of no be-
nefit at all to the general body of the Cana-
dians, (as they do not wifh to be governed by
any but Englifh officers of government,) and
of but very little even to the above-mentioned
French petitioners themfelves, who have fo
eagerly defired it, unlefs new places of trull
and profit, (and thofe too in confiderable num-
bers,) are created on purpofe to gratify them.
And this is more than they can well expedl ;
iince it is evident that a meafure of this kind
could not be adopted without taxing either
Great-Britain or Canada to raife the money
that would be necelTary to pay the falaries of
thefe new places, that is, without, on the one
hand, obliging the inhabitants of Great-Bri-
tain, (who have already been at the expence
of about three and twenty millions of pounds
fterling to conquer them, and have ever fince
the peace been at the annual expence of ten
thoufand pounds to maintain the civil govern-
ment of the province, befides the expence of
four regiments of foldiers that arc quartered
amongft them to keep them in fubjedlion to
the crown of Great-Britain,) to be at a new
and great expence in order to accommodate
them, or, on the other hand, impofing new
burthens on their own countrymen, the in-
duflrious
rm
a\
:..^
11 1
U
r
'- I
ri
[ 152 ]
duftrious part of the inhabitants of Canada,
who are well fatisfied with the Englifh laws
and government, for the emolument of them,
the faid petitioners, who have fo warmly ex-
prelled their dilTatisfadtion with them : neither
of which operations would be in any degree
jufl or reafonable.
Thus far we have confidered the requeft of
thefe French petitioners with refpedt to civil
employments. But they carry their views
farther, and defire to be admitted even to
military ones. This, I mufl needs fay, is a
ilrange requeft, and ftill more difficult to be
complied with than the former, unlefs the
government fhould totally forfake every prin-
ciple of publick condu(ft that has been looked
upon as fundamental and indifpenfable in the
Englifli government, af leaft ever fmce the
revolution. For, let us fuppofe for a moment
that two or three regiments of Canadian
Roman-Catholicks, commanded by Canadian
Roman-Catholick officers, (fome of the no-
blefle of Canada, thofe eager petitioners who
have declared that they ardently delire to be
admitted to employments both civil and mili-
tary, notwithftanding their being Roman-
Catholicks, and that the very thought of be-
ing excluded from thofe employments on that
account is frightful to them,) \\Qere raifed in
the province ; I would aik, where iticfl^^j^dy
of troops could he employed. If it be faid,
In Canada, my anfwer is as follows. Either
the
lli-
Lll-
De-
lat
in
her
the
[ 153 ] ■
the Canadians are intirely well-affe<5led to the
EngUfli government, fo as to need no troops
at all to be quartered among them to keep them
in fubjedion to it, or they are not. If they
are thus well-afFedted, it is evidently an idle
and abfurd expence to keep any troops at all
there. But if, on the contrary, they are fup-
pofed to have ftill fuch an inclination to return
to the government of the French king (in
confequence of their antient connexion with
it, and their natural prejudices in its favour,
though without any juft caufe of complaint
againft the Englifh government) as to make
it necefTary to keep troops in the province to
maintain the crown's poffefTion of it, (which
every body confefles to be the cafe,) it is evi-
dent that it would be the height of folly to
employ Canadian troops for this purpofe;
fmce they would confift of the very perfons
whofe affedlions are fiippofed to be too much
inclined towards the French king to make it
fafe to leave them under no controul ; fo that
in fadl it would be putting arms into the hands
of perfons whom we confidered as our fecret
enemies. Nothing could excufe fo prepofte-
rous a condu;^:. And, if it be faid that thefe
Canadian regiments ought to be carried out of
the province, and employed or quartered in
other parts of the Britifh dominions, as the
king's* iervice may require, I anfwer that, if
this were allowed, it would be liable to all the
obje<*tions that may be made agmnfl raifing
X any
.'■•■i:'!l
iff'
''■^:,i
^
riv-f
L 154 ]
:uiy othei popilli army in any other parts of thg
king's domiiiionb j which is univerfally al-
lowed to be not only unlawful, but dangerous,
iinpolitick, and unconftitutional in the higheft
degree ; and that thcfe objedlions, (whatever
they mjiy be, for I decline the unneceiTary and
invidious taik of Hating them,) would lie
againfi them in a ftill ftronger degree than
againfl an army of Englifh or IriQi Roman-
Catholicks, on account of their differing in
language and manners, and, till of late years,
in their notions of government, as well as in
their religious perfuafions, from the other
fubjefts of the crown. And, laftly, if the
aforefaid French petitioners do not mean to
fuggeft that whole regiments of Canadians
ought to be raifed and officered by Canadian
officers, (which feems to be the moft obvious
meaning of their requefl,) but only to obtain
a liberty to the Roman-Catholick Canadians
of ferving either as foldiers or officers in the
army already on foot, I fhall only obferve that
this requeft (though much lefs dangerous and
extravagant than the other) is neverthelefs
highly unreafonable ; fince it is defirinff an
indulgence to be fliewn to them, (who have
fo lately been in arms againfl the Britifh
crown and nation) which the laws do Hot
think it prudent or expedient to allow to
ancient natural-born fubjedts of the crown,
who have never been out of England or Ire^
land, if they happen to have been educated in
the
[ 'SJ J
tiie principles of the church of Rome. Surely
thefe Canadian petitioners mull, upon the
leafl rcfledlion, be fenfible of the impropriety
of requefting fuch a preference above his ma-
jefty's other Roman-Catholick fubjedts, and
confefs that an equality with his majefty's
antient fubjedts in this and every other refpedt
is as much as they can reafonably expedt.
And of that equality they are in full pofleflion
throughout all the dominions of the crov^n,
together with the additional indulgence, by
the late adt of parliament, of an exemption in
their own province from the incapacity arifing
from the profeflion of the Roman-Catholick
religion, (to which all the other Roman-Ca-
tholick fubjedls in the Britifh dominions are
fubjeft) of holding places of truffc and profit.
But this, 1 prefume, is not meant to extend
to places out of the limits of their province.
Since therefore tliere are very few employ-
ments in the province ot" C^ebcck that can
with propriety be beftowed on the Canadian
noblefte, notwithftanding that the incapacity
arifmg from their being Roman-Catholicky
has been taken away by the late adt of parlia-
ment ; and to create new employments for
them, either civil or military, would be un-
reafonably burthenfome either to their own
countrymen, the induflrious and contented
part of his majefly's new Canadian fubjedts,
or to Great-Britain, befides the other greater
objedlions which lie again ft admitting them to
X 1 military
<■(■
I
: V 'j ■
h
m
w
[ '56 ]
military employments ; it fcems evident
that the removal of this incapacity will be of
very little benefit to them. It might there-
fore, perhaps, have been as well if tnings had
been left in this refpedt upon their former
footing, without taking away this grand
diftintSion between popilh and proteftant fub-
jeds, that is, between thofe imperfedt fubjedts
who profefs the bifhop of Rome to be their
fupreme head in all fpiritual matters, (which
have but too often been found by experience
to draw after them a power in temporal mat-
ters in or dine ad JpiritualiaJ and the king to
be their head only in temporal matters, and
thofe more intire lubjeds of the crown who
acknowledge his majefty's fupremacy in all
matters, both fpiritual and temporal, or (as
it is often expreffed by the clergy of the
church of England,) in all caufes and over all
perfons, ecclefiaftical as well as civil, and ab-
jure all dependance on the bilhop of Rome,
and every other foreign jurifdidtionwhatfoever ;
a diftinAion, furely, that is not of a chimerical
or trifling nature, and which has hitherto been
generally looked upon as a necelTary barrier
againft the dangerous attempts of popery,
and which might, probably, in the prefent
cafe have proved a powerful means of drawing
over fome of the Canadian gentry, (in fome
few years hence, when their prejudices in
favour of the church of Rome fhall be lefs
ilrong than they are at prefent,) to embrace
the
. [ ^57 ]
the proteflant religion. However, as the mea-
fure 16 now taken, the proteftant inhabitants
of the province, though they cannot applaud
the policy of it, yet, as it is not any immediate
grievance upon them, they do not, in their
late petitions to the king and tlie two houfes
of parliament againft the late Quebeck adl,
complain againft it, or delire it to be undone,
but dwell upon thofe parts only of that un-
fortunate a(5t wliich more immediately con-
cern themfclves. So far are they from being
difpofed to raife wanton and feditious clamours
in the manner fome perfons have reprefented.
And we have iecn above in tlieir petition lull
year to the king for an houfe of aflembly,
page 20, that they had the candour and mo-
deration on that occafion to fuggeft to his
majefty, that they were ready to acquiefce in
an aflembly into which fome of their Roman-
Catholick fellow-fubjedls fhould be admitted,
if that was the form and conftitution of an
aflembly that feemed beft to his majefty 's
royal wifdom, though they could not, con-
fidently with their own fentiments, go fo far
as adually to defire his majefty to conftitute
the allembly in that manner.
As many people have mentioned the 7iobleJlt:
of Canada on occafion of the late Quebeck
ad, and have feemed to think that they were
a very numerous and powerful part of the
people of that province, and confequently
that their fentiments ought chiefly to be con-
fidered
% <ii
VM.,' «i
■:r-
[ '58 ]
fidered in fettling the government of it, I
fliall here take the liberty to give a Hiort ac-
count of them, in order to fliew that this
ooinion of their importance is by no means
•veil grounded.
According to the befl informations I have
been able to procure, the noblejfe of France are
a very numerous clafs of men in that kingdom,
diftinguiflied from the body of the people by
certain privileges and exemptions which are
clearly marked out and allowed by theUws, and
derived from the favour of the crown. They
anfwer in fome degree to our gentry here in
England, but more nearly to our knights and
baronets, (whofe titles and ranks are more
clearly afcertained than thofe of gentlemen,)
except that they are infinitely more numerous.
They are of two kinds, hereditary nobles and
nobles for life. The hereditary nobles arc
originally made fo either by letters patent of
nobility, or (as we fhould rather exprefs it,)
of gentility, granted them by the king of
France, creating them noblemen or gentlctnen
(for thefe two words, un noble and un geiUilhomme
i underftand to be fynonimous with each other
in the French language,) with the privilege of
tranfmitting their nobility to their iffue male,
or by being advanced to certain honourable
and important offices in the llate or the army,
to which the rights of hereditary nobility, or
gentility, have been annexed by the edidls of
the French kings. Thus, 1 am informed
that
I '59 ]
that the office of a couiiiellor of the king of
France in one of his parliaments or other
fovcreign courts of juftice, (that is, courts of
juftice to which appeals lie from inferiour
courts, but from which there is no appeal
except to the king himfelf ui his council of
itate,) ennobles both the counfellor and all
his male poflerity, if he holds it for more than
twenty years. And if he dies in his office
before he has held it twenty years, his family
is ennobled irt the fame manner. The fame
privilege is annexed to •the commiflion of a
general officer of the army. It ennobles him-
felf and all his pofterity, if he either dies in
pofTeffion of it, or holds it for twenty years.
And three generations of fervice in the army
in the commiffion of a captain, that is, by a
man's grandfather, his father, and himielf,
each of them for the fpace of ten years, has
the fame effedt of ennobling all the male
pofterity of the grandfon. And many other
employments have the fame effetfl.
This hereditary nobility, or gentility, de-
fcends equally to all the male pofterity of the
perfons ennobled, the younger as well as the
elder, which multiplies the noble perfons in
France to a furprizing degree. The Abbe
Saint Pierre, who is one of the moft exadt and
faithful writers of hiftory that France ever
produced, in his Political Annals, which were
written about the year 1740, eftimates the
number of noble families in France at no lefs
than
i*M
;!i--
H
'.i*
[ i6o ]
' -i
'f: i
than fifty thoufand; from which we may
reafonably infer that the number of noble
perfons ;n that kingdom, men, women, and
children, cannot be lefs than 250,000, or,
perhaps, 300,000. Many of thefe, it may well
be imagined, mull be miferably poor.
Befides thcfc hereditary nobles, there are
many perfons who are noble for life. This
kind of nobility arifes only from the pofleffion
of fome honourable office of an inferiour clafs
to thofe before-mentioned, which are attended
with the advantage of hereditary nobility :
but is not conferred by the king's letters pa-
tent. Thus, if I am not midaken, a captain
in the army who has ferved in that com-
miflion for the fpace of twenty years, is
thereby ennobled for his life, though his
father was not an officer, nor noble in any
degree.
It is the privilege of the nobles of France
to be exempted from paying the land-tax,
which is called the taille : fo that when a nobk
perfon buys a piece of land that paid the taille
the year before he bought it, while it be-
longed to an owner that was not noble, the
land, by this change of its owner, becomes
free from the burthen of this tax, which is
neverthelefs not loft to the crown, but raifed
upon the other lands in the fame diftridl, that
are in the pofleffion of perfons that are not
noble, by a new and a heavier afleflment.
I'his privilege extends to all forts of nobles,
thofe
[ i6. J
thofe for life as well as the hereditary noble?:.
But it had never been actually enjoyed by the
nobleiTe of Canada, becaufe there was no fuch
tax as the taille, or land-tax, in that country
during its fubjedtion to the French king.
It is another privilege of the French nobles
that they alone can enjoy the rights of judica-
ture, which are crdled les droits de hante^ moy^
enne^ et bajje jiijUce^ and which are frequently
annexed to grants of land. If a man that is
not noble purchafes a feigniory, or trad of
land of any kind, to which thefe rights of
judicature are annexed, he is not allowed to
cxercifc them without the French king's li-
cence for that purpofe, though he may receive
the rents of the feigniory, arid the mill-to! 1,
and the fines for alienation that are due from
the terlants of it, and all the other emoluments
of it that are of a pecuniary nature. But thefe
ri.f^hts of judicature are to remain unexercifed
till the land becomes again the property of a
noble. However, this is a matter of fmall
confequehce with refpe<5l to Canada, becaufe,
though mod of the feigniories in that country
had thefe rights ofjudicature annexed to thcni
by the French king's grants, yet they were
hardly ever exercifed by any of the owners of
feigniories in the time i^i the French govern-
ment. This may, perhaps, atfirfl be thought
a little ftrange. But if we confider the rcaibn
of it, wefliall find that it could not be oiher-
wiie. Yox. in order to exercifc thefe riii^hcs of
Y^ judicature.
fm
' .■ .f»
■ i- ''-fi'
[ 162 ]
•I
s|4
■ 1 ■i'i.'*
m
V
n-
jiulicatiirc, it would have been ncccllary kn-
the Tcignior to build, and keep in good repair,
a prifon upon his leigniory^ and to maintain
a lleward, or judge, of his court; and a
fcifineurial, or filcal, attorney, to prolbcutc
for him in it ; and a clerk, or regifter, of the
court ; and a bailiff, or uiher, or executive
officer, of it, to execute the judgments that
fliould be pailed in it : all of which would
have occafioned an expence that would, for
the moll part, have exceeded the whole value
of the feigniory, which, upon an average of
all the feigniories in the country, did not in
the time of the French government amount
to more than fifty, or fixty, pounds fterliiig
per annum. And further, the right of the
feigniors in Canada to exercife thefe jurifdic-
tions, if they could have afforded, and had
been inclined, to do (o, was (as I have been
often affurcd,) fo checked and controuled by
the French king's cdids and the provincial
regulations upon that fubje^^l, that it would
have been but a fort of ornamental right, or
feather in the cap, of thofe who fliould have
exercifed them, rather than any real, or fub-
llantial, degree of power. I believe there was
not a fingle lay feignior in all Canada before-
the conqueft that exercifed thefe rights of
judicature before the conqueft of it, though
the rich fociety of the priells of Saint Sulpicius
at Montreal (who are owners of the whole
illand of Montreal, befides feveral other feig-
niories.
tions.
r '63 ]
niorics, producing togetlicr an income of more
than 4000 1. {lerling a year) and perhaps the
fociety of Jcfuits in Canada, may have done
fo. And iincc the conquell: none of the
feipniors, either of the laietv or clercrv, have
been allowed to exercife them.
The French ov/ners of feigniorics in Ca-
nada fometimes talk of the hardship of not
being permitted to exercife their feigneurial
jurifdi(S:ions under the Englifli government.
Whether it may be flridtly juft to lay them
under this reflraint I will not pretend to fay,
becaufe thefe jurifdidions are a fort of appen-
dage to their landed property, which has been
granted them without referve by the capitu-
lation in 1 760, and confirmed to them by the
treaty of peace in 1763. Yet it may well be
doubted whether this grant of their property
was not meant to relate to their pecuniary or be-
neficial property only, and not to fuch rights as
were a part of the fovereign's judicial autho-
rity that had been delegated to them. But thus
much is certain, that this reftraint, whether
jufl or unjuft, is no misfortune or inconveni-
ence to them. For, if they could exercife
thefe jurifdidlions, they would not, for the
rcafons above-mentioned. Their view in mak-
ing thefe complaints is to induce the govern-
ment to buy thefe jurifdidions up, as they
have heard the parliament did in tlie year \ j\j
with refped to the Scotch herctable jurildic-
tions. But thefe complaints come with a
Y z petuli\r
i'^r'j'i
W il
■■■jJlUa^Ttiimmitt'i''
[ 164 ]
peculiar ill grace from fuch of the French
ieigniors in Canada as are not noble, (which
is tlie cafe with very many of them,) fince
they would have had no right to exercifc tliefe
jurildidions under the French government.
Tlius it appears that in France nobility and
the pollcirion of landed property are two
things that are perfectly diftindl from each
other. Since a man may have a valuable
feigniory without thereby becoming noble,
and may be noble without owning a foot of
land. And this is in fad: the cafe with great
numbers of th^ French noblefle.
Though the nobleflc of France is fo very
numerous, yet it fortunately happens that very
few of them have chofen to refort to, or con-
tinue in, the province of Quebeck lince the
Englifli have been in pofTeflion of it. There
are, I a;ii informed, only twenty-two names
of noble families in all the province at this
time ; which, if we allow five individuals to
a name, will make only 1 1 o perfons, includ-
ing women and children. This is no great
proportion of the 1 20,000, or, according to
general Carleton's ellimation of them, the
J 50,000, perlons of whom the whole body ot
the French, or Canadian, inhabitants of the
province confiits. And many of thefe are not
polilflcd of feigniories in it, or of any other
landed property : and fome cf them have
icarce any property at all.
Bcfides
that
[ 165 J
Befides the faid twenty-two names of noble
families in Canada, whom I underftand to be
hereditary nobles, there are a few gentlemen
who are chevaliers de Saint Loiiis, or knights
of the order of Saint Lewis, and whom I take
to be noble for life. Thcfe are ofliccrs who
ferved in the French army in the late war,
and who obtained this knighthood as a reward
either of their valour on fome fignal occafion,
or of their long fcrvicc, (twenty years fervicc
being reckoned fuHicient to give a man a fort
of right to this order,) or perhaps by mere
favour. Their honour is not hereditary :
and there are not many of them in the pro-
vince; I believe, not more than a dozen.
There may alfo be fome other perfons in
Canada who are noble for life in confequence
of the civil or military employments they
have exercifed in the time of the French
government. But I believe there are but few
fuch, becaufe of the length of fervice (twenty
years,) which is nccelTary to obtain this no-
bility, which would be a bar to any claim of
this fort that might be made by the majority
of the Canadian gentlemen now in the pro-
vince who formerly held civil or military em-
ployments under the French king ; not to
mention that many civil employments in the
French government did not (though held for
twenty years or more,) intitle their pollelfors
to this honour. In ihort, upon an inquiry
that was made by p^eneral Carleton in the
year
L
[ 166 ]
If
i
><(■
[^:'
it
'iff ?(•
year 1 767 into the number of unliappy gen-
tlemen in the province, noble and ignoble,
who had loft either their employments civil
or military, under the French king, or certain
leales which they had held under him of ex-
clufive rights to trade with the Indians for
furs in particular pofts and diftridts in the
interiour, or upper, country of America, or
other fuch advantages under the Frencli go-
vernment, in confequence of the conqudl of
Canada by the Britilh arms, it appears that
their number did not much exceed 1 00 : )
think, it was 120. And many of thefe arc
probably dead by this time. Now, though
compallion, civility, and refpc(5tful treatment,
are certainly due to thefe gentlemen, (in the
lame manner as to our own brave otiicers of
the army, who, after allifting in the conqueft
of this part of America, have been reduced
to half-pay,) yet furely it is not necellary,
either in point of juftice or policy, that the
government of the province of Quebcck fliould
be new-modelled, for their fakes, in a manner
that cannot be reconciled to the royal promifcs
in the proclamation of Odober, 1763, or to
the general and fundamental principles of
condut^l that have hitherto been conftantly
adhered to by the Englifh government. The
conquerors of a country containing above
100,000 inhabitants have fufficient reafon to
be fitibfied with their own condudl in point of
jullicc and clemency towards the people thc^y
lia\ c
t '67 ]
have fubdued, as well as the conquered fub-
jeds to be fatisfied with the treatment they
have received, if only 120 perfons amongil
the whole 1 00,000 futFcr a diminution of their
incomes from the lofs of their employments,
and arc left, like the reft of their countrymen,
to depend for their fubfiftence on the rclources
they can find in their private property of every
kind, (of which the new government has
allowed them the full enjoyment,) and in the
exertion of their induflry, while all the red
of the conquered people are freer and richer
and happier than they were before. And this
is the cafe in Canada.
We have feen that the nobles of Canada arc
but few in numl)cr, in comparifon of the
whole body of the Canadians. We have
like wife {ecu that they have no neceffary con-
nedlion with the feigniories, or other landed
property, of the province ; and that m:my (^f
them are pofTelfed of little, or no, landed
property, and fome of little property of any
kind. Yet fome perfons are apt to imagine
(from their being called, as I fuppofe, by the
fame name as the nobility of England, who
are, for the mofl part, owners of great landed
eflates,) that they are a very powerful and
formidable body of men, and have a great lead
and influence over the refl of the people.
Now this is far from being the cafe. For
they were never ufed, in the time of the
French government, to court the people, or
try
m
1 .1-
1: (
hm
i^
W
ri^n
^^!.
V -*-•
' ■;!
m
[ .63 ]
try to gain an intefeft among them, having
had no advantages to expedt from them : but
they paid all their devotions to the governour
and intendant, and other oflicers of the crown,
by whofe intercft they hoped to obtain prefer-
ment. And thofe of them who had feigniories,
and were rich enough to live in the towns of
Qnebeck and Montreal, did not ufe to refide
on their leigniorics, except perhaps for one
month in a year, or lefs, to infpedt the con-
dition of them, and colledt their rents and
other dues : but fpent the reft of the year at
Quebeck and Montreal. And they ftill con-
tinue to do the fame under the Britidi govern-
ment. Bv this means there is little connection
between them and the tenants of their feigni-
ories, and often ftill lefs affe(ftion, the latter
confidering them as a fort of tax-gatherers,
who come amongit them only to drain them
of their money, and not to do them fervice
by fpending their revenues amongft them.
This is the cafe with thofe of the nobles who
arc rich and have feigniories. As for thofe
who have no feigniories, I do not fee what tie
of any kind fubfifts between them and the
people, that can give them an influence over
them : I mean now under the Englifli govern-
ment : for while the French government fub-
fiiled, thefe nobles might command the Ca-
nadian pealants when they were embodied and
employed as a militia, and in that capacity
miiiht f^iin their aff^edion or ill-will ^Lccordinp:
to
quiSj
in F
[ .69 1
to
to their treatment of them. But this has been
all at an end for more than fourteen years ;
fmce which period there feems to have been
no connection whatfoevcr between thefe poorer
nobles, who have no feigniories, and the com-
mon people of Canada, that could either pro-
cure or preferve to the former an interefl with
the latter. In general, (as I have been in-
formed,) the nobles of all kinds were rather
feared than loved by the common people of
Canada in the time of the French govern-
ment, in confequence of the haughty manner
in which they treated them, againft which it
was impoflible at that time for the latter to
get any redrefs. And it is certain that the
bulk of the people of Canada, who are not
noble, and who are about 999 out of a thou-
fand of the whole people, have been very well
pleafed to find that the antient diftindlion be-
tween them and the noblefle is not underftood
or regarded under the Englifli laws and go-,
vernment.
The noble perfons now in Canada have no
titles of honour, as duke, or count, or mar-
quis, or the like. Thefe titles belong only to
the higher clafs of the French nobility, of
which none are now to be found in that pro-
vince.
It may perhaps be thought flrange that
there fliould be fo fmall a number of noble
perfons in Canada when the number of them
in France is fo exceedingly great as has been
Z above
1 i
■*» if
[ 170 ]
u. •
above rcprefcntcd. This is owing principally
to the choice made by the greater part of the
noblefle of Canada, at the time of the con-
queft and ceflion of the country to the crown
of Great-Britain, to fell their property in
that country and retire to Old France, ac-
cording to the liberty allowed them of fo doing
by the capitulation and treaty of peace. And
thus the Englifh government was happily rid
of that part of the inhabitants of this new-
acquired province who were mofl likely to be
difcontented under it, and to whom it was
indeed almoil: impoilible for it (by reafon of
the different genius of the two governments)
to give thorough fatisfadtion.
That this removal of the greater part of the
French noblefle in Canada to Old France upon
the conquefl of it, is an advantage to that
country in its prefent ftate of a province of
the crown of Great-Britain, is not only the
opinion of moil Englifhmen who are acquaint-
ed with that province, but alfo of a very in-
genious and learned French writer who is well
acquainted with political fubjefts in general,
and particularly with the condition of the
American colonies, 1 mean the Abbe Raynal.
For in his celebrated work on that fubjedl,
intitled ** Hijhlre philojophiqiie et politique des
colonies Europeennes dans les deux Indes," in
fpeaking of the fuccefs of the Britifh arms in
the late war, and particularly of the acquilition
pf Canada, he has thefe words. *': L'acqiii-
^' Jiticii
u
(C
w
[ '7^ ]
" fitlon d'un tcrrhoirc immcnfc ncft pas toutcs
" fois le plus grand fruit qitela Grande Brctag?ie
doit retircr dc la frojperite de fcs amies. La
popidation con/id h- able rjti'ellc y a trowvh cjl un
avaniage Lien plus important. A la veritc
quelques iins de ces nombreux habitants ont fid
tine domination nouvelle qui n admcttoit entrc
les hommes d' autre difference que celle des qua"
litcs pcrlbnnelleSy de I' education^ del'ailana\de
lajacidtc d'etre utile a lafocicti. Mais r emi-
gration de ces etres meprifables dont l importance
7iavoit pour bafe que des coutumes barbarcSy
a-t-elle dii etre regardee comme une calamite'^ —
ha colonic n'auroit elk pas hcaucoup gagne a
etre dibarrafjee de tous ces nobles oi/ljsy qui la
^\furchargeoicnt depuis Ji longtcms-, de ces nobles
** orgueillcuXy qui y entretenoient lemepris de tous
" les travaux V Thus much may fufiice con-
cerning the noblelTe of Canada, of which
fomc perfons have Teemed to entertain fuch
miflaken notions.
\\\ the third place I mufl obferve concerning
the foregoing French petition and memorial,
that, though in their memorial they exprefs an
opinion that a legiilative council will be a
more convenient inftrument of government for
the province of Quebeck than a general alTem-
bly, yet the reaibn they give for it is a very
peculiar one, and fuch as the parliament has
not thought proper to adopt. It is becaufe
the province is too poor in their opinion to
ds^fray the expence of it.s own civil govern-
Z 2 mtut.
<(
<(
C(
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<c
f.
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i
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lit
[ '7^ 1
mcnt, which they conceive to be a ncceliiirv
confequcncc oF having an afTcmhly. Tliclr
words are as follows. " Nous rcprefcntoiii
humble me /It que cctte colonic ^ far Ics fieaux rt
ailamitcs dc la gnnrc^ ct lesjrequents incyndia
que nous avons ejjuies^ neft pas encore en kat
lie payer Jes dipenjes^ et^ par conlequ€?iiy de
former unc chambre d'aJjembUe, Nous penfous
qnunco?jJeil plus nombreuxqull na ke jujques
icif compoje d'anciens et nouveaux fujetSy feroit
beaucoup plus a propos. Nous avons lieu
d'ejperer des Joins paternels defamajejie, que les
pouvoirs de ce conjeil feront par elle limit es^ et
qtiils s approcheront le plus qu il fcra pqfjible d
la douceur ct a la moderation qui font la bafe
du gouvernement Brit anni que.'* It appears
by this paflage that it is the defire of avoiding
taxes, and not a real difinterelled preference
of a legiflative council to an allenibly, that
has made the fubfcribers of this memorial
recommend the former mode of government.
*^nd therefore it may be doubted how far the
eftablifhment of a legiflative council by tlie
late adt of parliament will be agreeable to
them, feeing that it was accompanied witli
another adt of parliament for impofing certain
duties and taxes in the province, which is
what they feem to have been defirous ot
avoiding.
I do not however mean to inlinuate that
the adt palfed for impofing thofe duties was in
any refpedt improper. For I readily allow it
to
<(
C(
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C(
((
cc
C(
«
C(
cc
cc
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[ m ]
to be rcafonablc that the inhabitants of that
country fhould contribute in fome degree to
the fupport of their own civil government,
which has hitherto been maintained intirely
at the expence of England : and I believe the
taxes impofed by that act to be both judicious
and moderate. And it is certain that the
authority of parliament is the only authority
now fubUfling by which they could be legally
impofed. But I mention thefe taxes on this
occafion only to fhew that it cannot with
propriety be affirmed that the eftablifliment of
the aforefaid legiflative council by the late adt
of parliament is a meafure of mere indulgence
to the Canadians, and adopted in compliance
with their delires, fince the parliament, at
the fame time that it granted them this fm-
gular requeft, denied them that exemption
from taxes which, as they fuppofed, would
have accompanied it, and which fcems to
have been the principal inducement to their
making it.
It cannot therefore be colle<fled from the
pafTage above cited from the foregoing French
memorial, that even the few perfons that have
fet their names to that memorial give a free
and general preference to the government of
a legiflative council of the province (inde-
pendently of the exemption from taxes with
which they hoped it would be accompanied,
and which they have now found to be imagi-
nary,) above the ufual government by an
alTembly j
m
y}
' -'A
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■'I'l
■ , i
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[
4
k
i V
'A
w
$
affeinbly ; aiul much lels tliat the general body
of the Canadians are a\'erlc to the eftabHfli-
nient of an alTcnibh'. Nor indeed did I ever
oblerve that thev were ib. It is true indeed
that, from their inexperience of i'uch a form
of government, tliey arc not eagerly defirous
of it. But it is equally true that they enter-
tain no prejudices again it it. The generality
of them are indifferent about the form of
government under which tlicy are to live,
provided it is carried on with juilice and mo-
deration : and only a few of them have fo far
meditated upon che fubjecft as to have formed
a decifive opinion in favour of a particular
lyflem. But none of them, as far as I could
ever hear, had any dillike to the cftablilliment
of an allembly but what arofe from a fuppo-
fition that they were to be excluded from it on
account of their religion, as it had been ge-
nerally imagined they necefiarily muft be, and
as his majelty's two commiflions of governour
in chief of the province, fucceflively given to
general Murray and general Carleton, had
diredted that they fliould be. It was this
exclufion that they difliked, and not the mode
of government by an affembly. And, if this
objection was to be removed, and an afl'embly
was to be called into which they were to be
admitted indifcriminately with the king's
proteflant fubjects, I have no doubt that they
would prefer the government of an aflembly
to that of a legiflative counci: appointed by
the
be ford
a
((
*!
by
ibc
[ 175 ]
the king. Common fenfc mufl teach us that
it is natural they fhould do fo ; fmce every
people under the fun would rather chufe to
have a fhare in the management of their own
concerns than to be totally under the govern-
ment of others. And fome of thofe among
them who have thought moil: upon the fub-
jedl, have declared thcmfelvcs to be of that
opinion. One of them in particular, who is
now in England, and who was examined
before the Houfe of Commons while the late
Quebeck adl \\o.s m its paffage through that
houfe, 1 mean^ Moiificur Michael Chartier
dc Lotbinierc, a very feniible and refleding
man, and who is a great propjietor of land in
Canadj, has expreiTcd himfelf very fully and
very llrongly upon this fubjcfi-. For, foon
after he had undcrTOnc his examination before
tlie houfe, (in which I laniv aed that he did
not make liimfelf fo thnrou'jhiv underftood as
I could have v/iilicd,') I dciired him to inform
me of his fentiment.s upon this fubjecfc in the
plaincfl: and clearcil manner polTible, and, for
that purpofe, to give me an nnfwer to this
quellion ; to wit, ** Which of the two fol-
** lowino: methods of o:overnmcnt he Hiould
lead: diflike to fee eitablillicd in the pro-
vince of Quebeck, (for I did not fuppofe
that he would pofuively approve of eitJier of
them J ) " namely 'j a go^'ocrnmcnt^ agreeable to
*' the kings late commiljiom, by a go'vernour^
'* council i and ajjcmbly conipojcd of prote /hints
" only i
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[ '76 ]
*' only ; or the government provided hy the tiB of
" parliament then under conftderationy by a go-
vernour and a legijlative council only ^ without
an ajfembly^ but with anadmijjwn of Roman*
Catholic ks into the [aid council'* He com-
plied with my requeft, and gave me the fol-
lowing full and pofitive anfwer in the hearing
of Mr. Thomas Townfhend, junior, and has
confirmed it to me many times fmce ; to wit,
that he Jhould conjider both thofe forms of
government as improper for the province of
Rebeck J and unjujily fevere upon the Catho^
** lick Canadians 5 but that, of the two, he
fhould diflike the firji, by a governcur,
council^ and protejlant a/fembly, much lefs
than the other which that bill appointed, by
a governour and legiflative council only,
*' without an affembly^ notwitbjlanding the
*' admijjion of Jome Catholicks into the [aid
*' council,'' And he faid further, ** that tld
** choice between thefe two methods of govern-
'* ment might be compared to an option that
*' fhould be given him to throw himjelf either
** into a river on the one hand, or a houfe on
'* fire on the other ; in which cafe he faid he
** fhould certainly chufe to throw himfelf into
the water rather than into the fire, bccdufe he
might in the water have a chance of faving
his life by fwimming, whereas he fhould be
*' fure of being deflroyed, if he plunged into the
** fire 'i that the water anfwcred to a govern-
" ment by an afjemb/y of protefiants 3 which, as
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I ^77 ]
it would probably be compofed of pej'fons 'who
would be inter ejled in the welfare of the pro-
mnce by being proprietors of land in it, and
171 whom the people had a a r fide nee ^ would
be likely in feme degree (notwithl}a7iding they
would ha"je been chofeny in his opinion, upon
too narrow a plan,) to confult the good of the
*' whole community : and that the Fire anfwered
'^ to the legiflative council coinpof'^d of p-^rfons
'' nominated by the crown ; becaufe that was in
its nature a defpotick and dejlruclive inflru-
ment of government, which, as it was likely
to be compofed of the officers of government in
the province and other dcpcjtdant perfonSy
whofe flattery and fervility jnight procure
them the governour's recojnmendation to the
king for a Jeat in the fuid cou?icil, would
probably be indifferent to the welfare and
true intere/ls of the province, (with which
they would have no la fling connedlion,) and
would fnake ufe of their power only to eiirich,
or benefit, tbemf elves, or to gratify the caprices
oj the governour, upofi whom they depended.'*
Such is the opinion of this Canadian gentle-
man concerning the legiflativc council ella-
bliilied by this av^l. And fuch, I doubt not,
will be the opinions of many of his country-
men (I mean, of fuch of them as are inde-
pendent on the government, and neither have,
nor delire to have, any place of profit under it,)
upon the fame fubjcifl. So far do I conceive
them from being of opinion (upon general
A a principles.
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[ >78 ]
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principles, and independently of the fear, on
the one hand, oi hcing excluded, on account
of their rcliLdon, from an aflemhlv, if the kiny
had ord'.:rc(i one to he funimoncd, and the
hope, on the other hand, of heing exempted
from taxes if there was no alfemhly,) that the
legillative council appointed by the late '\0. is
a preferable mode of government to an aliem-
bly of the }ieoplc.
I oufdit further to mention that the afore-
o
iilid gentleman, Mr. de Lotbiniere, carries his-
diflike of a le"iflative council fo far as to dii-
approve even of that which I had propofed,
notwithftanding all the reitrittions and pro-
vilions inferted in it, (in order, if poilible, to
make the members of it independent of the
governour, and cautious in the ufe of the
power entruded to thciii, and refpedable in
the eyes of the people,) and the claufe for
limiting its duration to only feven years. But
he acknov/ledges it to be greatly better, or
lefs liable to objeclions, than the legillative
council ellabliihed by the late at^l. Perhaps
he may be right in thus objeding to every
fpccies of legiilative council that can be con-
trived, as beinp- neceflarilv of a very denen-
dent conllitntiun, and fiir lefs beneficial to the
people than an aifembly. But at Icafl it fecms
to be evident that, if it be thought expedient
t(j p(jitpone tlie calling an aifembly {'or f )me
years lunger, and to fubflitute a legillative
council in its (lead, the council {i) appointed
ouiiht
[ 179 ]
ought to be made ns numerous and as inde-
pendent as pofiible, and its duration to be
limited to a certain and a Imall niunber ol'
years, to the end that the king's promife in
the proclamation of Odober, 1763, of fum-
moning an aflembly of the freeholdL-rs, may
be kept continually in fight.
I here beg leave to declare that none of the
gentlemen whom I have taken the liberty to
mention above in page 102, &c. as perfons
that were fit to be made members of the le-
gillative council of the province, have given
me the lead intimation of their defire to be
advanced to that flation : and that Mr. John
Paterfon, in particular, is folicitous not to be
thought to have any where made fucli an ap-
plication. I have taken the liberty of men-
tioning their names intirely of my ov/n accord,
:uid without their knowledge, and witliout
jnyfelf knowing whether or no it would be
ajrreeable to them to be made members of
that council. T^y motive for doing fo was
to fupport the propofal I had made ot increaf-
iiig the number of counfellors to ; i , by lliew-
ing that it waseafy to find a fufiicient num-
ber of proper perfons in the province for that
purpofe, which fome perfons uiiglit otherwife
have been inclined to doubt. And to (hew
that the province afforded a pretty ample num-
ber of perfons fit for that flation, I mentioned
1 3 perfcjns, though only eight were wanting
to increafe the number of the counfellors to 3 1 .
A a 2 Many
m
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M I
[ .80 ]
Many more perfons in the province might, I
doubt not, nave been mentioned on that oc-
cafion, who are alfo worthy of that office.
But, as it would have been of no ufc to en-
deavour to make a Hft of that fort, I con-
tented myfelf with naming a fufficient number
of perfons to afford what 1 thought an ample
proof of the fadt which I had ventured to
advance.
In the fourth place I mufl: obferve concern-
ing the foregoing French petition and memo-
rial, that, amonglT: all its various articles, it
does not contain a requeft that the legal right
of the Romifli clergy to their tithes (hould be
revived : fo that in that particular the late adl
of parliament has gone beyond the fuggeflions
of thofe petitioners in fupport of the Roman-
Catholick religion. This provifion will, pro-
bably, be agreeable to the Romifli clergy in
the province, and feems calculated to gain
their favour. But it will hardly be thought
a benefit by the people at large, who have
never yet complained of the liberty they have
hitherto enjoyed ever fince the conquefl of the
province, of paying their tythes, or letting it
alone, as they liked befl. It is true indeed
that they now, for the moft part, pay them
voluntarily : but, I believe, many of them
will not like to be compelled to do fo, and
will probably be greatly furprized at this part
of the late ad:, and confider it as an unnecef-
fary and officious piece of zeal for the fiippoit
of
late
on t
was
to p(
of the popifh religion, which (as its tendency
to produce that eflfcdl: is in no degree counter-
atfled by other claufes and provifions that
Ihould encourage the pr lefts gradually to aban-
don the tenets of popery, and embrace thofe
of the proteftant religion,) tlicy will be utterly
at a lols to account for in a parliament coni-
pofed of protellant members.
But it has been faid by the defenders of the
late a(5l, that this revival of the leg;d obi ignition
on the people to pay the priells tiicir tythcs
was no more than what tbic nntior> was bound
to perform by the terms of the capitulation
and treaty of peace. In order to Ihew that
this affertion is not true, I fhall here oeg leave
to recite, word i'ov word, thofe articles cf the
capitulation and treaty of peace that relate to
this fubject. The 27th article of the capitu-
lation of Montreal, in September, 1760, is as
follows.
Article XXVII. The free exercife of the
Catholick, Apollolick, and Roman religion,
fliall fubfill: intire ; in fuch manner that all
the Ifates and people of tlie towns and coun--
tries, places, and diflant polls, fliall continue
to alfemble in the churches, and to frequent
the facraments as heretofore, without being
molclied in any manner directly or indire<lUy.
Thefe people iLal) be obliged, by the Eng-
lifh government, to pay to the piieils the tythes
and all the taxes they were uled to pay under
the government of his moil Chrillian majeilv.
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[ '82 )
To thefe demands of the French general in
behalf of the Canadians, Sir JeiFeryAnihern:, the
Englifli general, returned the following anfwer.
Grant cdy as to the free exercije of their religion.
T'he obligation of paying the iythes to the priejh
iv ill depend on the kings pie afure.
By the iirfl part of this anfwer the free
exercife of the Roman-Catholick religion is
granted to the Canadians : and by the fecond
part of it the compulfive obligation on the
people to pay to the priefls the tythes and
other taxes due to them under the govern-
ment of the French king, is fufpended inde-
finitely, till the king's pleafure Hiall be known
therein : that is, in other words, the Roman-
Catholick religion is tolerated, but not ella-
blilhed.
The king's pleafure has never been declared
upon this fubjedl till the royal allent was given
to the late a(^t of parliament.
We will next examine the treaty of peace.
The 4th article of the definitive treaty of
peace concluded at Paris on the loth day of
February, 1763, contains the following claufe
relating to the liberty to be granted to the
Roman-Catholicks of Canada of profelTing thu
worfhip of their religion,
" tiis Briiannick majefty^ on his fide^ agrees
to grant the liberty of the Catholick religion to lie
inhabitants of Canada, He will confequcntly gl-cc
the mofl effeHual orders that his new Rcman-Ca-
thoi'u'k Ju'jcch may jrojefs the 'ii.irjlip of their
religion
M
[ iS3 3
religion acccrJing to the rites of the Romijlj churcbt
iis far as the iaivs of Great -Britain permit."
This claufe, wc fee, makes no mention of
tythcs ; nor does it afford the lead ground for
an inference that the legal obligation to pay
them was intended to be revived. It only
gives the Canadians an aifurance that they may
profefs the worfhip of the Roman-Catholick
religion fo far as the laws of Great-Britain
permit. This cxprefHon, profe/s the ivorj/ji/f
of their religion, is rather an odd one. But I
tliink it ought to be interpreted liberally, fo
n;i to mean, to profefs the doc'lrines^ andpradiice^
or perform^ the iDorjhip^ of their religion. Now
this may be done without a compuliive obli-
gation to pay the priefts their tythes. This
obligation therefore remained in the fame con-
dition after the ratification of this article of the
treaty of peace as it was before, that is, it con-
tinued to be fufpended till his majeily's plca-
fure fliould be known upon the fubjedt, whicli
never was declared till the pafling of the late
Quebeck adt. It ought not therefore to have
been afferted by the defenders of that ad: that
the parliament was bound, either by the capi-
tulation or the treaty of peace, to revive this
obligation of paying the priefts their tythes.
It has alfo been affirmed by the writers wlio
have undertaken to defend the late Quebeck
ad:, that, in granting to the Canadians a ca-
pacity to hold places of truft and profit with-
out taking the ufual proteftant tefts, the par-
liament
V 4i
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[ 'h ]
lianiciU has clone no more than it was boand
t(; do by the aforcilud capituhition and treaty
ot' peace. But this allertion may be cafily
lliewn to be as erroneous as the former.
For, in the iirll place, the capitulation fays
nothing at all upon the fuhjet^i, but (as we
have leen,) provides only for the free exercife
of the Romilh religion in Canada, without a
conipullbry obligation to, pay tythes, that is,
in other \\ ords, for a toleration of that reli-
gion. 13ut this free exercife, or toleration, oF
that religion, may, it is evident, be enjoyed
witliout a capacity of holding places of truft
and profit, as a like toleration is enjoyed here
in Fingland by Quakers and fuch others of the
protcitant dilTentcrs as comply with the con-
ditions of the toleration-adt. Therefore the
capitulation did not require that this capacity
of holding places of trull and profit fliould be
granted to the Roman-Catholicks of Canada.
In the next place, therefore, let us examine
the foregoing claufe of the treaty of peace.
Now here we find a reference to the laws of
England in the concluding words of it, namely,
^s far as the laws of Great-Britain permit^ of
which it is necellary that we fliould afcertain
the meaning.
Two fenfes may be put upon thefe words.
They may either be fuppofed to mean, that
the Canadians fhall be at liberty to profefs the
.worfliip of the Roman-Catholick religion as
far as the laws of Great-Britain permit thnt
worlhip
J;! ^ .,
hip
r '85 ]
worfhip to be profcfled in England itfelf, or
that they (liall be at liberty to profels that
worfliip as far as the kws of England permit
it to be profefled in the out-lying dominions
of the crown of Great-Britain that arc not
parcel of the realm, fuch as Minorca, Senegal,
the Weft-India illands, and the colonies of
North- America. The former of thefe fenfes
I acknowledge to be too narrow to be put upon
thefe words, becaufe it would in a great mea-
fure deftroy the grant of the liberty of pro-
fefling the worfliip of the Romilh religion,
which thofe words were only intended to
qualify and reftrain ; becaufe in England itfelf
the laws do not permit the worlhip of the
Romilh religion to be profefTcd in any degree.
We muft therefore have recourfe to the latter
fenfe above-mentioned, and fuppofe thefe words
to mean, that the Canadians Ihould have the
liberty of profefling the worfhip of their reli-
gion as far as the laws of England permit it to
be profefled in the out-lying dominions of tho
crown. And, in order to know how far this
permiflion extends, we muft inquire whetliep
any of the laws of England whicji relate to the
floman-Catholick religion extend to the out-
lying dominions of the crown that lie without
the realm. Now, upon making this inquiry,
we Hiall find that, though moft of the penal
and difqualifying ftatutes paffcd againft the
profelTors of the Romifti religion relate only
to England ;^nd Wales yet the o^ gf the ift
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of queen Elizabeth, cap. i. which is intitleil,
" yj?i a'cl to reftore fo the crow7t the ajicieui jurif-
di«:'ion over the ftate ecclefiajlical and fpiritual^
{ind ahrAilbiug all foreign poivers repugnant to the
fame,'' and which is commonly called the adt
of fupremacy, does exprelsly relate to all the
queen's dominions as well as to the realm of
England, and is even extended by pofitive
words to fuch countries and places as ihould
at any future time become fubjedt to the crown
of England. The purport of this important
aft is as follows.
The fixteenth fedlion of it is m thefe words.
And, to the intent that all ufurped and fo-
reign power and authority, fpiritual and
temporal, may for ever be clearly extin-
guiihed and never to be ufed or obeyed
within this realm, or any other your ma-
jefly's dominions or countries, may it pleafe
your highnefs that it may be further en-
at^led by the authority aforefaid. That no
foreign prince, perfon, prelate, ftate, or
potentate, fpiritual or temporal, lliall at
any time after the laft day of this feflion of
parliament, ufe, enjoy, or exercife, any
manner of power, jurifdid;ion, fuperioritv,
authority, pre-eminence, or privilege, fpi-
** ritual or ecclefiaftical, within this realm,
<« or within any other your majefty's domi-
** nions and countries that now be, or here-
" after J hall he ; but from thenceforth the
*< fame (hall be clearly aboliflied out of this
•' realm,
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" realm", and all other your majeriy's don:ii-.
nions for ever ; any ftatutc, ordinance,
cudom, conftitutions, or any other matter
or caufe whatibever to the contrary in any
wile notwithftanding."
The next fedion of this afl of parliament
annexes all eccleliaftical jurifdidlion to the
crown of England.
The 19 th feiftion requires all bifhops and
other ecclefiaftical perfons, and all ecclefiafti-
cal officers and minifters, and all temporal
judges, juftices, mayors, and other lay or
temporal officers and minifters, and every
other perfon having the queen's fee or wages,
within the realm of England or any other her
highnefss dominions j to take the oath of fu-
premacy.
The 24th fedion enads that every temporal
perfon doing homage for his lands to the
queen, his heirs or fucceffors, or that Ihall be
received into the fervice of the queen, her
heirs or fuccelTors, fhall take the fame oath.
And the 27th fedion enadts, that, if any
perfon of any degree whatfoever, dwelling
within the realm of England, or in any other
the queens realms or dominionSy fhall, by writ-
ing, teaching, or preaching, maintain or de-
fend the authority, fpiritual or ecclefiaflical,
of any foreign prince, prelate, perfon, flate,
or potentate, whatfoever, heretofore claimed,
ufed, or ufurped, within the realm of Eng-
land, or any dominion or country being within
Bb 2 or
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[ '88 ]
or under the power, dominion, or obciiancc,
of the queen's highnefs, he Ihall forfeit all his
goods and chattels for the firft offence.
This ftatute feems, from the whole com-
plexion of it, as well as from the pofitive
words, your majeftys dominions that hereafter
Jhall he, to have been confidered, by the le-
giflature that pafTed it, as an indifpenfable part
of the general policy of the Englifh govern-
ment, and to have been intended to take place
in every country that either then made, or
ihould thereafter make, a part of the dominions
of the crown of England.
The reftridtions therefore of this ftatute are
thofe to which we muft fuppofe the foregoing
article in the treaty of peace to refer, by the
words, as far as tke laivs of Great-Britain
permit, ^nd confequently the Britifli nation
is bound by that article to grant to the Cana-
dians the liberty of profefling the worfhip of
the Roman^Catholick religion only fo far as is
confiftent with that ftatute : and this ftatute
muft be deemed to have been in force in Ca-
nada from the time of ratifying the faid treaty
of peace in February, 1763, by its own virtue
and operation, without the help of the king's
proclamation in Odober, 1 76 3 > which intro-
duced the reft of the law$ of England, or of
the king's commiftions of governour of the
province of Quebcck given to general Murray
and general Carleton, by which they were
dire<5ted to require from every member both of
the
[
189
]
the council and the ailembly (as foon as thcrfc
(hould be one) that they fhould take the oath
of abjuration of the pope's authority and
fubfcribe the declaration againft tranfubftan-
tiation before he was permitted to take his
feat. And it muft be deemed to have con-
tinued in force in the province till the late ad
of parliament, which, at the fame time that
it recognizes it (fee above, page 84) as being
in force by virtue of the aforefaid words <£
refer vation in the treaty of peace, makes a
coniiderable alteration in it.
I will now confider the operation of this
important ftatute with refpect to the province
of Quebeck.
In the firft place, it appears by the i6th
fedion of it above-recited, and the exprefs
words, any other your majeftys dominions and
countries that now bey or hereafter JJjall he^ that
all exercife of the pope's authority, or of any
eccleliaftical authority derived from him, and
confequently all exercife of the popifh biihop
of Quebeck's authority, (that authority being
derived from the pope,) is prohibited in the
province of Quebeck as much ais in England
itfclf. . . - i> .
Note. That the popifli biihop of Quebeck
was appointed to that office by a bull of orne
of the late popes, is well known to all the
inhabitants of the prbvince of Quebeck, and
is further evinced by the title he himfelf af-
fumes in kis epifcopal mandates, ivhich is as
follows i
,A
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f
f .: ;
t*
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f
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3
1
t^H^^i*
1
[ 190 ]
follows ; 'Jf^cin Olivier Briand, par la miferi-
corde de Dieti et la grace du Saint Siege ^ eveque
de ^ebeCy fuffragant immediat du fiege apojioliquey
chanoijie honor aire de leglife metropolitaine de
Tours, &c.
In the fecond place, it is plain from the
1 9th fe(5tion of the faid flatute, that the popifh
biihop, (even if he did not aft by authority
from the fee of Rome) ought not to exercife
the office of bifhop in the faid province vrith-
out having taken the oath of fupremacy. And
in like manner all otlier ecclefiallical perfons,
and all ecclefiaftical officers and minifters, and
all temporal judges, juftices, mayors, and
other lay, or temporal, officers and minifters,
and every other perfon having the king's fee,
or wages, in the faid province ; that is, as I
conceive, all the priefts eftablilhed in a legal
manner in the feveral pariflies of the province,
fo as to have a lawful right to the parfonage-
houfes and glebe-lands in them, and (if the
king had declared his pleafure in favour of the
compulfive obligation on the people to pay the
priefts their tytfies and otlier former dues,) to
the tythes of the pariihes, and all the church-
wardens and other fuch eccleliaftical officers
and minifters, and all temporal judges and
other officers of the civil govern me;nt of the
province, and all holders of places of profit
under the crown in it, (or perfons who receive
the king's fee, or wages,) ought to take the
faid oath of fupremacy.
This
Thif
[ '9« ]
This fedion of the adl of fupremacy may
perhaps be thought inconliftent even with a
toleration of the Roman-Catholick reh'gion in
Canada, becaufe none of the Roman-Catho-
lick priefts in the province can, while they
continue Roman-Catholicks, take the faid oath
of fupremacy. But jf we examine the matter
carefully, we fliall find that it is not fo. For,
though it requires all ecclefiaftical perfons, or
priefts, to take this oath, yet, as it inflids no
other penalty upon them for refufing to take it
than the deprivation of their benefices or other
fpiritual promotions, it feems reafonable to
fuppofe that the words, all ecclefiaftical perjbris,
were meant, (notwithftanding their extenfive
import) to relate only to fuch priefts as have
benefices or other ecclefiaftical promotions,
to be deprived of, and not to all priefts what-
foevcr. And there is no claufe in the ad that
inflids any penalty upon Romifti priefts, or
priefts who have not taken the oath of fu-
premacy, and who are not in poffeflion of any
benefices or fpiritual promotions, for faying
or finging mafs, or adminiftering the facra-
ments of the church of Rome, in a private
mafs-houfe, or chapel, belonging to thofe
perfons of their own religion at whofe defire
they (hould officiate ; though this was after-
wards made penal by the ftatute of the 23d of
Elizabeth, cap. i . It feems therefore that
the Romifh priefts in Canada, who could not
take the oath of fupremacy, might neverthe-
- lefs.
*\
M^.
■ r
•■■[ ''■ ' li
!i '^*l
f
'i^ Ir
. ■■hii :
;m
■ >■[>■■'
■ ■ ri
mi
u
C ^92: ]"'
Icfs, confiftently with this 2t\ of lupremiicy,
have faid or fung mafs, aod adniiniftered the
fiicraments of the church of Rome, to perfons
of their own religion, in private mafs-houfes
or chapels, and perhaps alfo. {by the indul-
gence of the government, and by way of con-
tinuation of the liberty that hjld been granted
them in cxprefs words by the capitulation,)
in the feveral pariih-churches in the province,
but without any right either to the tythes, or
the parfonagt-houfes, or the glebe-lands, or
any other advantages, or provilions, acknow-
ledged and fupported by the laws, or which
did not arife from, ^nd depend upon, the
voluntary bounty of the perfons at whofe de-
fire they officiated. And- this would have been
truly and ftriditly a toleration of the Roman-
Catholick religion ; which is all that was in-
tended to be granted by the treaty of peace.
Every thing further is, in a greater or iefs
degree, an eftahliflimcnt of it.
I defire it may ibeobferved that I ^m not at
preient inqviuring wh^t iWaa fit, in .point of
policy or humamty, to be dope in this refpedl,
in order to agconimodat« and gratify the Ro-
manr Catholick clergy pf the province, (which
would open a very wido field of argument,)
but what the treaty of peace required to be
done in the foregoing ciaufe of indulgence to
the Roman-Catholick religion.
; But, to return to the principal propofition
which I had undertaken to prQve» which wasi
. ... ^ ' ' that
UtlOR
that
[ 193 J
that the incapacity to hold places of tniil: and
profit was not (as fomc writers have repre-
fentcd it,) a new hardlhip impofed inadver-
tently upon the Roman-Catholicks of Canada*
by the king's proclamation, or commifTions to
his governours, in derogation of the treaty of
peace, and which therefore the king and par-
liament were bound in honour, in order to
carry that treaty efFedlually into execution, to
remove ; I hope it now appears plainly to the
fatisfadlion of my readers, that by the afore-
faid 19 th fedion of this great and fundamen-
tal ftatuteof the ill: of Elizabeth, cap. i. (to
which the treaty of peace is acknowledged in
the late adl of parliament to refer, and which
is therein recognized as being of force in Ca-
nada,) all temporal judges, juftices, mayors,
and other lay, or temporal, officers and mi-'
nifters, and every other perfon having the
king's fee or wages, that is, in other words,
every judge and other officer of government,
and every perfon holding any place of profit
under the crown, was under an obligation of
taking the oath of, fupremacy.
The penalty of refufing the faid c ith of
fupremacy, to any perfon poflcfTed either of
an ecclefiaftical benefice, or other fpiritual pro-
motion, or any temporal office or place, is
appointed in the 20th, 21ft, and 22d, feiftions
of the fame adt of fupremacy, to be the im-
mediate and perpetual forfeiture of the faid
benefice, promotion, office, or place, during
Cc the
If
Hi
,1 ;ii-'
1 .^, i
\i ' Hi
'I ,,
« 1, '(■
\y.
[ '94 ]
the lill' o!' the pa'fon who held it, hi the fame
manner ;is if the laid perlon were dead.
But, though the oath of fupremacy was
necellary to be taken by all officers of govern-
ment, and other perfons holding pkccs of
profit under the crown, in Canada, by virtue
of the treaty of peace and the aforefaid aift of
the 1 ft of Elizabeth, cap. i . to which the faid
treaty had a reference, yet it muft be con-
fclTed that the other proteftant tefl which has
been hitherto taken by the officers of govern-
ment in the province of Quebeck, 1 mean,
the declaration againft tranfubllantiation,
\\'ou]d not have been in force there by virtue
of the treaty of peace and the faid adt of fu-
premacy therein referred to, without the
king's proclamation of Odober, 1763, ajid
commillions to his governours of the pro-
vince 5 becaufe the obligation of fubfcribing
that declaration is founded only on the (tat.
25 Car. II. cap. 2. intitled, ** An ad for pre-
venting dangers which may happen from po-
pilh recufmts," which related only to Eng-
land and Wales, and did not propria 'vigcre,
or by its own import and operation, extend
to the American colonies or other out-lying
dominions of the crown. This fecond tell
for excluding Roman-Catholicks from places
of truit and profit was introduced into the
province of Quebeck by the proclamation of
October, 176^, which promifed to the per-
fons who iliould refort to, and refide in, that
province,
[ '55 ]
province, the immediate enioyincri'- cf tlic
benefit of the laws of Elngland, and hy the
two commiiiions of captain-general and v^o-
vernour in chief of the laid province iuc-
celfively given to general Murray and general
Carleton, which diredled thofe govcrnours to
require every member both of the council
and allembly of the province (as foon as one
fliould be fummoned,) to make and fubfcribe
that declaration againft tranfubflantiation, as
well as to take the oaths of allegiance and
inpremacy, and abjuration of the pretender's
litle to the crown, before he was permitted
to take his feat. The want of attending to
this diflindion between the foundations on
which thefe two proteftant tefts, the oath of
fuprcmacy and the declaration againfl tranfub-
flantiation, have hitherto fubfided in the pro-
vince, feems to have given occalion to fomc
confulion on this fubjett.
I have one thing more to obferve, before I
quit this fubjed:, concerning the legal obliga-
tion of paying tythes to thcRomifh clergy in
the province of Quebeck, which fome perfons
have aflerted to have all along fubfillcd in the
province ever fince the conqueft of it, or at
lead till the general introduction of the laws of
England into it by the proclamation of Oc-
tober, 1763, and the king's commiilions to
his governours. The obfervation I mean to
make here upon this matter is, that the faid
aflertion Is fo far from being true, that, before
Cc 2 the
i\'
'M*- -
I
rm
Mi
.t(f|
k '
/
[ 196 1
tl>e fuid proclamation was publlfhed, the
Roman-Catholick priefts of Canada were
doubly excluded from their legal right to
tythes by the capitulation and treaty of peace,
to wit, firfl, by the capitulation, and, fe-
condly, by the treaty of peace. For by the
capitulation the obligation of the people to
pay the tythes to them was exprcfsly fufpendcd
till the king's pleafure (liould be declared :
and the king's pleafure had never been de-
clared upon that fubjedt till the late ad. And
by the reference to the laws of Great-Bri-
tain, and confequently to the adl of fupre-
macy, or flat, i Eliz. cap. i . in the aforefliid
4th article of the treaty of peace, all ecclcfi-
aflical perfons were to be excluded from their
benefices till they had taken the oath of fu-
premacy; which none of the Romifh clergy
of that province have taken : infomuch that,
if the king's majefty had, in the interval be-
tween the faid capitulation in September, 1 760,
and the faid treaty of peace in February, 176'^,
as, for inftance, in the year 1761, declared it
to be his royal pleafure that the people of Ca-
nada fhould be obliged by the Englilh govern-
ment to pay the priefts their tythes, yet they
would have been a fecond time deprived of
their legal right to them by the faid article of
the treaty of peace, unlefs they would have
taken tlae oath of fupremacy, by reafon of
the aforefaid 19th fedion 6f the adt of
fupremacy, which was referred to in the
faid
[ '97 1
laid treaty, and thereby, as it were, eflabli/hed
and promulged by his majcrty's authority,
with the confent of the French king, through-
out all the country of Canada which was ceded
to the crown by that article.
It appears therefore that the parliament was
not bound in juftice and honour, by the terms
either of the capitulation or treaty of peace
above-mentioned, to revive the compulfive
obligation on the laiety of Canada to pay the
Romifh priefls their tythes, nor to admit any
of the faid priefts to hold benefices in the faid
country, nor the Canadian laymen to hold
places of trufl and profit without taking the
oath of fupremacy.
Note. By the flatute of the ift of king
William and queen Mary, fefT. 2, cap. 2, which
is well known by the name of the Bill of right Sy
the oath of fupremacy appointed by the afore-
faid ad: of the i ft of Elizabeth, cap. i . was
taken away, and another of a merely negative
kind, or which contains only a denial of tlie
pope's and every other foreign jurifdicflion and
authority in fpiritual matters in this realm, but
docs not, as the former oath did, affirm the
king to be the fupreme head of the church,
was eftablifhed in its ftead.
This oath is as follows.
** I A.B. do fwear that I do from my
heart abhor, detcft, and abjure, as impious
and heretical, that damnable dodrine and
pofition, that princes excommudicated, or
deprived, by the pope, or any authority of
the
\-A
IS
[ 193 ]
the fee of Rome, may be dcpofed or murdered
by their fubjedts, or any other pcrfon what-
foever. Atid I do declare that no foreign
prince, perfon, prelate, ftate, or potentate,
hath, or ought to have, any jurifdidtion,
power, fuperiority, pre-eminence, or authority,
ecclefiaftical or fpiritual, with this realm."
So help me GOD."
This is the oath which has been taken ever
fince the Revolution, in lieu of the former
oath of fupremacy appointed by the ftatute of
queen Elizabeth, and which therefore ought
to have been taken in Canada by all prieits
who held benefices, and judges and other
temporal officers of government, and perfons
who held places of profit under the crown, in
that country from the ratification of the faid
treaty of peace to the time of pafiing tlic
late ad.
In lieu of this oath the late adt of parlia-
ment has eftabliihed another oath of a very
different purport, being nothing more than
an oath of allegiance exprefied in many words,
and accompanied with a renunciation of all
pardons and difpenfations for the breach of it.
By this abolition of the oath of fupremacy
in the province of Quebeck the late act has in
a great meafure repealed and annulled the a(ft
of the I ft of Elizabeth, cap. i. though in
words it feems to recognize and confirm it.
See the claufe which recognizes and confirms
it.
[ ^99 ]
it, above, in page 84; and the provifo which
weakens, or rather deftroys, the force of that
confirming claufe by fupprefling tlie oath of
fupremacy, and fubitituting the new oath of
allegiance in its ftead, in page 85; and the
new oath itfelf in page 86. And thus the
neceflity of abjuring the foreign jurifdidion
of the bifliop of Rome, in order to an ad-
miffion to offices of truft and power, which
has hitherto been confidered as a fundamental
article, and, as it were, a principal land-mark,
in the conflitution of the Englifti government,
ever fince the reformation, has been taken away
throughout this extenfive part of the dominions
of the crown by the late adt of parliament;
without any obligation of honour or public
faith, arifing from the capitulation or treaty of
peace above-mentioned, (as has been fully
fliewn) to make fuch a meafure neceflary. As
to the reafons of policy and expedience that
may be alledged in favour of it, I leave them to
be confidered by thofe who are acquainted with
them, having never myfelf been able to per-
ceive that there were any, nor obferved that
any have been alledged by the numerous writ-
ers in defence of the late adl, who have all of
them endeavoured to juftify it only upon the
ground of the obligation on the national
faith and honour, arifing from the capitulation
and treaty of peace, which has been fhewn
to be infufficient for that purpofe.
Many
m^}
n K
I.!
k:?'^
■'-Vi * ^
[ 200 ]
Many more obfervations might be made s
both on the foregoing French petition and the
ad: of parhament to which it has given rife.
Thevafl enlargement of the province by adding
to it a new territory that contains, according to
Lord Hillfborough's eflimation of it, 511 mil-
lions of acres, that is, more land than Spain,
Italy, France and Germany put together, and
moft of it very good land, is a meafure that
would require an ample difcuilion. The total
refcinding the king's proclamation of Odober,
1763, by which the royal and national faith
was boiuid to thofe Britifti fubjeds that ftiould
refort to, and rdide in, the province of Que-
beck, that they fhould enjoy the benefit of the
laws of England 3 inftead of explaining and
correcting it fo far as might have been done
with the confent and approbation of the faid
Britifh fubjeds, and as would have been fuffi-
cient to fatisfy the great body of the Canadian
inhabitants of tiie province, to wit, by a re-
vival of only fo much of the former French
laws in civil matters as related to th't tenure,
alienation and fettlement, inheritance and
dower of landed property ;. is another matter
of great importance which requires a very full
confideration. The great imperfedion of the
late ad in not faying any thing about the bi-
fhop of Quebeck, who has hitherto reigned
in the province with great power and autho-
rity, exercifmg the fpiritual thunders of ex-
communication,' fufpenfion of prieOs from
their
their
L 201 J
^leir offices and benefices, and intcrdifling
divine worfhip in churches and chapels, in
a manner that has fpread great terror among
the Roman-CathoHcks of the province :
its imperfedion alfo in not afcertaining, or
rather in not veiling in the crov^n, the right
of prefentation to thofe benefices which were
formerly in the patronage of the bifhop of
Quebeck, and which are almoft all the be-
nefices in the province, there being not above
a dozen out of the whole number, (which
is 128,) that are in the patronage of private
perfons : and a number of other ftriking
defeats and omiflions in the late aO, which
leave the condition of the province which it
was meant to regulate, in a ftrange degree of
uncertainty upon many important points ;
are matters that it would take up many pages
to inquire into with the attention they de-
ferve. But thefe are fubjedts which I have
not time at prefent to enlarge upon. I fhall
therefore here put an end to thefc remarks
on the foregoing French petition and me-
morial, and prelent the reader with a copy
of the Cafe of the Britifh merchants at
London concerned in the Que beck trade,
which was drawn up, at the defire of the
faid merchants, in the month of May laft,
at the time of pafling the late Quebeck bill,
and of which printed copies were diftributed to
feveral members of both houfes of parliament,
in order to give weight to a petition againft
D d that
m
M
m
_f(:Mi'
W^
f»!
ifi
^■*f ■ '\
n L
- It ■ n<
f ^
!:riiii/
i ■
m
,/
[
2C2
that bill which thofe merchants at that time
preicntcd to the Houfc of Commons in be-
half of thcmfclves and their correfpondents
and friends, the Kritiih inhabitants of the
province of Quebeck. .,
This cafe was as follows.
I
..e
I O
763.
pro-
ation
ilobtr
'.['he Cafe of the Britifli Merchants
trading to Quebeck, and others of
his Majelty's natural-born Subjeds,
who have been induced to venture
tlieir Property in the faid Province
on the Faith of his Majefty's Pro-
clamation, and other Promifes fo-
lemnly given.
npHE king's mod excellent majefly was
"*" gracioully pleafed, by his royal procla-
mation of the feventh of OAober, one thoufand
feven hundred and fixty-three, pafled under
the great feal of Great-Britain to invite his
loving fubjedls, as well of his kingdoms of
Great-Britain and Ireland, as of his colonies
in America, to refort to the faid province of
Quebeck, and the other provinces then lately
ceded to his majefty by the French king, in
order to avail themlelves, with all convenient
tpeed, of the ^ great benefits and advantages
that
[
1
that muft accrue therefrom to their commerce,
manufadlures, and navigation ; and as an en-
couragement to them fo to do, to publiih and
declare, that his faid majefty had, in the let-
ters patent under the great leal of Great-Bri-
tain, by which the new governments in the
faid ceded countries had been conflituted,
given exprefs power and diredions to his go-
vernours in the faid new colonies, that Jo Joon
as the Jlate and circumjlances of the /aid new
colonies woidd admit thereof ^ they fljould fiim-
mon and call general ajjemblies within the
faid goyernmentSy in fuch manner and form
as is ufed and diredled in thofc colonies
and provinces in America which were under
liis majefty's immediate government ; and that
his majefty had alfo given powers to the faid
governours, with the confent of his majefty's
councils of the faid province, and the repre-
fcntatives of the people in the fimc, fo to be
fummoned as aforelaid, to make, conftitute
and ordain laws, ftatutes, and ordinances for
the publick peace, welfare, and good gov<?iii-
ment of his majefty's faid colonies, and of the
people and inhabitants thereof, as near as may
be agreeable to the laws of England, and
under fuch regulations and reftricfrions as are
ufed in other colonies ; and was pleafed fur-
ther to declare, that in the mean time^ and
until fuch ajfemblies could be called as afore- ,
[nidy all perfons inhabiting in, or rejijrting tOy
hts majcfiys J aid colonies might cojifide in his
D d 2 majefixs
- " 'm
ft
[ 204 ]
J764'
majejlys royal proteBion for the enjoyment of
the benefits of the laws of England \ and that
for that purpofe his majefty had given power,
under the great feal, to the governours of his
majefly's faid new colonies, to eredt and con-
flitute, with the advice of his majefly's coun-
cils of the faid provinces refpedtively, courts
of judicature and puhlick juflice within the
faid colonies, for the hearing and determining
all caufes, as well criminal as civil, according
to law and equity, and as near as may be,
agreeably to the laws of England.
ordinance ^^^ ^" purfuancc of the faid proclamation,
ofsept.i7, and of the commiflion of captain-general and
governour in chief of the faid province of
Quebeck, granted to major-general Murray,
in the following month of November, one
thoufand feven hundred and fixty-three, and
by him received and published in the month
of Augufl: of the following year, one thoufand
i^vtvi hundred and fixty-t'our, the faid major-
general Murray did, with the advice of his
majefly's council of the faid province, make
and publifh an ordinance of the faid province
on the feventeenth day of September, in the
fame year, one thoufand feven hundred and
fixty-four, for ereding and conflituting courts
of judicature i and by the faid ordinance did
ere(fl two principal courts of judicature, called
the Courts of King's Bench, and Common
Pleas; and did by the faid ordinance give
power and authority to the chief juflice of the
province,
';>>
&.1
if,'
[ -"05 ]
province, before whom the faid court of
King's Bench was to be held, to hear and
determine all criminal and civil caufes, agree-
ably to the laws of England, and the ordi-
nances of the faid province ; and did likewife,
by the faid ordinance, diredl and command
the judges of the faid fecond court, called the
Court of Common Pleas, to determine all
matters brought before them agreeably to
equity, having regard neverthelefs to the laws
of England, as far as the circumflances and
then prefent fituation of things would admit,
until fuch time as proper ordmances for the
information of the people could be publilhed
by the governour and council of the faid pro-
vince, agreeable to the laws of England.
And on the lixth day of November, in the Provincial
fame year, one thoufand feven hundred and ojJ'"«"ce
lixty-iour, another provincial ordinance was bcr, 1764.
publifhed by the faid governour Murray, and
his majefty's council of the faid province, for
the fake of quieting the minds of his majefty's
new Canadian fubjedls, and removing the ap-
prehenlions occalioned by the faid introdudion
of the laws of England into the faid province,
by which it was ordained and declared, that
until the tenth day of Auguft then next en-
fuing, that is, in the year of our Lord one
thoufand feven hundred and lixty-fivc, the
tenures of the lands, in rcfped: of fuch grants
as were prior to the cefiion of the faid pro-
vince, by the definitive treaty of peace figned
at
;.,!',
( llf
(■:-■ ■'
J'-'
Conclu-
fion drawn
from the
fiid pro-
clamation
and ordi-
nances by
the king s
ancient &
natural -
born fub-
jefts.
[ 206 ]
at Paris, on the tenth day of February, one
thoufand fcven hundred and fixty-three, and
the rights of inheritance, as pradifed before
that period, in fuch lands or effeds of any
nature whatfoever, according to the cuftom of
the faid country, fliould remain to all intents
and purpofes the fame, unlefs they fhould be
altered by fome declared and pofitive law.
And the faid two ordinances have been
tranfmitted to his majefty, and never dif-
allowed by him, and are therefore generally
underftood by his majefty's BritKh fubjedts in
the faid province, to have received the fandtion
of his majefty's royal approbation ; and in
confequence of the faid two ordinances, to-
gether with the proclamation aforefaid of the
feventh of Odober, one thoufand feven hun-
dred and fixty-thrce, and the two commifTions
of governour in chief of the faid province,
granted fucceffively to major-general Murray
and major-general Carleton, which feem in
every part of them to pre-fuppofe that the
laws of England were in force in the faid
province of Quebeck, being full of allufions
and references to thofcj laws on a variety of
different fubjedls, and do not contain any inti-
mation of a faving of any part of the laws and
cuftoms that prevailed in the faid province in
the time of the French government, we the
Britifli merchants trading to Quebeck, and all
the ancient Britifhfubjefts refiding in the faid
province have been made to underhand and be-
li'vve,
leve,
[ 207 ]
lievcj that tlie laws of England have been in-
troduced into the faid province, and that they
have had the fandion of his majefty's royal
word, that they fhould continue to be obfervcd
in the faid province.
We cannot therefore but exprefs our fur-
prife and concern at hearing that a bill is now
brought into parliament, by which it is in-
tended, that the faid royal proclamation of
Odtober, one thoufand feven hundred and
fixty-three, and the commiflion under the
authority whereof the government of the faid
province is at prefent adminiftered, and all
the ordinances of the faid province, relative
to the civil government and adminiflration of
juftice in the fame, and all commiffions to
judges and other officers of the fame, (hould
be revoked, annulled, and made void.
We humbly beg leave to reprefent, that
many of us have, through a confidence in the
faid royal proclamation, and other inftruments
proceeding from, and allowed by, his ma-
jefty's royal authority, ventured to fend con-
fiderable quantities of merchandize into the
faid province, and to give large credits to
divers perfons refiding in the fame, both of
his majefty's new Canadian fubje<fts, and of
his antient Britifh fubjedls, who have, through
a like confidence in the faid proclamation,
reforted to, and fettled themfelves in, the faid
province. And that, we have employed our
property and credit in this manner, in a firm
belief.
The perl,
tiuneri. are
alarmed ac
the deHgn
of revok-
ing the
king's pro-
clamation,
and com-
miflion to
his gover-
nour, &c»
Credit
given by
the peti-
tioners to
perf )nsra-
iidiog in
Canada
upon the
faith of
the faid
proclaraa-
tion, Sic.
* i . 1 1|''
'"'^^l
■ :■ .»•
■N
" . ■ r- ; f ■'
■:ll
'T'l
i
m Si
\:
Tliey
tVierefore
defirc that
the intend
ed revival
of the
French
laws may
at lead be
poftponed
tor fome
time.
[ 208 ]
belief, that we fliould have the remedies
allowed us by the laws of England for the
fecurity and recovery of it j and that if vie
had fuppofed the French laws, which pre-
vailed in the faid province under the French
government, to be fUll in force there, or to
be intended to be revived in the fame, wc
would not have had any commercial con-
nexions with the inhabitants of the faid pro-
vince, either French or Englifli. And there-
fore we beg leave to reprefent, that we think
ourfelves intitled, upon the mere grounds of
juftice, (without deliring any favour to be
fhewn us on the account of our being his
majefty's antient, and faithful, and proteftant
fubje«fts, that are attached to his royal perfon
and government by every tie of religion, in-
tereft, and habitual duty and aiFedtion) to
infift that, if it be refolved to perfift in this
new meafure of reviving all the former laws of
Canada concerning property and civil rights,
and abolifhing the laws of England that have
prevailed there in their Head fince the eftablifli-
mentof the civil government in one thoufand
feven hundred and fixty-four, the execution
thereof may at lead be poftponed until we
fhall have had fufficient time to withdraw our
efFeds from the faid province, and obtain pay-
ment of the debts which are owing to us in the
fame, by the remedies and methods of trial
allowed and appointed by the laws of England
in that behalf; through a reliance on which
remedies
[ 2*^9 ]
reincdics and methods of trial we wcrv? In-
duced to venture our our laid cffcds there,
and permit thofe debts to be contracT:ed. And
this time, we humbly reprefent, cannot well
be lefs than three years.
We further beg leave to reprefent, that we
apprehend his majefty's former condudl in
introducing the laws of England into the faid
province by his proclamation and other inftru-
ments aforefaid, to have been in no wife un-
ufual, or fevere, or particularly harlh, with
refpe(ft to his new Canadian fubjedls, nor to
have been unexpeded by them, but to have
been the natural and known confequence of
the conquefl and ceflion of the country to his
majefty by the late peace, according to the
policy of the crown of Great-Britain on the
occafion of fimilar conquefts in former times.
And we particularly beg leave to obferve, that
the whole law of England has been introduced
into the kingdom of Ireland, in confequence
of the conqueft of it by the arms of England,
without any the leaft mixture of the antient
Irifh laws, even upon the fubjeds of tenures
and defcents of land : and no inconvenience
has been found to follow from it ; but, on the
contrary, the limilitude of laws is at this day
a ftrong ground of union and mutual afFe(5lion
between the inhabitants of the two countries.
And the like has been done with refpedt to
the principality of Wales ; in which the Eng-
lilli law is the only law that has been allowed
E e for
vindica-
tion of the
kin<>'s fur-
mcr con-
duel in in-
troducing
tlie laws of
England
into Ca-
nada.
The fame
thing ua!>
done in
Ireland ;
I
And in
Wales ;
^m
■■^h%<
'V
1 ■
I
And in
New-
York.
I'
A power
of doing fo
in Canada
Was eX'
prefsly rc-
lerved to
the Icing
by the ca-
pitulation
[ 2I<5 ]
for more than two hundred years pad : and
the like good cfFe<fls have followed from it.
And in the lafl: century, upon the conqueft of
the province of New- York, then called the
New Netherlands, from the Dutch, the fame
policy was obferved, and the Dutch laws were
totally abolifhed, and the Englifh laws intro-
duced in their ftead, which have prevailed
there ever fince. And yet, at that time, the
Dutch fettlers in that province were very nu-
merous, and from them much t|ie greater
part of the prefent inhabitants are defccndcd.
And, in conformity to thefe examples, we did
conceive his moft gracious majell:y to have in-
tended to introduce the laws of England, by
his proclamation aforefaid, into the four new
governments of Granada, Ball Florida, Weft
Florida, and Quebeck, inftead of the French
and Spanifh laws, which had prevailed therein
under the former governments. And we
conceive this conduifl of his mod gracious
majefty, to have been no way derogatory to
the articles of capitulation, granted to his
Canadian fubjeds by general Amherft, upon
the furrender of the whole country to his
majefty's arms in September, one thoufand
feven hundred and fixty; becaufe, when the
French general exprefsly demanded, in one of
the articles of capitulation, ** That the French
and Canadians fhould continue to be governed
according to the cuftom of Paris, and the laws
and ufages eftablifhed for that country, and
that
[ zu ]
I
that they Hiould not be lu* 'ii^il to any other
impofts than thofc that were cllabU(hcd under
the French dominion ;" the faid general Am-
herft, in his aniWcT to the faid demand, de-
clares, ** That thi-y /n'covic the kings jubje^s-y*
thereby avoiding to tie up and preclude his
late majcfty, and his royal luccefTors, from
making fuch changes in the laivs and taxes of
the faid province, a& to his royal wifdom
ihould fcem meet*
We further beg leave to reprefent, that we The parts
are moll efpecially anxious for the preferva- rifh^uw^'
tion of thofe parts of the Englifh law which which the
relate to matters or navigation, commerce, mou par-
and perfonal contrads, and the method of deftj"t^
determining difputes upon thofe fubjedls by be conti-
the trial by jury, and likewife for thofe parts ""c '^pro-
of it which relate to adions for the reparation viuce.
of injuries received, fuch as adtions of falfe
imprifonment, and of flander, and of aflault,
and whatever relates to the liberty of the per-
fon, and moft of all for the writ of habeas
corpus, in cafes of imprifonment j which we
take to be, in the ftrongeft and moft proper
fenfe of the words, otie of the benefits of the
laws of Englandy of which his majefty has
promifed us the enjoyment by his proclama-
tion above-mentioned, and which we r«p pre-
bend to be a part of the Englidi fyftem of
jurifprudence, to which our new Canadian
fel low- fu bj e6ts will not obj ed .
Ee 2 And
. M 1 8
I
pM
V;'
The pro-
ipcrous
condition
of tffe pro-
vince fiiice
r.!ie iniro-
dudVion of
the E no-
li !h law.
Thegreat-
er part of
the trade
of the pro-
vince is
carried on
by theBri-
tiih inha-
bitants of
'J hepeti-
lioncisdo
not object
lo the re-
vival, or
continu-
ance, of
theFrench
laws relat-
ing to
landed
i'roperty.
[ 212^ 1
And we beg leave to reprefent, that the
province of Quebeck has thriven exceedingly,
both in agriculture and trade, fince the elta-
blifhment of the civil government of the pro-
vince, and the introdudlion of the English
laws into the fame ; having exported laft year
about three hundred and lifty thoufand bufhels
of corn ; whereas, in the time of the French
government, they exported, none at all, and
produced hardly enough for their own fub-
fiftence. . ; . . .
And we further beg leave to reprefent,
that much the greater part of this trade is
carried on by his majefty's old Britifli fubjeds
in the faid province; by which they may
juftly claim to themfelves the merit of having
been the principal promoters of the late great
improvement of the province.
And we further beg leave to reprefent, that
we by no means objec^l to a revival or continu-
ance of the former French laws concernins;
the tenures of land, and the methods of alie-
nating and conveying land, nor even concern-
ing the inheritance of land belonging to Ca-
nadians born, or to be born, of marriages
already contracted ; nor concerning dower, or
the other civil rights of either men or women
refulting from the matrimonial contract, fo
far as they relate to marriages already con-
tradled. And we conceive that the revival of
the French laws in thefe particulars, with full
powers given to the Canadians of future times
to
nages
r, or
omen
a, fo
con-
al of
full
[ 213 ]
to continue them In their refpedlive families at
their pleafure by marriage-agreements, laft
wills, or deeds in their life-time, would be
fufficient to give full fatisfaftion to the bulk
of his majefty's new Canadian fubjedts, and
make them acquiefce very chearfully in the
general eftablifhment of the laws of England,
in conformity to his majefty's proclamation
above-mentioned, upon all other matters.
And we further beg leave to reprefent, that
feveral of his majefty's Old Britifh fubjeds are
pofTefTed of a confiderable quantity of landed
property in the faid province, and that others
of them are daily becoming fb : and hereupon
we will venture to affirm, that fixteen of the
feigniories of that province, and fome of them
the moft valuable ones in the country, are in
the hands of the faid Old Britifti fubjedls.
And we further beg leave to reprefent, that,
in confequence of his majefty's moft gracious
promife contained in his proclamation afore-
laid, that, as foon as the (ituation and circum-
ftances of the faid province would permit, an
aflembly of freeholders and planters of the
fame fliould be called by his majefty's gover-
nour thereof, which, in conjundlion with the
faid governour, and his majefty's council of
the faid province, ftiould have power to make
laws and ordinances for the welfare and good
government of the faid province, we have
conftantly entertained hopes that an aftembly
of the freeholders of the fame would foon be
eftablifhed.
Many of
the Britilh
inhabi-
tantsofche
province
are pcjUef-
fed of con-
fiderable
quantities
of landed
property
in it.
Concern-
ing an ai-
fembly of
the free-
holders of
the pro-
vine*.
m\
'-■mki
I tslf'fil
f^')! h
#:,q|r' j!
I
The peti-
tioners are
alarmed at
the claufe
for clla-
blifhing a
legillative
council in
the pro-
vince.
The want
of afuffi-
cient
number of
protcllnnt
landholJ-
r 214 ]
eftabliflied, and that we Hiould enjoy the
benefits rellilting from tliat tree and equitable
method of government in common with the
inhabitants of die adjoining provinces of
North- America.
And therefore we beg leave to reprefent,
that wc have been very greatly alarmed by that
part of the bill now before parliament, which
leems to cancel the faid moll gracious promife
of our fovcreign, and to deprive us of all hopes
of obtaining the cflablifliment of a general
aflembly of the freeholders of the faid pro-
vince, and to eftablifh in the flead thereof a
very different mode of government in the faid
province, by a legillative council, confifting
of perfons appointed by, and removeable at
the pleafure of, the crown -, more efpecially as
the laid new mode of governjuent, (which we
prefume nothing but fome urgent and very
peculiar circumllances of neceflity can be
thought a fufficient reafon for adopting) is
not limited in the faid bill to continue for only
a certain fmall number of years, after which
they might hope to have an afTcmbly in the
faid province, agreeably to the faid royal pro-
mife, but is ellablirtied in very general terms,
that remove that agreeable prolpedt out of
their fight.
We further beg leave to reprefent, that we
have hitherto been made to underftand, that
the reafon of the omiflion of his majefty's go-
vernours of the faid province to call a general
aflembly
joy the
luitable
^ith the
nces of
prefent,
. by that
, which
promife
ill hopes
general
lid pro-
lereof a
the faid
Dnlifting
^eable at
cially as
hich we
.nd very
can be
>ting) is
for only
r which
f in the
yal pro-
,1 terms,
out of
[ 215 ]
afTenibly of the freeholders of the fame, from
the firft eftablifhment of the civil government
thereof, in the year one thoufand feven hun-
dred and lixty-four, to the prefent time, ac-
cording to the powers and diredions given
them by his majelly in that behalf, in their
commiflions of captain-general and gcvernour
in chief of the faid province, has been the
difficulty of finding a fufficient number of
fubjeds of his majeily in the faid province
properly qualified, in all refpeds, to be mem-
bers of fuch affembly, according to the direc-
tions of the faid conimilTions, which required,
that all pcrfons who lliould become members
either of the faid afTembly of the freeholders
of the faid province, or of his mrjefly's coun-
cil of the fame, fliould take the oath of abju-
ration of the pope's power, and fubfcribe the
declaration againfl tranfubftantlation, as well
as take the oath of alleeiance and the oath of
abjuration of the pretender's right to the crown
of thefe realms, before they were admitted to
lit and vote in fuch affomblv and council. And
this objedion, we beg leave to [reprefent, is
now thought, by perfons well acquainted with
the faid province, to be at an end, there being
now a fufficient number of freeholders in the
faid province to conftitute a houfe of alTembly,
willing and ready to take the faid oaths and
declaration ; in proof of which we beg leave
to inform this honourable houfe, that a peti-
tion has been lately prefented to his majelly
from
ers in the
provinceto
form an af-
femblyhas
been hi-
therto al-
ledged as
the reafon
of the o-
miHion to
to call one.
That rea-
fon is now
at an end,
there be-
ing a futH-
cientnum-
berof pro-
teltanc
freeholders
for that
purpofe.
HI
^.1? r
^ -,'
■';,' iJi
[ 2'6 ]
from the British and proteftaiit inhabitants of
the faid province, figned by a great number of
perfons of that defcription, requefting his ma-
jefty to fummon and call fuch a general af-
fembly of the freeholders of the faid province,
and alluring him that there are a fufficient
number of perfons in the faid province qua-
lified according to the direction of his majefty's
commiffion for that puipofe, and humbly re-
prefenting to his majeily, that the fituation
and circumflances of the faid province are at
prefent fuch, as not only render the faid mea-
fure of eftablifhing a general afleinbly pradi-
qable, but likewife make it to be highly expe-
dient for the regulation and improvement of
the faid province.
And we beg leave further to re prefent, that
if it be thought inexpedient on the one hand
to conftitute a houfe of afTembly, confiding of
proteftants only, agreeably to the diredions of
his majefty's commiflions before-mentioned,
on account of the great fuperiority of the
numbers of the Roman-Catholicks in the
faid province, w^ho would thereby be excluded
from fitting in fuch afTembly -, and, on the
other hand, it be thought dangerous to fum-
mon a general afTembly into v^hich the Roman-
Catholicks fhould be admitted indifcriminately
vv^ith the proteflants ; and, on account of this
twofold difficulty, it be judged neccfTary to
have recourfe to the new method of govern-
ment above-mentioned, by invefling a council
•- • ' of
If;;
[ 117 ]
of perfons nominated, and removeable at, the
pleafure of the crown, with a certain degree
of legillative authority \ we humbly hope that
the fame reafons which make it be judged oiveabn
dangerous to admit the Roman-CathoHck in- n°iJnon'*of
habitants of the faid province into a fhare of Roman-
the legillative authority by means of an open ,^fo^the *
dlTembly of the fame, will be thought fuffi- legiflativc
cient to exclude them from obtaining a fhare ^'^""^^ *
of the fame authority by an admifHon into this
new legiflative council ; which, being a lingle
body inverted with the power of making laws
for the province, will be of more weight and
confequence in the fame, than an affembly of
the freeholders would be, if the plan of go-
vernment promifed by his majefty's proclama-
tion and commiflions above-mentioned, by a
governour, council and afTcmbly, had been
purfued. And therefore we cannot but ex-
prefs our concern to find, that in the bill now
before parliament, there is no provifion that
all, or even any of, the members of the faid
intended council fhould of neceffity be pro-
teftants, but that they may be all Roman-
Catholicks notwithflanding any thing con-
tained in the fame. And therefore we mofl
humbly and earneflly intreat this honourable
houfe to take care that, if fuch a legillative
council muft be eftablilhed in the faid pro-
vince, in lieu of an affembly of the freeholders
of the fame, the members thereof fhall be all
proteftants 5 or, if that be thought too much
Ff to
• '■■li
m.
''Ik; :
■i.Ji^
fS
mA
2lS
]
m
to grant to them, that at lead a majority of
the incmhcrs of the faid council (hould ne-
celfaily be proteftants, and only a few of the
moll moderate fort of Roman-Catholicks
ihould he admitted into it, who fliould be
required to take the oath of abjuration of the
pope's authority, though not to fubfcribe the
declaration aguinft tranfubftantiation ; which
is a temperament, which, as we conceive,
might lead to good effedts hereafter.
Neccdity ^^^ ^yg further beu: leave to reprefent both
of making •=» , . i V ir r
the mem- ou our own accouut, and in behalr of our
k'^uiadvir ^^'^^'^^^s and correfpondents, the antient Britifii
council in. inhabitants now reliding in the faid province,
nuht-tr ^^^^ if ^^^ f^i<^ province mufl be governed by
t^ernoiii. a Icgillative council, nominated by his ma-
jefly, without the concurrence of an aflembly
of the freeholders of the flime, we humbly
hope that a claufe will be inferted in the bill,
to render the members of the faid council in-
capable of being either removed or fufpended
by his majefty's governour of the faid pro-
vince, and liable only to be removed by his
majelly himfelf, by his order in his privy
council, (of whofe wifdom and juftice wc can
entertain no fufpicion) to the end, that the faid
counfellors may both adt with a fpirit of free-
dom and independence becoming their high
offices of legiflators of the faid province, and
be thought to do fo by the people of the fame,
inftead of being confidered as dependent crea-
tures and tools of the will and pleafure of the
governour
)vernour
[ 219 1
governour for the time being, as we conceive
will be the cafe, if he Hiall be invellcd with
a power of removing or fufpending them ^ cm
their faid offices at his difcretion.
And we beg leave further to reprefent, that
it is alfo our wifh, if fuch a legiilative council
fliall be eflablifhed in lieu of an ailembly, that
the number of the members thereof may be
fixed and certain, inftead of being liable to
vary between the numbers of feventeen and
twenty-three perfons, as is propofed in the
prefent bill -, and likewife, that the faid coun-
cil may be made as numerous as conveniently
may be, to the end, that it may contain within
it perfons acquainted with every part of the
province, and the interefts of the inhabitants
refiding in the fame, and that their adls and
refolutions may be, for the mofl: part, agree-
able to the fentiments of the body of the people
over whom they are to prelide. And, with
refpedt to this point, we beg leave to repre-
fent, that it is the opinion of fome of the moll
judicious and refpedable of our friends and
correiJDondents in the faid province, that it
would be eafy to find thirty-one perfons
amongft the Britifli and other proteftant in-
habitants of the faid province, capable of be-
ing ufeful members of fuch a council.
And we further beg leave to reprefent, that
in cafe fuch a legiQative council fliould be
t'ftabliilied, it is our earncfl defire that pro-
vifion may be made in the lliid bill, that a
F f 2 certain
Thepcti.
tioncrs de-
fine that
the legii-
lative
council
may con-
fift of a
certain
number of
member.,
inllcad of
a number
that may
be varie^l
atpleafure.
And they
fuggeil
that their
number
Ih'.uld be
thirij -(.lie
They fvr-
tlcrdeiire
thai a ma-
jority of
the whole
number of
counrellors
"C?
Vt.iH
M
1, , 'V
Ui
may be
made ne-
cefl'ary to
the tran-
fafting of
bufincfs.
Ami that
the mem-
bers may
be paid for
their at-
tendance
at the
council, a
certain
fum of
money for
every at-
tendance.
[ 220 ]
certain number of the members of the fame
(hall be neceflary to tranfaft bulinefs ; without
whidi it may happen, that a very fmall part
of the whole body, as, for example, five or
fix perfons, fhall occafiondly exercife the great
powers veiled in the whole, and make laws
and ordinances that fhall bind all the inhabi-
tants of the province; which, we humbly
conceive, would be highly inexpedient and
unbecoming, and caufe great uneafinefs in the
faid province. And we are humbly of opinion,
that the number thus made necefTary to the
exercife of thefe high legiflative powers, ought
to be more than half the whole number of the
members of fuch council.
And we further beg leave to fuggefl it as
our opinion concerning this legiflative council,
that it would be expedient that the members
thereof fhould receive fome reafonable reward
out of the publick revenue of the province,
for every attendance at the meetings of the
faid council on the legiflative bufinefs of the
faid province, fufficient, at leafl, to defray the
expences of travelling to the place where the
faid meetings fhall be held, and of refiding
there during the time of the faid meetings j .
to the end, that at all the meetings of the faid
council, there may be a very full attendance
of counfellors, wno may concur in exercifing
the faid high authority ; without which, the
ordinances they fhall pafs will not be very
likely to obtain the reverence due to them
from
[ 221 ]
from the people, nor meet with a chearful
obedience.
But above all, we beg leave to repeat our And tiiat
moft earneft hopes and defires, that the cfta- council
blifhment of the faid legiflative council (if it ^n\y^ .
fhall be refolved that fuch a one fliall be efta- for only a
blifhed,) may be only for a fmall number of JJjI^berof
years, to the end, that, in cafe it Hiall here- years, lo
after appear to his majefty, that the fituation ^^l^\l^
and circumftances of the f^id province will province
admit of the fummoning a general affembly of Ss bJ"
the freeholders of the fame, we may at la(l i^^vern .i
reap the benefit of his moft gracious promife Snoi'yi' '
to us in his proclamation and commilHons
above-mentioned, that we fhould be governed
in the ufual and approved method of his ma-
jefty's other colonies in America, by a gover-
nour, council, and affembly.
We therefore humbly hope, that the ho-
nourable houfe of commons will take our cafe
into confideration, and permit us to be heard
by our council at the bar of their houfe, to
the fevei*al heads mentioned in tliis ftate of it,
and to fuch other parts of the bill now before
them, as we fhall apprehend ourfelves to be
concerned in intereft to objedt to, either on
our own account, or in the behalf of our cor-
refpondents and friends, the Old Britilh fab-
Jed's of the crown now refiding in the faid
province. And we have a firm reliance on
the wifdom and juftice of this honourable
houfe, the reprefentatives of the Commons of
Great-
lii
M
[ 222 ]
Great-Britain, for a fatisfadlory determination
upon all the matters contained in this cafe,
and upon the other points which may be fub-
mitted to their confideration by our counfel at
their bar, and for the protection of our rights
and liberties, as Britifh fubjefts, who have
adled under the fan^Slion of his majelly's royal
proclamation above-mentioned.
I
■m
f
The proceedings in parliament upon the bill
for regulating the government of the province
of Quebeck are fo recent, that all thofe who
were prefent at them muft needs remember
them. But, as both houfes of p.Trliament
were but thinly attended at that time, (the
greatefl number in the houfe of Commons,
upon any divifion, having been only about
130,) it will be neceffary for the greater part
of the members of the prefent parliament, who.
fhall defire to be acquaints d with the hiftory
of that bill, to have recourfe to fome written
account of it. And for this purpofe it may
be convenient for them to confult the new
collection of debates in parliament p^blidied
by Mr. Almon, and intended as a fupplement
to Chandler's collection, as the laft volume of
that new collection comes down to the end of
the lafl felTion of parliament, and gives a
prettv full account of thofe proceedings.
^ ^ This
w
[ 223 ]
This account I would gladly reprint . tli J
place, to fave my readers the trouble c this
reference to that colledtion : but there iS not
time for it. However, in order in fome de-
gree to fupply this defedl, I fhall here infert
u (hort account of the principal points that
were debated upon that occafion, which I fent
in a letter to fome of my conflituents in the pro-
vince of Quebeck in the courfe of laft fumnier,
to acquaint them not only with the fate of their
petition for an aflembly, which they had em-
ployed me to prefent to his majelly, but with
the manner in which the new plan of regula-
tion, that was adopted in its ftead, had been
received and condudted in parliament. This
letter is as follows.
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Inner Temple, Aug. 22, 1774.
" Gc;ntlemen,
T Under/land that you have exprefled a
■*• defire to receive an anfwer to the letter
with which you honoured me laft winter
concerning your petition for an houfe of
aflembly, and that you have been furprized
at my not fending one. I may perhaps have
been wanting in refpedl to you upon that
occafion : and, if I have, I beg your pardon
for it : but the true reafon of my not writ-
ing was becaufe I confidered the anfwer I
wrote to the committee at Quebeck (wliich
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[ 224 ]
was a pretty full one, and of which I here-
with fend you a copy,) as an anfwcr to
both committees, which I fuppofed to cor-
refpond together, and to communicate to
each other all the papers they either fent or
received concerning the matter of their ap-
plication to the kiqg. Since my writing
that anfwer an a(Sl of parliament has been
pafled which feems to put an end to all
hopes of fucccfs in your endeavours to ob-
tain an alTembly, having ereded a legiila-
tive council in its (lead without any li-
mitation of time, and enlarged the pro-
vince to fuch a degree as to make an afTem-
bly an impradicable method of govern-
ment. The merchants of London who
were concerned in the Quebeck trade, pe-
titioned the Iloufe of Commons againft thi^^
ad^, but without fucccfs ; and the city oi
London addrelTed his majefly to refufe his
royal aflent to it, to as little purpofe. It
repeals and annuls the king's proclamation
of Odobcr, 1763, with rcfpe(^t to the pro-
vince of Quebeck J and gives the popifh
pricfts a legal right to their tythes from all
Roman-Catholicks, which Sir Jeffery Am-
herll had refufed them at the capitulation.
This is difapproved of by great numbers of
difpafTionate people here, as going beyond
a toleration of the popilh religion, and, in
a great mca£Lire, eltabliflung it, by impofing
a tax of the twenty-fixth bufhel of corn
** upon
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[ 225 ]
upon forty-nine landholders out of fifty
for '*:he maintenance of priefls to teach it.
At the fame time the aft makes no provi-
fion for the teaching the proteftant religion,
but only impowers the king to do fo out of
the tythes due from protedant land-hold-
ers, if he (hall fo pleafe. So that, upon the
whcile, the aft feems likely to perpetuate
the Roman- Catholick religion, rather than
gradually to introduce the proteftant. In
fhort, it has appeared in fo bad a light to
the lovers of liberty and the proteftant
religion, that the duke of Gloucefter,
(though remarkable for the moderation of
his conduft and his general difpofition to
comply with the king's pleafure,) thought
fit to vote againft it.
** As I had prepared a draught of an aft of
parliament for eftablifhing a legiHativc
council in the province of Quebeck, I am
apprehenfive that, from the limilitude of
the names, I may be thought to approve of
the legiflative council eftabliflied by this
aft, and perhaps to have contributed to-
wards its being eftablifhed; whereas in
truth I utterly difapprove it, and have done
all that lay in my little power to prevent
its pafling. I therefore beg leave to point
out to you the difference between the le-
giflative council which I had propofed and
that which is eflablifhed by this aft. In
the firft place, that which I had propofed
G g ** was
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[ 226 ]
was to have been only for feven years, after
which I hoped it might be found practicable
to have an aiTembly this, which is efta-
blifhed by the adV, is without limitation of
time 5 fo that the accomplishment of the
king's promife in his proclamation, to
fummon an affembly as foon as the fitu-
ation and circumftances of the province
will permit, is removed quite out of fight.
Secondly, the former legislative council was
to confift only of proteftants -, becaufe, if
papifts are fit to be members of fuch a
council, they muft likewife be fit to be
affembly-men -, and in that cafe there is no
pretence for not calling an aflembly at pre-
fent, agreeably to the king's promife in his
proclamation. But this legiflative council
may confifl of either proteftants or papifts :
nay, they may be all papifts, and even popifti
priefts, for aught that is enaded to the
contrary in this adt. Thirdly, The former
legillative council was for the old province
of Quebeck only, which is of a fize capable
of being governed by an aiTembly ; by
which means the introduction of that con-
ftitutional mode of government in fome
years hence was kept in view, in cafe the
number of proteftants fhould fufficiently
increafe in the province to make it proper;
whereas this legiflative council Is inverted
with authority over a country too extenlive
to be governed by an afTembly, if the in-
" habitants
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[ 227 1
habitants of it fhould all be proteftants ;
which gives room to apprehend that the
whole defign of ever having an afTembly is
laid afide. Fourthly, The former legifla-
tive council was to confift of thirty-one
members, of whom feventeen were to be
neceflary to make a board. This may con-
fift of only feventeen members, of whom
nine may make a board. Fifthly, In the
former legiflative council the members were
to be wholly independent of the governour,
neither liable to be removed nor lufpended
by him, but only by the king; but in this
adl there is nothing to prevent the king
from communicating to his governour a
power of fufpending or removing the mem-
bers of this council at his pleafure. Sixthly,
In the former legiflative council the mem-
bers were to have been paid for their at-
tendance ; which was done with a view to
procure a full attendance, and thereby to
give weight and dignity to the ordinances
they fliould make : but in the prefent le-
giflative council the members are not to be
paid, and therefore will not perhaps attend
in conliderable numbers, but will leave the
buflnefs to be tranfaded by thofe who have
offices in the government, . or who are
otherwife moft dependent on the gover-
nour, and difpofed to be fubl r.ient to his
pleafure. There is certainly Ibme danger
of an inconvenience of this kind, though I
G g 2 ** heartily
[ 228 ]
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heartily wifh the event may fliew It to be
very fmall. Thefe differences betw^ecn the
two legiflative councils v^^ill, I hope, acquit
me in your opinions, gentlemen, of the
fufpicion of having in any degree contri-
buted to the efti.blilhment of that v^^hich is
appointed by this adl.
** You w^ill further obierve that this ad
revives the whole French law, in the lump,
concerning civil matters : the words of the
adl are, concerning matters of property and
civil rights. It was objedled to this claufe
in the Houfe of Commons (where alone
this adt met with a full difcufTion, having
pafTed the Houfe of Lords, as I have been
affured, almoft without oppofition, and as
a matter of courfe, and without calling any
witnefles to fupport the allegations upon
which the bill was grounded,) that by it
the Englifh laws concerning perfonal li-
berty and the writ of Habeas Corpus were
abolifhed, and the French pradice of im-
prifoning fubjedts at the king's pleafure by
letters de cachet ^ or orders under the king's
hand and feal, without afligning any caufe
for fuch imprifonment, would become
lawful. Mr. Dunning declared it to be
his opinion that it would be fo : for that,
as perfonal liberty is a civil right, and the
adl fays that in all matters of property and
civil rights refort fhall be had to the laws
of Canada, and not to the laws of Eng-
** land,
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[ ?-29 ]
land, it muft follow that, if a man was
deprived of his liberty by a leftre fie cachet^
and his friends were to apply to the chief
juftice for his difcharge, the chief juftice
would be bound to anfwer that, as this was
a matter concerning a civil right, he muft
proceed by the laws of Canada, which
afforded a man no relief when he was im-
prifoned by the king's lettre de cachet *
" It was therefore moved that a fhort
claufe to introduce the Englifh law con-
cerning the writ of Habeas Corpus for the
recovery of perfonal liberty, fhould be
inferted in the adt. But the miniftry op-
poled it, and threw it out, notwithftanding
they declared they had no thought of in-
troducing the pradtice of ifluing lettres de
cachet. This feemed very ftrange to many
people, becaufe a claufe of this kind was
not only necelTary to the honour of the
crown, to fulfil, in a very important ar-
ticle, the king's promife to his Britifh fub-
jeds in the proclamation of Odtober, 1763,
of the enjc/ment of the benefit of the
laws of England, but muft likewife have
been agreeable to the Canadians, out of
tendernefs to whom this revival of the
French laws in civil matters is faid by the
patrons of this adt to have been made. For
it cannot be fuppofed that they iv^ould be
averfe to fo excellent a method of pro-
tedting their perfonal liberty.
** Further^
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[ 230 J
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'* Further, it was objedted in the Houfe
of Commons to the fame claufe concerning
the revival of the French law upon all
matters of property and civil rights, that it
takes away the trial by jury in all thofe cafes.
And it was thereupon propofed that a claufe
fhould be inferted in the bill for preferving
the trial by jury in civil matters as well as
in criminal, at leaft upon the footing it
has been upon in the Court of Common
Pleas in that province ever lince the efta-
blifhment of the civil government, of an
option in either of the parties to have the
caufe tried by a jury, if they fo thought fit.
And it was alledged in fupport of this mo-
tion, that an option to do a thing or let it
alone, is generally agreeable to people, and
that in the prefent cafe this option had been
allowed for ten years, and found to be
agreeable to the Canadians ; becaufe many
of them had made ufe of it, in caufes of
coniiderable confequence, to obtain a jury
to decide the matter in difpute, rather than
leave it wholly to the determination of the
judges. For it had been teftified at the bar
of the houfe by feveral witnefTes that, in
caufes of that kind, the Canadians had
oftener chofe to have a jury than not. It was
further faid in behalf of this motion for an
optional jury, that it was highly necefTary
for the fatisfadlion of the Briti?h inhabitants
of the province, and was a moll eflential
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[ 231 ]
" part of thofe benefits of the laws of Eng-
land which the king had promifed to grant
them by his proclamation. But, notwith-
ftanding thefe arguments, (to which no
anfwers, or very flight ones, were given,)
the motion was rejeifted.
" Mr. Hey, the chief juilice of the pro-
vince, was very inftrumental in preventing
the French law from being revived upon
" criminal matters as well as civil. In that
point he has fucceeded fo far as to obtain a
continuance of the Englifh law upon that
fubjcd in all its extent : which, I prefume,
will be confidered as a great fervice to the
province, and more efpecially to the Britifli
" inhabitants of it.
" I am in hopes that your new leglflative
council will reflore to you the writ of
Hahcas Corpus, and the trial by jury in civil
cafes, when the parties defire it, or, at
leaft, when the judge thinks it proper, by
an ordinance for that purpofe. But it
would certainly have been more fatisfadlory
to have had them eftabliflied by the late
adl of parliament.
" I greatly fufped that this a6t of parlia-
ment will not be agreeable even to the
Canadians, when they come to examine it
carefully and underftand it thoroughly.
For, in the article of religion, I dare fay
many of them will think they were full as
happily circumllanced before, when they
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[ 232 ]
had a mofl compleat toleration of their
manner of worfhip, but without a com-
pulfive obligation to pay the priefts their
tythes, as now that this adt has been fo
kind as to impofe that obligation upon them.
And with refpedl to civil matters, the lofs
of the writ of Habeas Corpus and of their
option of having their civil contefts decided
by a jury or not, as they liked beft, will
hardly be conlidered by them as advantages.
And in the affair of the legiilative council I
am perfuaded they will find themfelves
greatly difap pointed. For in a memorial
which accompanied their lafl petition, and
which, together with the petition, was kid
before the Houfe of Commons, they defire
to have a legiflative council rather than an
afTembly only for a few years, till the pro-
vince fhall be able to pay the taxes necellary
for the fupport of the civil government 3
becaufe they conlider the province as too
poor to pay thofe taxes at prefent, and they
fuppofe that they fhall be obliged to pay
them as foon as an afTembly is eilablifhed,
but not before : fo that their defire of be-
ing governed by a legiflative council is
grounded on the fuppofition that in that
cafe they fliall pay no taxes. But now
they will find that they may be taxed,
though they have no afTembly. For an-
other a<fl of parliament has been pafTed at
the fame time with this, for impofing certain
*^ duties
[ 233 1
" duties in the province ; which, though they
" are, I believe, very moderate and judicious,
** will certainly be difagreeable to them, who
•* made that ftrange preference of alegillative
** council to an affembly merely for the fake
of avoiding them. Mr. de liOtbiniere is
" extremely difpleafed with this legillative
** council, and calls it a moft defpotick in-
ftrument of government. He fays ex-
prefsly that, of the two, he fliould lefs
dillike an aflembly of proteftants only,
agreeably to the king's commifTion. And
truly, upon the whole, I believe that would
** have been the beft method of governing the
province, while it remained of its former
moderate magnitude, and even dill, while
the remote parts of it continue uninhabited.
And I am not without hopes that, after
fome trial of this new legislative council,
*' the Canadians themfelves will come to be
of the fame opinion with Monfieur de Lot-
biniere, that a proteftant affembly is a better
inftrument of government than this legiila-
tive council j and that they will join with
the Britidi inhabitants in a petition to have
one eftabhfhed. Such a petition would, I
dare fay, be complied with) more efpe-
cially if it contained an acknowledgment of
the lupreme authority of parliament, and a
declaration of their willingnefs to confent
to any teft that fhould be thought neceffary
to he impofed upon the members of fuch
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[ 234 ] '
lutaro allcnihly, cxprcffi ng their fcnfc of
its lubordiniition to the authority of parlia-
ment, and their readinefs to obey nil ads
of p.uliament without exception or referve.
This I beheve to be the only way by which
you are Hkely to obtain the ellablilhinent of
an alfembly. I am informed that the pro-
vince of Maryland has been governed in
this manner by an alfembly of proteftants
only, ever iince its iirft fettlement, not-
withllanding the majority of the inhabi-
tants have been Roman-Catholicks, and
are fo Hill, though not in fo great a pro-
portion as formerly. And yet no difturb-
ance has hap^pened there from the jealoufy,
or dillatisfadion of the Roman-Catholicks
at being excluded from the aflembly : but,
on the contrary, they have entrulted the
care of their interclb to their proteitant
neighbours with pleafure and alacrity,
knowing that the temporal interefts of the
protellants in the province were the (lime
with their own, and that the proteftants
would be more likely, (from the lefs con-
fined genius of their religion, their fewer
fails and holidays, lefs fubjedtion to the
priellhood, better education, and greater
degree of knowledge,) to take good care of
them than they lliould themfelves. And,
if Britons born, and the defcendants of
Britons born, who have never acknow-
ledged any temporal fovereign but the king
** of
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[ 235 ]
of England, have not thought it a hnnlfiiip
to he excluded from the aflcmbly of Mary-
land on account of the unhappy principles
of their religion, which made them fubjccft
to the foreign jurifdidion of the hifhop of
Rome in fpirituals, it furely ought not to
be thought fo by the Canadians, who were
fo lately the fubjedts of the king of France,
and in arms for many years together againll
the crown of England. Yet the Catholicks
might be permitted to eledt, though not to
be eledled members of the afTembly : and
that would give them a fufhcicnt, and a
very confiderable, influence in the govern-
ment. I heartily wifli that you may pcr-
fuadc many of the Canadians to be of the
fame opinion with Mr. de Lotbinierc upon
this fubjedi, and to join with you in ex-
prefling a defire to be governed by a pro-
teftant aflembly rather than by this legifla-
tive council, and in acknowledging the
fupreme authority of parliament : and then,
I doubt not, your requefl will be complied
with ; but not otherwife.
** The news-papers and other prints will
inform you of the particulars of the pro-
ceedings of the Houfe of Commons upon
this bill ; in which Mr. Mackworth, Mr.
Dunning, Mr. Thomas Townfhend, jun.
colonel Barre, governour Johnltone, Mr.
Dempfter, and Mr. Edmund Burke, exerted
themfelves mofl in oppofitioa to the bill,
Hh 2 ** and
ih
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[ 236 ]
and did procure fome confiderable amend-
ments to be made to it. And the fame
papers will likewife fhew you how much
the bill has been diflikcd by the people at
large, by the number of letters writ againft
it for the fpace of more than two months
together. There are, however, two claufes
in the bill, (befides that above-n^entioned
for continuing the laws of England in the
province upon criminal matters,) which I
prefume will be agreeable to the generality
of the inhabitants of the province, of both
nations. Thefe are, a claufe to impower
perfons poflefled either of land or perfonal
eftate to difpofe of them as they think pro-
per, by their laft will and teftament, and
the claufe which prohibits the legillative
council from impofing any duties or taxes ;
though there they have added an exception
which fome perfons will be apt to think too
large. And the claufe which revives the
laws of Canada on civil matters is generally
thought to be reafonable enough fo far as it
relates ^only to the tenures of land, the
mode of conveying it, and the rules of
dower and inheritance, (which feem ne-
cefTary to the family peace of the Canadi-
ans,) but is blamed only for its very great
extent, by means of the words, in matters
of property and civil rights^ by which the
writ of Habeas Corpus^ and the right of hav-
"ing
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I «37 1
ing a trial by jury in anions of falfc im-
prifonmenty battery, and flander, and for
other injuries, arc thought to be taken
away, and a heap of French laws upon
thefe and other fubjedls introduced in tneir
ftead, whiph our judges neither do know
nor are likely to know, and therefore will
not be well able to adminifler. This di-
ftindtion was mentioned in the printed cafe
of the merchants trading toQuebeck, which
was diftributed to the menabers of both
houfes of parliament, and of which I am
informed fome copies have been fent into
Canada : and feveral of the gentlemen who
fpoke in oppoiition to the bill made ufe of
this diftindion in their ipeeches, and c%^
preffed a readinefs to confent to a revival of
fo much of the former French laws as re^
lated to the tenures, conveyances and in-
heritance of land : but wished that in other
matters, in which the revival of the French
laws did not feem to be neceflary to the
happinefs of the Canadian P; the Englifli
laws might continue to be oblerved, as this
would gradually tend to produce an union
of manners and affedions between the two
nations. Thefe are the principal obferva-
tions that have occurred to me concerning
this adt of parliament and the fate of your
petition for an aflembly, as worthy of your
notice and attention. And therefore with
" them
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r *38 ]
•* them I fhall conclude this long, and, I fear,
** tedious epiflle. I remain, gentlemen,
** Your rnoft obedient and humble fervant,
*' FRANCIS MASERES."
** P. S. I beg you would caufe this letter,
•' or a copy of it, to be (hewn to the com-
«* mittee of the diflridt of Quebeck."
This letter did not arrive in the province af
Quebeck till after the proteftant fettlers in it,
upon the general alarm fpread amongft them
by the receipt of the late ad of parliament,
had had fre(h meetings together in order to
confult about petitions for the repeal or an ;ind-
ment of it, and had even prepared and fent over
to England the three fpllowmg p "titions to the
king and the two houfes of parliament for that
purpofe, with diredions to Mr. Maferes,
(whom they now formally appointed their
agent,) to deliver them. Thefe petitions were
received by Mr. Maferes about the 12 th or
13th of laft January, 1775; and the firft of
them, that to the king's majefty, was delivered
by him to the earl of Dartmouth, his ma-
jefty's fecretary of Hate for America, on the
J 8th of the fame months and thofe to the
Houie
[ 239 ]
I-Ioure of Lords and Houfc of Commons were
fome time after delivered to the lord Camden
and Sir George Savile, who, approving the
contents of them, undertook to prcfent them
to their refpedive houfes of parliament.
Thefe petitions are as follows.
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*' To the King's moil excellent Majcfty.
The Petition of your Majefty's mofl loyal
** and dutiful your ancient Subjects fettled
** in the Province of Quebeck,
** Moft humbly fheweth,
TPHAT we, upon the faith of your fa-
"■• cred majefty's royal proclamation,
bearing date the feventh day of October,
which was in the year of our Lord one
thoufand feven hundred and fixty-three,
did come and fettle ourfelves in the faid
province, purchaiing houfes and lands, and
carrying on extenlive trade, commerce and
agriculture, whereby the value of the land
and wealth of its inhabitants are more than
doubled; during all which time we humbly
crave leave to fay that we have paid a ready
and dutiful obedience to government, and
have lived in peace and amity with your
majefly's new fubjetfls. Neverthelefs we
find, and with unutterable grief prefume to
fay, that by a late a6l of parliament, intitled,
Afi a5i for the making more effe^ual provifion
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t 240 3
** for the government of the province of Rebeck
** in North' America" we are deprived of the
franchifes granted by your majefly's royal
predeceflbrs> and hy us inherited from our
forefathers ; that we have loft the protec-
tion of the Englifh laws, fo Univerfally
admired for their wifdom and lenity, and
which we have ever held in the nighefl
veneratioUj and in their ftead the laws of
Canada are to be introduced, to which we
are utter ftrangers, difgraceful to us as
Britons> and in their confequences ruinous
to our properties, as we thereby lofe the
invaluable privilege of trials by juries.
That in matters of a criminal nature the
habeas corpus adt is diifclved, and we are
fubjedted to arbitrary fines and imprifon-
mftvit at the will of the governour and
council, who may at pleafure render the
certainty of the criminal laws of no effed^,
by the great power that is granted to them
of making alterations in the fame.
** We therefore moft humbly implofcyour
majefty to take our unhappy ftate into your
royal confideration, and grant us fuch relief
as your majefty in your royal wifdom fhall
think meet.
" And your petitioners, as in duty bound,
" will ever pray.
it
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Quebeck, 12th Nov. 1774^
Zichzty
[ 24' ]
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Zachary Macaulay,
John Aitkin,
John Pateffon,
Kandle Meredith,
John Lees,
John Welles,
S. Fargues,
I'homas Walker,
James Price,
John Blake,
' Ifaac Todd,
Alexander Paterfon,
John Porteous,
John M«Cord,
Charles Grant,
Robert Woolfey,
Nicholas Bayard,
Charles Le Marchant,
John Painter,
Thomas M'Cord,
Henry GrebafTa,
Robert Willcocks,
John Renaud,
Chrifty Cramer,
George Gregory,
Lewis Chaperon,
Frederick Pctry,
James Cuming,
William Laing,
George Jenkins,
Francis Smith,
Alexander Wallace,
Richnird Dobie,
George
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[ 242 ]
•v
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George Meafam,
Samuel Jacobs,
Nicholas Brown,
Mj * ^el Morin,
William Kay,
John Lilly,
John Sunderland,
J. Grant,
James Morrifon,
James Sinclair,
John Chifliolm,
James JcfFry,
Robert M'Fie,
Francis Atlcinfon,
David Shoolbred,
Jonas Clarke Minot,
Godfrey King,
John Land,
Caleb Thornc,
John Lees, junior,
Robert Jackfon,
Hugh Ritchie,
Alexander Lawfon,
Charles Daily,
Edward Manwaring,
Michael Flanagan,
J. Melvin,
George Munro,
James Hanna,
Jofeph Torrey,
Thomas Walker, junior,
James Dyer White,
John Bell,
Andrew M'Gill,
Samuel
r 243 3
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\ Samuel Holmes,
' James Blake,
^ James Noel,
Thomas M'Murray,
' Allan Paterfon,
James Symington,
Abram Holmes,
John Neagle,
Peter Arnoldi,
.. Daniel Robertfon,
Alexander Milmine,
Thomas Frafer,
A. Porteous,
Jofeph Ingo,
Adam Scott,
James Finlay,
Pat. M*Clement,
William Pantree,
Jacob Bittez,
Leach Smith,
John Saul,
Francis Anderfon,
Simon Frafer,
John Rofs,
John M'CIuer,
James Words,
John Lees,
Lemuel Bowles,
Thomas Davidfon,
Patrick ODonclI,
Archibald Lawford,
Simon Frafer, junior,
Richard Vincent,
Daniel Cameron,
I i 2 James
III!
U\ *
I 244 1
...iv- • '
James Galbraith,
Roderick M'Leod,
John White Swift,
John Bondfield,
WiHiam Callander,
David Geddes,
Samuel Morrifon,
John Thomfon,
Alexander Hay,
James Doig,
Jofeph Bindon,
Andrew Hays,
George Singleton,
John Stonhoufc,
John Kay,
David Salefby Franks,
John Richardfon, junior,
James Loach,
£zekiel Solomons,
James Perry,
J. Beek,
X/awrencc Ermatinger,
Simon M*Tavifli,
J. Pallman,
James Frazer,
G. Young,
William Aihby,
Gavin Lourie,
Phill, Brickman,
Benj. Holborn,
Jofeph Borrel,
John Connolly,
John Durocker,
B. Janis,
Jt Joran,
[ 245 ]
J. Joran,
Jacob Maurer,
Simon Levy,
Edward Chinn,
Richard M*Neall,
Robert Cruickfhanks,
John Comfort,
Adam Wentfei,
Allan M^Farlain,
Jacob Vandcr Heydcn,
Hinrick Gonnerman,
John Hare, junior,
George Wright Knowles,
Benjamin Frobiflier,
William Murray,
James Anderfon,
John Trotter,
Chriftopher Chron,
William England,
Mefliach Leeng,
Thomas Boyd,
John Mittleberger,
Solomon Mittleberger,
Ifaac Judah,
Peter M*Farlanfi,
James May,
Jacob SchiefFelin,
Benaiah Gibb,
John George Walk, '
Michael Phillips,
C. Dumoulin,
Franco!: Dumoulin,
Duncan Gumming,
William
!i f.
1 :• i" ' I
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[ 246 J
William Haywood,
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Robert M'Cay,
James Robinfon,
Jean Bernard,
Lazarus David,
P. Bouthiliier,
Richard Walker,
Jofiah Bleaklcy,
Aaron Hart,
Levy Solomons,
'^Alexander Frafer,
Malcolm Frafer,
JohnM*Cord, junior,
tienry Dunn.
To the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in
" Parliament affembled.
The Petition of his Majefty's loyal and
dutiful his ancient Subjedts fettled in the
Province of Quebeck,
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Humbly fheweth.
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T^HAT fince the commencement of
•*• civil government in this province,
your lordfhips' humble petitioners, under
the protedtion of Engliih laws granted us
by his facred majefty's royal proclamation,
bearing date the fevenih day of Odober,
** which
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which was in the year of our Lord one
thoufand feveiv hundred and lixty-three,
have been encouraged to adventure their
propertied in trade, eftates arid agriculture,
to a very con(id6rable amount, thereby
rendering the province a valuable acqui-
fition to Great-Britain : That, to their
inexpreflible grief, they find, by an adt of
parliament intitled, " y4n adl for making
tnore effedftial provifan for the government of
the province vf Rebeck in North-America^^
they are deprived of the habeas corpus acfl
and trial by juries, are fubjedled to arbi-
trary fines and imprifonment, and liable to
be tried both in civil cafes and matters of
a criminal nature, not by known and per-
manent laws, but by ordinances and edidls
which the governour and council are im-
powered to make void at their will and
pleafure, which muft render our perfons
and properties infecure, and has already
deeply wounded the credit of the country,
and confined our views in trade to very
narrow limits.
** In this cruel ftate of apprehenfion and
uncertainty, we humbly implore your
lordihips' favourable interpofition, as the
hereditary guardians of the rights of the
people, that the faid adl may be repealed
or amended, and that your humble peti-
tioners may enjoy their conflitutional rights,
*' privileges.
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*' privates, ^^fcanchiTe^ heretofore granted
« to all his majef^'s dutiful futyoas, .
^ And.your petitioners, as in duty bound,
' , ' ^* vrill ever pray.
«* Qjucbcck, i2th Nov. 1774." > \ ,
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t • '• > ' ' • ' < •
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Zachary Macaulay,
John Aitkin,
John Paterfon,
Randle Meredith,
John Lees,
.- --' *— '-^ Johri.iVelles, " •
•S.'Fifgues,
Thoinas Walker,
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James Price,
Ifaac Todd, >. S
Alexander Paterfon, j Q
John Porteous, J ?
John M<Cord,
Charles Grant, ^
. Robert Woolfey,
Nicholas Bayard,
Charles ]^e Marchant,
John^aifiter,
Thomas M'jCord,
Henry Grebaila,
Robert Willcocks,
John ^enaud,
Chrifty Cramer,
George Gregory,
Lewis
[ 249 1
Lewis Chaperon,
Frederick Petry,
James Cuming,
William Laing,
George Jenkins,
Francis Smith,
Alexander Wallace,
James Sinclair,
John Chifholm,
James JefFry,
Robert M'Fie,
Francis Atkinfon,
David Shoolbred,
Jonas Clarke Minot,
Godfrey King,
George Davifon,
George King,
Alexander Frafcr,
Richard Dobie,
George Meafam,
Samuel Jacobs,
Nicholas Brown,
Michael Morin,
William Kay,
John Lilly,
John Sunderland,
J. Grant,
James Morrifon,
John Thomfon,
Alexander Hay,
James Doig,
Jofeph Torrey,
Thomas Walker, junior,
James Dyer White,
Kk John
m i
I \. r!
[ 250 ]
John Bell,
Andrew M«Gill,
Samuel Holmes,
James Blake,
James Noel,
Malcolm Frafcr,
John Lynd,
Caleb Thorne,
John Lees, junior,
Robert Jackfon,
Hugh Ritchie,
Alexander Lawfon,
Charles Dailey,
Edward Manwaring,
Michael Flanagin,
J. Melvin,
George Munro,
. James Banna,
William Pantrec,
Jacob Bittez,
L. Smith,
John Saul,
Francis Andcrfon,
Simon Frafer,
John Rofs,
John M'Cluer,
James Woods,
John Lees,
Lemuel Bowles,
Thomas Davidfon,
Patrick O Doncll,
Archibald Lawford,
Simon Frafer, junior,
Richard Vincent,
Dajiiel
Daniel
[ 251 ]
Daniel Cameron,
James Galbraith,
Roderick M'LeoJ,
John BondBeld,
William Callander,
Thomas M^Murray,
Allan Paterfon,
Abram Holmes,
James Symington,
Jofeph Bindon,
Andrew Hays,
John Neagle,
Peter Arnoldi,
Daniel Robertfon,
Alexander Milmine,
Thomas Frafer,
A. Porteous,
Jofeph Ingo,
George Singleton,
Adam Scott,
John Stonhoufe,
John Kay,
David Salefby Frank=;,
John Richardfon, junior,
James Finlay,
Pat. M*Clement,
James Leach,
Ezekiel Solomons,
James Perry,
J. Beek,
Lawrence Ermatioffer,
Simon M'Taviflj,
J. Pullman,
Gavin Lourie,
K k 2 G. Yoiin
f I
ri
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■M M-
J?W
[ 252 ]
G. Young,
William Aftiby,
James Frazer,
Phill, Brickman,
Benj. Holborn,
Jofcph Borrcl,
John Connolly,
John Du Rocker,
J. Joran,
Jacob Maurer,
Simon Levy,
Richard M'Neall,
Edward Chinn,
Robert Cruickfhanks,
John Comfort,
Adam Wentfel,
Allan M'Farlain,
Jacob Vander Heyden,
Hinrick Gonnerman,
John Hare, junior,
George Wright Knowles,
Benjamin Frobifher,
William Murray,
James Anderfon,
John Trotter,
Chriftopher Chron,
William England,
Philipp Cron,
Mefliach Leeng,
Thomas Boyd,
John Mittleberger,
P. Bouthillier,
Solomon Mittleberger,
Ifiiac
[ 253 1
Ifaac Juilah,
Peter M'Farlanc,
James May,
Jacob Schicffclin,
Bcnaiah Gibb,
John George Walk.,
Michael Phillips,
C. Dumoulin,
Francois Dumoulin,
Duncan Gumming,
William Haywood,
f,
Robert M'Cay,
James Kobinlbn,
Jean Bernard,
Lazarus David,
Jofiah Bleaklcy,
Richard Walker,
Levy Solomons,
Aaron Hart,
John M'Cord, junior,
Henry Dunn.
laac
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[ 254 I
*< To the Honourable the Commons of Great-
** Britain in Parliament afTembled.
** The humble Petition and Memorial of his
** Majefty's ancient Subjeds the Seigneurs,
** Freeholders, Merchants, Traders, and
others fettled in his Majefty's Province
of Quebeck,
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" Sheweth,
'T^HAT, under the fandion of his ma-
•** jefty's royal proclamation, bearing
date the feventh day of Odober, in the
year of our Lord one thoufand feven hun-
dred and (ixty-three, which gracioufly pro-
mifes to all perfons inhabiting in, or refort-
ing to, this province, his royal protection
for the enjoyment of the benefit of the
laws of the realm of England, until af-
femblies fhould be called therein, they did
come and fettle themfelves in this province,
having entrufted their own properties, as
well as very confiderable fums of their
friends, in goods and merchandize, from
Great-Britain, and entrufted the fame into
the hands of the Canadians, as well for the.
purpose of internal trade in the province,
as for outfets in carrying on the traffick of
furs and peltries in the Indian countries
and fidieries below Quebeck, many of
them having purchafed lands and houfes,
" and
iIB!Wf5*
}reat-
3f his
neurs,
, and
)vince
LS ma-
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ivince,
ies, as
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and been employed in agriculture, and the
exportation of grain and other produce to
foreign markets, to the great benefit and
emolument of the faid province, which
has flouriihed chiefly by the induftry and
cnterprifing fpirit of the faid fubjedts, who,
under the protection of Britifh laws, and by
the afliflance of annual fupplies of Britifli
manufadlures, and other goods and mer-
chandize obtained upon credit from the
merchants of Great-Britain, have been en-
abled to carry on at lead four parts in five
of all the imports and exports which are
principally made in Britifli bottoms, the
latter confiding of furs, peltries, wheat,
fifli, oil, pot-afh, lumber, and other coun-
try produce : and for the more convenient
carrying on the faid trade and commerce,
they have built wharfs and flore-houfes at
a very great expence, infomuch that the
property, real and perfonal, now in Britifli
hands, or by them entrufted to Canadians
at a long credit, is one half of the whole
value of the province, exclufive of the
wealth of the different communities ; which
your petitioners have in part fet forth in
the humble petition to his moft: excellent
majefl:y, dated at Quebeck the thirty-firfl
day of December, which was in the year
of our Lord one thoufand feven hundred
and feventy-three ; humbly praying, that
he would be gracioufly pleafcd to require
*' his
u.t,-a:msuiaM.
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[ 256 ]
his governour or commander in chief to
call a general afTembly, in fuch manner,
and of fuch conftitution and form, as to
his majelly's royal wifdom fhould feem beft
adapted to fecure the peace, welfare, and
good government of this province. Where-
fore with deep concern they obferve, that
in certain examinations taken before your
honourable houfe, the Britifh fubjeds here
have been grofsly abufed and mifrepre-
fented, as well as to their numbers as in
their importance in this province. For the
number of the new fubjedts has, we hum-
bly conceive, been greatly exaggerated, it
being, by the laft computation, about
feventy-five thoufand ; whereas, by an
enumeration of the Britifh fubjeds, they
amount at this time to upwards of three
thoufand fouls, befides many that we can-
not immediately afcertain that are difperfed
in the Indian countries carrying on traffick
with the favages, befides the merchants and
traders with their families fettled at Detroit
and its dependencies, and at the fifheries
below Quebeck. And whereas an ad; of
parliament has lately pafTed, intituled.
An aSt for the making more effectual provi /ion
for th go'-ccrnment of the proijince of Rebeck
in North- America y* which is faid to have
been pafied upon the principles of humanity
■c.\\\\ juilice, and at the preifing inflance and
requelT: of ths new fubjeclb, fignified to his
** majefly
*• th
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majefty by an humble petition fetting forth
their diflike to the Briti(h laws and form of
government, and praying, in the name of
all the inhabitants and citizens of the pro-
vince, to have the French inftitutes in their
ilead, and a total abolition of trials by jury,
together v^^ith a capacity of holding places
of honour and truft in common with his
majefty's ancient fubjedls. We crave leave
to inform your honourable houfe, that the
faid petition was never imparted to the in-
habitants in general (that is) the freehold-
ers, merchants and traders, who are equally
alarmed with us at the Canadian laws being
to take place, but was in a fecret manner
carried about and figned by a few of the
feigneurs, chevaliers, advocates, and others
in their confidence, at the fuggeftions, and
under the influence of their priefts ; who,
under colour of French laws, have ob-
tained an adt of parliament which deprives
his majefty's ancient fubjedls of all their
rights and franchifes, deftroys the Habeas
Corpus a(fl, and the ineftimable privilege of
trial by juries, the only fecurity againft the
venality of a corrupt judge, and gives un-
limited power to the governour and council
to alter the criminal laws ; which a(5l has
already ftruck a damp upon the credit of
the country, and alarmed all your humble
petitioners with the juft apprehenfions of
arbitrary lines and imprifonment, and
L I which.
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which, if it takes place, will oblige them
to quit the province, or, in the end, it
muft accomplilh their ruin, and impoverifh
or hurt their generous creditors, the mer-
chants in Great-Britain, &c. To prevent
which, your petitioners moft humbly pray
that the faid adt may be repealed or amend-
ed, and that they may have the benefit and
protection of the Englifh laws, in fo far as
relates to perfonal property ^ and that their
liberty may be afcertained according to their
ancient conftitutional rights and privileges
heretofot-e granted to all his majefty's duti-
ful fubjedts throughout the Britifh empire.
*« And your petitioners, as in duty bound,
*' will ever pray.
^' Quebeck, I2th Nov. 1774."
Zachary Macaalay,
John Aitkin,
John Paterfon,
Randle Meredith,
John Lees,
John Welles,
S. Fargues,
rf homas Walker,
James Price,
John Blake,
Ifaac Todd,
Alexander Paterfon,
Jbhn Porteous,
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John
C 259 1
John M<Cord,
Charles Grant,
Robert Wool fey,
Nicholas Bayard,
Charles Le Marchant,
John Painter,
Thomas M*Cord,
Henry Grebafla,
Robert Willcocks,
John Renaud,
Chrifty Cramer,
George Gregory,
Lewis Chaperon,
Frederick Petry,
James Cuming,
William Laing,
George Jenkins,
Francis Smith,
Alexander Wallace,
James Sinclair,
John Chifliolm,
James JefFry,
Robert M*Fie,
Francis Atkinfon,
David Shoolbred,
Jonas Clarke Minor,
Godfrey King,
4 George Davifon,
George King,
John Lynd,
' Caleb Thornc,
Malcolm Frafer,
"
•irfJ
LI 2
Alexanier
[ 26o ]
Alexander Frafer,
Richard Dobie,
George Meafam,
Samuel Jacobs,
Nicholas Brown,
Michael Morin,
William Kay,
John Lilly,
John Sunderland,
J. Grant,
James Morrifon,
David Geddes,
Samuel Morrifon,
John Thomfon,
Alexander Hay,
James Doig,
Jofeph Torrey,
James Dyer White,
John Bell,
Andrew M*Gill,
Samuel Holmes,
James Blake,
James Noel,
Thomas M*Murray,
Allan Paterfon,
P. Bouthillier,
John Lees, junior,
Robert Jaclcf on,
Hugh Ritchie,
Alexander Lawfon,
Charles Dailey,
Edward Manwaring,
Michael Flanagin,
J. Melvinfc
[ 26i ]
J. Melvin,
George MunrOj
James Hanna,
William Pantree,
Jacob Bittez,
L. Smith,
John Saul,
Francis Anderron^
Simon Frafer,
John Rofs,
John M*Cluer,
James Woods,
John Lees,
Lemuel Bowlesj
Thomas Davidfon^
Patrick O Donell,
Archibald Lawfordj
Simon Frafer, junior,
Richard Vincent,
Daniel Cameron,
James Galbraith,
Roderick M*Leod,
John White Swift,
John BondHeld,
William Callander,
Abram Holmes,
James Symington,
Jofeph Bindon,
Andrew Hays,
John Neagle,
Peter Arnoldi,
Thomas Frafer,
Adam Scott,
G. Young,
Thomas
I'lr
' i«
N.
[ a62 ]
Thomas Walker, junior,
Daniel Robcrtfon,
Alexander Milmine,
A. Porteous,
Jofeph Ingo,
George Singleton,
John Stonhoufe,
John Kay,
David Salelby Franks,
John Richardfon, junior,
James Finlay,
Pat. M*Clement,
James Leach,
Ezekiel Solomons,
James Perry,
J. Beek,
Lawrence Ermatinger,
Simon M*Tavifli,
James Frazer,
J. Pullman,
Gavin Lourie,
William Afhby,
Benj. Holborn,
Jofeph Borrel,
John Connolly,
John Du Rpcker,
B. Janis,
J. Joran
Jacob Maurer,
Simon Levy,
Richard M«Neall,
Edward Chinn,
Robert Cruick(hanks»
John
r 263 1
foha
John Comfort,
Adam Wentfel,
Allan M'Farlain,
Chriftopher Chron,
Jacob Vander Heyden,
Hinrick Gonnerman,
George Wright Knowles,
John Hare, junior,
William Murray,
Benjamin Frobiflier,
James Anderfon,
John Trotter,
William England,
Philipp Cron;
Meihach Leeng,
Thomas Boyd,
John Mittleberger,
Solomon Mittleberger,
Ifaac Judah,
Peter M*Farlane,
James May,
Jacob SchiefFelin,
Benaiah Gibb,
John George Walk,
Michael Phillips,
C. Dumoalln,
Francois Dumoulin,
Duncan Gumming,
William Haywood,
Robert M'Cay,
James Robinfon,
Jean Bernard,
Lazarus David,
; ;l
in
4
Jofiah
I 264 ]
1^ • »
Jofiah Blcaklc}',
Richard Walker,
Levy Solomons,
Aaron Hart,
JohnM'Cord, junior,
Henry Dunn.
I liavc lately received from one of my cor-
rcfpondents in the province of Quebeck the
following copy of a letter that has been cir-
culated throughout the province to perfuade
the Canadians to approve the late adt of par-
liament, and to forbear joining w^ith the Bri-
tifh inhabitants of the province to follicit a
repeal of it. The author of it is not knovrn,
but is fuppofed to be one of the priefts of the
Roman- Catholicfe feminary at Quebeck, it
being a knbwn fadt, as my correfpondent in-
forms me, thatTomie of the ftudents at that
feminary were employed feveral days in taking-
copies of it, jvhich have been diiperfed over
all the province. , The original letter was
direcfled to Mr.. Olry, a French advocate, or
lawyer, at (Juebeck, and was delivered at the
entrance of the niarket of the upper town of
Qnebeck by a young boy, on the morning of
the 26th day of December, 1774. One part
of it mentions a delign of raifmg a Canadian
regiment of four or five hundred men, to be
commanded
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[ 265 ]
commanded by Canadian officers, and endea-
vours to make them confider fuch a meafurc
as a publick benefit to the profince. This
letter is as follows.
Copy of a French Letter circulated
in the Province of Quebcck among
the French or Canadian Inhabi-
tants.
" Monfieur,
QUELQUES Anglois travaillent a nous
indifpofer contre les derniers ades de
parlement qui r^glent le gouvernement dc
cette province. lis declament furtout contre
Tintrodudtion de la Loi Fran9oire, qu'ils vous
reprefentent comme favorifant la tyrannic.
Leurs emiflaires rcpandent parmi les per-
fonnes peu inftruites. Que nous allons voir
revivre les lettres de cachet j — Qu'on nous
enlevera nos biens malgre nous ; — Qu'on
nous trainera a la guerre et dans les pri-
fons ; — Qu'on nous accablera d'imp6ts ; —
Que la Juftice fera adminiftree dune ma-
nicre arbitraire ; — Que nos Gouverneurs
feront dcfpotiques ; — Que la Loi Angioife
nous eut ^t^ plus avantageufe. — Mais la
fauffcte dc ces imputations, ne laute-t-elle
pas aux yeux ? Y a-t-il quelque connexion
entrc les loix Fran9oires et Iss lettres deCa-
M ra '* chet,
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[ 266 ]
111
" chct, Ics prlfons, la guerre, les impots, Ic
" defpotifmc dcs Gouverncurs ? Sous cettc
** loi a la vcrite vos proccs ne feront plus dc-
** cides par un corps de jurcs, ou prcfide
** Ibuvent rignorance et la partialite. Mais
fera-ce un mal ? La Juftice Angloifc, cil-
elle nioins coAteufe ? Aimeriez-vous que
" vos enfans heritaflent u TAngloifc, tout a
" Taine, ricn aux cadets ? — Sericz-vous bien
aife qu on vous concedat vos tcrres au taux
de TAngleterre ? Voudriez vous payer la
*' dixme a dixieme gerbe, comme en Angle-
" terre ? — La loi Franc^oife, n'eft-elle pas plus
claire, plus fimple ? — n'cft-elle pas ecrite
dans une langue que vous entendez ? — La loi
Fran^oife a done pour vous toute Ibrte
d'avantages : et les Anglois judicieux, (tels
qu'il sen trouve un grand nombre dans la
colonie,) conviennent qu'on ne pourra nous
la refufer avec equite.
** Audi n'eft-ce pas la le point qui choque
d'avantage ces citoyens envieux dans les adtes
du parlement dont ils voudroient obtenir la
" revocation. Le voici, ce point, qu'ils vous
" cachent, mais qui fe defend entre eux. L'un
de ces ades non-feulement vous permet le
libre exercice de la religion Catholique, mais
il vous dilpenfe de ferments qui y font con-
" traires, et par-la il vous ouvre une porte
aux emplois et aux charges de la province.
Voila ce qui les revoke ! voila ce qui les
fait dire dans les papiers publics, " %^ cejl
*' un
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[ 267 ]
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les
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tin (iSle d^teftablej ahominablv, fjui aiiiorife uKr
** religion /(jf/gmnairCy qui r^patid far tout /'//;;-
** pietey les meurtrcSy la rebellion !' Ccs ex'-
** preflion violentes nous marquent leur c;l-
** radterc, et le chagrin qu'ils ont dc n'avoir
** point une afTemblce, dont ils fe propofoierit
** de vous exclurre en exigeant de vous dcs
** ferments que votre religion nc vous auroit
•* pas permis de prcter, commc ils ont fait a
•* la Grenade. . / -
** Par ce moycn ils fc feroient v>ls feuls
** maitres de rcgler tous vos intercts, civils,
** pnlitiqucs et religieux. Vous pouvez voUs
" inftruire dc leurs- delTeins en lifant It^s
adrefles qu'ils ont cnvoy^es 4 Londres. lis y
repiefentcnt au roy» *' Que les fujets prd-
tellants font en aflez grand nombre en Cctte
province pour y ctabiir une aflemblce." Ce
mot nous lesdemafque. Unepoigneed'hom-
mes, que le comn^rce avantageux qu'ils
ont fait avec nous vient, pour la plupart, dt:
tirer de la poufiicre, vculent devenir nds
maitres et vous reduire a rcfclavage Ic phis
dur. Je le repete. Jc nc ^>arlc que dcr,
Anglois du committe de Montreal et dc
quelques marchands de Quebce qui demari-
dcnt la revocation de cet ac>e. 11 f;uit que
ces gens-la nous croyent bicn bouchcs ct
bien aveugles fur nos proprcs intcitts, pour
nous propoler de nous oppofer a un at't'e,
que nous avions demandc ; qui a coutc bicn
des foins et des follicitations aux pcrlonnc's
M m 2 " relpcdablcs
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[ 268 ]
refpedlablcs qui s'etoient chargccs de nos
interets j qui nous a ete odteoye par notrc
tres gracieux Souverain comme une marque
de bienveillance toate particuliere ; qui a
cte re^u de notre part avec les marques de
la joye ]a plus vive et la plus grande recon-
noiffance, ayant tous figne, il y a peu de
jours, une adreffe a fa Majefte pour lui en
faire nos remercimens, Ne feroit-ce pas nous
rendre ridicules que de lious declarer contre
un adle qui nous accorde ce que nous deman-
dions, le libre e^ercic^ de n6tre religion,
I'ufage de nos anciennes loix, I'extenfion des
limites de notre province ? — Nos pretend us
amis n'en ont tant d'horreur que parce-qu'ils
trouvent qu'il nous eft trop favorable.
" 11 eft vrai que ces a(^^s etabliflent un
imp6t fur les boiflbns. Mais n'y en avoit-il
pas du tems des Fran9ois ? — Nefl-il pas
jufte que nous contribuions aux depenfes et
aux charges de la province ? — Cette taxe,
n eft-elle pas moderee, et affife fur les objets
les moins neceflaires a la vie ?
" Ouvrez dont les yeux, chers Canadiens,
qui pouvez-yous etre laifles feduire j ar des
ennemis qui veulent vous engager a fervir la
haine qu'ils vous portent, et a vous faire
oerdre I'affedion de v6tre Souverain.
" J'oubliois une de leurs obje<5tions. On
parle de la levee d'un regiment Canadiens.
On fe fcrt de cette circonftance pour vous
dire qu'on vous forcera a vous enroicr ct a
** alier
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[ 269 }
aller faire la guerre au loin : et, d'un biliv
fait qu'on a follicite pour vous, on vous en
fait un objet de t^rreur. Seroit-ce done un
nialheur ppur U colonic s'il y avoi.t un re-
giment Canadien de quatre a cinq. <?ens
hommes, dont tous les officiers feroient Ca-
nadiens ? C^la, ne r^ndroit-il pas a quan-
tite de families refpedables un luftre qui re-
jailliroit (ur toute la colopie ? — On augure
mal de votre courage, puifqu'on cherche a
vous effrayer par la. II me rede bien des
chofes a dire ; mais j.e ferois trop long.
*' Le Canadien Patriote."
L*original de cette lettre etoit a radrefle de
MonfieurOlryjavocat de Quebec, et alui remis
fur la marche du marcbe de la haute ville
par un jeune enfant le 26 Decembre, 17741
a matin.
Tranflatioii of the fpregoing Letter,
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COME EngliHi inhabitants pf this pro-
^ vince are taking pains tp rnake us dif-
fatisfied with the late ads of parliament for
r jgulating the government of this province.
They particularly declaim againft the re-
vival of the French law, which, they tell
you, is favourable to arbitrary power. Their
cmifTaries are continually giving out a-
** mongfl
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U^.a,)idibi*iMMMlM»<'.i
vu
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^"fhongfl ignorant people, That we are going
to have letters i^e cachet brought into ufe
again ; — That we fliall have our property
tftken from us againft our will -, — That we
fhall be hurried away by force to war and
to prifon;— that we fliall be ruined by
taxes;— -That juftice will be adminiftered
armongft us in an arbitrary manner j — That
our governours will be our abfolute maf-
ters ij— and that the laws of England would
have been much more for our advantage.
But the falfhood of all thefe charges is as
plain as day-light. For what have the
French laws to do with letters de cachet^
the being hurried by force to prifon or to
war, the being taxed, or the abfolute
power of the governour ?— It is true indeed
that according to thefe laws your law-fuits
will no longer be decided by a body of
jurymen, which is a tribunal in which we
hav€ often feen ignorance and partiality
prefide. But will that be a misfortune to
us?— And is theEnglifh lawlefsexpenfiveto
the fuitors than the prench ? — And Hiould
ye like to have your children inherit your
lands according to the Englifh law, that is,
all to the eldeft fon, and nothing to any of
the others ? — And fliould ye like to have
your lands granted to you at the high rate
of the Englifh law?— And fliould ye like
to pay your tythcs according to the Englifli
rate, that i ■ , . every tenth iheaf of corn ?-—
** And
ani
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** and
^* for
•• that
** certj
** that
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** And is not the French law much clearer
and plainer than the Englilh, and written
in a language which you underftand ?—- •
Surely the French law is better foi you in
every view: and the judicious part of our
Engliili fellow-fubjeds in the province,
(of whom there is a great number) agree
<* that the enjoyment of it could not be re-
** fufed us without injuftice.
** And accordingly the allowance of the
French laws amongft us is not the part that
gives our envious fellow-fubjedis moll of-
fence in the adls of parliament of which
they are endeavouring to procure the re-
peal. It is another part of thofe adls, which
they never fpeak to you of, but which they
maintain their dillike of amongft them-
felves. It is this. One of thefe not only
allows you the free exercife of the Roman-
Catholick religion, but it goes further,
and releafes you from the neceffity of taking
for any purpofe whatfoever certain oaths
that were before required by the laws in
certain cafes, and which were contrary to
that religion ; and it thereby lays open to
you all the employments and places pf truft
in the province. This is the thing that
fliocks thefe Englifhmen, and makes them
declare in the publick news-papers t/jai
the faid a6l of parliament is a deteftable and
abominable a6i^ that authorijes o bloody reli-
*' gion^ which Jprcads around k, ivhcrever it is
prupagatcdj
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propagated, impietSy murders, iind rehellm.
Thele violent expreilions jSointoilt to lis their
true chara(fler, and Hiew us how deeply
they have been mortified at not having been
able to obtain An afl'embly, from which
they had propoled to exclude you by re-
quiring you to take certain oaths that were
contrary to yOiir religion, in Ordet* to your
admifTion into it, as their countrymen havd
done in Grenada. By this rtiearis they
HVould have been in polTeflion of the full
power of regulating aU your toncwhs of
every kind, civil, political, a'nd religious,
in the manner they lliould hav^ thdugnt -fit.
You may perceive that this v/as their defign
by only reading the petition they fent to
Lolndon. They there reprefent to the king
I'bat his tnajejiy's proteftant jubjeBs in the pro-
vince are fufficie?itly numerous to make it ijon^
njenie?it to Jiimmon an aJJeniMy, This -ex-
prdffibn ihew's tilern i^ their true colours.
A handful of men, whom a beneficial trade
which they have carried on amo^ngfl us,
has jiift raifed from the dirt, ich: the mofl
part, would fain become our mafters, and
reduce you to the moft miferaMe fl^very ; I
repeat it. I fpeak, however, only "of the
committee x>£ Montreal and of a few mer-
chants at Quebeck who \vilh to have the
late a<ft repealed. Thofe people muft furely
take us to be wonderfully ftupid, and to-
tally blind to our own intereft, that they
** venture
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[ 273 ]
venture to requefl us to join with them in
complaining of an at^t of parliament which
we had lately petitioned for ; — which has
coft the refpedlible perfons who had under-
taken the protedion of our interefl, fo much
pains and fo much follicitation to obtain
for us ;— which has been granted to us by
our moft: gracious fovereign as a mark of
his peculiar kindnefs towards us; and which
has been received on our part with all the
demonllrations of the moil lively joy and
gratitude, we having, all of us, but a few
days fmce, figned an addrefs to his majefty
to thank him for paffing it. Should we
not make ourfelves perfedly ridiculous, if
we were now to exprefs a diflike of an aft
which grants us every thing we had dc-
fired, — the free exercife of our religion, —
the ufe of our ancient laws, — and the ex-
tenfion of the boundaries of our province ?
Thofe who pretend to be fo much our
friends have conceived fo great an abhor-
rence of this ad only becaule they think it
favours us too much.
*' It is true indeed that thele ads do impofe
certain taxes on liquors. But were there
not taxes of the fame kind in the time of
the French government ? And is it not
reafonable that we fhould contribute fomc-
thing towards the publick expcnces of the
province ? And are not the taxes impofed
by this ad moderate in their quantity, and
U
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[ 274 ]
laid upon fuch articles as arc Icall ncccd'arr
to our fubfiftence ?
" I befeech you therefore, my dear coun-
trymen, to open your eyes upon this fab-
jedi; I mean luch of you as may have been
deceived by the artful mifreprefentations of
thole who are really your enemies, and who
are now endeavouring to make you acl in
fuch a manner as to become yourfelves the
inftruments of gratifying that hatred they
bear you, and thereby to lofe the affcdion
of your fovereign.
** I had fllmoft forgot to mention one of
their fubjeds of complaint. It has been
reported that a Canadian regiment is to be
raifed. This circumftance they lay hold
of to fpread an alarm amongft you, by
telling you that you will be forced to lilt
yourfelves for foldiers in this regiment, and
go to war in diftant countries j thus con-
verting what has been foUicitcd for you as
a favour and benefit, into an objedt of ter-
rour. But furely you can never be made
to think that it would be a misfortune to
the province to have a regiment of Canadi-
ans raifed in it, that Ihould be commanded
intirely by Canadian officers. Would not
fuch a meafure reftore a number of re-
fpedlable families in the province to a degree
of fplendor which would refledt an honour
upon the whole colony ? The perfons who
try to frighten you by dwelling upon this
it
it
t(
((
top
ic
l:
O
tt
" It
'' tc
T
Mv.
Jiven
place
youn
TI^
the f
In
tlie I
totally
law 1
t/e caCi
perlbi
for fo
trary
the at
the
which
fubmi
both J
was fo
nada,
iiedio,
.•
7
n-
b-
;cn
of
ho
; in
the
bey-
ion
e of
)een
D he
liold
by
\) hit
and
con-
)U as
ter-
nade
ne to
iiadl-
.nded
not
If re-
legrce
nour
v/ho
this
lopick
<(
t(
it
*' ' " too long.
[ 275 1
topick mud fiirely have but a mean o])iiuoa
of your courage,
** I could add many other things to this
letter, if I were not afraid of makin'^ it
** The Patriot Canadian."
The original of this letter was directed to
Mr. dry, advocate at Quebeck, and was de-
livered to him upon the lleps of the market-
place in the upper town of Quebeck by a
young boy on the 26th day of December, 1774.
The foregoing letter naturally fuggeils to Ub
the following remarks.
In the firll place the letter-writer fays tliat
the Britilh inhabitants of the province arc
totally miftaken in fuppofmg that the French
law has any conuedtion either with letters
Je cachet, or arbitrary invafions of property by
perfons in power, or the being forced to lilV
for foldiers and go to war, or with an arbi-^
trary manner of adminillering jullicc, (Twitl>
the abfolute power of governouns. Now, if
the French law means that fyilem of hiw
which is commonly prad:ifed, and univerfally
fubmitted to, and acquiefced in, by the people
both in France and tlie French colonies, and
was formerly ufed in the lame marnier in Ca-
nada, it is certain that it has a very clofe con-
r 'jr letters de
iiedion with all thcfe things.
; t
If
I
i ih IJtt
r
[ 276 ]
•
cachet are frequently ufed in all the French
dominions without any oppofition whatfoever
on the part of the people, or any imagination
that any remedy can be had againft them by
an application to any court of juftice. And
it is certain that under the French govern-
ment in Canada the pcafants were forced to
engage in the militia as foldiers whether they
would or no, and to march to very diftant
places, fuch as Acadia, or Nova Scotia, and
Fort Du Quefne near the river Ohio, many
hundreds of miles from their homes, to make
war upon the Englifli or the Indians.
And with refped: to the adminiftration of
juftice, it mull certainly be much more arbi-
trary, or dependent on the pleafure of perfons
in power, under the methods prefcribed by
the French law, than it is under the law of
England, which directs that the truth of the
fads in litigation between the parties (upon
which the whole merits of ninety-nine caufes
out of an hundred depend,) fhall be deter-
mined by a jury. For, as the judges of the
courts of juftice are certain fixed perfons who
under the French law are known by the con-
tending parties to have the power of deciding
their caufes, they are liable to be applied to
and follicited by them beforehand by every
means direct and indirect, to determine the
matter in their favour : whereas a jury, being
a fudden and occafional tribunal ereded for the
decifion of the controverted fads in every par-
ticular
like
[ '^11 ]
mg
to
he
ticular caufe, confifts of perfons who cannot
be known by the parties beforehand in the
charadcr of peribns who are impowered to
decide their caufes, and therefore cannot be
applied to and follicited upon that account.
And befides, as the parties have a right to
challenge thofe jurymen whom they have
reafonable caufe to fufpedt of a biafs in favour
of their adverfarics, and to caufe other more
impartial perfons to be fubftituted in their
room, the jury that a^ihially tries the caufe is
likely to confid: of as unbiafTed and impartial
perfons as can well be found for the purpofe :
lb that (M\ both thcfc accounts, to wit, the
incapacity of being applied to and follicited
before-hand by the parties, and the being
chofcn, as it were, by the confcnt of the two
contending parties by the removal of all thofe
perfons whom either of them has any juil:
caufe of fufpeding of partiality, a jury is
much lefs likely to decide a caufe arbitrarily,
or according to their own wifhes and inclina-
tions without regard to truth or evidence,
than a court of judges only, in whom the
whole power of deciding them is vefled by
the French law. And laftly, a court of judges
only mull always have a leaning in favour of
the crown and the governour of the province,
and other fuch powerful perfons, againft fuitors
of a lower rank, not only by reafon of the
obligations they lie under to them for their
promotion to their offices, and their depend-
ance
[ 278 I
ancc on them for their continuance in tin*
pofl'eflion of them, but alfo on account o'i
their daily and friendly intercourfe with thofc
men of fuperiour flation, and the private at-
tachments which that intercourfe mud ne-
ceflarily give rife to. It may therefore he
juftly apprehended that jufticc will be more ar-
bitrarily adminiflercd than it has been hitherto
in confequencc of the revival of the French law
in civil matters by the late a6l of parliament,
unlefs the trial by jury is continued in the pro-
vince either by an ordinance of the provincial
legiQature or by an adt of parliament.
And, as to the power of the governour, it
is evident that the Britifli inhabitants of thv
province have juft caufe to fay that this ac^l of
parliament makes that power very great, fmce
it gives him, in conjundion with a legiflative
council confiding of 23 perfons, recommended
for the mod part by himfelf, (of whom, a great
part hold places of profit under the crown,
and who, for aught that the ad: provides to
the contrary, may be made removcable or
fufpendible at his will and pleafure, and who,
in diort, are no way calculated to be a check
and controul upon him, but are very depend-
ent on him,) the power of making laws to
bind the province.
The writer of the foregoing French letter,
when he afiTerts that the i^^rench law has no-
thing to do with letters ^e cachet, and liding
foldiers againd their will into the army or
militia.
^v
vi
L
n79
1
It
to
or
10,
eck
d-
s to
1.
I
militia, and the like, Iccnis to con line tl»c
icnlc of the words ** French law" to the
cullom of Paris, which was tiic common law
of Canada in the time of the Trench govern-
ment, and which, I believe, does not men-
tion any of thefe particulars. But the words
of the late ?.i\ of parliament are much more
extenfivc. They arc not, that in all matters
of property and civil rights refort Huill be had
to the cnllom of Paris, but to the laws of
Catiaddy and that all caufes, that (liall hereafter
be inftituted concerning thofe fubjedls^ Hiall
be determined according to the lav:s and cujloms
of Canada ; which words feem to take in every
ibrt of cuilomary practice ufed in the time of
the French government by perfons in autho-
rity> and recognized and acquiefced in by the
people and the courts of jullice, as things
againfl: which no legal remedy was to be had.
At lead there is room to apprehend that thefe
words may one time or other be fo inter-
preted ; and confequently the Britifli inhabi-
tants of the province are well-grounded in
exprelling an apprehenfion that thefe confe-
quenccs may follow from them. The efTencc
of the French law 1 have underftood to be
contained in thefe eight lignificant monofyl-
lables. Si I'cut leroii ji'veut la hi 'i That which
the king wills the [law ordains. If it is his
pleafure that a man fliould be imprifoned in a
particular caftle, or fortrels, or monadery, for
any length of time, he figns his X^iicx de cacbt-t
for
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^
[ 2S0 J
for the purpofe, and the man is taken up and
carried to the place of his confinement by a
cornet of horfe with a proper number of
troopers to fupport him : and nobody thinks
of applying to the courts of juftice to procure
his releafe ; nor does he himfelf ever venture
to bring an adtion of falfe imprifonment againll
the perfons w^ho executed the letter de cachet
againft him, or againft the gov^rnour of the
caftle or fortrefs who has detained him in
cuftody. In like manner if the king chufcs
to banifh a man to a particular part of France,
he fends an order to him to repair thither,
and is inftantly obeyed. This we have fecn
done repeatedly, not to one man, but to the
whole parliament of Paris. Thefe therefore
are practices that are warranted by the French
law, as it is now underftood and pradifed,
though they are not fet down in the cuftom of
Paris, or perhaps in other French books of
municipal law ; but they are virtually con-
tained in the fhort, fundamental, maxim
above-mentioned. I know that fome French
gentlemen are apt to contend that all thefe
proceedings are not agreeable to the French law, .
but are really breaches of it committed by the
power of the crown which is too great to be
refifttd. But others of them ingenuoully
confefs that the foregoing fliort maxim con-
cerning the king's fupreme power of altering,
or fuperfeding, the ordinary laws of the coun-
try, is a fundamental maxim of their govern-
ment.
— t
w
ch
w,,
f-
<;:■
he
be
fly
1
n-
r
»g»
■f .
n-
n-
it.
[ 28. ]
ment. And the conftant pradice of the
French kings, and the univerlal fubmiffion of
the people of France to thefeveral exercifes of
thefe high powers, not only without actually
refifting them, but without fo much as pre-
ftnding that they are illegal, fhews that the
latter fpeak according to the truth. Indeed
the whole difference between thefe two repre-
fentations of the French laws and government
is little more than a verbal diftindion ; fince
thofe who reprefent thefe high ads of power,
exercifed by the French kings, as breaches of
the laws inftead of legal pradices, yet are
forced to confefs at the fame time that the
courts of juftice aiFord no remedies againfl
them, which is, in fubftance, confefling
(however they may deny it in words,) that
they are not confidered as contrary to law.
When ads of this nature are committed in
England, the law affords proper remedies
againft them. The perfon who is imprifoned
without legal caufe has his writ of habeas
corpus to procure his immediate releafe, and
his adion of falfe imprifonment againfl the
fecretary of flate, or other wrong-doer, by
whofe means he has been imprifoned, to re-
cover a compenfation for the damage he has
fuflained by his imprifonment, whether it has
continued a long or a fhort time. And, if,
by fubflituting the French law inflead of the
Englifh law in all cafes of property and civil
O o rights.
I
li
I
t
■o v.'Wr)Ci|rimi,iM^
[ 282 ]
rights, thefe remedies for injuries of this kind
are taken away, (as there feems to be much
reafon to apprehend they are,) the Britifli in-
habitants of the province are well warranted in
faying that by this revival of the French law
thefe high ads of power are again rendered
pradlicable in the province in the fame manner
as in the time of the French government.
The writer of the foregoing letter proceeds
next to pafs a cenfure on the Englifli method
of trial by jury, and fays a jury is a tribunal
in which ignorance and partiality often pre-
lide. I have already mentioned fome of the
great advantages of the trial by jury, and
amongft them, the probability of obtaining a
more impartial decilion of the caufe by that trial
than from a bench of judges only. And, as to
the other thing here objedled to juries, namely,
their ignorance, Imuft obferve that, if by igno-
rance the letter- writer means ignorance of the
law, (as I prefume he does) it is no juft ob-
jedion to the ufe of juries, becaufe their
bulinefs is not to decide points of law, but
only to determine the fads that are contefled
in the caufe, and thereby to enable the learned
judges to pronounce the law upon the matter
which refults from the true ftate of the fads.
And for this duty of determining the fads of
a caufe no learning in the law is requiiite ;
but good fenfe and honefty and impartiality,
with the afliftance of the counfel in examining
- • the
I 283 ]
the witnefles, and the judges in fumming up
the evidence and making pertinent obferva-
tions on it, are very fufficient qualifications.
I know the Canadians arc apt to miftake the
province of a jury, and to fuppofe that they
are called to decide the law as well as the
fadls of the caufes they try. And upon this
fuppofition they fornetimes object to the infti-
tution. And this I fuppofe to be the cafe
with the writer of the foregoing letter. But,
notwithftanding this miilaken opinion and the
obje(flion to juries refulting from it, together
with another objedlion which they have often
made to them on account of the unanimity
required of them in giving their verdid, the
Canadians may, upon the whole, be faid to
approve the inltitution ; becaufe, in the courts
of Common-pleas in the province, in which
(by the great ordinance of September, 1764,
by which the courts of juftice were eredted,)
they have been at liberty to have their caufes
decided with or without a jury as they liked
beft, they have ufually chofen to have a jury,
when the caufe has been of confiderable con-
fequence, rather than leave the matter to the
fole decilion of the judges. This conftant
choice which they have made of the trial by
jury for ten years together, when they might
have done without one, is a decifive proof of
their fentiments upon this fubje(?t. They
will therefore probably fay, in anfwer to the
O o 2 letter-
1!;
[ 284 ]
Jcttcr-writcr's queftion, " Whether the fup-
preflion of the trial by jury by the late a(ft
will be a misfortune to the province," that
they do conceive it to be a great misfortijq^e to
be deprived of the liberty of having a jury
whenever they fhould defire it, which they
have hitherto enjoyed ever fince the year j 764,
and have fo often thought fit to make ufe of.
The letter- writer in the next place proceeds
to obiedt to other parts of the law of England,
which he reprefents as likely to take place in
the province if the late ad of parliament
ihould be repealed, and as being very op-
preflive and difagreeable to the Canadians.
The firft thing he objeds to is the expen-
fivenefs of the Englifh law.
This is an idle objection, becaufe the ex-
pence of law-fuits does not depend upon the
law which is edablifhed as the rule of decifion
in litigations, but on the method of carrying
on the fuit : and this has been already for
many years pall in the courts of Common-
pleas (in which courts the greateft part of the
civil bufinefs of the province has been carried
on,) the fame that was in ufe in the time of
the French government ; at leafl fo far as the
French lawyers ia Canada are acquainted
with it. For, by the great ordinance of Sep-
tember, 1764, by which the courts of juftice
were ereded, Canadian lawyers, prodors, and
advocates, were permitted to pradice in the
court
t
t
[ 285 ]
cx-
tied
le of
sthe
nted
Sep-
ftice
and
the
:ourt
5''
court of Common- pleas : and they have ac-
cordingly pradlifed in it ever fince in their own
forms and in the French language, and, in
Ihort, in the method they liked beft. And
confequently no diminution of the expence of
law-fuits in that court can he produced by the
revival of the French law in civil matters ena(fled
by the late adl of parliament, nor could any
increafe of expence be occafioned by a fecond
ellabLifhment of the Englifh law inftead of
the French in thofe cafes, in confequenccof
a repeal of the late adl. And this the letter-
writer probably knew very well, but meant
only to alarm the Canadians with a pretended
danger of this kind, in order to prevent their
liftening to the reprefentations of their Britifh
fellow-fubjedts in favour of the Englifh law.
I believe the expence of law-fuits in the
province is already reduced as low as it well
can be, the whole expence of conducing an
ordinary caufe from beginning to end in the
court of Common-pleas being, as I have been
well aflured, only twenty fhillings of Halifax
currency, or eighteen fhillings fterling.
The next thing the letter-writer objedls to
in the Englifh law is the inheritance of land
by primogeniture, which he reprefents as
likely to be the confequence of a revival of
the Englifh law by a repeal of the late aft.
In anfwer to this objedlion I need only ob-
ferve (what I can hardly fuppofe the letter-
writer
*j
■fcl HI I ■ ■■
[ 286 ]
writer himfclf to have been ignorant of,) that
the Britifh inhabitants of the province, in all
their declarations concerning the neceflity of
introducing theEnglifli laws into the province,
have conftantly exprefled a willingnefs that the
general introduction of thofe laws, which they
fo much infift on, fhould be accompanied with
an exception of the laws relating to the te-
nure of land, the manner of conveying and
fettling it, and the tranfmiflion of it to new
pofTellors by dower and inheritance, unlefs the
Canadians themfelves defired to have the Eng-
lifh laws upon thofe fubjedls. Therefore the
Canadians might fafely join with their Britilli
fellow-fubjedU in the province in requefting
the repeal of the late a(St of parliament and the
revival of the English law in the province, as
far as thofe Britiih inhabitants were defirous
of having it revived, without any danger of
having their laws of inheritance by partition
converted into the Englifh law of inheritance
by primogeniture. I might add that the Eng-
liih law, which eftablifhes the inheritance of
land by primogeniture, eftabli(hes likewife the
power of deviling land in any manner that the
teftator thinks fit, which would put it in the
power of every Canadian, who difapproved
the Englifh law of inheritance, to avoid its
operation, in cafe it had been introduced into
the province : and I might mention likewife
the inconveniences, which have been leverely
and
\
r 287 1
and generally felt by the Canadians, arifing
from the too great fubdivifion of their lands
by repeated partitions upon inheritance, of
which they have themfelves complained, and
which the French king had endeavoured to
remedy by an edidl in the year 1745: I might
mention both thefe circumftances as reafons
why the Canadians need not be much alarmed
if the Englifh law of inheritance had been
cxprelsly introduced into the province amongfl
the other laws of England. But thefc con-
fiderations are unnecefTary, (ince the Britidi
inhabitants of the province, who defire to
have the laws of England eftablifhed in it,
are willing to confent to the above-mentioned
very copious exception concerning landed
property.
In the next place the letter-writer endea-
vours to frighten the Canadians from joining
with the Britifh inhabitants in petitioning for
the Englifh laws, by making them believe
that, if thofe laws were to take place, they
would be forced to pay tythes to their priefts
after the Englifli rate of the tenth part of the
corn in the fheaf, inftead of paying the?::*
according to the rate formerly eflablifhed in
Canada, and revived by the late adl, of the
twenty-fixth bufliel of their corn threfhed out.
In anfwer to this I fhall only obferve, that
the Britifh inhabitants of the province were fb
far from williing to make the Canadians pay
thq
[ 288 ]
the tenth ihcaf of their corn to their priefts
by way of tythes, inftead of the twenty-fixth
bufhel, that they wifhed them to continue
under the exemption they have hitherto en-
joyed ever fmce tlie capitulation in 1760 from
all legal obligation to pay any tythes at all,
and are very much furprized and difpleafed at
the revival of this legal obligation by "the late
adl of parliament, which they confider as a
parliamentary eflablifhment of popery in that
province, that is by no means in titled to their
approbation.
The letter-writer objeifts alfo to the high
rents rcferv^ed upon grants of land according
to the Englifh law, and aiks the Canadians
whether they fliould like to take up lands at
thofe high rents. — What the writer means by
thefe high rents, I do not very well know.
But whatever it niay be,, it caiinot juflly be
objcifled to that introdu6ion of the Englifh
law which the Briti(h inhabitants of the pro-
vince with to obtain, bccaufe they are willing
to confent, as has been before obferved, that
all the laws relating to the tenure as well as
the inheritance of lands fliould continue upon
the antient footing of the French laws.
It appears therefore that thefe three things,
to wit, the Englifh law of inheritance by
primogeniture, the Englifh law concerning
the quantity of the tythes to be paid to parifli-
priefts, and the Englifli law concerning the
rents
\l
ion
igs, f
by
ing f
Lfh- '
the
ents
[ 289 1
rents to be referved upon grants of land (which
arc the only things wJ '.en the author of this
letter obje^fts to in the fyflem of the Englifh
laws, as likely to be difagreeable to the Cana-
dians,) are not any part of thofe laws of Eng*
land which the BritiHi inhabitants of the pro-
vince are defirous to fee eflablifhed in it : and
confequently they ought not, by a writer of
candour, to have been rcprefented to the Ca-
nadians as being likely to happen from the
fuccefs of any endeavours which might be
ufcd by the faid Britifh inhabitants to procure
a re-eftabli(hnnent of the laws of England in
the province, But candour does not feem to
be tnis writer's favourite virtue.
From the omiflion of the writer of the fore-
going letter to mention any other objections
to the Englifh law than thofe which we have
here examined, notwithstanding he was ufing
his utmofl endeavours to reprefent that law in
a light that would be difagreeable to the Ca^
nadians, I derive a confirmation of an opinion
which I have long entertained and often de«
clared upon this fubjedt, which is, that the
Engliih law might have been introduced into
the province of Quebeck with refped to civil
as well as criminal matters, with tne exception
above-mentioned concerning landed property
and a continuation of the exemption from the
legal obligation of paying tythes to the priefls
which had been eftablifhed by Sir Jeffery
P p Amherft,
J
[ 290 ]
Amhcrft, without giving any difguft to the
general body of the Canadians. And there-
fore I cannot but lament that the whole of it
in civil matters has been repealed by the late
adl of parliament, and the whole French laws
upon thiofe fubjeds re-eftablifhed in its (lead.
The writer of the foregoing French letter
in the next place accufes the Britifh inhabi-
tants of the province of a defire to exclude
them on account of their religion from fitting
in the affembly of the province which they
petitioned the king's majefty to eftablifh.
And as a proof of this intention in the faid
Britifli inhabitants, he affirms that they fet
forth in their petition to thb king, " That
there is now afufficient number of proteftant
fubjedts of his majefty in the faid province to
make it convenient to eftablifh an affembly
• . ■ j»
m It.
In anfwer to this accufation it is only ne-
cefTary to refer the reader to the petition of the
faid Britifh inhabitants to the king for an
affembly, which is printed herein above, in
pages 17, 1 8, 19, where he will find that the
petition contains no fuch pafTage. On the
contrary, the concluding paragraph of that
jjetition, which contains the prayer of it,
plainly declares a willingnefs in thofe Britifh
inhabitants to acquiefce in the eftablifhment
of an affembly into which Roman-Catholicks
fhould
^
tt
«(
it
41
U
€€
it
it
[ 291 ]
ihould be admitted, if his majedy, in his
royal wifdom, fliould think fit to eftablifh fuch
an one. This paragraph, (which is the mofl
material part of the petition,) is as follows.
** Your majefty's petitioners, being fully
" conviiiced, from their refidence in the
province, and their experience in the af-
fairs of it, that a general aflcmbly would
** very much contribute to encourage and
promote induftry, agriculture, and com-
merce, and (as they hope,) to create har-
mony and good undprftanding between
your majelly's new and old fiibjeds ;. mod
humbly fupplicate your majefty to tak^ the
premifles into your rbyal confideration, and
** to dired your majefty's governour, orcom-
'* mander in chief, to call a general all'embly,
<* in fuch manner, and of fuch conjiitution and
\^ fornit as to your majefty, in your royal wifdom^
" JImU Jeem bejl adapted to fecure its peace y wcl-
" fare, and good ^ernment"
It feems probable that the writer of the
foregoing French letter took the paflage he
<:;ites in it from fome former petition of the
pritifh inliabitants of the province to the
king for a houfe of alTembly, presented fomc
years fmce. But if fo, he (hould not have
reprefented it as making a part of their laft
petition in December, 1774, and as a proof
of their intention at that time to exclude
the Roman-Catholicks from the affembly.
And
[ 292 1
And It muft be obr;^rved that he could hardly
be ignorant of the contents of that laft pe-
tition, becaufc we have feen above in the
beginning of this tradl, that the Britiih in-
habitants of the province proceeded openly
and fairly with tneir Canadian fellow-fub-
jedls, and communicated to them their rcfo-
lution of petitioning for an aflembly, and
follicitcd them to join with them in doing fo :
whereas the French petition above-mentioned
in pages 112, 113, and 114, was handed
about in the moft fecret manner poflible,
and cautioufly kept from the fight of the
Britifh inhabitants of the province, and even
from that of all fuch pcrfons amongft the
Canadians themfelves as were not follicited to
iign it.. - -- -' ' '^ ' • '^'''-
The writer of the foregoing French letter
in the next place mentions the duties on
fpirituous liquors impofed by one of the adts
uf parliament pafled laft fummer, and en-
deavours to reconcile the Canadians to them.
What he fays upon this fubjeft feems to be
perfedly reafonable. It is juft that the people
of Canada fhould pay fome taxes towards
the fupport of the government of their pro-
vince. And thofe which are impofed by that
adt of parliament I believe to be both judi-
cious and moderate. And I do not hear that
any of the inhabitants of the province, either
Britifli or Canadian, have made any com-
plaints againft them.
In
• \
iM'i
'^
t 29s 1
In the laft place the tetter-writdr menlioni
a defign of raiiing a Canadian regiment of
four or five hundred men* to be conuhanikd
by Canadian officers: ondheendesnrours to re**
present due meafure as an advantage to the Ca^
nadian peafants by means of the honour it will
refledt upon them by raifing Comt of their gen«*
try to a aegree of i^kndour in the province. He
does not lay whether he fuppofes die Cana^
dians are to be preffed into this Service, of
only to be invited to enter into it from fuch
motives as he fuggefts, of railing fome of
their gentry to ftations of honour. I fuppofe
he means die latter ; bepaufe in the firft part
of the letter he has denied that there is any
connexion between the revival of the French
law and the power of preffing men for foldiers.
And if he does mean only a voluntary fervice,
I trufl that the Canadian peafants, (who all
either are or may be freeholders with a hun-
dred acres of land a-piece,) are already too
well acquainted with the advantages of living
quiedy upon their own eftates and cultivating
tnem with induftryy and reaping the full fruits
of their labour by felling tneir corn for great
prices to the En^ifli merchants who export it,
(as they have done now for thefe ten years
pad under the protei^ibn of the Englifh law,)
to chufe to exchange them for the hard and
unprofitable condition of a foldier and the
ofHce of being led to fight with their fellow-
fubjedts
[294 ]•
itibjcds tn tbe Maf&chuiet's Bay and Cbnntc-'
ticut» only for the fake pf riufing fpme of
their decayed gentry to ftations of honour.
I am twich deceived, if motives of this kind
will induce many of them to ctnlif): in this
intended regiment^ if» after all » fuch aniea-^
iiire is really intended, which appears to Itie
fo very ftrange^ that I fhall hardly be brought
to believe it can be intended till I know it id
be aftually dwe. ; ; _.,*! ^i c. . ^a^.l.
io rrn^i •ruUf.'i ;-> ,<.n:y-,gn: ou
^Jifcv^^i.i .i-(i F I N I S;
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naiiiiil iifti
% and Connfcc-.'
raifing fpmc of
ons of hbnoujt.
'^es of this kind
o cmlift in this
]» fuch a mear
appears tome
rdly be brought
ill I know it t0
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