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The following little sketch is presented to the public as an attempt to show, in narrative form, some of the features of our Civil Law imperatively calling for amendment. Many cases similar to those delineated have occurred within the writer's own personal experience, and no case is described which might not occur at any time. PHASES OF QUEBEC LiW. By "VICTIM." " Why, surely, that's Fitzherbert !" exclaimed Edward Markham, as he hailed one of the passengers disembarking from an Atlantic steamer at the Liverpool wharf one bright spring morning. " What brings you back ? I thought you left us with the intention of remaining in Canada for the rest of your days, or at any rate until you had made your fortune, but somehow you don't exactly look as if you had succeeded in doing that." " Well, it's a long story and a dismal one, Ned, and I have a good many things to attend to just now. Come and look me up at the Adelphi this evening and we can have a good talk." " I will with pleasure," replied the other ; " good-bye for the present." On joining his friend again in the evening, Markham observed a care-worn and dejected air about him which confirmed his impression that Fitzherbert had not met with the success to which he had looked forward when he left England in the hope of improving his position. " Well, old fellow,"' exclaimed Markham, after a little chat about old times and old friends, " now tell me your history since you left us, some eleven or twelve years ago, I think. I shall be greatly interested in hearing all about it, as I have had serious thoughts of following your example." " Infandum refjina jubes renovare dolorem," returned Fitzherbert. " Excuse my quoting Latin. I know it's snobbish, but Aeneas' lament so exactly expresses my feelings that I couldn't help it. However, my stock of Latin is small, and I won't repeat the offence. Well, I will tell you all my adventures, or rather mis-adventures, if you care to hear them. I went to settle, as I think you know, in the Province of Quebec. The country is picturesque, and there is a great deal of excellent land there, and if one does not mind a somewhat long and severe winter, it is a pleasant enough place to live in, but the trouble with me is that I have been robbed and ruined by the law. •f "I carried with mc my small capital of two thousand pounds or ten thousand dollars, as I will call it, my investments having, of course, heen all made in that currency ; and now I will give you a categorical account of what those investments were and what has become of them. I had a great idea that real estate securities were the most desirable, and I did not wish to have too many eggs in one basket, so I disposed of my money in this way. " My first investment was in a mortgage on farm property, valued at $8,000, and on this I advanced $1,500. The title to the property was approved by a lawyer and my mortgage deed (Uily registered. The owner of the property subsequently gave a second mortgage to another person to secure a debt due to him in open account. The second mortgagee shortly afterwards sued for the recovery of his debt and obtained judgment. The property mort- gaged to nie was seized by the shcrifl' and advertised to be sold in two months, no deference whatever being made to my mortgage. I knew nothing of these proceedings and received no notice of any kind, although the Register shewed me to be first incuml)rancer. The property was put up to auction by the sheriff and knocked down to the plaintiff in the suit for $150. The parties present at the sale knowing that there were mortgages covering nearly if not quite the full value, and supposing that the object of the sale was to get a title, there was no bidding against him. The $150 was applied (according to law) first, in payment of the sherifPs costs, and secondly in pay- ment of the attorney's costs. The two together absorbed the whole of the purchase money ; the judgment creditor got the property and I lost every cent of my investment. In answer to my indignant protest at this legalized robbery I was told that it was my own fault for not having appeared at the sale to protect my interests ; that I should have studied the Quebec Offidal Gazette, in which the intended sale was advertised. ' Why,' it was said, 'every one ought to know that you cannot with any safety hold real estate or real estate secur- ities in the Province of Quebec without examining the notices in the Offidal Gazette.' The paper is published weekly, and notice of a sheriff's sale must be published for two months previously. 'Well, but — ' I replied, 'why does not the sher'fF sell what the defendant really owns, which is the property, subject to the mortgages, or what is called in English law the " equity of redemption," instead of selling the property itself which practically belongs to another person ?' " ' Oh,' replied my informant, with a shrug, ' that may suit you r fastidious notions, but we like these sharp proceedings, and a sheriff's deed is considered the best possible foundation for a title. In this province our sympathies are all with the debtor and against the creditor.' < t V\ V 4 f I i ■f \ I I I \ ,♦'■ I I "*I presume, then,' said I, 'that Ih the reason why your French law refuses to allow a mortgagee to make use of a power of sale, although inserted with the express C(jn8ent of the borrower, and that consequently before a security can be realized it is necessary to apply to the courts and obtain a judgment for the debt with all the heavy expenses consequent upon a suit. You arc aware that where English law prevails a power of sale is inserted in every well drawn mortgage) whereby if the borrower fails to pay according to the stipulations of the deed, the mortgagee, after a certain delay, is empowered to seU the property and to pay himself what is due under the mortgage, and is then to hand the balance, if any, to the debtor. If the power is improperly used the mortgagee is liable in damages to the mortgagor. Under that system, tis no legal proceedings are necessary, a man knows when he is lending money that nothing can come between him and his security, and as it enhances the value of the security it has a natural tendency to reduce the rate of interest, and therefore benefits the borrower as well as the lender.' '" I must admit," retuinod he, ' that that appears to be common sense, but our law is chiolly made by lawyers, and what would become of them if we weic to dispense with suits?' " My second investment was similar to the first, namely, a mort- gage of i^OO upon property of ample value. Profiting by my pre- vious experience, I now carefully studied the notices of sheriff 's sales in the Official Gazette, and about a year after I had made the invest- ment I was startled to find that the property which I held as security wjis advertised to be sold at the suit of a creditor. I attended the sale, and finding that the sheriff's fees and the attorney's costs con- nected with the suit amounted to ^loO, and that my debt with accu- mulated interest came to §2,100, I bid the property up to $2,2bO, which I supposed would make my claim perfectly secure. A person present, however, who had been persistently bidding against me, and whom I took to be a bona fide purchaser, overbid me and the property was knocked down to him for $2,300. I was perfectly satisfied as I wanted my money and not the real estate. Under the advice of my attorney I fyled a claim for the purchase money afiti de conserve)', as it is called, and thought myself safe. I then left home for a month to visit a sick friend, and not having given instructions that that interesting publication the Official Gazette should be sent after me, was thunderstruck on my return home to find nearly the whole of my second investment hopelessly gone. It was in this way. The creditor who had obtained the judgment got some one to attend the sale for him with instructions to overbid me. The sale by the sheriff was made subject to the usual conditions, one of which was that tVie 6 purchase money must be paid within three days, in default of which the property would be again put up for sale, and the first purchaser would be personally liable for any diminution in the price obtained at the second sale. The purchase money was not paid (as had been previously concerted) and the property was aj^ain advertised to be sold at the/olle enchhe of the first purchawc^r. This time only two weekly insertions in the Gazette were necessary, and on the day of sale the only persons present were the creditor himself and two or three friends, and after some pretense of bidding against each other the property was knocked down to the creditor for $400. After taking out the additional costs of the second sale, the balance of the 1400 was paid to me, which was all I ever got aa the first purchaser who was probably a man of straw was nowhere to be found. " My third investment was a mortgage for f 1,000 on a large tract of forest land or "wild" land as it is termed, supposed to be worth about $2,000. About 3 years after making the investment, as my interest was very much in arrear, I instructed my attorney to take the necessary proceedings for recovering my debt when I found to my dismay that my security was gone, the entire property having been sold by the municipal authorities to pay the taxes which had fallen into arrear. It seems that all real estate, whether productive or not, is liable to municipal taxation for the purpose of raising a revenue wherewith to construct and maintain roads, bridges, &c., and to build and sustain schools. The law provides that if these taxes are not paid, the Secretary-Treasurer of the municipality in which the lands are situated may advertise in the Official Gazette that they will be sold on a certain day in the month of March. The advertise- ment must appear two months before the day appointed for the sale. The man who gave me the mortgage failed to pay his taxoH, and the lands were advertised soon after I had made the loan. As my exam- ination of the Official Gazette had hitherto been confined toascrutiny of the notices of sheriff's aales, I did not see the advertisement, and although I was the registered mortgagee I received no notice of the intended sale. These sales are conducted in a peculiar manner. The auctioneer asks if any one present will pay the arrears of taxes and costs on the lands being adjudicated to him. Some one present offers to do so. The auctioneer then asks if any one will pay them on a portion only of the lands being adjudicated. If he finds a second bidder he continues the process until he finds the person who will pay the taxes for the minimum amount of land, whicli is then adju- dicated to him. Sometimes there is a spirited bidding, but usually there is none, the taxes being paid by some one who is cither tlie real owner or an incumbrancer, the taxes having been charged to a mere occupant who hiw very littlo real interest in the property. It is generally assumed that parties bitUUnn are protecting their interests and there is seldom any in