•^ &. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // // /. ,*^ y His Honour the Lieuteuaiit-Uovornor to call the attention of the Governni<>iit of (Janada to my despatch dated .'Hst December last, respecting tlie legis- lation needed to put beyond dispute in civil and criminal ca.ses any (juestion as to the western and northern limits of Ontario The measure therein referred to as intended to be submitted to the Legislature of Ontai'io, was, as vou are aware, pa.ssed at its last session ; but no like Act was passed by the Parliament of Canada at its recent session. I am to remind you that a report on tlie subject, by a Committ(>e of the Honourable the Privy Council, was approved by His Excellency the Governor-i teneral in Council on the iL'th November, 1874, and that in this lleport it was set forth tliat, in a memorandum dated on that day, the Prenuer of the Dominion recommended concurrence in a proposi- tion made by the Government of Ontario, to determine by means of a reference the northern juid" western boundaries of that Province relatively to the rest of the Dominion ; that the Ontario Governuu'iit having named the Honourable William Buell Richards, Chief Justice of Ontario, as one of the referees, the Premier submitted the name of the Honourable Samuel Allan Wilmot, formerly Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of New Brunswick, to act in conjunction with him, and advised that authority should be given them to agree upon a third person, not being a resident of Canada, and that the determination of a niajoi'ity of such three referees should be final and conclusive upon the limits to be taken as and for such boundaries respectively, and by the Report of the Com- mittee of the Privy Council it was recommended that the Dominion should agree to con- current action with the Province of Ontario, in obtaining such legislation as might be necessary for giving binding etl'ect to the conclusion which should be arrived at, and for establishing the northern and western boundaries of the Province of Ontario in accordance with the award. A further Report of a Committee of tlie Honourable the Privy Council was approved by His Excellency tlu? Governor-General in Council on the 31st July, 1878, wliereby it was stated that the Committee of Council had under consideration the subject of the ithi;ni and western bguudariea of the Province pf Ontario, which under previous iwrt Orders in Council had been referred to the Honourable \V R p;.i,o.t .^ r,^- , Justice of Ontario, named as referee on behalf of tblfPrl- i . T^'^'^'^^' **!«" Chief replaced by the thi-n Chief JustTce tl7e Hofumble R A iT' "^'° T' «"l'««q"«^tly lunito to l«, take,. „ .„J for ™c|, b„,,;trrreTp"ct|v.lv "'"' ''°"°'"»™ "P™ "" Corrcpomling Oi-dcr> in Council Mere mode by this Province rr-aSr--""'"^ "■- -^ « sr;ir?t:r«StKte';zss The Government of Ontario on its part acouieaced in iho o^„^a * v believed to have accorded to this Proving all tSa" was claimed o? ts blroralltr he Province might within its strict legal rights have had awarded to it but'beo„ ?. riT„risi.tCeprn.'^:r=^:r z£' r c.n.i^^rs:tS;L^rtrr;^^^^^^^^^^^ delay in announcing the acquiescence of theDomininrnnf^^ . ^ ? represent that the otherwise to the award, has\eerrbatliiS^rd\°.lurio^^^^^^ '''' '^«^^^"«" ^"" ^^-^ Ihc present Government of Canada hns already been made ftwnr« fl.n* u f x. arbitrators met, an exhaustive collection ha., been made Wfrff'. ! ^fT ^^^ and Ontario severally of all the facts, documerand evid'ence b^arirZ^^ ^T'' versy ; that everything material had been printed and in a form w2 fadHtatt Tn' greatest practical degree the full and promnt examinntfnn ^71^ .• ^^ ^ *° *''® oases had been prepared on both sides cZtainbrn the question at issue ; that and the reasons therefor ; tU tL fc^ e a o Ld beeT''^ ." *''' rT"'''' '^^^'' matter had been argued before tie "rbiTratorfby counsd '"'*'^' ' "^' '''^' *^^ ^^^°^« ' selectllthrSgm^nrwS^^^^^^^ P™s could have been than that of thi tlfree arbitrates apTdS S Fra'ncrSin'ckris'aT'^^'r''^' 'f^'' and statesman, is acknowledged to have few Pn^lic ? ^mcks, as a Canadian publicist ence ; the late' Chief JustSarrisr vis a ryer of'^^^^^^^^^^^ 'f""''? °^ ^'P^ ^P^' method of reasoning was always d st ngu shed for it. nrlr /'"''^ ""'"^ ^ J"^^'" ^^""'^ P»^ont jn.«„,ent or oneVw oS;LXSS ofi'SL^^^^^ If the merits of the award have been considered by the Government nf C.,.aA .1, will have observed certain preliminary thin-s in connection\X!I^ .■ , -^f ' ^^^ and are beyond controvers>% Amonirst tl p?p l^fXtfJ.r^ question which were same limits as Upper Canada hid wlS; It ^^^ *'''^' ^^t^ ^"^'^^o ^^ entitled to the much of theBritKrritZ we tof ^- '^^ * *''''' ^'""'' '"^^''^'^ «° belonged to Fran e before th^^^ ^.^ ^*"f«" Ontario and Quebec, as belonged to the ProvincrofcCI before Co'nl. ^""r '" '^'r '^°'u '^'""S), so much as as belonged to the Dominion be ot it pTrcSZot'hrrthT^ ^T.b^'u T'''>\'' """^^ pany, and that the single question wkrthe Sitrators faf,^ ^^^ ^'°'"- t #' <4 bofore Confederation, and by the Dominion afterwards, and considerablv less on the west entitied'to **" °^""*"' °^ ^'"''^ '^"'*'"' "'"P'"' '" ^^^'^' *^'''"'''''' '''''■'' "^"""'^y Further, the territory so awarded to Ontario is less than was comprised in Upper Canada according to the true intent and meaninR of the Quebec Act (1774), as sIumvu bv Its recitals and by its known objects and its history, including the proceedings thereon in he House of Co...n.ons, as reported in "Cavendish's Debates," and as set forth in the etterof the Right Honourable Edmund Burk., dated 2nd August, 1774, to his consti- tuents, the Province of New York, whose agent he was at the time. AH these documents are to be found amongst the printed documents already mentioned. The terms of the Royal Commissions as.signing or defining the boundaries of Canada ami UpperCanada respectively, appear in the same book; and a reference to them will have shewn to the Covernment of Canada tliat the territory awarded to Ontario is less than was given to the Province by the express terms of the Royal (,'ommission (27th December, 17/4) which, immediately after the passing of the Quebec Act, was issued to Sir Guy Oarleton, as Captain-General and Governor-in-Chicf of the Province : and also by the expre-ss terms of the Commission to his successor. Sir Frederick Hal.limand ; that the Commis.s.on to Sir Guy Carleton, after the Treaty of Paris of 1793, expressW gives as one of the boundaries of the Province a line to tlie Lake of the Woods, thence throu-h said Lake to the most north-west point thereof (as the arbitrators have done), and from thence in a due west cour.se to the river Mississippi. Tlie arbitrators have not given to the Province any territory west of the Lake of the Woods. The Government of Canada must aLso have observed that a paper was presented to Parliament previous to the passing of the Constitutional Act of 1791, describing the lin« which It was proposed to draw in order to divide the then Province of Quebec into^ two Provinces—that this line is described as drawn from the head of Lake Temiscamin<- due north until It should strike the boundary line of Hudson's Bay, including, as the paper stated, all the territory to the westward and south of the said line to the extent of the country con nionly known by the name of Canada; that on the 24th Au.'ust 1791 an Order in Council referred to this paper and divided tlie Province accordimdv '• that'tho subsequent proclamation of General Clarke, in the same year, containe.l a description in the same words ; that the Royal Commis.sions to Lord Dorchester and subsequont Gover- nors-General to and including the Commi.ssion to Lord Go.sford in 183.-) described the division line between Upper and Lower Canada in the same way, as extendincr to the boundary line of Hudson's Bay ; and that the Commissions from that to the Earfof Dur- ham in lh38, to the Commission to Lord Elgin in 1846, as well as various other Royal Lommis.sions, described the Hue of division as striking the shore of Hud.son's Bay It IS also undenied and undeniable that the Province of Upper Canada for a period long antecedent to its union with Lower Canada, acted whenever there was occasion on the as.sumption that the boundaries of the Province were those so assigned by the Royal Commissions, and issued writs into the territory west of the line 89° 9 V (which was the line insLsted on by the Dominion after the purchase from the Hudson's fiav Company ) It IS another significant fact of the same kind that the Province of Canada as far back as 1850, procured from the Indians the surrender of their rights in the same territory west of that line and from time to time thereafter made grants in the Queen's name of land west of the same line. .. . l^ *''"*!",' ^° ^"^ ^^ ^'"^ western boundary is concerned, it was proved to demonstration that the north-west angle of the Lake of the Woods was the most easterly limit that could be assigned to the Province under any interpretation of the evidence. There is an old decision of a Court in Lower Canada in what is called the Reinhardt case m favour of a more easterly line, viz.. 89° 9i' (the meridian of the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers), but on an examination of the case, of whicli a full report is in print and accessible, it will be found that the decision was come to without the Court being aware of the terms of the Royal Commissions to the Governors hereinbefore men tioned, and without attention having been called to the historical facts which are referred to in the recitals of the Quebec Act, and which give significance to those i-citals as bear- ing on the question of boundary ; nor was the Court in possession of the evidence of V intention winch is afforded by the debate on the Bill and by other n.ea.i.s now known and relied upon as d(m,on,st rating the other construction. Do R.-inhanlt, thou-h clearly guilty was not executed, an.l the only known or suppose.l reason for pardoninij hin, i, that the British Government were advised that the conclusion of the (.'ourt on th,. point m question was not maintainable. This is stated in an official paper on the part of the late Province of ( 'anada. ^ . ^^"'[ ""'' "f, *'"' ^^»>''\' < '"mrnissions hereinbefore mentioned, so far as is known, was m print before the rec-nt investigations, and when copies of these Oonimi.ssions were pro- cure.l and examined for the purposes of the arbitration it became apj-an-nt that the.se Commissions a one set at re.st all possible question that the easterly boumlary of the Province included the Lake of the Woods; and that the northerly boundary ext.mded to TnirTil w" i°" " .r'' "" *'" T*' '^'"' *" «'■ ''"y""'* *''•■ '»•«* north-west angle of the Lake o the Woods on the we.st How far north of these points our northerly boun,lary was to be found was a fair subject of controversy, but the territory north of the.se two points IS of comparauvely little value. It is to be observed that the line of the English an.l Albany liivers, which was fixed upon by the arbitrators as the northerly boundary 18 not far north of a straight line connecting the fvo points mentioned, and has the advantage of presenting an almost unbroken waterline ; that it is thus a natural and con- venient boundary, and that it gives to Ontario a less aggregate quantity of territ.-y in the north than is as.s.gned to Canada in some of the maps of the Hudson's Bay Con.mny Itself, and gives to the Province a le.ss northerly boumlary than the Company in 1701 Canada to""' ''''' "^"^ ''°''*'"'* "^'^ ^""^ unsuccessfully endeavoured to restrict But if it were far less clear than it is that the award do*, not give Ontario more territory ban he Province was entitled to, and if the rea.sons which justify the conclu- ZZfi^^f\T "iV"""" '"■ '"' '^^"^ ^"^' •'^'™"S than they are, it'is respectfully sub- mitted that the oAvard demands the active acquiescence and recognition of the parties to the reference. The question of boundaries was in controversy, it was referred by mutual consent to the distingui.shed gentl,.men name.l, they have made their award, and the fact IS conclusive in regard to all (juestions on the subject I am further to remind the Covernment ' of Canada that the settlement of the con rover-sy a.- well as the explorations for railway and other purposes have drawn public attention to the territory north and west of Lake Superior, that settlement there- HUlv^fTr'i"^'. r*. ''^i"""' '■!'t'''-P"f ^^''^ ^^tablishing them.selves, that speculation is likely to be directed to this region, and that various causes are at work favourable to an influi of population, both of a ^settled and floating character. Li view of these considerations the Government of Ontario trusts that the Govern- ment of Canada will recognize the propriety of announcing without further delay their intention to submit to Parliament, next session, a bill declaring the boundary e.stabli.shed by the arbitrators to be the true northerly and westerly boundaries of Ontario, and to use the influence of the Government to have the measure accepted by both Houses and ns sented to by His Excellency the Governor-General. ^ ' ^'" I am to renew the request contained in a former despatch that the Government of Canada would be pleased at once to forward to this Government the maps, field notes fc Ac, re atiye to so much of the territory assigneove resolutions on Yeas ; Messieurs Appleby, Atvrey, Badger ow, BalUmtyne, Baxter, Bell, Bishop, Blezard, Boulter, Broder, Calvin, Cascaden, Chisholm, Cr-eifjhton, Crooks, Dryden, Field, Fraser, Freeman, French, Gibson (Huron), Oibson (Hamilton), Graham, Hardy, Hawley, Hay, Jelly, Kerr, Laidlaw, Lauder, Livingston, Long, Lyon, McCraney, McKim, McLaughlin^ McMahon, Mack, Meredith, Metcalfe, Monk, Morgan, Morris, :'''>wat, xVear, If eel on, Pardee. Nays : Messieur Miller— 1. Parkhill, Paxton, Richardson, Robin8on{Card%u'l), Roaa, Sinclair, Springer, Striker, Tdoliy, Waters, Wattei'worth, White. Widdijield, Wigle, Wood Yowng—^ pr