State of the present form of government of the province of Quebec. W a large appendix containing extracts from the minutes of an investigation into the past administration of justice in that province

6-) " WE have, &c.given exprefs power and " direction to Our Said Governors of Our " Said Colonies respectively, that fo foon as " the State and circumstances of the faid " Colonies will admit thereof, they Shall, " with the advice and confent of the mem- " bers of Our Council, fummon and call " General ASTemblies within the Said go- " vernments respectively, in fuch manner " and form, &cf ,Thefe gracious intentions of establishing a free and liberal government in that pro vince, were further confirmed by his Ma jesty's commission of Civil Governor to Ge neral Murray, dated 21 St of November 1763, which recites " And We do hereby give and grant " unto you the faid James Murray, full " power and authority, &c.fo foon as the " Situation and circumstances of Our faid + See Appendix, No. I. " province3 ( 7 ) " province, &c. to Summon and> call Ge- " neral Affemblies of the Freeholders and " Planters within your faid government, " &c.*"From thefe public and authentic inftru-r ments, his Majefty/s Subjects, then refiding in that province, flattered themfelves, that a free BritiSh constitution would Soon be esta blished ; and they eagerly looked forward to that period, when the troubles neceffarily attendant on the military State, in which that country had fo long been held, would ceaSe ; and the neceSfary arrangements be made for convening the representatives of the people, Thefe1 expectations acquired new vigor, from the proceedings of the Governor and Council in their firft feifion, when they elta- blilhed and constituted the courts of juffaSe for the province, by the ordinances of the * S;e Appendix, No. II.B 4 17th ( 8 ) 17th of September and 6th of November 1764, entirely after the Englifh form, and directed the judges to decide all caufes brought before them, according to the.laws of England *.The people were happy to fee that the Governor and Council, in compliance with his Majefty's gracious intentions, had laid the foundation of a Britifh constitution for the province, in the courts of juftice ; and as his Majefty had not delegated, by any public instrument, any legislative autho rity to be exercifed by the Governor and Council alone, they expected that an al- fembly of the representatives of the peo ple would foon be called, to reconcile, in a legal manner, the new constitution, with the antient laws and cuftoms of the coun try.Numbers of his Majefty s natural born fubjects, in the mean time, in confe- * See Appendix, No. III.quence ( 9 ) quence of thofe public and authentic instru ments, were induced, from a Spirit of en terprise, and in purfuit of commercial ad vantages, to refort to, and fettle in, that country ; fully perfuaded that in fo doing, they relinquished none of thofe privileges* they had ever enjoyed under his Majefiy's government: but to the aStonifhment of the> whole province, the Governor and Council afterwards affumed and exercifed the whole powers of legislating ; and paSfed and iffued, acts and ordinances, contrary to his Mar- jefty's exprefs orders in his commission to the Governor.This occasioned a general alarm among the people ; and the old or natural born Subjects, impreffed with the idea of the confufion into which the affairs - of the province would be involved, by the operation of laws thus illegally, as they conceived, ordained, did, in the autumn of the year 1765, petition his Majelty, that he would be gracioufly pleafed to relieve them from ( ts ) This entire change of the laws was not expected or intended by either the old or the new Subjects.The former fyftem cer tainly required amendment ; but a total change would neceffarily create great con- fufion.The evil tendency of the new fyf tem impofed by that act, gave great and juSt caufe of alarm to his Majefty Js ancient Subjects fettled in that province ; they had been obliged, for ten years, to obey laws, which they confidered as illegally ordained ; and now, they would be constrained to con form themfelves to laws, of which they were totally ignorant: for, we may be al lowed to fay, a fyftem of laws was, by that act, impofed on a Britifh Province, which were very imperfectly known in England ; and the moft intelligent among the inha bitants of the Province, had but a very faint idea either of their forms or extent.The firft intelligence of the project of that act arrived at Quebec at one and the fame time with with the act: itfelf ; fo that the people had not an opportunity of bringing forward their objections to the principles of the new fyftem.It was with the utmoft furprife they learned, that they were to be de prived of the privileges and liberties of Britifh Subjects, and that they alone, of all his Majefty's Subjects, were doomed to fuf- fer under the oppressive hand of arbitrary power.The ancient fubjects more parti cularly felt the injury thereby done to them ; and, in hopes that the a6t might be reconfidered, before it began to operate, they, in the autumn of the the fame year, 1774, addreffed their petitions to his Ma jefty, and to both Houfes of Parliament, praying that it might be repealed.No reform having taken place in confequence of thefe petitions, they, in April 1778, pre sented a petition to Lord George Germaine, then Secretarv of State for the American department, to the Same purpofe, Again, in ( is ) in 1783, they forwarded petitions to his Ma jefty and to both Houfes of Parliament, praying for the repeal of that act:.And, in 1784, the confufion being then more generally felt, the old and new fubjects united together in petitioning his Majefty and both Houfes of Parliament for the re peal of that act, and the eftabifhment of a houfe of affembly.This laft petition is now lying on the table of theHonourablethe Houfe of Commons ; and it is expected to come under their difcuffion this prefent feffion.It is Signed by upwards of 2300 of the inhabitants of the province, in which number are all the old, and the molt re- fpectable among the new, fubjects.From the foregoing Short account of the transactions relating to the province of Quebec, Since it was ceded to Great Bri tain, it will appear, that the constitution introduced in 1764, as it was then under stood, though founded on the Englifhlaws, produced ( *« ) produced great confufion, particularly in all affairs relating to landed property, or real eftates, (as the Englifh laws did not apply to the feudal tenures of the country,) and thereby occafioned much uneafinefs of mind among the people, becaufe they were not allowed to participate in the legislature by their reprefentatives, whofe interest and duty it would have been to Soften, recon cile, and affimilate the laws of the con querors and conquered, fo as to produce Picotd

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