A A o • " ~ ' cr> ^^^= c 1 ^^^= X 1 ' 3) 1 —^— ^» ^ 1 ~ 20 1 8 GIC 3 -t III H 1 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES t • I between oi any person or persons, is treated as a private Public and bill, whether it be for the interest of an individual, |^ t0 a public company or corporation, a parish, a city, a county, or other locality ; * it is equally distinguished from a measure of public policy in which the whole community are interested, and this distinction is marked by the solicitation of private bills by the parties whose interests are concerned.! There is a class of bills, however, which, though Semi- local or special in their operation, yethavingbeen bills. solicited by persons not in the interest of the parties to be affected by their operation, or having been introduced upon public grounds, have been treated by the Legislature as public bills. Bills of this class have occasionally been introduced as private, and referred to the Standing Committee * A bill for the benefit of three Counties has been held by the British House of Commons to be a private bill. 1 Commons Journ., p. 388. t May, p. 626. 8 DEFINITION OF A on Private Bills, but upon their report that they were public, rather than private in their charac- ter, they have been referred by the House to an- other committee, and treated otherwise as public bills.* It must be obvious, however, that on bills of this nature, the same notice should be required as upon a private bill, with the exception only of such as are introduced upon some well-defined principle of public policy or right. In 1858, the Committee on Private Bills report- victoria ed, with reference to a bill to attach certain newly NewTown- , J ships Bill, surveyed townships to the County of Victoria, bij.) ' that they were in doubt whether the bill came within their province, inasmuch as it affected the Territorial Divisions of the Province, the Repre- sentation, and the administration of Justice ; but they prepared such amendments as appeared to them desirable, and left it to the House to con- sider whether action should be taken on their re- port or not. The House took the bill into con- sideration with the proposed amendments, and treated it therefore as a private bill.f In 1864, the same course was taken (with a like result) in * Quebec Recorder's Court, 1856 ; Montreal Trinity House (amending the provisions concerning pilotage), 1857 ; Quebec Harbour (a Government Trust), 1858 ; River Welland Bridges Protection, 1859 ; Caisse d' Economic de St. Roch Investigation, 1861 ; Rimouski and Gaspe division, 1865. t Assembly Journ., 1858, pp. 568, 684. PRIVATE BILL. 9 reference to a Ml respecting the Common of the common Huron Indians at Lorette, which was not con- Indians sidered private, the Indians being under the Blll# ^ do '' special protection of the Crown.* In the British House of Commons, may be in- Passing stanced the Passing Tolls on Shipping Bill (intro- shipping duced in 1856), which was held to be a public m on S V° m bill. It concerned the harbours of Dover, Rams- gate, "Whitby and Bridlington, abolished passing tolls, transferred the control of those harbours to the Board of Trade, imposed tolls, and repealed local Acts ; but, being a measure of general policy, its character was not changed by the fact that these harbours only came under its operation. The Red Sea and India Telegraph Bill (in 1861), Red Sea which amended a private Act, was introduced Telegraph and passed as a public bill, as it concerned the BllL ^ d0 '' conditions of a government guarantee.! The practice in Canada has been to treat all bills re- lating to the Representation,^ the administra- tion of Justice, § or the protection of the Indians * Assembly Journ., 1864, pp. 391, 478. t May, p. 629. t Armagh Representation, 1858 ; Peel do., 1858 ; Drum- mond and Arthabaska do., 1858 ; Bill to transfer Delaware from the "West to the East Riding (Electoral Division) of Middlesex, 1862 ; Hochelaga polls, 1863 (Aug. Sess.) § Montreal Recorder's Court, 1852-3; Gaspe" Circuit Court, 1852-3; Huntingdon Circuit Court, 1854-5; Montmagny do., 10 DEFINITION OF A and their lands and property,* however local or Certain partial in their operation, as public bills, these ed as pub- questions being under the especial charge of the Administration, and being dealt with on broad general principles. All bills relating to Govern- ment Trusts or Commissions,! or public works under Government control,! are likewise so treated. Bills in- Some bills, though strictly private, having irregularly been introduced irregularly («'. e., not based upon petition, in the usual way), the committee have declined to proceed upon them. § In 1864, -RrGctorinl lands sale a bill to enable the Church Societies and Incor- porated Synods of the Church of England Dio- ceses in Canada to sell the Rectorial lands in the said Dioceses, having been sent down by the Leg- islative Council, objection was taken at the second reading, that the bill was a private one, and should have been brought in on a petition ; and 1858; Kamouraska Gaol and Court House, 1863 (Aug. Sess.) ; Quebec "Recorder's Court, 1861 and 1865. See also May, p. 629. * Common of Lorette Indians, 1864. t Montreal Trinity House, 1857 ; Quebec Harbour, 1858, 1863, and 1867-8; Montreal Turnpike Road Trust, 1861 ; Mont- real Port Warden, 1SG2 and 1863 (Feb. Sess.); Montreal Har- bour, 1865. t Northern Railway, 1859; Intercolonial Railway, 1867-8. See May, p. 662. § Rimouski and Gaspe division, 18 65 (Jan. Sess.); Quebec Corporation, 1866. PRIVATE BILL. 11 the objection being sustained, the bill was not proceeded with.* In 1866, objection was taken, Perth Debt at the second reading, to a bill to extend the time for paying the debt of the County of Perth (due to the Municipal Loan Fund) that it, though a private bill, affected the public revenue, and should therefore have originated in committee of the whole; and the objection was fatal to the bill.f It has been held that a bill commenced as a private bill cannot be taken up and proceeded with as a public bill .J The proceedings observed in the Imperial Par- Difference liament in the passage of private bills, are neces- imperial sarily somewhat complicated in their character, jitkn prac"- in consequence of the numerous checks imposed tlce< for the protection of the many interests which they may affect or involve ; and the expense at- tending these proceedings is considerable : but the different circumstances of this country, as one but newly settled, allowing a freer scope for en- terprise, with comparatively little risk of infring- ing upon existing rights or privileges, admit (for a time at least) of a much simpler and more inex- pensive system of Private Bill legislation. In ex- plaining the system adopted (after various modi- * Assembly Journ., 1865 (Aug. Sess.), p. 123. t Assembly Journ., 1860, p. 298. X May, p. 631. 12 DEFINITION OF A PRIVATE BILL. Proceed- fications) by our Legislature, it is proposed to Commons state the various forms and proceedings so far as cribcd first. can conveniently be done, in the order in which they occur, from the presentation of the petition (in either House) to the final passage of the bill. It will be convenient for this purpose to begin with the House of Commons, but the course ob- served in either House being now identical (with the exception of proceedings upon Divorce Bills in the Upper House, which are described in the latter part of this work, and certain matters of detail with reference to private bills generally, which are noticed in the proper place), the des- cription will apply equally to bills originating in the Senate. 13 3.— LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION REGARDING PRIVATE BILLS. By the provisions of " The British North America Act, 1867," certain classes of Private Bills are placed under the exclusive control of the Parliament of the Dominion, and certain others are transferred to the Provincial Legisla- tures. The classes of subjects which, under this subjects arrangement, pertain exclusively to the Parlia- troiofPax" ment of the Dominion, are thus defined by the Act : hament - Sec. 91. — Ferries between a Province and any British or Foreign Country, or between two Provinces. Banking, Incorporation of Banks, and the issue of Paper Money. Savings Banks. Patents of Invention and Discovery. Naturalization and Aliens. Marriage and Divorce, — and Such clashes oJ'.subjects as are expressly excepted 14 LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. Subject- under control of Parlia- ment. Subjects under con trol of Pro vincial Legisla- tures. in the enumeration of the classes ofsubjects by this Act assigned exclusively to the Legislatures of the Provinces ; which ex- ceptions are thus defined, in Sec. 92, Sub-section 10: a. Lines of Steam or other Ships, Railways, Canals, Telegraphs, and other Works and Undertakings connecting the Province with any other or others of the Provinces, or extending beyond the limits of the Province : b. Lines of Steam Ships between the Province and any British or Foreign Country : c. Such Works as, although wholly situate within the Province, are before or after their execution declared by the Parliament of Canada to be for the general advantage of Canada, or for the advantage of two or more of the Provinces. Those which are placed under the exclusive control of the Provincial Legislatures are thus defined : Sec. 92, Sub-sec. 10. — Local Works and Under- takings, other than such as form the excep- tions above recited. Sub-sec. 11. — The incorporation of Companies with Provincial objects. Sub-sec. 16. — Generally all matters of a mere- ly local or private nature in the Province. LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. 15 It will be observed that the line of distinction is defined clearly with regard to certain classes Works de- clared to be of subjects only. Sub-section 10 empowers the for the gen- Parliament of Canada to assume the control of tage. any works wholly situate within one Province, that may be declared by that Body to be for the advantage of the Dominion, or of two or more Provinces. Two instances of this occurred in the first Session of Parliament, in the case of the Bill to incorporate the proprietors of the Ottawa St. Law- and Prescott Railway, by the name of " The St. Ottawa Lawrence and Ottawa Railway Company," and Ral way ' the Bill respecting the Northern Railway of Northern Canada — in the enactment of each of which bills, ai way ' Parliament declared that the Railway therein referred to was " a work for the general advan- tage of Canada."* The first mentioned bill con- tained a provision empowering the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Railway Company to build a bridge over the River Ottawa, and to construct a branch to Lake Deschesnes, in the Province of Quebec ; but it was argued, in debate, that this would not in itself justify legislation by the Parliament of Canada, in reference to a Railway situate wholly within one Province, as it might afford a danger- ous precedent to parties desirous of evading the jurisdiction of the Local Legislatures over works of a purely local character ; and the course was * 31 Vic, c. 20, sec. 1, and c. 8G, sec. 2. 16 LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. adopted of introducing the clause above men- tioned, in order to bring' the bill properly within the jurisdiction of the Parliament of the Dominion. ah Ran- These Railways are. thus far, the only ones of wavs inter- secting a local character that have been legislated upon Trunk by Parliament ; but an impression would appear under same to prevail, that all Railways intersecting the control. Q ran d Trunk should be under the same Parlia- mentary control, to avoid the serious difficulties and inconveniences that might arise (so long as they are subject to a different jurisdiction) from conflicting regulations in reference to the running of trains, inspection of Railway, gauge, and other matters of detail. King be- There is a class of Railways and other works of a d p r ™. lts included among those placed by section 92 (sub- vince. sec . 10, a), under the exclusive control of the Parliament of the Dominion, that is referred to with some little ambiguity. The section reads " Lines of Steam or other ships, Railways, &c, connecting the Province with any other or others of the Provinces, or extending beyond the limits of the Province':'' It is clear that the words " extend- ing beyond the limits of the Province" cannot have been intended to apply to works merely connect- ing two adjacent Provinces, because they are described in the words immediately preceding. Nor, on the other hand, can they refer to any Railway or other work actually extending into a LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. 17 foreign country, because, in the very nature of things, no sucn power of extension can be con- ferred by Canadian legislation. It would appear therefore that these words must have reference to such Railways, Telegraphs, or other works, as lead directly into a foreign country, such, for example, as the Great Western Railway, which connects directly with the United States Railway system, both at the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge, and also at Detroit, — the Buffalo and Lake Huron Railway, connecting with United States Railways at Buffalo, — the Montreal and Cham- plain Railway, connecting at Rouse's Point with the Vermont Central, &c. Several bills were passed by Parliament, in the Works of Session of 1867-8, relating to works of this class, £jjJ,{JjJi viz. : — To amend the Act for the incorporation of ou in the North-west Navigation and Railway Co. (a 186 ?- 8 - Company empowered, among other tilings, to navigate Lakes Huron and Superior within the limits of Canada), — To confirm a By-law passed by the Directors of the Lake Memphremagog Navigation Company (whose steamers ply on a lake partly within the territory of the United States), — To incorporate the Clifton Suspension Bridge Co. (international), — and to authorize the carrying of gas pipes across the River Niagara, in order to facilitate the lighting of the Town of * It should be mentioned, however, that the Quebec Legisla- ture, at their first Session, passed an Act to amend the Act incorporating the'Massawippi Valley Railway Co. (31 Vic, c. 45), — and the Ontario Legislature passed an Act for the incor- poration of the Erie and Niagara Extension Railway Co. (31 Vic, c 14.) Both of these Railways are of the class here referred to, and as their operation was not interfered with by the Dominion Government, it must be assumed that the Provin- cial Legislatures, in enacting them, were not considered to have exceeded their jurisdiction. 18 LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. Clifton with gas (international). As none of these bills contained the " general advantage" clause, it may be assumed that the construction put by Parliament upon the provisions of the Imperial Act in regard to bills of this class agrees with that above suggested. Companies There is another class of bills, concerning for doing AV hi c h serious doubts have arisen in regard to business a throughout jurisdiction, namely, those for the incorporation tho Do- minion. of companies for the transaction of business of any kind throughout the Dominion. Sub-section 11 (above quoted) assigns to the Provincial Legislatures " the incorporation of companies with Provincial objects." In the first Session of the Parliament of the Dominion, several petitions were presented in reference to the incorporation, &c, of Insurance and other private companies. Upon two of these, praying respectively for the incorporation of the Gore District Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and of the Sorghum Growers' Association of the County of Essex, the Committee on Standing Orders (Commons) reported, [in each case, that in their opinion the matter ' : came more properly within the jurisdic- tion of the Local Legislature of Ontario.''* On the other hand, petitions for the incorporation of * 5th and 8th Reports of Committee on Standing Orders (Commons), 1867-8. LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. 19 the Merchants' Express Company of the Domin- ion of Canada, — for the incorporation of the Cana- dian Lake Underwriters' Association, — and for amending the Acts relating- to the Canada "West Farmers' Mntual and Stock Insurance Company, and changing the name to the Canada Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, were reported upon favorably, and bills, introduced upon them, were passed, and became law* Another petition, for an Act to grant certain powers to the Civil Service Building and Savings Society, was re- ported on favorably by the Standing Orders Committee of each House, and a bill introduced in the Commons. This bill was subsequently referred to the Committee on Banking and Com- merce, who, after discussing, in committee, the question of jurisdiction, presented a report to the House, representing that " doubts had arisen as to whether the objects sought to be obtained by the promoters were not Provincial in their character, and such as the Local Legislature is exclusively empowered to deal with,"f and soliciting instruction on the subject. A similar proceeding took place on the part of the Private Bill Committee of the Senate, who presented a * 31 Vic, chaps. 90, 91 and 93. t 5th Report of Committee on Banking and Commerce (Commons), 1867-8. 20 LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. report of a like nature in reference to a Bill to incorporate the Intercolonial Insurance Com- ia^uiry pany.* A discussion ensued upon the Report into ques- L J tion of ju- which resulted in the appointment of a com- mittee " to inquire into and report to this House on the classes of Acts for the incorporation of private companies, which properly, under the ' British North America Act, 1867,' come within the jurisdiction of the Parliament of the Domin- ion, and to act on behalf of this House as Mem- bers of any Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons, which may be ordered on the subject." f No committee was appointed on the part of the Commons, and no further steps were taken with regard to either of the above mentioned bills. Provincial ^ was urged, on the part of the promoters of tu>M° ra " these bills, that the companies to which they related were desirous of transacting business in different parts of the Dominion, and were there- fore in need of more extensive and general powers than could be conferred upon them by a Provincial Legislature, and, in short, that they were not properly of the class referred to in Sub- section 11 of the Act, as " Companies with Pro- vincial objects." Against this it was argued that * Report of Committee on Standing Orders and Private Bills (Senate), 5th Dec, 1867. f Senate Journal, 12th Dec, 1867. LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. 21 a Provincial Charter would suffice to ensure their recognition in every Province where their Agencies might be established ; and that under such a charter they could sue and be sued, and transact all business of an ordinary character. In opposition to this view, a case was cited by the Honorable Mr. Campbell, in the debate in the Senate on the Bill to incorporate the Intercolonial Insurance Company, having* an immediate bearing upon the question as to the status in one Province of a company in- corporated by the Legislature of another Pro- vince. The case referred to was an action brought, in the Court of King's Bench of Upper Canada, by the Bank of Montreal, in the year 1836 (prior to the Union of Upper and Lower Canada), for the recovery of the amount of cer- Montreal tarn promissory notes, the drawers and endorsers Bethune, of which resided in Upper Canada. The Court 1836 ' ruled that " a foreign corporation, such as a Bank, cannot maintain an action upon promis- sory notes received and discounted by them in the course of banking business hi this Pro- vince, although they may maintain an action for money had and received to their use, against the person for whom such notes were dis- counted, and to whom money was advanced upon them."* * Bank of Montreal vs. Bethune, Hilary Term, 6 Wm. 4. (See Robinson & Harrison's Digest, p. 128.) 22 LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. By this decision it would appear, that what- ever status a company, owing its existence to a Provincial Charter, may possess beyond the limits of its own Province, there are limitations and restrictions which can only be obviated by special legislation in each Province. Banking Companies are, by the Act, placed under the exclusive control of the Parliament of the Domin- ion, and it may be found advisable, with a view of meeting the difficulty, that all commercial companies doing business of such a nature as to require the establishment of agencies in the different Provinces of the Dominion, should be placed under the same jurisdiction. Angell & Ames, in their " Treatise on the Law Foreign f Private Corporations aggregate,'' (Gth edition, corpora- ± oo o > \ tionsin Boston, 1858,) state (in treating on the powers England ' o j. and United of foreign corporations, s. 372), that " a company, claiming to be incorporated, has only to shew that it has been regularly and effectually made a corporate body, to enable it to sustain a suit beyond the jurisdiction within which it is consti- tuted." They cite the case of the Dutch West India Company, — that of the National Bank of St. Charles, in Spain, and other analogous cases, in which it was decided by the English Courts, that a foreign corporation may maintain a suit in England by their corporate name. In the United States also, it is shewn (s. 373), that the power of LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. 23 a corporation to sue, in the respective States, is not restricted to companies created by the laws of the State in which the suit is instituted, but may be exercised by foreign corporations, belong- ing either to another State of the Confederacy, or to a foreign country. It is, however, admitted that this power is exercised rather upon suffer- ance than of right, as "the Legislature undoubt- edly has power to prohibit foreign corporations (i. e., those not created by the laws of the State) from contracting in the State ; but until it does so, contracts so made will be enforced." (s. 374.) But instances are given in which the powers of foreign corporations were restricted by the Courts without such Legislative intervention. In Yir-Bankof ginia the Court ruled (in re Bank of Marietta vs. ?J "h?* Pindalf), that " though, as a general rule, a cor- gmia - poration created by the laws of one State might sue in another, it would not be permitted to a Bank in Ohio to establish an agency in Virginia for dis- counting notes, or for carrying on any other banking operations ; nor could they sustain an action on any note thus acquired by them," though they admitted " there was nothing in the policy of the laws of Virginia which restrained its citizens from borrowing money from a Bank in Ohio," &c. It was also held, by the Supreme Court of the State of New York, " that a foreign supremo corporation, keeping an office in that State, for New York. 24 LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. receiving deposits and discounting notes, without being expressly authorized by the laws of that State to do so, cannot maintain an action for the money loaned." Difference These, it is true, are but rare and exceptional Conlutu- ca scs, yet they (with that relating to the Montreal Canada Bank, before referred to), serve to shew that the and United powers of a corporation, beyond the territorial jurisdiction of the legislature creating it, are, in fact, exercised by permission rather than right, and are therefore subject to restriction or curtail- ment at any time. In considering what may be the true position of corporations created in this country under Provincial authority, it is well to bear in mind the very important difference that exists between the Constitution of the Dominion of Canada and that of the United States in regard to " State rights :" while, in the latter, the sove- reignty of each State, in all matters of internal policy, is distinctly recognized and admitted, and all rights not expressly assigned by the constitu- tion to the Federal Government are exercised by the Sovereign State, — under the constitution of Canada, the Sovereignty is expressly vested in the Government and Parliament of the Domin- ion, who have exclusive control over all matters not assigned exclusively to the Legislatures of the Provinces (British North America Act, sec. 91, class 29). This can hardly fail to have LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. 25 some effect upon the status of Corporations hold- ing Provincial Charters, in any transactions they may have beyond the limits of their own Pro- vince. The Legislature of Ontario, at their first Session, in incorporating the Royal Canadian £°y al „ x . , . Canadian Insurance Company, expressly restricted their insur. Co. operations to risks " within the Province of Ontario." Insurance business, like that of Banks, is not confined to a particular locality, but is necessarily spread over the country, and the larger companies would probably desire to extend companies. their operations over the greater part of the Dominion, and even beyond it (as regards Marine Insurance) ; it is therefore of importance to them that their corporate powers should pro- ceed from the highest legislative authority in the land. An Act respecting Insurance Companies,* passed in the first Session of the Parliament of Canada, requires all such companies to obtain a licence from the Minister of Finance, and to invest a large proportion of their paid-up capital in Dominion Stock, and contains other provisions * At one stage of this bill an objection was made, that it was beyond the jurisdiction of the House, which was over-ruled by Mr. Speaker; at another stage, a motion " that the regula- tion of Insurance Companies is a subject properly within the jurisdiction of the Provincial Legislatures," was proposed and negatived. (Com. Journal, 1867-3, pp. 161, 426.) It is but fair to remark, however, that this motion having been offered for the purpose of defeating the bill, and not as a substantive proposition, its bearing upon the question of jurisdiction is not so conclusive as if it had been discussed exclusively upon its own merits. 3 26 LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. for securing the proper management of the companies. This affords an additional reason why it is desirable that Insurance Companies should be created by the same authority that exercises over them such stringent control. In the first Session of the Legislature of Ontario, an Act was passed to incorporate the Gruelph Boards of Board of Trade. In the first Session of the Par- Trade, liament of the Dominion, a bill was introduced to incorporate the Stratford Board of Trade ; the bill was referred to the Committee on Banking and Commerce, and the question of jurisdiction being raised in committee, the committee came to the conclusion that though the Board to be created was a local Board, the terms of the 91st section of the " British America Act," in placing " the Regulation of Trade and Commerce" under the control of Parliament, justified the action of this Legislature in the matter. In examining the details of the bill, however, it was found to con- tain provisions for the establishment of a Court of Arbitration in commercial matters; and as " the constitution, maintenance, and organization of Provincial Courts, both of civil and criminal jurisdiction," are, by the 92nd section of the said Act assigned exclusively to the Provincial Legis- latures, the committee expunged from the bill so much as related to a Court of Arbitration, and it was passed in the amended form. It is much to be desired that steps should be LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. 27 taken without delay to determine more accurately Settlement the question of jurisdiction, either by the action tions C of of the Canadian Parliament, or, if that be deemed {" r n s . 1C " insufficient, by invoking the interposition of the Imperial Parliament, to pass an explanatory Act. As a preliminary step, it might be advisable to appoint a committee (upon which the various interests, Provincial and Dominional, should be duly represented), for the purpose of carefully considering the whole question of jurisdiction, and suggesting such amendments to the British America Act as may be found desirable, in order to determine doubtful points. Upon their report, an address to the Crown could be voted, solicit- ing the passage of an explanatory Act by the Imperial Parliament. Another mode of meeting the difficulty has been suggested, viz. : that each bill upon which a doubt as to jurisdiction might be raised, should be discussed, and the point decided upon its own merits ; and that in this manner a series of pre- cedents would be established for future guidance. Not to mention other objections that might exist to this course, there is one that cannot be over- looked, viz., that the legislation of the Dominion Parliament cannot legally over-ride or interfere with the rights and privileges of the Provincial Legislatures, save in certain exceptional matters, as public works, and education ; such powers as are 28 LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION. vested in the Local Legislatures being (with these exceptions) exclusive/// assigned to them, any proceeding or decision of Parliament upon a matter in any way exceeding its jurisdiction, in- stead of forming a precedent, would, in all proba- bility, lead to the interposition of the Courts, and perhaps involve endless litigation. It is there- fore of the utmost importance, that any attempt that may be made to deal with the question of jurisdiction, should be undertaken with due caution and deliberation. 29 4.— PARLIAMENTARY AGENTS. In the Imperial Parliament, every private bill or petition must be solicited by a Parliamentary Parlia- Agent, who conducts the bill through its various Agents stages, and is personally responsible to the House ^ployed and to the Speaker for the observance of the pj£ ent rules, orders, and practice of Parliament, and for the payment of all fees and charges : and no pro- ceeding upon any petition or bill can take place, until an appearance to act as the Parliamentary Agent upon the same shall have been entered in the Private Bill Office.* This practice of em- ploying Parliamentary Agents has been but re- cently introduced in Canada, and it has not Not obli- hitherto been made obligatory, though the in- Canada, crease of business may possibly render it desirable to adopt some such course, in order that mem- bers may be relieved from a duty that is often inconvenient and embarrassing, and frequently involves a sacrifice of time and trouble, which should not in fairness be expected of them. * May, p. 655. 30 PARLIAMENTARY AGENTS. In the revised code of Rules prepared by the late Sir Henry Smith (then Speaker), and adopt- ed by the Assembly of 1860, provision was made for the recognition of Parliamentary Agents, qualifying, who had up to that time acted in a private and irresponsible capacity. No person is now per- mitted to Act as Parliamentary Agent, without the express sanction and authority of the Speaker.* This having been obtained, he is required to sign a declaration before the Chief Clerk of the Private Bill Office, engaging to observe and obey all the Rules of the House, and to pay all fees and charges, when demanded, and further, to enter into a recognizance in $2,000 (if required at any future time by the Speaker) conditioned to observe such declaration. His name is then registered in a book, and he is entitled to act as a Parliamentary Agent, but is liable to an abso- lute or temporary prohibition to practise (at the Disquaiifi- pleasure of the Speaker), for any wilful violation C&tlOD' of the Rules and practice of Parliament, or of any rules prescribed by the Speaker. Membersf * 73rd and 74th Rules, Commons. t The House of Commons of Great Britain, by a Resolution of the 26th February, 1830, declared, nem. con., "That it is contrary to the law and usage of Parliament that any Member of this House should be permitted to engage, either by himself or any partner, in the management of private bills before this or the PARLIAMENTARY AGENTS. 31 and Officers of the House* are alike disqualified for Parliamentary Agency. The name and place of residence of the Parlia- R eg istra- mentary Agent soliciting a bill are entered in the Agents. Private Bill Register, hi which are also recorded all the proceedings, from the petition to the pass- ing of the bill. This book is open to public in- spection.! The Rules relating to Parliamentary Agents belong only to the House of Commons, no regu- lations having been adoj)ted by the Senate on this subject. It is usual for the Member who presents the Members petition to take charge of the bill through its dif- m c arge ' ferent stages. | other House of Parliament, for a pecuniary reward." Commons Journ. (G. B.), 1830, p. 107. One of the Sessional Orders of the Canadian House of Com- mons also declares "thai the offer of any money or other advan- tage to any Member of the House of Commons, for the promot- ing of any matter whatsoever, depending or to be transacted in the Parliament of the Dominion of Canada, is a Ligh crime and misdemeanor, and tends to the subversion of the Constitution. Commons Journ., 1867-8, p. 5. * In the Imperial Parliament, in compliance with the recom- mendation of a Select Committee on the House of Commons Offices in 1835, no officer or clerk belonging to the establish- ment is allowed to transact private business before the House, for his emolument or advantage, either directly or indirectly. May, p. 656. t 71st Rule. t Sherwood on Private Bills, p. 29. 32 5.— PETITIONS FOE PRIVATE BILLS Every Pri- Every private bill is based on a petition,* based on a which should state, in general terms, the objects petition. or prjyiieges sought to be obtained by the parties soliciting the bill, and be signed by the parties themselves (the signatures of agents on behalf of others being inadmissable, except in case of inca- pacity by sickness) ; and at least one signature should be on the same sheet on which the peti- tion is written.f The petition is presented by a .„ Member in his placet Petitions should be pre- How pre- o x - 1 - sented. " pared in triplicate, one copy being presented in each House by a Member, and a third addressed to the Governor General in Council, through the Secretary of State. (A form of petition to each branch of the Legislature will be found in the * 56th Rule. Bills relating to local improvements are oc- casionally brought iu, in the Imperial Parliament, by order, without a petition, but are subsequently dealt with as private bills, as regards proof of compliance with standing orlers, &c. May, p. 661. t May, p. 509. i 85th Rule, Commons. PETITIONS. 33 Appendix, No. III.) In 1859 a Bill to incorpo- Biiiswhich rate the Gruelph and "Wellington Eoads Company, beenbased was sent down by the Legislative Council, and {£„* petl " was subsequently referred to the Committee on Private Bills, who finding that it was not found- ed on a petition, reported that the preamble was not proved. In 1862, a Bill to separate the town- ship of Broughton from the County of Megantic r and to annex it to the County of Beauce, which had been introduced as a public bill (under a public title), was referred to the committee, who reported that it was not based on a petition, and could not therefore be treated as a private bill ; and no further proceeding was taken on the bill by the House. The petition must be presented within the Time of presenta- first three weeks of the Session.* It was former- tion. ly the custom to extend this time, by Resolution, to a very late period of the Session, but the in- jurious tendency of such an extension has become so evident, from the necessity it frequently in- volves of dispensing with those formalities which are so necessary for the protection of private rights, that of late years there has been evinced an increasing unwillingness to extend the period. "While in 1858, it was extended to 85 days from the commencement of the Session ; in 1859 and 49th Rule; 34 PETITIONS. I860, it was extended to 63, and in 1861 to 36 days only; the latter being but 15 days beyond the time fixed by the Rule. In 1867-8, an ad- journment from December to March having been determined upon, the time for receiving petitions was extended to three weeks after the re-assem- bling of Parliament, and subsequently to the end of the then current month. After expi- When the time has actually expired, parties time? of are at liberty to present a petition, asking leave to introduce their petition for a private bill not- withstanding such expiry, and explaining the circumstances under which they have been pre- vented from complying with the orders of the House.* It is competent then to the House, either to grant the requisite permission upon motion,! or > m accordance with the practice in the Imperial Parliament,! t° refer the matter to the Standing Orders Committee, and take action upon their report. In 1866, the House extended the time in favor of a particular application only.§ * Niagara Harbour and Dock Co., 1851 ; Randall Estate, 1852-3; Brockville and Ottawa Railway, 1863 (Feb. Sess.) j Ottawa and French River communication, 1863 (Aug. Sess.) See also Sherwood on [Private Billa, pp, 10, 23. t Assembly Journ., 1852-3, p. 347 ; 1863 (Feb. Sess.), pp. 320, 326. % May, p. 669. § Cobourg and Peterboro' Railway, 1866. 35 6.— rROOF OF NOTICES, BEFORE COMMITTEE ON STANDING ORDERS. All petitions for private bills, when received by Examina- the House, are taken into consideration (without tio ° ? f ' v petitions special reference) bv the Committee on Standing without reference Orders, whose duty it is to ascertain whether the Rule of the House in regard to the publication of notice has been complied with in each case, and to report to the House the result of their in- quiries ; together with any recommendation that may appear to them desirable in cases where the notice may prove in any respect informal or in- sufficient.* The committee has no power to in- quire into the merits of any such petition, this being a duty which pertains to the Private Bill Committee in considering the preamble of the bill.f All private bills from the Senate (not being Private , . . & Bills from based on a petition already so reported on) are Senate ex- amined. ' 53rd Rule. t Alpheus Todd's Report on Private Bills, 1847. 36 PROOF OF NOTICES. taken into consideration and reported upon by the committee after the first reading .* In 1862, the Legislative Assembly (in pursu- ance of a recommendation of the Standing Orders Committee in their 10th Report) appointed the for stand- Chief Clerk of the Private Bill Office their " Ex- ing r ers. am j ner f 01 . Standing Orders," assigning to him the duty of examining into the facts with regard to the notice given on each petition, and report- ing the same for the information of the Committee on Standing Orders ; and the practice is contin- ued under the new arrangements since Confed- eration. The committee are then enabled, upon the evidence reported to them, to decide upon each case. This corresponds with the course taken in the Imperial Parliament ;f it has been adopted, as yet, only by the Lower House, and is a step towards the assimilation of our Canadian practice to that of the two Houses of the Imperial Parliament for the joint proof of their Standing Orders.J * 54th Rule. Toronto Boys' Home, 1861 ; Huron College, 1863 (Feb. Sess.) ; London and Canadian Loan and Agency Co., 1863 (Aug. Sess.) ; Niagara District Bank, 1867-8. t Bristowe, pp. 10, 77. t In 1854 the Lords adopted a most convenient arrangement which dispensed with a double proof of the Orders common to both Houses; they resolved on the appointment of examiners for Standing Orders for their Lordships' House, and appointed the PROOF OF NOTICES. 37 All questions arising in the committee are de- Proceed- cided by a majority of voices ; the chairman committee. voting only when there is an equality of voices. In committees on private bills, the chairman votes as a member, and has also a second or casting- vote when the votes are equal ; but this power is specially conferred by a Standing Order of the House ;* such is also the case in Election Com- mittees, as regulated by statute ; but as regards other committees, in the absence of any special £>ower, it is contrary to the practice of Parlia- ment.! The Standing Orders Committee usually ap- sitting of point certain days for sitting, in the Private Bill ™*™ M ™' Office, when such petitions for private bills as have been received by the House, are laid before them. In cases where there is any doubt as to same gentlemen who held the office of Examiners of petitions in the House of Commons, who were thus enabled to take the evi- dence on the part of both Houses simultaneously : and in cases where any of the Oiders have not been complied with, the Stand- ing Orders Committee in each House determines, upon the facts reported by them, whether the same ought or ought not to be dispensed with. " Of all the improvements," says May, " con- nected with Private Bill legislation, none have been so signal as those in which both Houses have concurred for the assimilation and joint proof of their standing order.;." May, pp. 615, 646. * 63rd Rule. f May, p. 386. 4 38 PROOF OF NOTICES. the sufficiency of the notice, the promoters of a petition appear before the committee, to produce such evidence as they may desire to offer. Notices re- While the requirements of the standing orders England! °f the Lords and Commons, relating- to private bills, involve notices in various forms, and the depositing of plans, estimates, and other docu- ments in some cases,* those of our Canadian Legislature (see Appendix I.) embrace (in all but Divorce cases) but one form of notice, viz., by ad- in Canada, vertisement inserted in the Canada Gazette, and also in some newspaper published in any locality that may be affected by the proposed scheme, clearly and distinctly specifying the nature and object of the application ; if the matter relate specially to the Province of Quebec, it must be published both in English and French. This notice must be continued, not less than once a week, for a period of two months, during the in- terval of time between the close of the preceding Session and the consideration of the petition by the committee. In the case of a proposal to erect a toll bridge, the notice must state the rates of * They are arranged in the following order: — 1. Notices by advertisement. 2. Notices and applications to owners, lessees, anl occupiers of lands and houses. 3. Documents required to be deposited, and the times and places of deposit. 4. Form in which plans, books of reference, sections and cross sections shall be prepared. 5. Estimates and deposit of money and declara- tions in certain cases. May, p. 61-1. PROOF OF NOTICES. 39 toll to be demanded, the extent of the exclusive privilege, the height of the arches, the interval between the abutments of piers for the passage of rafts and vessels, and, when it is intended to construct a draw-bridge, the dimensions of the same.* When the application is for a Bill of Divorce,! in Divorce the notice is required by the Standing Orders of t " uc '^ the Senate (see Appendix II.) to be published during six months in the Canada Gazette, and in two newspapers published in the District (in Quebec), or County or Union of Counties (in the other Provinces), where the applicant resides. £ A copy of such notice in writing must also be served on the person from whom such Divorce is sought, if the residence of such person can be ascertained ; and proof on oath of such service (or of the attempts made to effect the same), must be adduced before the Senate on the reading of the petition. § An exemplification of all pro- ceedings that may have been had in any Court of Law, duly certified, must be presented at the same time.|| And in all cases where damages have been awarded to the applicant, proof on * 51st and 52nd Rules. t Divorce cases are placed under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada, by sec. 91 of the British North America Act. X 73id Rule, Senate. § 71th Rule, Senate. II 75th Rule, Senate. 40 PROOF OF NOTICES. oath must be adduced that such damages have been levied and retained, or such explanation afforded for the neglect or inability to levy the same under a writ of execution, as may appear sufficient excuse for such omission.* Certain . .. _ , appiica- The various notices required by the Itules 01 empt from the two Houses having been thus referred to, it notice. snon i^ "b e mentioned that they do not apply to all applications for private bills, indiscriminately, but to such only as involve the granting' of ex- clusive rights or privileges, or a possible inter- ference with the rights or interests of other parties.! Thus petitions for the incorporation of religious, benevolent, social, literary, or educa- tional institutions or associations,^ for the na- turalization of aliens, § for some individual or personal advantage not of an exclusive charac- * 76th Rule, Senate. t 51st Rule (both Houses). t Toronto House of Industry, 1852-3 ; St. Mary's College, 1852-3; German Evangelical Church incorporation, 1854-5j Canadian Order of Odd Fellows, 1853 ; Woodstock Literary In- stitute, 1857 ; Montreal St. Andrew's Society, 1858 ; Toronto Horticultural Society, 1860 ; Montreal Skating Club, 1861 ;• To- ronto Savings Bank, 1861; Montreal Natural History Society, 1862 j Toronto Club, 1863; Humane Society of B.X.Am., 1864; St. Catharines Hospital, 1865; London Board of Trade, 1866. § Chaffee's naturalization, 1857 ; Steckel's naturalization, 1857. In the case of De Stoeckliu's naturalization {I860), and PKOOF OF NOTICES. ** tor,* or for objects of a like nature, have usually been reported upon by the committee as exempt from the necessity of such notice ; as have also applications for amendment of existing charters, when such amendment does not interfere with the rights of shareholders or others.f Petitions have occasionally come before the ProvMon committee, seeking certain powers or privileges, ia Bl ] 1 J» t0 which, though not " exclusive" or directlv invol- want of ° notice. ving (in the words of the 51st Rule) " any matter or thing which in its operation would affect the rights or property of other parties," might yet tend incidentally to affect the same. In such cases they have generally reported that notice was not required (under the terms of the Rule), but that provision should be made in the Bill for duly pro- tecting all existing rights, &c. ;! it then becomes Rogers' do. (1866), a suspension of the Rule relative to notice was recommended ; and in those of Sanford and Rogers (1862) a Gazette notice was reported as sufficient. * Mercer's relief, 1859; Poe's change of name, 1S62 ; Ot- tawa Sisters of Charity (power to mortgage their property), 1863. t Montreal Cemetery Co., 1852-3 ; Niagara Bank (extension of time for paying up stock), 1857; Eastern Townships Bank (reduction of capital), 1858; Port Whitby & Lake Huron Rail- road Co. (do.) ; 1859; Toronto Cotton Mills Co., 1862; Jacques Cartier Bank, 1863; Merchants' Bank. 186! ; Hamilton Board of Trade, 1866; London do., 1867-S. t Piatt Estate, 1S58; Montreal and Champlain Railroad amendment, 1860 ; Guelph debt consolidation, 18G0 : Montreal Bank amendment, 1861, &c. 42 PROOF OF NOTICES. the duty of the Committee on Private Bills (or other committee of a like character), when the bill comes before them, to see that it contains such a provision, before they report it to the House.* In the fulfilment of their duty of examinhiQ- Evidence . . . J ° ofpubii- into the notices given by the promoters of private no n'oticeTs "bills in compliance with the 51st and 52nd Rules, given. ^ e Q omm itteo on Standing Orders have gener- ally been guided rather by the spirit than the letter of the requirement. In every case where the formal notice proves to have been insufficient, or to have been omitted altogether, they have admitted evidence to shew that all parties whose interests may be affected by the matter in ques- tion, have been fully informed of the intention to a Pply to Parliament. In admitting the propriety of such a distinction in the interpretation of the Rules, it must nevertheless be remembered that parties at a distance who maybe aware of an exist- ing informality, may be led to suppose that it will be fatal to the measure, and may therefore neg- lect to take any steps to oppose it, relying upon the House to carry out its own Standing Orders. This has, in fact, been the case in several instances, and a knowledge of it generally acts upon the committee in exercising their judgment as to the admissability of evidence of this kind. When the committee have become satisfied in this manner * 64th Rule. PROOF OF NOTICES. 43 concerning a notice thus technically defective or informal- informal, they have in some instances taken upon j/Jertain ' themselves to waive the informality, and to re- cases ' port the notice as sufficient. Thus, publication of the proceedings at a public meeting called to consider a certain question, or some other public notice,* discussions in reference thereto in a City Council, reported in the local papers,! or service of notice on the shareholders of a company in- dividually, or evidence of the knowledge or con- sent of parties affected,! have been held to be a sufficient substitute for the notice required by the Kule. They have dispensed with the local notice in a matter affecting a remote and unsettled pa rt of the country, § also, in the incorporation of Insurance Companies, || or Banks,f and in other * Three Rivers Diocese Church Rate, 1S52-3 ; Joliette in- corporation, 1863; Bruce County Town, 1864. t Montreal Corporation amendment, 1856 ; Montreal City Passenger Railway, 1861; Toronto incorporation amendment, 1862; Quebec Corporation, 1S64. X Hamilton Hotel Co., 1856; Upper Canada Bank, 1862; Brockville & Ottawa Railway, 1863 ; Woodstock Literary In- stitute, 1864; Ottawa & Prescott Railway, 1865; McDougall Estate, 1865 ; Bruce By-law, 1866 ; St. Lawrence Tow Boat Co., 1866; Merchants' Bank, 1867-8. § Huron Copper Bay Co., 1849; Sault St. Marie Canal, 1852-3. II British America Fire and Life Assurance Co., 1852-3, &c. 1 Royal Bank of Canada, 1861, &c. 44 PROOF OF NOTICES. matters not affecting any particular locality.* They have also dispensed with notice in the Official Gazette in applications of a purely local nature,! and with the French local notice in a matter relating to the Eastern Townships of Lower Canada,! arL ^ the English local notice in one affecting a pojmlation of French origin. § SuspeEs".on The above cases must however be considered relative to as altogether exceptional ; while the committee notice. may, in their discretion, interpret the Rules in the most liberal sense, they have no power to dispense with the formalities required by the House. When, after due examination, they con- sider it desirable to relax these formalities in any particular case, they report the facts to the House, and recommend a suspension of the Rule. The principal grounds upon which a suspension has been recommended may be thus stated : — Evi- dence of consent of parties interested, || — That * In companies of this nature, whose business is general rather than local, it is customary, when an amendment of their Charter is asked, to publish a local notice (in addition to that in the Official Gazette) in a newspaper circulating at the seat of their chief place of business. t Iroquois School Section, 185S ; Moulton Division, 1859; Cobourg Manufacturing Co., 1859; Burford Survey, 1860 ; Fitz- roy Survey, 1863 ; Becancour Bridge, 18G3 ; Fabriques Mutual .Assurance, 1865. X Iberville, Brome, Shefford, and Missisquoi Road, 1857. § Joliette Mining Co., 1857; Tring Municipality, 1863. II Gait Estate, 1860 ; La Banque du People stock increase, PROOF OF NOTICES. 45 all parties have signed the petition,* — or are Suspension sufficiently apprized of the application,! — That ° the petition (in matters of a local nature) is very generally signed,! — That no private rights will be interfered with,§ — Proceedings in reference thereto at a public meeting, || or in City Councils, ][ — That the notice will have fully matured before any action can be taken on the bill by the 1861; Beauharnois Presbyterian Cong., 1861; Grand Trunk Railway, 18G 2 ; Duuible's relief, 1863 ; St. Thomas Debentures, 1864; McCallum' 8 relief, 1865; Bar of L. Canada, 1866. * Benson Estate, 1857 ; Cobourg Harbour Debentures, 1858 ; N. Halifax boundary line, 1859; McKay's will, 1861 ; Kingston Marine Railway, 1863; Iberville Academy, 1861; York Roads, 1865; Aylmer Parish, 1866. t London and Port Stanley Railway (sale of land), 1858 ;■ Rouville division, 1859 ; Cobourg and Peterboro' Railway, 1862 ; Saguenay Municipality, 1863; Montreal Corporation, 1865. t Mitchell incorporation, 1857 ; Charlevoix Registry Office, 1858 ; Vespra and Sunnidale separation, 1859 ; Waterloo regis- tration division, 1862; King Township Treasurer, 1863; Ya- maska Bridge, 1864. § Woodstock Woollen and Cotton Manufacturing Co., 1860 ; Northern Riilway ani3ndment, 1869 ; South Eastern Mining Co., 1861; Huguenin's admission as notary, 1861; Creviers relief, 1863; Knowlton Cemetery, 1865 ; Canadian Rubber Co., 1S66 ; Clifton G; s Works, 1867-8. II Napanee incorporation, 1857 ; Cayuga Market block, 1863 : Port Hope By-law, 1865 ; Church of England Synod, 1866. IF Montreal incorporation amendment, 1854-5; Quebec Police, 1857; Toronto Street Railway, 1861; Hamilton Debt,. 1863. 46 PROOF OF NOTICES. Suspension Private Bill Committee,* — That the measure is of Rue. 01ie f great urgency,! or of great public utility or importance,! — That the notices were given for the previous Session, which was closed pre- maturely^ — That Bank Charters have not here- tofore been treated as private bills in New Brunswick, || — and even, in one or two instances, on the ground that a petition had been presented against the proposed bill, which appears to have been considered as evidence that its opponents were sufficiently informed of the application. In recommending a suspension of the Rule, however, when no sufficient notice has been given, the committee have suggested that certain matters of detail, which they considered to require notice, should not be included in the bill.f Up to the year 18-56, it was occasionally the * Durham separation, 1860; Petroleum Springs Road Co., 1861 ; St. Hyacinthe corporation, 18G3; Lincoln County town, 18G6. t Hamilton debt consolidation, 18G1 ; Oxford Seed Grain, 1863 ; Napanee Municipality, 18G5. t Transmundane Telegraph Co., 1S59 ; St. Lawrence Navi- gation Co., 18G1 ;. Xorth West Navigation and Railway Co., 1862. § Dereham Drainage. 1863 5 Niagara ecial order from the House. This order is only given when the House, on the report of the Standing * 64th Rule. t 62udRule. t 57th Rule. See also May, pp. 713, 714. § Bristowe, p. 23. II Bristowe, p. 26. IT Sherwood, p. 46. £8 COMMITTEES ON Orders Committee, allow parties to proceed with their bill on complying with certain standing orders which they had previously neglected* In ordinary cases the committee merely inquire whether the Orders of the House have been com- plied with ; and in cases where a special report BUi must ^ as been made by the Standing Orders Committee agree with j n reference to the extent of the notice, it is com- the notice . proved. pared with the powers and privileges conferred by the bill, and if they appear to exceed the limits of the notice, the fact is specially reported to the House. f Examina- The committee has power to send for persons witnesses ail( l papers, and to examine witnesses upon oath, upon oath. fa e eX p enses f sucn witnesses being defrayed by the parties in whose interest they have been summoned. Prior to Confederation, the commit- tees of either House had no power to examine -witnesses upon oath, several attempts to pass a law to confer such a power having failed; J but in the Session of 1867-8, an Act was passed em- powering the committee on any private bill, in either House of Parliament, to examine witnesses upon oath, to be administered by the chairman or any member of such committee. § * May, p. 707. f 64th Rule. t Assembly Journ., 1856 pp. 493, 503, 559; and 1857, pp. .31, 191. § 31 Vic., c. 21, sections 2 and 3. PRIVATE EILLS. 6& In all questions arising before the committee, Casting the chairman votes as a member, and whenever cnairmar,.- the voices are equal, he has a second or casting vote.* This provision was introduced in the revised code of Rules adopted in 1860, and is expressly limited to committees on private bills (including the Standing Committee on Private Bills, and that on Railways, and any other com- mittee to whom private bills may be referred) : it is based on Imperial practice.! The Contro- verted Elections Act of Canada confers the same power on the chairman of an election commit- tee.! Every member present in the committee should Every vote on all questions brought up, judging from l^icfvote- the analogy of the practice of the House in this respect,§ and that of Election Committees under the provisions of the above mentioned Act ; though in the absence of any express rule or order it may be questioned whether the committee has power to compel a member to vote who declines to do so. || * 63rd Rule. f This practice prevails in committees of the Commons on private bills ; but in the Lords' Committees the chairman votes like any other peer; and if the numbers on a division be equal, the question is negatived. May, pp. 386, 387. t Consol. Stat, of Canada, Chap. 7, sec. 89. § May, p. 334. II Frere has some excellent remarks upon this question ; but TO COMMITTEES ON PRIVATE BILLS. Cannot sit The committee cannot sit during the sitting of during sit- ° ° ting of the the House; all proceedings are void after an- nouncement that the Speaker is in the Chair* Leave has, however, in two instances, been grant- ed to the Committee on Private Bills to sit during j the morning sittings of the Legislative Assem- bly, — once in 1858,f for one occasion only, and again, in 1860.J for the residue of the Session. § the difference in the constitution of committees on private bills in the House of Commons, renders these remarks less applicable to the Stauding Committees on private bills in this country. Frere, p. 75, — and again, on p. 84. * Sherwood, p. 45. f Assembly Journ., 1858, p. G58. t Assembly Journ., 1860, p. 311. § By a Standing Order of the House of Commons of Great Britain, 21st July, 1856, it is ordered "That on Wednesdays and other morning sittings of the House, all committees shall have leave to sit, except while the House is at prayers, during the sitting, and notwithstanding the adjournment of the House." And to avoid interruption to urgent business before committees, leave is frequently obtained, on the meeting of the House in the afternoon, for a committee to sit till 5 o'clock. May, p. 388. 71 10.— PROCEEDINGS IN COMMITTEE ON BILL. At each sitting, a list of the bills which are Order of considera- ready for consideration is laid before the com- tion. mittee, in the order of their reference ; and they are usually taken np in that order, unless it may be otherwise agreed upon, for the convenience of iparties in attendance. In the case of opposed bills, it is customary for the parties to come to an (arrangement in the Private Bill Office for the (selection of a particular day for the consideration jof a bill in which they are interested ; and the bill, in such a case, takes precedence of all other bills aj)pointed for that day : where no such Arrangement is made, the bill is taken up in its order. It has been stated above, that no bill of Notice Which notice by ad^eitisement is required by committee pe Rules, can be considered until due notice has cas C e e s^ am been given by the committee.* This notice is * This notice consists, in the Commons, of 10 days (affixed a the Lobby, and appended to the Votes), upon bills origina- .ing in that House, and 2 days upon bills from the Upper Eouse. (60th Rule, Commons.) In the Senate the notice 72 PROCEEDINGS IN frequently reduced by the House, towards trie close of the Session, to 2 or 3 days ;* but no motion to this effect (of a general nature) can now be entertained by the House, except upon the recommendation of two or more of the Stand- ing Committees charged with the consideration of private bills. f In some instances it has been, dispensed with altogether, upon special motion, as regards particular bills ; % the propriety of this .course, however, has been much questioned, oi3 -the ground of the wrong inflicted on parties whcl may desire to oppose any such bill, and for whose protection this notice is intended ; and a suspension' of the Rule in this behalf is now less frequent, being jnade only in urgent cases. Parties desirous of opposing any bill before t must be one week (affixed in the Lobby) on bills originating ii that House, and 24 hours upon bills from the Commons. (60ti Rule, Senate.) •Assembly Journ., 1857, p. 423; 1858, p. 907; 1859, J 271; 1860, pp. 232, 311; 1861, p. 216; 1865 (Aug. Se3S.) j>p. 108, 175; 1866, p. 147. t 60th Rule. t Colonial Bank, 1858 ; Oshawa incorporation, 1859 ; Petefl boro' and Victorialand tax, 1860; London Church land, 186J {Aug. Sess.), on the recommendation of the committee, (I the request of all parties. And on the 28th May, 1862, til Rule was suspended altogether for the residue of the Sessioi In 1863 (Aug. Sess.) it was suspended with reference to a bills which had been reported on in the previous Session, whi< liad closed prematurely. COMMITTEE ON BILL. 73 committee, either on the preamble or the details, Opponents should pre- present a petition, stating the grounds of their sent a peti- opposition.* No such petition can be enter- tained that does not distinctly specify the grounds on which the petitioners object to the bill or any of its provisions. The petitioners can only be heard on the grounds so stated, and if the same are not specified with sufficient accuracy, the committee may direct a more specific statement to be given in writing, but limited to the grounds of objection which had been inaccurately speci- fied.! No petitioners will be heard against the preamble, unless in their petition they pray to be heard against it. J If no parties, counsel, or Aad f y Ie appear- agent, appear on behalf of a petition when it is ance. * In the Commons of Great Britain (as has already been stated) all petitions in favor of, or against, or otherwise relat- ing to private bills (except the original petition for the bill and petitions for additional provisions), are now presented by depositing them in the Private Bill Office. Every petition against a private bill, deposited not later than 10 days after the first reading, stands referred to the committee. Petitioners will not be heard before the committee unless their petition has been prepared and signed in strict conformity with the rules and orders of the House, and has been deposited withiu the time limited, except where they complain of any matter which may have arisen in committee, or of any proposed amendment, or additional provision. May, pp. 685, 686. t May, p. 637. t Bristowe, p. 28. 7 74 PROCEEDINGS IN Oounscl. To what extent 211 ambers may act. read, the opposition of the petitioner is held to be abandoned.* It is right, however, to state, with regard to these restrictions, that although strictly- speaking they apply to all opposed bills, they are never fully enforced by the committee, unless the circumstances of the case appear to require it. The promoters of a bill may be heard by counsel if they desire it.f Petitioners against the preamble or any of the clauses may be heard by counsel, if, in their petition, they have prayed to be heard by themselves, their counsel, or agent.! No member can act as counsel before the House or before any committee ; nor can any member of either House act as counsel before the other House, on any bill depending therein, without special permission : when such permis- sion is given, it is understood that the gentlemen who receive it would not be permitted to vote on * Bristowe, p. 27. t A Parliamentary Agent appearing before a committee of the British House of Commons for a private bill (or upon a petition against a bill containing a prayer to be heard by coun- sel) is always called on by the committee clerk to hand in the names of two counsel, though the number of counsel who may be heard is not limited to these. — Evidence of G. L. Smith, Esq., Parliamentary Agent, — appended to the 3rd Report of the Committee of the House of Commons on Private Bills, 1847. (Ans. to Ques. 918.) t Standing Orders of British House of Commons relative to Private Bills, 85. COMMITTEE ON BILL. 7 ~> such bill, if it should be received by the House of which they are members.* This permission has in a few instances been given to members of the Assembly,! — and once only to a member of the Legislative Council.^ A filled up copy of the bill, containing the Filled up amendments proposed to be submitted by the bui tobs promoters, must be deposited in the Private Bill 3 e< Office, one clear day before the consideration of the bill.§ All parties petitioning against the bill are entitled to obtain a copy of the proposed amendments, one day before the consideration of the bill. || In the case of the Quebec Marine Insurance Amencr- Co. in 1865 (Jan. Sess.), a petition was presented, promoter. on the part of the company, for leave to amend their bill in a matter not contemplated by the * May, p. 358. f Leave was granted by the Legislative Assembly to the Hon. T. C. Aylwin, in the session of 1844-5, to appear at the Bar of the Legislative Council on the Naturalization Bill (Donegani's), — and to Messrs. Ross and Cauchon, in 1S50, on the Dorchester Bridge Bill. Assembly Journ., 1844-5, p. 408. 1850, p. 2G1. t Leave was granted by the Legislative Council, in 1843, to the Hon. Mr. Draper, to appear at the Bar of the Legislate Assembly as Counsel on the bill relating to the University of Toronto. Council Journ., 1843, p. 104. § 61st Rule. II May, p. 682. 76 PROCEEDINGS IN notice, and the Standing Orders Committee re- ported favorably on the petition, on the ground that the sanction of the shareholders to the amendment had been obtained. A like course was taken in regard to the Montreal Corporation bill, in the autumn Session of the same year. feaa mble When the committee are about to proceed to the consideration of a private bill, the parties are called in, and the preamble is read; this being different from the practice in regard to public bills, the preamble of which is postponed until after the consideration of the clauses* (In- stances may, however, arise, in which the com- mittee may feel it desirable that they should reserve their judgment upon the preamble until certain details of the bill have been settled : in such a case they postpone the preamble until after the consideration of the clauses ; but this is of very rare occurrence.) The petitions against the bill are then read, and appearances entered * This course is adopted in regard to public bills, because they are founded on reasons of state policy, and the House having affirmed the principle on the second reading,it becomes the duty of the committee not to discuss the principle again upon the preamble, but to settle the clauses first, and then to consider the preamble in reference to the clauses only. (May, p. 468.) But the expediency of a private bill being mainly founded on the allegations of fact (contained in the preamble) pro of of such allegations is necessary, as a proper basis of legislation, {lb. p. 718.) COMMITTEE ON BILL. 77 upon each petition with which the parties intend to proceed.* The promoters (or their counsel) first state their Promoters x x ' hoard. case on the preamble, and then (if required) pro- ceed to call witnesses, and to examine them. At the conclusion of this examination, when the coun- selor agent for any petitioner rises to cross-examine a witness, is the proper time for taking objections to the locus standi of such petitioner.! It is neces- Locus «««» x . di of peti- sary that a petitioner should state the manner m tioners. which his interest is affected, in order that he may obtain a locus standi at all in opposition to the measure ; but the grounds of objection to the bill on which he may be heard in support of such opposition, are not confined to those arising imme- diately out of his private interests.! If the committee decide in favor of his locus standi, he may address the committee, and produce his witnesses, and they in their turn are cross-ex- amined by the counsel for the promoters, who has the right to reply. § The committee may, if they please, hear petitioners against a bill on the ground * May, p. 716. t Petitioners are said to have no locus standi before a com- mittee, when their property or interests are not directly and specially affected by the bill, or when, for other reasons, they are not entitled to oppose it. May, p. 690. % Frere, p. 32. § Bristowe, p. 28. 78 PROCEEDINGS IN Petitioners f competition ;* but shareholders of a company against a tr j &iii. promoting a bill are not heard in opposition unless their interest be distinct from that of the com- pany.! A petitioner whose interest is affected only by particular clauses in the bill, which are immaterial to the main objects of the measure, and are not referred to in the preamble, would have no right to be heard against the preamble, but only against such clauses.^ Members If the attendance of a member of the House be required as witnesses required as a witness, the proper course is for the -chairman to write to the member requesting his attendance ; if he refuse to attend, the fact is re- ported to the House, in order that they may take such steps in the matter as they see ht.§ mses A witness has a right to claim that his expenses messes. be paid or guaranteed, before his examination. A witness cannot correct his evidence, except by a subsequent examination. || * May, p. 695. t May, p. 699. t Frere, p. 33. § Frere, p. 70. A Peer of Parliament cannot be compelled to attend a committee of the Commons, but if he attend volun- tarily, it is not necessary that a message be sent to the Lords requesting his attendance, as is the case in committees on public matters. lb., p. 71. II Frere, p. 72. COMMITTEE ON BILL. 79 "When counsel are addressing the committee, or Ro ° m ° . cleared for while witnesses are under examination, the com- discussion,' mittee room is an open court ; but when the com- mittee are about to deliberate, all the counsel, agents, witnesses, and strangers are ordered to withdraw, and the committee sit with closed doors- When they have decided any question, the doors are again opened, and the chairman acquaints the parties with the determination of the committee, if it concern them.* Members of the House who are not on the Right of ii c tubers committee, have a right to be present during the f the examination of witnesses, but not to interfere in be°preserjt. the proceedings.! It is doubtful how far the committee has a right to exclude them from the room when cleared for discussion, but it is always customary for them to retire. If any member insist on his right to remain, a member against the wish of the committee, their only amination. course is to report the circumstances of tlie case to the House. J If a member of the House be under examination as a witness, and the matter under consideration shall have arisen out of his ' May, p. 715. t By a Standing Order of the House of Lords, all Peers are entitled to attend the select committees of that House, and they are not excluded from speaking (though they be not of the com. mittee), but they may not vote. May, p. 382. t Frere, p. 71. 80 PROCEEDINGS IN evidence, the right of the committee to exclude him from the room during the discussion, is less doubtful* Question "When the arguments and evidence upon the amble. preamble have been heard, the room is cleared, and a question is put " That the preamble has been proved," which is resolved in the affirmative or the negative, as the case may be : f — If in the negative, the committee report to the House " That the preamble has not been proved to their Preamble satisfaction." After this decision, it is not com- ' petent for the committee to re-consider and re- verse it, but the bill should (if necessary) be re-committed for that purpose. | In the Imperial Parliament, the committee are * The India Judicature Committee (House of Commons), in 1782, having cleared the room to deliberate on the refusal of Mr. Banvell to answer certain questions, he insisted on his priv- ilege, as a Member of the House, of being present during the debate. The committee objected that as a party concerned in the matter under discussion, he had no right to be present. Mr. Barwell still persisting in his right, two members attended the Speaker, and returned with his opinion that Mr. Barwell had no right to insist upon being present during the debate, upon which he withdrew. The House subsequently ordered " That when any matter shall arise on which the said committee wish to debate, it shall be at their discretion to require every person not being a member of the committee to withdraw." May, p. 382. t May, p. 720. t May, p. 722. COMMITTEE ON BILL. 81 not required to assign any reasons for thus de- ciding against the further progress of the bilJ, though the necessity for such information, to en- able the House to determine upon their report, is Reasonf obvious.* A different course prevails in Canada, asiigned the committee being required to state in their re- portf the grounds of their decision. Of these may be instanced, — That no evidence was offered in favor of the preamble, J — Insufficient informa- tion or contrary evidence, § — No proof (in the petition or otherwise) of consent of the parties in- terested, || — No proof that the majority of those whose interests would be affected are in favor of the scheme,! — That the petitioners against the measure are as numerous as those in its favor,** or are more numerous,! f — That there is great * Alpheus Todd's Report on Private Bills, 1847. f 66th Rule. t River du Chene, 1852-3; Gatien estate, 1857. § Small's Pickering road allowance, 1852-3 ; Clarke Sur- vey, 1857 ; Notre Dame du Portage Municipality, 1859; Onslow Survey, 18G2. II Bill to incorporate the Benevolent Societies of the Wes- leyan Church, 1850; Guelph and Wellington Roads Co., 1859; Russel Estate, 1865. H Hull Presbyterian Church, 1356; Quebec limits exten- sion, I860; Lennox and Addington separation, 1860. ** Whitby division, 1857; Stanbridge division, 1866. tt Grey and Simcoe division, 1857; Bolton incorporation, 1858 ; Durham School section, 1859; Berlin town limits, 1865. + 82 PROCEEDINGS IN difference of opinion in the locality affected, as to Preamble the expediency of the measure,* — That the state- ment of facts set forth in the preamble has been disproved,! — That legislative interference is not desirable or necessary,! — That it would inter- fere with law-suits pending, § or with existing rights, |1 — That the powers sought for would not advance the interests of the locality,^ — That the bill provides for an extension of the powers of a certain company to purposes entirely foreign to its original charter,** — That it contains most un- usual provisions,! f —That a certain survey * Ayr incorporation, 1857; Halifax township, 1860; Clif- ton division, 1866. t Barton road allowance, 1852-3. t East Hawkesbury survey, 1856; Clarke survey, 1856; Van Norman estate, 1857; Delaware survey, 1857; York and Peel separation, 1861 ; Quebec Stevedores incorporation, 1861; Augusta Municipalities' Fund, 1862; Bruce county town, 1S64; Baybam by-law, 1865, and 1866 ; Montreal Licensed Victuallers, 1865. § Chatham survey, 1858; Peel county town, 1859; Rich- mond Street (London) boundary line, 1861 ; Peterboro' and Port Hope Railway, 1862. II North-western Railway, 1856 ; Clifton suspension bridge, 1858; Bnrford survey, 1860; Hope survey, I860; Etchemin bridge, 1862 ; Renfrew division, 1863. IT St. Lawrence and Bay Chaleurs Land and Lumber Co., 1858. ** St. Clair and Rondeau Plank Road Co. amendment, 1857. tt Metropolitan Gas and Water Co., 1857; Richelieu Com- pany, 1862. COMMITTEE ON BILL. 83 which is sought to be confirmed was not made in yL conformity with the provisions of the law, * — Preamble That the filled-up bill submitted to the committee +_ differed materially from the printed bill as origin- ally referred to them, and was not in accordance with the petition,! — or, That it is in the power of the Executive Government to carry into effect the objects contemplated by the bill, J or the , Court of Chancery (in a bill affecting the interests of minors). § In one instance, in 1857, the com- mittee reported, with reference to the bill to in- corporate the St. Lawrence and Bay Chaleurs Land and Lumber Co., that although they could not say the preamble was not proved, yet they could not recommend the passing of the bill, its promoters being foreigners, residing out of the Province. If, upon the report of the committee concerning committee a certain bill, that the preamble is not proved, JSrffcT the House be not satisfied with the reasons as- ™P° rt evi - dence signed in the report, the committee are directed to which report the reasons or evidence which guided them their de- in their decision ; and these, when reported, have generally satisfied the House, so that the bill has * Beverly survey, 1864. t Toronto Esplanade, 1854-5. t Bill to vest in J. Carling and others, a portion of Church Street, London, 1852-3. § Watson's Ayr Mill-dam, 1856. 84 PROCEEDINGS IN Bill may proceeded no further.* If it should appear from be referred x back for the report, that the objection to the bill was not ment. so much against the principle as against certain details, the committee may be instructed to amend the bill by striking out the objectionable provisions, and report the same as amended. f In one instance, however, they reported that a majority against the preamble had been obtained through one member having voted against it in- advertently; and the instruction of the House having afforded him an opportunity of correcting his vote, he had done so, and this having given a majority in favor of the preamble, the committee reported the bill.J In other cases, the commit- tee having been directed to report the evidence on which their adverse decision was founded, re- ported the same, and it was referred to a commit- tee of the whole, with the bill, and the bill was reported and passed. § Alterations it is in the power of the committee to make -.n. pream- ble, alterations in the preamble, || either by striking out or modifying such allegations as may not have * Cornwall By-law, 1856; Metropolitan Gas and Water Co., 1857 ; St. Lawrence and Bay Chaleurs Land Co., 1858 j Peter- boro' and Port Hope Railway, 1862. t Richelieu Company, 1862. t Three Rivers diocese church-rate, 1852-3. § Clarke survey, 1857 ; Bruce County town, 1864. II May, p. 723. COMMITTEE OX BILL. 85 been substantiated to their satisfaction, or by ex- punging such as the promoters may be desirous Alterations of withdrawing ; * but no new allegations or provisions ought to be inserted, either in the pre- / ^^ t ^^r amble or the bill, excepting such as are covered \ ^^^^ a^<, by the petition and the notice, as proved before / /I s^v* £-&& the Standing Orders Committee, — unless the par- &< &. %/6»«*-, t- ties have received permission from the House to I £^»~- y- ^ introduce such additional provisions, in com- / ^"/f^ pliance with a petition for leave. f Every ma- \ terial alteration in the preamble must be specially " "^ "* / ^7 S reported to the House, with the reasons therefor. J \ Such alterations have almost invariably hitherto been of a nature to limit or reduce the powers proposed to be conferred by the bill.§ An ex- ception was made, however, in the case of a bill for the relief of the Ministers of a certain religious denomination in Montreal, in 1857, |[ — the pre- amble and provisions of which were amended so as to apply to all ministers of that denomination in Lower Canada; and it was passed in the * Sherwood, p. 53. f May, p. 72 1. See also 64th Rule. X 65th Rule. § St. Hyacinthe incorporation, 1852-3 ; Upper Cauada Mining Co., 1852-3; Toronto Bank, 1854-5; Frelighsburg Grammar School, 1857; St. Gabriel de Valcartier division, 1861; Renfrew By-law, 1863. II Bill for relief of Ministers of the Church of the " Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion" at Montreal, 1857. 86 PROCEEDINGS IN rut amended form. (But see the remarks as to the limitation of the power of the committee to make amendments, on p. 91.) "Previous It is a rule of Parliamentary practice, that the cannoTbe " previous question" cannot be put in committees, i. e., that if the question were proposed that the preamble is proved, it is not competent for a member to propose the previous question " that that question be now put," for the purpose of voting against it. The same rule applies, of course, to the clauses, and to any amendments proposed.* When the committee have decided that the preamble has been proved, they call in the parties, acquaint them with the decision, and then go through the bill, clause by clause, and fill up the blanks ; and when petitions have been presented against a clause, or proposing amendments, or for compensation, the parties are heard in support of their objections, or amendments, or claims, as they arise. Clauses may be postponed, and con- sidered at a later period in the proceedings, if the committee think fit ; or clauses which the parties have agreed to insert in the bill may, if neces- sary, be produced before the committee decide on the preamble.! Manuscript clauses are con- Preamble proved. Proceed- ings on clauses. * May, pp. 364, 473 ; Frere. p.~49. t May, p. 720 ; Bristowe, p. 29. COMMITTEE ON BILL. 87 sidered after those printed in the bill, first those proposed by the promoters, and afterwards such as may be proposed by the opponents of the bill. * If any unusual provisions are found in the bill, unusual or any that do not appear to have been contem- P rovision3 - plated in the notice, special mention is to be made of them in the report. f In the case of any bill sent down from the Evidence Senate, the committee, if they have not sufficient from evidence before them, can direct their chairman ' to move in the House that a message be sent to their Honors, requesting that the proofs and evi- dence on which the bill was founded may be communicated ; and these, when sent down, are referred to the committee.J In filling up the blanks in the bill, the commit- Rates of tee are required to insert the maximum rates to11 or fee3, of toll, fees, or other charges to be imposed un- der its provisions, which are printed in the bill in italics, for the information of the House, but are technically regarded as blanks. § A prac- tice obtained occasionally, for some years, of re- quiring the rates of toll proposed to be inserted in * Frere, pp. 54, 61. t Montreal Building Society ; Montreal Gas Co. ; Toronto Dry Dock ; various Mining Bills : all in 1847. See also 64th Rule. % Counter's stove patent, 1850; Niagara and Detroit Rivers Railroad, 1859; Quebec Pilots, 1860. § May, p. 670. 88 PBOCEEDINGS IN Rates of Harbour, Bridge, or Canal Bills, to be first sanc- tioned in a committee of the whole, and after- wards referred to the committee on the bill for insertion therein. This appears to have been the usual course prior to the Union, but upon the adoption of a system of Private Bill legislation, it was discontinued. In the Session of 1852-3, this practice was resorted to in a bill to incorporate the Port Burwell Harbour Company,* and it was subsequently observed in several instances ; though it was always the exception rather than the rule. The inconvenience of this practice is most evident, as it is manifest that the committee of the whole can, at that early stage of the bill, have no sufficient evidence to guide them in es- tablishing the rates of toll ; while on the other hand, the committee on the bill have it in their power to procure all necessary information : when they report the amended bill, it is referred (after the second reading) to a committee of the whole, and an opportunity afforded to the House of ex-, ercising its judgment in the matter. Moreover tolls of this kind are imposed only upon such per- sons as may voluntarily use the works to be con- structed under the authority of the bill, as a fair equivalent for a service rendered, and are thus altogether different in their character from a com- * .Assembly Journ., 1852-3, pp. 269, 285. COMMITTEE ON BILL. 89 pulsory rate, duty, or charge upon the people, Rate * of which should undoubtedly originate in a commit- tee of the whole* Furthermore, while the rule, as regards rates, duties, etc., inserted in public bills, is strictly observed in the Imperial Parlia- ment, all private bills are exempt from its opera- tion, including even those under which a local rate is proposed to be levied for a local work.f In 1862, the Committee on Private Bills presented a report, recommending that the exceptional practice referred to be discontinued,! and the recommendation has since been generally acted upon. The amendments made by the committee are Ameni- written upon a printed copy of the bill, which is ™ rted to" signed by the chairman, who also signs, with his the House - * Three Rivers Diocese Church Hate, 1852-3. t In 1833, a committee of the Commons (Gr. B.), appointed to examine into precedents in connection with this subject re- ported "that the general spirit of the Standing Orders and Reso- lutions of the House, requires that every proposition to impose "a bur ihen or charge on any class or portion of the people, " should receive its first discussion in a committee of the whole a House. The only exception from this rule is with regard to " tolls, rales, or duties proposed to be levied on the subject in " particular places for any local ivork ; and in'such cases it is " directed that no bill be ordered to be brought in till the peti- " tion for it has been referred to a committee, and they have ex- " amined the matter thereof, and reported the same to the '•'House." May (edition of 1844), p. 275. t ISth Rep. of Com. on Private Bills, L. A., 1862. 90 PROCEEDINGS IN initials, each amendment made, and clause added, ments d ro- an< ^ anotner C0 Py °f the bill as amended is fyled ported to in the Private Bill Office.* The committee, in thj House. reporting the bill, call the attention of the House to any provision that does not appear to have been contemplated in the notice,! or to any pro- vision of an unusual character,! and if they have amended the bill in such a manner as to confine its provisions within the terms of the notice, § or otherwise to restrict the same, || it is usually mentioned in the report. It is customary also to make special mention of any amendment of a peculiar or unusual character, as, changing the name of a proposed corporation,*!! — extending the limits of a township proposed to be erect- ed,** — or materially altering certain arrange- ments provided for by the bill. ft In 1858, the * 67th Rule. f 64th Rule. See also Three Rivers Corporation, 1864. t Quebec Pilots' Corporation, 1866. § Middlesex debt, 1854-5. II Toronto and Goderich Railway, 1851 ; London debt, 1856 ; Martin's Saltfleet road allowance, 1856 ; Fitzroy Survey, 1863. ir Canadian Life and Fire Insurance Co., 1856 ; Colonial Bank, 1856. ** Franklin Township, 1857. ft London town lot (Agricultural Societies), 1856 ; Crow- land Survey, 1862; Bellelsle's relief, 1863; Foley's admission as Barrister, 1864. COMMITTEE ON BILL. 91 committee reported a bill to detach certain lots in the township of Barton from the city of Hamilton. s v cci f -l J ' amena- which they had so amended as to provide for ment?. continuing the lots in question within the limits of the city at a limited rate of taxation ; they also reported a bill to provide for the separation of the Counties of Durham and Northumberland, amended in such a manner as to leave the ques- tion of separation, &c, to the decision of the reeves and deputy reeves of the County of Dur- ham. In 1864, they amended a bill to erect the Local Municipality of St. Colombe into a County Municipality, in such a way as merely to extend the powers of the said municipality in regard to the issuing of tavern and shop licences. The power of the committee to make amend- Limitation ments is, however, limited ; care must be taken ° m ° a ^e r in preparing them, that they involve no infrac- ^° g d " tion of the Standing Orders, and are not ex- cessive.* No new provisions may be intro- * May, p. 631. Questions have frequently arisen (in the Imperial House of Commons) as to the right of a committee on a Railway Bill to alter the plan, which under the Standing Or- ders is required to be deposited in the Private Bill Office. The rules and practice of Parliament recognize this power, but the committee, before adopting any deviation from the line delinea- ted on the plan, require proof of the consent of the owners or occupiers through whose property the proposed deviation will I 38. Sherwood, p. 57. 02 PROCEEDINGS IN duced by which the interest of parties who are not suitors to the bill, or petitioners before the committee, can be affected, without due notice having been given to such parties.* If the com- StVraUons. nrittee consider a material alteration desirable in a particular bill (of such a nature as appears to ex- ceed their powers), they report the bill, and suggest such alterations as may meet the supposed neces- sity.! In 1852-3, a bill to incorporate the Mutual Insurance Association for the Fabriques of the Diocese of Quebec, was reported, with a recom- mendation that the principle should be extended to each Diocese in Lower Canada ; and the bill was amended accordingly, and passed. In 1860, in reporting on a bill to incorporate the Annuity and Guarantee Funds Society of the Bank of Montreal, the committee expressed their opinion that it was advisable to make it a general measure, applicable to any other Bank and its employes. The suggestion was not, however, adopted by the House, and the bill was proceeded with and passed, as a private bill. In some cases, where the committee have considered an amendment of the general law preferable to the passage of pri- * Frere, p. 64. f B. N. American. Mining Co., 1847; Bill to remove the Registry Office for the County of Terrebonne, 1847. In thi3 last mentioned case, a division of the county for registration purposes was suggested, instead of a removal. COMMITTEE ON BILL. 93 Tate acts, they have made a special report to that effect, and (occasionally) postponed the considera- tion of the bills to which it had reference, to af- ford an opportunity for the action of the House in the matter ;* or, in other cases, they have ex- punged certain proAasions, and recommended an amendment of the general law in these respects.f In 1867-8 (after Confederation), the question of Q Ues tion jurisdiction haying been raised before them with Jjjj risdi " regard to certain bills, they in one case J solicited an instruction from the House, which, not being given, the bill was not proceeded with : in two other cases § they amended the bills and reported them, calling attention, in their report, to the doubts raised ; one of these bills was subse- quently proceeded with, and the other abandoned. (See Chapter on " Legislative Jurisdiction," ante.) The committee have nothing to do with the title of the bill, which is only agreed to by the House after the third reading. || * Various bills for the admission of English attorneys t o practise in Canada ; also various bills for incorporating Mining Companies, 1854-5. (No action was taken on the reports, and the consideration of the bills being subsequently resumed, they were reported and passed.) Joliette incorporation, 1863. t Kingsey Falls Municipality, 18G4; DeLery Gold Mining- Co., 1865 : Quebec Corporation, 1865. t Civil Service Building Society, 1867-8. § Stratford Board of Trade, and Canada Live Stock Insur- ance Co., 1867-8. II Frere, p. 66. 94 PROCEEDINGS IN Power to Power may be given to the committee by the #vide or . . , to consoii- House to divide a bill into two bills, or to consoli- date two bills referred to them into one.* This last has sometimes been done by the committee, without a special Instruction.! Abandon- Every bill referred to the committee must be ment 01 a J bm by its reported.! If the promoters of any bill inform promoters. / . . the committee that they do not desire to proceed further with it, the fact is reported to the House, § and the bill will be ordered to be withdrawn ;|| or if any other parties before the committee, either as petitioners or opponents of the bill, desire to proceed with it, the committee may permit them to do so.T In 1867-8, the Committee on Banking and Commerce reported, with regard to a bill to incorporate the Canadian Mutual Life Insurance Co., that the principle of mutual life * Frere, p. 65. t St. Albert de Warwick Municipality, 1863. (In 1864 several petitions relating to municipalities in Arthabaska and Wolfe, were combined into one bill by the promoters.) t 65th Rule. § St. Lawrence Mining Co., 1852-3; Ottawa Water Works, 1866; Gait and Guelph Railway, 1866; Toronto and Owen Sound Railway, 1866 ; North-west Transportation Co., 1866. II May, p. 726. If The Manchester and Salford improvement Bill, in 1828, was abandoned in committee by its original promoters ; when its opponents, having succeeded in introducing certain amendments, undertook to solicit its further progress. May, p. 633. (Note.) COMMITTEE ON BILL. 95 insurance being new to this country, they could not recommend its adoption unless a paid up guarantee capital of at least $50,000 was pro- vided ; and as the promoters were not prepared to do this, they had abandoned the bill. A bill, after it has been reported, maybe referred Bill may be back to the same committee* or to some other back. #ommitteef but this is very rarely done. The evidence taken by the committee is not Evidence generally reported to the House, except in those JS, without cases where a special order to that effect may be aa order * made ; | it is entered in a book, with the minutes of the proceedings of the committee, and kept in the Private Bill Office ; but in some instances the committee have reported their proceedings with- out an order being made.§ If the amendments made by the committee are so Billn ? a y *> e J re-pnnted. important or extensive as to render it necessary that it should be reprinted before its consideration by the House, this is done at the expense of the promoters.|| * Maskinonge Common, 1852-3 ; Strathroy and Port Frank Railway, 1857 ; Streetsville incorporation, 1858 ; Lindsay Re- serve, 1859 ; Hamilton debt, 1863 (Aug. Sess.); St, Colombe Municipality, and other bills, 1864. t Canadian Land and Emigration Co., 1865 (Jan. Sess.) ; Ashley's naturalization, ib. % Great Southern Railway, 1857. See also supra, p. 83. § Buffalo and Lake Huron Railway, 1856; Grand Trunk Railway, 1862 ; Montreal and Champlain Railroad, 1864. II This is required in all cases, in the Imperial Parliament, when the bill is amended. May, p. 728. (See also 56th Rule of the Legislative Council of Quebec.) 96 PROCEEDINGS IN COMMITTEE. Time for The 49th Rule, while it limits the time for re- iimited. ceiving petitions and private bills, respectively, also provides that no report of any standing or select committee upon a private bill be received after the first six weeks, but this period is in- variably extended until nearly the close of the Session. 97 11.— SECOND READING OF BILL. By the 66th Rule of the House of Commons, Tlme for all private bills reported from a standing com- second r r o reading. mittee are placed on the Orders of the Day following the reception of the report,* for a second reading, next after bills referred to a com- mittee of the whole House, — though they are usually taken up only on "Private Bill" days ;f the only exception being in the case of bills on which the committee have reported the preamble not proven, which are not placed on the Orders of the Day at all, unless by special order of the House. The second reading corresponds with the same Principle stage in other bills, and in agreeing to it the firmed at 1 ' House affirms the principle of the measure .% tbls stase ' There is an important distinction between public * In 1861, and in several subsequent Sessions, the commit- tee, in reporting certain bills at a late period of the Session, re- commended that they be placed on " the Orders of this day," -which was done accordingly. Assembly Journ., 1861, p. 293, &c, &c. t In the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Private Bills have, by the 19th Rule, a place assigned to them on the Orders of each day. t May, p. 4-56. 9 9$ SECOND READING OF BILL. and private bills at this stage of the proceedings ; a public bill being founded on reasons of public policy, the House, in agreeing to its second read- ing, accepts and affirms those reasons; but the expediency of a private bill is mainly founded upon allegations of fact, to be proved before a committee. It was formerly the practice, in each House, to refer the bill after the second reading ; the affirmation of the principle of the bill, there- fore, was necessary conditional, being contingent upon satisfactory proof being made of the allega- tions of the preamble. In 1867, the House of Recent Commons changed their Rule in this respect, and c aDge ' provided for a reference of the bill after the first reading,* — the second reading being postponed until alter the committee had reported. By this arrangement the House is put in possession, before the second reading, of the facts of the case, and is therefore in a position to deal with the bill upon its merits. This change has not been adopted as yet, by the Senate, and bills before that House are referred, as heretofore, after the second reading.! Hearing of The usual time for counsel to be heard at the Counsel. j> ar Q £ ^ e House upon a bill (pro or con) is at the second reading ; but opposition has rarely been offered, hitherto, at this stage, unless upon the assumption that the principle of the proposed * 59th Rule, Commons, t 59th Rule, Senate. SECOND READING OF BILL. 09 measure was objectionable on grounds of public policy." Upon four occasions only, in Canada, has counsel been heard at the Bar against the second reading of private bills. f In one in- stance, X the House resolved (upon petitions from the parties) to hear counsel, for and against the bill, upon the question for going into committee of the whole thereon : this having been (under the ar- rangements then in force) the first opportunity afforded for the action of the House after the re- port of the committee, corresponded, in point of fact (as regarded the time for hearing opposition) with the second reading under the new arrange- ment. The bill having been reported by the committee with amendments, they were directed to report the evidence, and the same was printed, with the bill in its amended shape. The Order of the Day for the House in committee on the bill, being read, counsel was called in and heard: it * Sherwood, p. 37. The Street Rail Com'y Bill was thrown out on the second reading, in the British House of Commons, 10th April, 1861, on notice being taken that it trenched on public rights. In England it is the duty of the Chairman of Committee of Ways and Means, under a standing order, to call the attention of the House to all such cases. Hansard's Debates, vol. 162, p. 641. t University of Toronto (King's College) Bill, (a Ministerial private bill), 1843, 1844-5, and 1846: Montreal Corsumers' Gas Co., 1846. % Great Southern Railway, 1857. 100 SECOND READING OF BILL. was then moved " that this House will resolve it- self into the said committee on this day three months : r ' the consideration of this motion was postponed, and the bill was subsequently aban- doned. It may be here observed, that a motion to postpone the consideration of a bill for three or six months, offered at any stage, is, if agreed to, equivalent to a rejection of the bill for that Session.* Private Bills on the Orders of the Day, in the *£y a , te House of Commons, are called up on Mondays, Bill days, . . Commons, immediately after the daily routine of business ; on Wednesdays and Fridays they are called for the first hour, at the evening sitting ; while on Tuesdays and Thursdays they do not appear on the Orders at all.f Private Bills in the hands of members of the Administration, are placed among the " Government Orders" on Grovernment days (Tuesdays and Fridays). In the Senate, no days are specially appointed for the consideration of private bills, but they come up from day to day, according to their relative position upon the Orders of the Day. * May, P . 673. t 19th Rule, Commons. (See note on p. 97.) 101 12.— PROCEEDINGS IN COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. All Private Bills, after the second reading, are _ . °' Reference at once referred to a committee of the whole to com - tt n t mittee of House, for consideration on some future day. * whole. Several bills may be considered in committee at the same time.f Counsel may be heard at the Bar of the House, Hearing of at this or any other stage,! but the usual time is Counsel - at the second reading. (See remarks on this sub- ject, under " Second Reading of Bill," ante, p. 98.) It may be well to remark here, that while it is, of course, competent to the House to amend or * This differs from the practice in the Imperial Parliament, where such private bills as are reported without amendment are ordered for a third reading ; while those reported with amend- ments are referred to the Chairman of Ways and Means, and the Speaker's Counsel, to report whether (in their amended form) they contain the provisions required by the Standing Orders, &c. May, p. 729. f May, p. 467. Also, Assembly Journ., 1860, p. 445 ; 1861, p. 319; 1863 (Aug. Sess.), p. 173; 1864, p. 373; 1S65 (Jan. Sess.), p. 234; 1866,. p. 195. t May, p. 460. 102 PROCEEDINGS IN Amend- reject any bill after it has been reported by a select select com- committee, and to amend or reject any of the generally amendments agreed to by the committee, prac- by C< the ed tically this right is rarely exercised. The inabil- House. ity of the Honse to discuss a private bill upon its merits in the absence of such information as evi- dence alone can supply, renders its reference to a eelect committee indispensable ; and the House practically delegates its responsibility to that com- mittee, and almost invariably accepts their de- cision. The principle thus acted upon by our Canadian Legislature, has been established in the Imperial Parliament as the result of a very long experience in private bill legislation. The Eight Hon. John E. Denison, Speaker of the House of Commons, a very high authority in all matters connected with either public or private Par- liamentary business, hi his evidence before a com- mittee of that House upon the Business of the House, in 1861, says, in reference to this ques- tion, — " If you look at the precedent of private of Speaker " legislation, you will see that some few years ago on?his f C ' " ^ was ne ^ ^ na t it would be quite impossible to subject, i. concede such enormous interests as railway in- " terests to a committee of five men ; but these " enormous interests, such as the consolidation of " all the railways in the centre of Scotland, which " was discussed before the House of Commons the " other day, and the great question of the docks at COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. 103 " Liverpool and the Mersey, now go to five men " appointed by the Committee of Selection, and " practically there is no appeal from their decision, " because the House has been obliged almost to " adopt as a rule that it will not interfere with the "decision of committees."* In a subsequent part of his evidence, after re-iterating this state- ment, he adds, that the House is more disposed to support the decision of the committee, because the smallness of the number of the members in- creases the responsibility of the committee. f In pursuance of this principle, the practice has Amend- prevailed of late years, in the Lower House, in committee .-,-, ... „in commit the consideration oi private bills m committee 01 tee of the the whole, of not treating the amendments made by the select committee as amendments, but con- sidering the bill, as amended, as a whole ; thus in reporting the bill to the House, the chairman re- fers only to the amendments made in com- mittee of the whole. Bills from the Senate form a necessary exception to this practice, as every amendment made to the bill as sent down from that House must be communicated for its concur- rence. Before the House resolves itself into committee on a bill, an instruction may be given to the com- * Report from the Select Committee of the House of Com- mons, on the business of the House, 1861. (Ans. to Ques. 155.) f Same Report. (Ans. to Ques. 183 to 186 and 192.) 104 PROCEEDINGS IN instruc- mittee, empowering them to make provision for committee & n y matters not relevant to the subject matter of of whole, the bill. An instruction is not ordinarily compul- sory, but rather permissive ; a mandatory or com- pulsory instruction may, however, be given, and instances are to be found in which committees on bills have been instructed " that they do make provision," &c, or " do make two bills into one."* An instruction should always be made a distinct question, after the order of the day has been read, and not as an amendment to the question for the Speaker leaving the chair, unless its object be to prevent the sitting of the committee ; as the amend- ment, if agreed to, supersedes the question for the Speaker leaving the Chair. f No amend- Power to men ^ which is irrelevant to the bill (as extending amend in its operations beyond the limits expressed in the committee . limited, preamble and title, &c.) can be made without an instruction.! If any amendment be made that is not within the title of the bill, the com- mittee amend the title accordingly, and report the same specially to the House. § Special in- In the Session of 1852-3, the committee of the whole on the bill to empower the Municipal * May, p. 461. f May, p. 362. t May, p. 474. § Standing Order, Brituh House of Commons, 19th July, 1854. Bristowe, p. 133. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. 105 Council of the County of Two Mountains to sub- scribe for stock in any railway passing through that county, was instructed to inquire into the expediency of the extending its provisions to the County of Terrebonne. The bill was amended accordingly and passed, and was subsequently amended by the Legislative Council so as to ex- tend its operation also to the counties of Rou- ville and Missisquoi. When it may be found necessary to insert, in clauses afFcctinj? a private bill, a clause affecting the public revenue, pu biic re- property, or credit, the authority therefor must originate*' (with the consent of the Government) emanate ^ it fJ™ " f from a committee of the whole : thus, in 1866, whole - the Canada Vine Growers' Association having applied for an Act of incorporation, a bill was in- troduced and proceeded with in the ordinary[way ; and the consent of the Government having been obtained, a Resolution (originating in committee of the whole) was passed by the House, exempt- ing the wines made by the Association from excise duties for a term of ten years ; and the Resolution was referred to the committee of the whole on the bill, to make the necessary provision therein. In 1867-8, this exemption was extended for a further period of two years, — the same course being taken as before. When it is intended to propose any important Notice to be given of amendment in committee of the whole, or at the amend- ments. 106 PROCEEDINGS IN third reading, one day's notice thereof must be given* In the committee of the whole, the same course proceedhJg ^ s adopted as in the select committee, — the question tee'onhe 4 * being proposed on the preamble first, f The whole. chairman then reads the number of each clause in succession, with the marginal note which ex- plains its objects. If no amendment be offered to a clause, he at once puts the question, " That this clause stand part of the bill," and proceeds to the Amend- next. When an amendment is proposed, he men s ' states the line in which the alteration is to be made, and puts the question in the ordinary form. No amendment can be made to a clause after the committee has passed on to another clause ; nor can any amendment be offered to any clause which is irrelevant to the subject matter of such clause, but the same should be submitted, as a separate clauses clause, at the end of the bill. J Clauses may be postponed, postponed, unless they have been amended, when it is not regular to postpone them. Postponed * 68th Rule. In the Commons of G. B., every such amend- ment is also, in ail cases involving a necessity therefor, referred to the Committee on Standing Orders for their report. May, p. 728. f In this respect differing from the course pursued upon public bills, the preamble of which is postponed until the clauses have been settled. t May, p. 469. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. 107 clauses are considered after the other clauses are disposed of, and before any new clauses are brought up. If the committee cannot go through Report' the whole bill at one sitting, they direct the chair- man to report progress, and ask leave to sit again. When the bill has been fully considered, the chairman puts a question, <: That I do report this bill without amendment," or " with the amend- ments, to the House ;" which being agreed to, the sitting of the committee is concluded, and Mr. Speaker resumes the chair : upon which the chairman approaches the steps of the Speaker's chair, and reports from the committee that " they had gone through the bill and had made amend- ments thereto," or that " they had gone through the bill and directed him to report the same without amendment." * Sometimes, however, the proceedings of a committee are brought to a close by an order ' ; That the chairman do now leave the chair ;" in which case the chairman, being without instructions, makes no report to the House, and the bill disappears from the Order Book and is generally regarded as defunct ; but it is nevertheless competent for the House to ap- point another day for the committee, and to pro- ceed with the bill.f * May, p. 476. t May, p. 476. 108 PROCEEDINGS IN COMMITTEE. When the chairman has reported the bill to the Proceed- House, the entire bill is open to consideration, report. and amendments may be made, and new clauses added (of which due notice has been given, as above mentioned), or the bill may be re-committed for further amendment.* If amendments have been made in committee, the question is at once put upon each amendment, in the order in which it stands in the bill ; or the consideration of the bill, as reported, may be postponed to a future day. If any of the amendments are supposed to be in excess of the Notice given by the promoters of the bill, the proper course is to refer them to the Committee on Standing Orders for their re- port. f "When the bill has been reported, and the Third read- amendments made in committee (if any) have ing or or- k een ecially pleaded ; whereas private Acts which did not contain such a clause could be judicially noticed only when specially pleaded. But by the " In- ^ ^* t terpretation Act" passed in 1867, it is expressly p^" 1 * 6 provided that " every Act shall, unless by express Acts. provision it is declared to be a Private Act, be deemed to be a Public Act, and shall be judicially noticed by all Judges, Justices of the Peace, and others, without being specially pleaded ; and all copies of Acts printed by the Queen s Printer, shall be evidence of such Acts and of their con- tents." * * 31 Vic, cap. 1, sec. 7., sub. -sec. (A similar provision was made by the Legislature of Quebec, in the " Interpretation Act," 31 Vic, cap. 7, sec. 6.) 120 ROYAL ASSENT. Printing of Until the year 1849, private Acts were printed private acts ** . with the with the public statutes, and bound together in the same volume. In that year, an Act was passed* which provided that local Acts should be printed (at the expense of the Province) in such number only as should suffice for distribu- tion to the Judges, Public Departments, and cer- tain local functionaries ; and that of private or personal Acts, 150 copies only should be printed, at the expense of the parties obtaining the same. Under this arrangement no private Acts of any class were printed for general distribution with the Statutes ; and the inconvenience attending it was so strongly felt, that in 1851 an Act was passedf providing for the printing and distri- bution of all local, private, and personal Acts, in the same manner, and to the same extent as the public Acts, — reviving, in fact, the former prac- tice of binding up all the Acts of a Session, pub- lic and private, in the same volume. But by the "Interpretation Act" of 1867, it is provided that the Governor in Council may direct the distribu- tion of the Statutes in such manner, either by the binding of the Public General Acts, and Acts of a local or private character, in separate volumes, or by binding them together in the same volumes * 12 Vic, cap. 16. t 14, 15 Vic, cap. 81. ROYAL ASSENT. 121 with, separate indexes or otherwise, as may be deemed expedient* It may be worthy of con- sideration whether the public convenience would not be sufficiently consulted by printing a limited number (say 500 copies) of the local and private Acts, binding them in a supplementary volume, and distributing them with the public Acts only where they are really required.! This would cause a large saving in the cost of printing, and would disencumber the Statute Book of a mass of enactments which have no bearing on the statute law of the land. * 31 Vic, cap. 1, sec. 13. t All such private Acts of the Imperial Parliament as con- tain the " public" clause are printed in a separate collection, and are known as local or personal Acts. Another class, con- sisting chiefly of iuclosure, drainage, and estate Acts, are printed by the Queen's Printers, and contain a clause declaring that a copy so printed " shall be admitted as evidence thereof by all judges, justices and others," and a further enactment that the "Act shall not be deemed a public Act." A third class, con- sisting of name, naturalization, divorce, and other strictly per- sonal Acts, are not printed ; but a list of them is inserted by the Queen's Printers after the titles of the other private Acts. May, pp. 759, 760.. 11 122 APPENDIX I. RULES COMMON TO BOTH HOUSES IN RELATION TO PRIVATE BILLS. Note. — The Rules of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of Quebec correspond with these, except that the Rules of the Council are numbered from 47 to 70; some little variation occurs in respect to the printing of bills, which is referred to in its place. Petitions 49, ]S[o Petition for any Private Bill is received for Private Bills. by The House [Senate] after the first three weeks of each Session ; nor may any Private Bill be pre- sented to The House [Senate] after the first four weeks of each Session ; nor may any Report of any Standing or Select Committee upon a Private Bill be received after the first six weeks of each Session. [And no Motion for the general suspen- sion or modification of this Rule shall be enter- tained by The House, unless after reference made thereof at a previous sitting of The House, to the several Standing Committees charged with con- sideration of Private Bills, or upon Report sub- mitted by two or more of such Committees.]* * This sentence occurs in the Commons Rule only. RULES RELATIVE TO PRIVATE BILLS. 123 50. The Clerk of The House [Senate] shall, dur- Pubiica- ing each Recess of Parliament, publish weekly cTerkfof ° in the Official Gazette, the following Rules re- 5™ to'fe specting Notices of intended applications for Pri- tlce ' *°- vate Bills, and in other newspapers (English and French) the substance thereof; and shall also, im- mediately after the issue of the Proclamation con- vening Parliament for the despatch of business, publish in the Official Gazette, and in other newspapers, as aforesaid, until the opening of Parliament, the day on which the time limited for receiving Petitions for Private Bills will ex- pire, pursuant to the foregoing Rule ; and the Clerk shall also announce, by notice affixed in the committee rooms and lobbies of this House [the Senate] by the first day of every Session, the time limited for receiving Petitions for Private Bills, and Private Bills, and Reports thereon. 51. All applications for Private Bills, properly p °f^ t i for the subjects of legislation by the Parliament of Bills - Canada within the purview of " The British North America Act, 1867," whether for the erec- tion of a Bridge, the making of a Railroad, Turn- pike Road, or Telegraph Line ; the construction or improvement of a Harbour, Canal, Lock, Dam or Slide, or other like work ; the granting of a right of Ferry ; the incorporation of any particular Trade or Calling, or of any Banking or other Joint Stock Company ;* or otherwise for granting to any * The Quebec Rule omits " Banking," and substitutes various local matters under Provincial jurisdiction. 124 KTJLES RELATIVE TO individual or individuals any exclusive or pecu- liar rights or privileges whatever, or for doing any matter or thing which in its operation would affect the rights or property of other parties, or relate to any particular class of the community ; or for making any amendment of a like nature to any former Act, — shall require a Notice, clearly and distinctly specifying the nature and object of the application, to be published as follows, viz.: — _ .. , In the Province of Quebec — A Notice inserted in Notices for J ^ Private the Official G-azette, in the English and French languages, and in one newspaper in the English, and one newspaper in the French language, in the District affected, or in both languages if there be but one paper ; or if there be no paper published therein, then (in both languages) in the Official G-azette, and in a paper published in an adjoining District. In any other Province — A Notice inserted in the Official G-azette, and in one newspaper published in the County, or Union of Counties, affected, or if there be no paper published therein, then in a newspaper in the next nearest County in which a newspaper is published. Such Notices shall be continued in each case for a period of at least two months, during the in- terval of time between the close of the next pre- ceding Session and the consideration of the Petition. PRIVATE BILLS. 125 52. Before any Petition praying for leave to tmi Bridge bring in a Private Bill for the erection of a Toll- bridge, is presented to the House [Senate], the person or persons intending to petition for such Bill, shall, upon giving the Notice prescribed by the preceding Rule, also, at the same time, and in the same manner, give Notice of the Rates which they intend to ask, the extent of the privilege, the height of the arches, the interval between the abutments or piers for the passage of rafts and vessels, and mentioning also whether they intend to erect a drawbridge or not, and the dimensions of the same. 53. Petitions for Private Bills, when received Petitions by The House [Senate], are to be taken into con- portedon sideration (without special reference) by the Com- j^/orders mittee on Standing Orders ; which is to report in Committee each case, whether the Rules with regard to No- tice have been complied with ; and in every case where the Notice shall prove to have been insuffi- cient, either as regards the Petition as a whole, or any matter therein which ought to have been specially referred to in the Notice, the Committee is to recommend to The House [Senate] the course to be taken in consequence of such insufficiency of Notice. 54. All Private Bills from the Senate [House of Commons], (not being based on a Petition which has already been so reported on by the Committee) 126 RULES RELATIVE TO Private shall be first taken into consideration and report- Senat e r .° m e an j any Private Bill is paid only in the House in which panting, such Bill originates, but the cost of printing the where pai(L same is paid in each House, 59. Every Private Bill, when read a [First time Bills and || ] is referred to the Committee on Private Bills, referred 1 . 8 if any such shall have been appointed, or to some other Standing Committee of the same character ; * ''Second reading," in Senate Rule. t In the Quebec Rule these numbers are 100 English and 250 French (Legislative Council), — and, 250 English and 325 French (Legislative Assembly). t In the Senate Rule, the words " before second reading," occur in place of those between brackets. § In the Quebec Rule. — 250 English and 500 French. I! " Second time," in Senate Rule. 128 RULES RELATIVE TO and all Petitions before The House [Senate] for or against the Bill are considered as referred to such Committee. Commons. 60. No Committee on any Pri- Sitting of vate Bill, originating in this House, Committee f w hich Notice is required to be given, is to consider the same un- til after ten clear days' Notice of the Sitting of such Committee has been first affixed in the Lobby; nor, in the case of any such Bill origina- ting in the Senate, until after two days' like Notice. And no Motion for any general suspension or mod- ification of this Rule, shall be enter- tained by theHouse, unless after re- ference made thereof at a previous sitting of The House, to the sever- al Standing Committees charged with consideration of Private Bills, or upon Report submitted by two or more of such Committees. the Lobby ; nor, in the case of any such Bill originating 2. On the day of the posting of first affixed in any Bill under this Rule, the Chief Clerk of the Private Bill Office, shall append to the printed Votes and Proceedings of the day, a No- tice of such posting : and he shall also append to the Votes of each day, a Notice of the meetings of any of the Standing Committees charged with the consideration of, til after twenty Private Bills or Petitions therefor, f our hours' like that may have been appointed for the following day. 61. A copy of the Bill containing the Amend- Senate. 60. No Com- mittee on any Private Bill ori- ginating in the Senate.ofwhich Notice is re- quired to be given, is to con- sider the same until after a week's notice of the Sitting of such Com- mittee, has been in of the Houce Commons, un- notice. PRIVATE BILLS. 129 ments proposed to be submitted to the Standing Deposit of Committee, shall be deposited in the Private Bill bui in Pri- Office, one clear day before the meeting of the Jfik e Bin Committee thereupon. 62. All personswhose interest or property may Consent cf be affected by any Private Bill, shall, when re- terested. quired so to do, appear before the Standing Com- mittee touching their consent, or may send such consent in writing, proof of which may be de- manded by such Committee. And in every case, the Committee upon any Bill for incorporating a Company, may* require proof that the persons whose names appear in the Bill as composing the Company, are of full age, and in a position to effect the objects contemplated, and have consent- ed to become incorporated. 63. All questions before Committees on Private Voting m Bills are decided by a majority of voices, includ- c0 ing the voice of the Chairman ; and whenever the voices are equal, the Chairman has a second or casting vote. 64. It is the duty of the Select Committee to Extraordi- nary pro- which anv Private Bill may be referred bv The visions m: Bill = House [Senate], to call the attention of The House [Senate] specially to any provision inserted in such Bill that does not appear to have been contem- plated in the Notice for the same, as reported upon by the Committee on Standing Orders. * In the Rule of the Legislative Council of Quebec, " shall " is substituted for "may." 130 RULES RELATIVE TO Report of 65. The Committee to which a Private Bill ommi ee mQ y j iaye ] Deen referred, shall report the same to The House [Senate], in every case ; and when any material alteration has been made in the Preamble of the Bill, such alteration, and the reasons for the same, are to be stated in the Report. Preamble QQ. "When the Committee on any Private Bill no prove . re p 0r f. ^ rj^e House [Senate] that the Preamble of such Bill has not been proved to their satisfac- tion, they must also state the grounds upon which they have arrived at such a decision ; and no Bill so reported upon shall be placed upon the Orders of the Day unless by special order of The House [Senate]. [2. Private Bills otherwise reported to The House by such Committee, shall be placed upon the Orders of the Day following the reception of the Report, for a second reading, in the proper order, next after Bills referred to a Committee of the "Whole House.* ] Chairman 67. The Chairman of the Committee shall sign B°iiis S and "with his name at length, a printed copy of the men e °. d " Bill, on which the Amendments are fairly written, and shall also sign with the initials of his name, the several Amendments made and Clauses added in Committee ; and another copy of the Bill, with the amendments written thereon, shall be pre- pared by the Clerk of the Committee, and fyled * This paragraph occurs in the Commons Rule only. PRIVATE BILLS. 131 in the Private Bill Office, or attached to the Re- port. 68. No important Amendment may be proposed Amend- to any Private Bill, in a Committee of the Whole Spouse. House, or at the Third Reading of the Bill, unless one day's notice of the same shall have been given. 69. "When any Private Bill is returned from the Bill amendod Senate [House of Commons] with amendments, by Senate, the same not being merely verbal or unimportant, such amendments are, previous to the Second Reading, referred to [a Committee of the Whole, or to * ] the Standing Committee to which such Bill was originally referred. TO. Except in cases of urgent and pressing ne- Dispensing cessity, no Motion may be made to dispense with ™g ordenJ any Standing Order relative to Private Bills, with- out due notice thereof. 71. A Book, to be called the " Private Bill Re- BmRegis. gister," shall be kept in a room to be called the ter - " Private Bill Office," in which Book shall be en- tered, by the Clerk appointed for the business of that Office, the name, description, and place of residence of the parties applying for the Bill, or of their agent, and all the proceedings thereon, from the Petition to the passing of the Bill ; such entry to specify briefly each proceeding in The House [Senate], or in any Committee to which * These woid3 occur in the Senate Rule only. 132 RULES RELATIVE TO the Bill or Petition may be referred, and the day on which the Committee is appointed to sit. Such book to be open to public inspection daily, during Office hours. 72. The [Chief* ] Clerk of the Private Bill Ku com- Office shall prepare, daily, lists of all Private Bills, " ttittee8, and Petitions for such Bills, upon which any Com- mittee is appointed to sit, specifying the time of meeting and the room where the Committee shall sit ; and the same shall be hung up in the Lobby. (The following Rules may also be given, as bearing on the practice in Parliament in relation to Private as well as Public Bills.) (Senate) sjnprovid- 113. — j_ n all unprovided cases, the rules, usages, od cases, -i Senate. and forms of the House of Lords are to be fol- lowed. (Commons.) Pariia- ^- — Every Parliamentary Agent conducting AgentF proceedings before the House of Commons, shall be personally responsible to the House and to the Speaker for the observance of the rules, orders and practice of Parliament, and rules pre- scribed by the Speaker, and also for the payment of all fees and charges ; and he shall not act as a * In Commons Rule only. PRIVATE BILLS. 133 Parliamentary Agent until he shall have received the express sanction and authority of the Speaker. 74. — Any Agent who shall wilfully act in vio- Agents J ° J violating lation of the rules and practice of Parliament, or Rules iia- of any rules to be prescribed by the Speaker, or pension. who shall wilfully misconduct himself in prose- cuting any proceedings before Parliament, shall be liable to an absolute or temporary prohibition to practise as a Parliamentary Agent, at the pleasure of the Speaker ; provided that upon the application of such Agent, the Speaker shall state in writing the ground for such prohibition. 116. — In all unprovided cases, the rules, usages Unprorid- and forms of the House of Commons of the United Commons. Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland shall be followed. 12 134 APPENDIX IP EULES OF THE SENATE CONCERNING BILLS OF DIVORCE. 73. Every Applicant for a Bill of Divorce is notices 6 required to give Notice of his intended applica- pubhshed. j-j 011j an( j j- S p ec ify f r0 m whom and for what cause, by advertisement during six months, in the Official Gazette, and in two newspapers pub- lished in the District, in Quebec, or County or Union of Counties in the other provinces, where such Applicant usually resided at the time of the separation, or if the requisite number of papers cannot be found therein, then in the adjoining District, or County or union of Counties. The Notice for the Province of Quebec, is to be published in the English and French lan- guages. 74. A copy of the Notice, in writing, is to be And sgtv™ cd on ad- served, at the instance of the Applicant, upon DIVORCE BILLS. 135 the person from whom the Divorce is sought, if verse P ar * the residence of such person can be ascertained ; and proof on Oath of such service, or of the attempts made to effect it to the satisfaction of The Senate, is to be adduced before The Senate on the reading of the Petition. 75. "When Proceedings in any Courts of Law Proceed- have taken place prior to the Petition, an exem- courts plification of such Proceedings to final judgment, duly certified, is to be presented to The Senate' on the reading of the Petition. 76. In cases where damages have been award- phages ° levied. ed to the Applicant, proof on Oath must be ad- duced, to the satisfaction of The Senate, that such damages have been levied and retained, or ex- planation given to The Senate for the neglect or inability to levy the same under a writ of execu- tion, as they may deem a sufficient excuse for such omission. 77. The Second Reading of the Bill is not to Formaii- take place until fourteen days after the first 2nd read? reading, and Notice of such second reading is to 1Dg * be affixed upon the Doors of The Senate during that period, and a copy thereof, and of the Bill, duly served upon the party from whom the Divorce is sought; and proof, on Oath, of such Service, adduced at the Bar of The Senate, before proceeding to the second reading, or sufficient 136 DIVORCE BILLS. Petitioner to appear. Evidence of celebra- tion of marriage. Counsel hear d. Witnesse. , how sum- moned. proof adduced of the impossibility of complying with this regulation. 78. The petitioner is to appear below the Bar of The Senate, at the second reading, to be examined by the Senate, generally, or as to any collusion or connivance between the parties to obtain such separation, unless The Senate think fit to dispense therewith. 79. After the Second Reading, "Witnesses are to be heard at the Bar of The Senate on Oath ; the preliminary evidence being that of the due cele- bration of the marriage between the parties, by legitimate testimony, either by witnesses present at the time of the marriage, or by complete and satisfactory proof of the certificate of the ofnciat- h\g minister or authority. 80. The Counsel for the Applicant, as well as the party from whom the Divorce is sought, may be heard before the Bar of The Senate, as well on the evidence adduced, as on the provisions for the future support of the wife, if deemed necessary. 81. The "Witnesses are notified to attend by a Summons, to issue under the hand and seal of The Speaker, to the parties applying for the same, on application to The Clerk of The Senate, and served at the expense of the said parties, by the Usher of the Black Rod, or his authorized Deputy ; and every Witness is allowed his reasonable DIVORCE BILLS. 137 expenses, to be taxed by The Senate, or any Officer thereof appointed for that purpose. 82. Witnesses refusing to obey the Summons ^.®° ™" are, by Order of the Senate, taken into the custody attend. of the Usher of the Black Rod, and not liberated therefrom, except by Order of The Senate, and after payment of the expenses incurred. 83. Every Bill of Divorce is to be prepared in bui pre- the English and French languages by the party p^ntecTby applying for the same, and printed by the Con- P° tltloner - tractor for the Sessional Printing for The Senate, at the expense of the party ; and five hundred copies thereof, in English, and two hundred copies in French, must be deposited in the Office of The Clerk of The Senate, and no such Bill is to be read a third time until a certificate from the Queen's Printer shall have been filed with The Clerk, that the cost of printing 500 copies of the Act in English, and 250 copies in French for the Government, has been paid to him. 84. Every applicant for a Bill of Divorce, at Amount to the time of presenting the Petition, is to pay into e pai ' the hands of The Clerk of The Senate, a sum of One hundred dollars, to cover the expenses which may be incurred by the Senate during the progress of the Bill. 85. In all unprovided cases, reference should Unprovid- ed cases. be had to the Rules and Decisions of the House of Lords. 138 APPENDIX III. FORM OF PETITION TO THE THREE BRANCHES OF THE LEGISLATURE, FOR A PRIVATE BILL. Form of To His Excellency the Eight Honorable Sir lency. Petition to E a I™ 1 ' Jo HN Young, Baronet, X.C.G., G.C.M.G., Governor General of Canada, &c, &c, &c.,* In Council. The Petition of the undersigned of the of Humbly Sheweth: That (here state the object de- sired by the petitioner in soliciting an Act). Wherefore your petitioner humbly prays that Your Excellency may be pleased to sanction the passing of an Act (for the purposes above mentioned) . And as in duty bound, your petitioner will ever pray. [ Seal, in the case (Signature) \ of an existing [ Corporation. (Date.) * Petitions to the Lieut. Governor of Quebec, are addressed, (l To His Honor Sir Narcisse Fortunat Belleau, Knight, Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Quebec." FOPM OF PETITION. 139 (To either House.) ji.mj.iTT i i n i Senate J Form of * To the Honorable the J } petition to ( House 01 CommOllS J Senate or r r^i i • t» House of ot Canada, m Parliament assembled : Commons. The Petition of the undersigned of the of Humbly Sheweth : That (here stale the object de- sired by th e petitioner in soliciting an Act.) "Wherefore your petitioner humbly prays that Your Honorable House may be pleased to pass an Act (for the purposes above men- tioned). And as in duty bound, your petitioner will ever pray. (Signature) •{ Seal, as above. /Date.) * Petitions to the Legislature of Quebec are addressed, um it. tt ii « ( Legislative Council ) ... _ '• To the Honorable the i ° [-of the Province (Legislative Assembly J of Quebec, in Provincial Parliament assembled." 141 INDEX. Abandonment of bill: If a bill be abandoned by its promoters, the fact is reported, or the com- mittee may permit other parties to proceed with it, 94. Agents : — See Parliamentary Agents. Agreements : Copy thereof to be attached to any bill for confirming the same, 55, 126, Aliens : — See Naturalizations. Amalgamation of bills : Provisions of several petitions included in a single bill, 56. Provisions of several bills consolidated into one, 94. Amendments : Instructions to select committee on bill, concerning amendments, 65, 94.— To committee of whole, 103. Filled up copy of bill, containing any proposed amendments, to be deposited by promoters before day for consideration of bill, 75, 128. Petitions from promoters, for leave to amend their bill, 75. Alterations in preamble to be specially reported, S5, 130 ; — or material altera- tions in bill, 90. No new provisions (not covered by petition and notice) can be inserted by committee without leave of the House, 85. — But an extension of the operation of a bill may be recommended to the House, 92. No new provisions may be inserted affecting interests of parties not repre- sented before committee, without due notice to such parties, 91. No amendment irrelevant to the bill can be made in committee of whole without an instruction, 104. Notice must be given of amendments proposed in committee of whole, 105, 131; — or after report of committee of whole, 10S;--or at third reading, 109, 131. 142 INDEX. Amendments — continued. No amendment can be proposed to a clause, in committee of whole, after the committee has passed on to another clause, 106. May be made by the House, after report of committee of whole, 108. Amendments in excess of notice, should be referred to Standing Orders Com- mittee, 108. Verbal amendments only can be made at third reading; but bill may be re-committed, 109. Amendments of Senate to a bill originating in Commons, are referred to the committee of the Commons to which the bill was originally re- ferred, 110, 131. — Practice in Senate with regard to amendments of Commons, 111, 131. Amendments of Senate disagreed to; conference desired, 111 ;— or a mes- sage may be sent to the Senate communicating the reasons for dis- agreeing, ib. Attainders : Bills for reversal of attainders, 117. Banking ; Placed under control of the Parliament of Canada, 13. Suggestion that all Bank bills should originate in the CommonF, 5. Standing committee on Banking and Commerce ; appointment and powers, 61. See Private Bill Committee. Blanks : Rates, tolls and fines are inserted in bill in italics, technically regarded as blanks, 55. Committee to fill up the blanks with the maximum rates, 87. Bridges : Notice of applications for toll-bridge bills, to specify rates of toll,