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The flowness

are conducted upon the pre

fent establishment.

the natural right of every man to fet what price he pleafes upon his labour. All that can be done to keep thofe fees from growing exorbitant is to prevent a monopoly of law business in the hands of a few lawyers, who might thereby be enabled to exact unreasonable rewards from their clients by the neceffity the people would be under of either employing them upon the terms they thought proper to demand, or letting their bufinefs remain undone: and this has been already done by your Majefty's wifdom and indulgence in permitting Canadian notaries, attornies, and advocates to practise their respective profeffions notwithstanding their continuance in the profeffion of the Romish religion.

Yet when every thing is done that can be done to diminish the expence of law proceedings, it is probable they will still be more expensive than in the time of the French government; which ought not to be a matter of furprize, fince the prices of corn and provifions, and of all forts of labour, are almost double of what they were at that time.

The next inconvenience arifing from the prefent establishment of the courts of judicature complained of by the Canadians is the tedious length of law-fuits. This is owing to the unfrequency of the terms or feffions of the fupreme court of judicature, and of the court of Common Pleas, which fit only three times a year at Quebec and twice at Montreal. In the time of the French government there were three royal courts in the three feveral districts of Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal, vefted with full power to determine all matters both criminal and civil: in each of these courts a judge appointed by the French king administered justice, and a king's attorney profecuted on behalf of the crown: and they used for that purpose to hold two courts in every week throughout the year, except about fix weeks in the months of September and October, and a fortnight at Easter: and befides these courts held regularly every week, they would fit on other days of the week, if the bufinefs before them made it neceffary. From these courts there lay an appeal to the highest court of the province, which was called the fuperiour council; and this high court also fat every week: fo that the difference between the expeditious methods of obtaining justice in the time of the French government, and the flowness of the proceedings upon the present establishment,

is very striking in the eyes of the Canadians, and is esteemed a very confiderable inconvenience.

Besides the usual ill confequences arifing from the want of difpatch in law-proceedings, this unfrequency of the feffions of the fuperiour courts of judicature has been a principal cause of the increase of the fees of the Canadian attornies and advocates: for, as their opportunities of pleading causes happen so much seldomer than formerly, they endeavour to make up, by the value of the fees. they now receive in the three feffions of the court of Common Pleas, the advantages they formerly derived from the number of them in the time that the French king's courts fat every week.

There is indeed in the prefent establishment a court of justice in each district of the province that fits every week for the dispatch. of business. These are the courts of the juftices of peace. This was a very judicious inftitution, and well fuited to the circumftances and difpofition of the people. Yet it is liable to fome. objections. For, in the first place, the juftices of the peace, who are the judges of these courts, are not much skilled in judicial proceedings; and, fecondly, the fame juftices not attending constantly at these feffions, it is often neceffary, where a matter cannot be decided at one feffion, but is adjourned to the next, to repeat all the proofs and arguments before the justices at the second feffion, which. had been produced at the former feffion before the other juftices. who happened not to be now upon the bench, which occafions an. increase of expence and trouble: and, laftly, their jurifdiction. extends only to fuch disputes as relate to fums of money that do. not exceed ten pounds. In all contefts for greater fums the parties. are obliged to have recourfe either to the quarterly courts of the juftices of the peace, or to the courts of King's Bench and Common. Pleas, where the feffions are held but three times a year..

for Debt.

The next inconvenience is the severity of the present method of Imprifonmen proceeding in civil actions, by arrefting and imprisoning the defendant's body. This, by filling the gaols with unhappy debtors, increases the number of the poor and helpless, and makes the families of the debtors, as well as the debtors themselves, become oftentimes a burden to the publick; and it is generally thought by the Canadians to be an unneceffary degree of harfhnefs..

To

province.

To remedy thefe feveral inconveniencies we beg leave to recommend to your Majefty the following plan for the administration of juftice in this province for the time to come; which we have formed in imitation of that which was in ufe in the time of the French government.

A plan for the That this province should be again divided into the three districts of adminiftration of justice in this Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal, as in the time of the French government: which might be called the Shires of Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal; and each of these three districts should have feparate officers of justice: that a Royal court of judicature should be established in each of the three towns of Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal, which are the capital, or rather only, towns of thofe feveral fhires or districts: and that each of these courts fhall confift of one able English judge, appointed by your Majefty, and invefted district of the with full powers to hear and determine all matters, both criminal and civil, arifing within his jurisdiction, just as your Majesty's chief justice of the province is impowered to do upon the prefent eftablishment throughout the whole province.

Three royal

judges, one to each thire or

province.

Thefe judges to

be English bar

of five years

bar.

Each English judge fhould

have a Canadian

These English judges fhould be barrifters at law, of at least five rifters at law, years standing at the bar; and they should be fuch as, befides their standing at the fkill and knowledge of the law, had a competent knowledge of the French language. And further, to enable thefe English judges more readily to understand the teftimonies of the French witneffes, that would fo often be examined before them, and likewise to comprehend the nature and extent of fuch of the antient laws and cuftoms of the country as your Majesty shall think fit to be either continued or revived, we conceive, that it would be convenient to give each of them a Canadian lawyer for an affeffor, or affiftant to them in the decifion of caufes: but the Canadian affeffors fhould have no vote or authority to decide the causes in conjunction with the English judges; but fhould only affift them with their opinion and advice, the whole power of finally deciding them being vefted be vefted in the folely in the English judges. This employment of the Canadian English judges. lawyers, even in this fubordinate capacity of affiftants and advisers, would be thought a very gracious indulgence in your Majesty by all your Majesty's new fubjects; and many of them, to whom it has been mentioned, have expreffed an entire approbation of it. If they had an equal degree of authority with the English judges in the final

lawyer for his affeffor, or afLiftant;

but the fole power of de ciding the caufes fhould

decifion

fhould hold

week, with a

very few ex

decifion of causes, they would be much more likely than the English judges to abuse it, by reafon of their connections in the country, and the enmities and partialities that these connections would give birth to. And befides, there are other reasons, which would make it inexpedient to trust your new Roman catholick fubjects, fo lately brought under your Majefty's allegiance, with fo great a degree of power. Thefe judges and their affiftants fhould hold their courts The judges every week throughout the year, excepting one month at Chrift-courts once a mas, one week at Eafter, and another at Whitfunday, which are the very few ex three great feafons for holidays obferved by Chriftians. And they ceptions. fhould fit on the Tuesday or Wednesday of every week, that the contending parties and their witneffes might not be under a neceffity of travelling on Sundays to attend them. If the use of grand juries fhould be thought fit by your Majefty to be continued in criminal profecutions, thefe judges fhould take cognizance of criminal mat ters (that is, of fuch parts of the criminal proceedings as required the attendance of grand juries) only once a month, that the inha bitants might not be too much diverted from the care of their private affairs by their attendance in the courts as grand jurymen. But the other fteps of all criminal proceedings that do not require the prefence of grand jurymen, and, if the ufe of grand juries was laid afide, the whole of thofe proceedings fhould be carried on in the weekly feffions, as well as all the civil business of the district.

ceeding in thefe

The method of proceeding in thefe courts in civil actions might Method of probe as follows. The plaintiff might bring a declaration or plaint, courts. in writing, into court, which might be either in the French or English language, as he thought proper, praying the process of the court to caufe the defendant to be fummoned to anfwer it; but not to be arrested by his body. This plaint fhould be read to the judge in open court, in order that he should determine whether ot no it contained a good cause of action; and, till he approved it, no fummons fhould be iffued upon it. If he approved it, he should order it to be filed amongst the records of the court by the clerk or regifter of the court, and fhould award a fummons to be fent to the defendant to come and anfwer the plaintiff's demand, at such a time as he, the judge, fhould therein appoint. If he neglected to come at the time appointed by the fummons, without any good reafon for his neglect, he should be condemned to pay the plaintiff a moderate

E

fum

Juries to the
fummoned, if
fired it.
They should

the parties de

be paid for their

attendance.

Manner of chufing them.

fum of money, to be afcertained by the judge, as a compenfation
to him for his expence and trouble in attending the court, at the
time appointed by the fummons, to no purpofe; and he should be
fummoned to come and answer the plaintiff's demand on another
day. If he then also refused to come, judgment should go against
him by default. When the defendant appeared, he fhould make
his answer to the plaint of the plaintiff in writing, and either in the
French or English language, as he thought proper: and this an-
fwer should be filed amongst the records of the court.
The judge
fhould then himself interrogate the parties concerning the facts, in
their account of which the parties feemed to differ, and which
appeared to him to be material to the decifion of the caufe: and
thefe interrogatories and the answers of the parties should be reduced
to writing by the judge, or by the clerk of the court from the words
dictated to him by the judge. When the judge had thus found
out in what facts material to the decifion of the cause the parties
differed, he should himself state these facts in writing, and declare
that it was neceffary for him to be informed, by proper teftimony,
whether they were true or false; and fhould ask the parties whether
both, or either of them, defired that he should inquire into the
truth of these facts by means of a jury, or by examining witneffes,
or other proofs himself. If both, or either of the parties, defired
to have a jury, a jury should be summoned to attend, at such fol-
lowing feffion as the judge should appoint. This jury should be
paid for their attendance by the party that defired to have a jury;
and if both defired it, then equally by both parties. They should
receive five fhillings fterling a man. For at present it is a subject
of complaint among the Canadians that they are taken from their
neceffary occupations to attend upon juries (which is by no means an
agreeable employment to them) without any confideration for it:
and this, if it happened every week without any compenfation,
would be thought, and perhaps juftly, a very heavy burden. But
for a reward of five fhillings they will ferve with great alacrity..
Thefe juries fhould be appointed in nearly the fame manner as
fpecial juries are in England; that is, the ministerial officer, that
executed the process of the court, fhould return to the court a lift
of four times as many perfons qualified to be jurymen as were
neceffary to constitute a jury; that is, if a jury was to confift of
twelve men, a lift of forty-eight perfons fo qualified; and then each
party should strike out twelve of the names contained in this list:

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