Document Information

Date: 1866-08-11
By: Province of Canada (Parliament)
Citation: Province of Canada, Parliament, Scrapbook Debates, 8th Parl, 5th Sess, 1866 at 87-88.
Other formats: Click here to view the original document (PDF).
Note: All endnotes come from our recent publication, Charles Dumais & Michael Scott (ed.), The Confederation Debates in the Province of Canada (CCF, 2022).

Click here to view the rest of the Province of Canada’s Confederation Debates for 1866.

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

Saturday, August 11, 1866

John A. Macdonald [Kingston, Attorney-General West and Minister of Militia] moved

The concurrence of the House in the schedule distributing the new seats in Upper Canada.

SCHEDULE B.

DIVISIONS TO STAND WITH THEIR PRESENT BOUNDARIES.

1. Counties of—Prescott, Glengarry, Stormont, Dundas, Russell, Carleton, Prince Edward, Halton and Essex.

2. Ridings of Counties:—Lanark North, Lanark South, Leeds and Grenville, North Riding, South Riding Leeds, South Riding Grenville, Northumberland East, Northumberland West (less South Monaghan), Durham East, Durham West, Ontario North, Ontario South, York East, York West, York North, Wentworth North, Wentworth South, Elgin East, Elgin West, Waterloo North, Waterloo South, Brant North, Brant South, Oxford North, Oxford South, Middlesex East Riding.

3. Cities and Towns:—Toronto East, Toronto West, Hamilton, Ottawa, Kingston, London, Brockville, with the Township of Elizabethtown, Niagara, with the Township of Niagara, Cornwall, with the Township of Cornwall.

NEW AND ALTERED ELECTORAL DIVISIONS.

3 ½. District of Algoma:—

4. County of Bruce divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the North and South Ridings.

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Bury, Lindsay, Eastnor, Albemarle, Amable, Arran, Bruce, Elderslie and Saugeen and the Village of Southampton. The South Riding shall consist of the Townships of Kincardine (including Village), Greenock, Brant, Buron, Kinloss, Culross and Carrick.

5. The County of Huron divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the North and South Ridings:—

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Ashfield, Wawanosh, Turnberry, Howick, Morris, Grey, Colborne, Hullet, including the Village of Clinton, and McKillop.

The South Riding shall consist of the Town of Goderich and the Townships of Goderich, Tuckersmith, Stanley, Hay, Usborne and Stephen.

6. The County of Middlesex divided into three Ridings, to be called respectively the North, West and East Ridings:—

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Mc Gillivray, Bidduph, (taken from the County of Huron) and Williams East, Williams West, Adelaide and Lobo.

The West Riding shall consist of the Townships of Delaware, Carradoc, Metcalfe, Mosa and Ekfrid and the Village of Strathroy.

The East Riding shall consist of the Townships now embraced therein, and be bounded as it is at present.

7. The County of Lambton shall consist of the Townships of Bosanquet, Warwick, Plympton, Sainia, Moore, Enniskillen and Brooke, and the Town of Sarnia.

8. The County of Kent shall consist of the Townships of Chatham, Dover, East Tilbury, Romney; Raleigh and Harwick, and the Town of Chatham.

9. The County of shall consist of the Townships of Sombra, Dawn and Euphemia (taken from the County of Lambton), and the Townships of Zone, Camden with the Gore thereof, Orford and Howard (taken from the County of Kent).

10. The County of Grey divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the South and North Ridings:—

The South Riding shall consist of the Townships of Bentinck, Glenelg, Artemesia, Osprey, Normanby, Egremont, Prothon and Melancthon.

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Collingwood, Euphrasia, Holland, Saint Vincent, Sydenham, Sullivan, Derby and Keppel, Sarawak and Brooke, and the Town of Owen Sound.

11. The County of Perth divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the South and North Ridings:—

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Wallace, Elma, Logan, Ellice, Mornington, and North Easthope, and the Town of Stratford.

The South Riding shall consist of the Townships of Blanchard, Downie, South Easthope, Fullarton, Hibbert, and the Villages of Mitchell and St. Marys.

12. The County of Wellington shall be divided into three Ridings, to be called respectively North, South and Centre Ridings:—

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Amaranth, Arthur, Luther, Minto, Maryborogh and Peel.

The Centre Riding shall consist of the Townships of Garafraxa, Erin, Eramosa, Nichol and Pilkington, and the Villages of Fergus and Elora.

The South Riding shall consist of the Town of Guelph, and the Townships of Guelph, and Puslinch.

13. The County of Norfolk shall be divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the South and North Ridings:—

The South tiding shall consist of the Townships of Charlotteville, Boughton, Walsingham and Woodhouse, and with the Gore thereof.

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Middleton, Townsend and Wyndham, and the Town of Simcoe.

14. The County of Haldinand shall consist of the Townships of Oneida, Seneca, Cayuga North, Cayuga South, Rainham, Walpole and Dunn.

15. The County of shall consist of the Townships of Canborough, and Moulton and Sherbrooke, and the Village of Dunville (taken from the County of Haldimand), the Townships of Caistor and Gainsborough (taken from the County of Lincoln), and the Townships of Pelham and Wainfleet (taken from the County of Welland.)

16. The County of Lincoln shall consist of the Townships of Clinton, Grantham, Grimsby and Louth, and the Town of St. Catharines.

17. The County of Welland shall consist of the Townships of Bertie, Crowland, Humberstone, Stamford, Thorold and Willoughby, and the Villages of Chippewa, Clifton, Fort Eric, Thorold and Welland.

18. The County of Peel shall consist of the Townships of Chinguacousy, Toronto, and the Gore of Toronto, and the Villages of Brampton and Streetsville.

19. The County of shall consist of the Townships of Albion and Caledon (taken from the County of Peel), and the Townships of Adjala and Mono (taken from the County of Simcoe).

20. The County of Simcoe, divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the South and the North Ridings:—

The South Riding shall consist of the Townships of West Gwillinsbury, Tecumseth, Innisfil, Essa, Tossorontio, Mulmur, and the Village of Bradford.

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Nottawasaga, Sunnidale, Vespra, Flos, Oro, Medonte, Orillia and Matchedash, Tiny, Tay, Balaklava and Robinson, and the Towns of Barrie and Collingwood.

21. The County of Victoria divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the South and North Ridings:—

The South Riding shall consist of the Townships of Ops, Mariposa, Emily, Verulam, and the Town of Lindsay.

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Ops, Mariposa, Emily, Dalton, Digby, Eldon, Fenelon, Hindon, Laxton, Lutterworth, Macaulay and Draper, Sommerville and Morrison, Muskoka, Monck and Watt (taken from the County of Simcoe), and any other surveyed Townships lying to the North of the said North Riding.

22. The County of Peterborough, divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the West and East Ridings:—

The West Riding shall consist of the Townships of South Monaghan (taken from the County of Northumberland), North Monaghan, Smith and Ennismore, and the Town of Peterborough.

The East Riding shall consist of the Townships of Asppodel, Belmont and Methuen, Douro, Dummer, Galway, Harvey, Minden, Stanhope and Dysart, Otonabee and Snowden, and the Village of Ashburnham, and other surveyed Townships lying to the North of the said East Riding.

23. The County of Hastings divided into three Ridings, to be called respectively the West, East and North Ridings:—

The West Riding shall consist of the Town of Belleville, the Township of Sydney, and the Village of Trenton.

The East Riding shall consist of the Townships of Thurlow, Tyendinaga and Hungerford.

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Rawdon, Huntingdon, Madoc, Elzevir, Tudor, Marmora and the Village of Stirlinq, and any other surveyed Townships lying to the north of the said North Riding.

24. The County of Lennox shall consist oft he Townships of Richimond, Adolphustown, North Fredericksburgl, South Fredericksburgh, Ernesttown and Amherst Island, and the Village of Napanee.

25. The County of Addington shall cousist of the Townships of Camden, Portland, Sheffield, Hinchinbrooke, Kaladar, Kennebec, Olden, Oso, Anglesea, Barrie, Clarendon, Palmerston, Effingham, Abinger, Miller, Canonto and Denbigh.

26. The County of Frontenac shall consist of the Townships of Kingston, Wolfe Island, Pittsburg and Howe Island, Storrington, Loughborough and Bedford.

27. The County of Renfrew divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the South and North Ridings:—

The South Riding shall consist of the Townships of McNab, Bagot, Blithfield, Broughamn, Horton, Admaston, Grattan, Matawatchan, Griffith, Lyndoch, Raglan, Radclife, Brudenell, Sebastopol, and the Villages of Arnprior and Renfrew.

The North Riding shah consist of the Townships of Ross, Bromley, Westmeath, Stafford, Pembroke, Wilberforce, Alice, Petawawa, Buchanan, South Algona, North Algona, Fraser, McKay, Wylie, Rolph, Head, Maria, Clara, Haggerty, Sherwood, Burns and Richards, and any other surveyed Townships lying north-westerly of the said North Riding.[1]

John A. Macdonald [Kingston, Attorney-General West and Minister of Militia]—He explained that as village municipalities were constantly springing up in Upper Canada, they would of course be included in the constituency within the limits of which they are situated.

George Brown [Oxford South] assailed the distribution of seats.  Though a great improvement upon the plan first proposed—that of enfranchising eight or nine small boroughs—

John A. Macdonald [Kingston, Attorney-General West and Minister of Militia] denied that there has been any such scheme proposed.

George Brown [Oxford South] continued—the plan now before the House was far from carrying out the principle of representation by population.  On looking at the schedule he found one constituency

• (p. 88)

—Niagara—with only 4,470 of a population and another—Essex—with no less than 25,217.  In adding up the population of the ten smallest constituencies, he found that they contained a population of 82,258:  while the ten largest constituencies contained over 231,000.  By adding the population of the twenty smallest constituencies together it appeared that they contained only 214,000.

Thus we had two hundred and fourteen thousand people having twice as many members at two hundred and thirty-one thousand.  Then taking the representation east of Kingston he found seventeen members whose constituencies had an average population of 14,000, while the seventeen western constituencies contained an average population of 18,000.  He thought a better plan would be to have given a second member to the target constituencies than to have made new ones.

Alexander Mackenzie [Lambton] said that three principles should have been regarded in distributing; the representation, population, area and probable value of the land.  One these three heads, he proceeded to show that gross injustice had been done to Lambton and moved an amendment that another member be given to that county.

Arthur Rankin [Essex] was very grateful to the member of South Oxford [George Brown] for taking such a particular interest in his (Mr. R.’s) constituency, but he (Mr. R.) had refrained from asking for two members for Essex because it had been found very difficult to get even one member returned for that constituency.

Some Hon. Members—Laughter.

Arthur Rankin [Essex]—The hon. member for South Oxford [George Brown] had devoted a great deal of time to prove that one of his chief objects for going into the coalition had not been gained.  One of his principal justifications for having gone into the coalition was that he had obtained representation by population for Upper Canada, and now he had done his best to prove that representation by population had not been gained.

Francis Jones [Leeds & Grenville North] was exceedingly glad that the principle of representation by population had not been carried out in the distribution of the new seats, but that the prospective development of the country had also been considered.

Alexander Mackenzie [Lambton] moved, in amendment thereto,

That the County of Lambton has an area of nearly 700,000 acres; that by the last Municipal statistical returns the number of rate-payers is stated as 5,768, representing a population of nearly 38,000 souls; that the average acreage per rate-payer is larger than in any other County in the Province, or 120 acres to each rate-payer, leaving room for three times the present population before it can be as dense as that of many of the older Counties; that the assessed value of the said County for the year 1865, was 85,103,284, or more than double the valuation of a number of Counties about to receive additional representation, and more than that of any other County under the proposed distribution of 17 additional seats; and the said County of Lambton shall receive one additional Member.[2]

Archibald McKellar [Kent] supported Alexander Mackenzie [Lambton]’s amendment.

In reply to Archibald McKellar [Kent],

John A. Macdonald [Kingston, Attorney-General West and Minister of Militia] explained that the new counties were formed purely for electoral purposes, and would not interfere in any way with the existing municipal or judicial boundaries.

William McDougall [Lanark North, Provincial Secretary] said the Government was very much gratified to find that the scheme had been so favorably received.  The Government had endeavored to do substantial justice in the promises without regarding political influence, past, present or future.  They had seventeen new members to distribute, and their duty had been to find out seats for them.  One of the principles which the Government had laid down, was that they should not disfranchise a single constituency.  There were some of the old constituencies with a very small population, but the Government did not feel that they should interfere with their existing privileges.

The amendment—

That the County of Lambton has an area of nearly 700,000 acres; that by the last Municipal statistical returns the number of rate-payers is stated as 5,768, representing a population of nearly 38,000 souls; that the average acreage per rate-payer is larger than in any other County in the Province, or 120 acres to each rate-payer, leaving room for three times the present population before it can be as dense as that of many of the older Counties; that the assessed value of the said County for the year 1865, was 85,103,284, or more than double the valuation of a number of Counties about to receive additional representation, and more than that of any other County under the proposed distribution of 17 additional seats; and the said County of Lambton shall receive one additional Member.[3]

—was declared lost on division.

Then, the Question being put, That this House doth concur in the first of the said proposed Electoral Divisions:—It was resolved in the Affirmative.[4]

The several paragraphs in the schedule were then agreed to.

The new county formed out of Kent and Lambton was called “Bothwell.”

The village of “Mount Forest” was included among the municipalities embraced in the North Riding of Wellington.

The new county formed out of the counties of Haldimand, Lincoln and Welland was called “Monck,” out of compliment to His Excellency.  The new county formed out of the counties of Peel and Simcoe was called “Cardwell” out of compliment to the late Colonial Secretary.

Loughborough and Bedford were taken from Frontenac and added to Addington.

The schedule amendment was passed.

John A. Macdonald [Kingston, Attorney-General West and Minister of Militia] moved

That Messrs. Howland, McDougall and the mover do draft an humble address to Her Majesty praying Her Majesty to cause to be embodied the Local Constitutions of Upper and Lower Canada in the Imperial Act for the Confederation of the British American Provinces.[5]

Carried.

The address was then reported.

Most Gracious Sovereign:

We, Your Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal Subjects, the Commons of Canada, in Parliament assembled, humbly approach Your Majesty, for the purpose of praying that Your Majesty may be graciously pleased to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament, to provide for the Local Government and Legislature of Lower and Upper Canada respectively, when the union of the Provinces of British North America is effected, with provisions based upon the accompanying Resolutions, which were adopted by this House on Saturday, the eleventh August, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six. All which we, the Commons of Canada, humbly pray Your Majesty to take into Your Gracious and favorable consideration.

Resolutions providing for the Local Governments and Legislatures of Lower and Upper Canada respectively, when the Union of the Provinces of British North America is effected.

[Adopted on the 11th August, 1866.]

1. That by the 38th paragraph of the Resolution of this House passed on the third day of February, 1865, for presenting an humble Address to Her Majesty, praying that She may be graciously pleased to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament, for the purpose of uniting the Colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, in one Government, with provisions based on the Resolutions which were adopted at a Conference of Delegates from the said Colonies, held at the City of Quebec, on the 10th of October, 1864, it is provided that “for each of the Provinces there shall be an Executive Officer, styled the Lieutenant Governor, who shall be appointed by the Governor General in Council, under the Great Seal of the Federated Provinces, during pleasure; such pleasure, not to be exercised before the expiration of the first five years, except for cause; such cause to be communicated in writing to the Lieutenant Governor immediately after the exercise of the pleasure as aforesaid, and also by Message to both Houses of Parliament, within the first week of the first Session afterwards; ” and that by the 41st paragraph of the same Resolution it is provided that “the Local Government and Legislature of each Province shall be constructed in such manner as the existing Legislature of each such Province shall provide”:—and it is further now resolved, that in the opinion of this House the appointment of the first Lieutenant Governor shall be provisional, and that he should hold office strictly during pleasure.

2. That under and subject to the Constitution of the Federated Provinces, the executive authority of the Lieutenant Governor of Lower Canada and Upper Canada respectively shall be administered by each of such Officers according to the well understood principles of the British Constitution.

3. The Great Seal of each Province of Lower Canada and Upper Canada, shall be the same or of the same design, in each of the said Provinces as that used in the said Provinces respectively, at the time of the existing Union, until altered by the Local Government.

4. That there shall be a Local Legislature for Lower Canada, composed of Two Chambers, to be called the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada.

5. That there shall be a Local Legislature for Upper Canada, which shall consist of One Chamber, to be called the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada.

6. That the Legislative Council of Lower Canada shall be composed of twenty-four Members, to be appointed by the Crown, under the Great Seal of the Local Government, who shall hold office during life; but if any Legislative Councillor shall, for two consecutive Sessions of Parliament, fail to give his attendance in the said Council, his seat shall thereby become vacant.

7. That the Members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada shall be British Subjects by birth or naturalization, of the full age of thirty years; shall possess a continuous real property qualification, in Lower Canada, of four thousand dollars over and above all incumbrances, and shall continue worth that sum over and above their debts and liabilities.

8. That if any question shall arise as to the qualification of a Legislative Councillor in Lower Canada, the same shall be determined by the Council.

9. That the Speaker of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada (unless otherwise provided by the Local Parliament) shall be appointed by the Crown, from among the Members of the Legislative Council, and shall hold office during pleasure, and shall only be entitled to a casting vote on an equality of votes.

10. That each of the twenty-four Legislative, Councillors of Lower Canada shall be appointed to represent one of the twenty-four Electoral Divisions thereof, mentioned in Schedule A. of the first chapter of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada, and such Councillor shall reside or possess his qualification in the Division he is appointed to represent.

11. That the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada shall be composed of the sixty-five Members to be elected to represent the sixty-five Electoral Divisions into which Lower Canada is now divided, under chapter two of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada, chapter seventy-five of the Consolidated Statutes for Lower Canada, and the Act 23 Victoria, chapter 1, or of any other Act, amending the same, in force at the time when the Local Government shall be constituted, as well for representation in the Local Legislature thereof, as in the House of Commons of the Federated Provinces; Provided that it shall not be lawful to present to the Lieutenant Governor for assent any Bill of the Legislative Council and Assembly of Lower, Canada by which the limits of the Electoral Divisions mentioned in the schedule hereto annexed, marked A. may be altered, unless the second and third readings of such Bill in the Legislative Assembly shall have been passed with the concurrence of the majority of the Members for the time being of the said Legislative Assembly, representing the Electoral Divisions mentioned in the said schedule marked A, and the Assent shall not be given to such Bill unless an Address bas been presented by the Legislative Assembly to the Lieutenant Governor that such Bill has been so passed.[6]

12. That the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada shall be composed of eighty-two Members, to be elected to represent the eighty-two constituencies in Upper Canada, such constituencies being identical, whether for representation in the Local Legislative Assembly or for representation in the House of Commons of the Federated Provinces, and which constituencies shall consist of the divisions and be bounded as is provided in the schedule hereto annexed, marked B.

13. That until other provisions are made by the Local Legislature of Lower and Upper Canada respectively, changing the same in either of the said Provinces, all the Laws which at the date of the Proclamation, constituting the separate Provinces. of Lower Canada and of Upper Canada, shall be in force in each of the said Provinces respectively, relating to the qualification and disqualification of any person to be elected or to sit or vote as a Member of the Assembly of the Province of Canada, and relating to the qualification and disqualification of voters and to the oaths to be taken by voters; and to Returning Officers and their powers and duties, and relating to the proceedings at elections and to the period during which such elections may be continued, and relating to the trial of controverted elections and the proceedings incident thereto, and relating to the vacating of the seats of Members and to the issuing and execution of new writs in case of any seat being vacated otherwise than by a dissolution, shall respectively apply to elections of Members to serve in the said the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada and in the said the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada.

14. That the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada and the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada respectively, shall continue for four years from the day of the return of the Writs for choosing the same, and no longer, subject, nevertheless, to either the said the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada, or the said the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada, being sooner prorogued or dissolved by the Lieutenant Governor of either of the said Provinces respectively.

15. That there shall be a Session of the Legislature of each of the said Provinces once at least every year, so that a period of twelve months shall not intervene between the last sitting of the Local Legislature in one Session, and the first sitting thereof in the next Session.

16. That it is expedient that any Act of the Imperial Parliament which may be passed for the Union of the Colonies of British North America, should contain a provision that the division and adjustment of the debts, credits, liabilities, properties and assets of the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, should be referred to the arbitrament of three arbitrators, one to be chosen by the Local Government of Upper Canada, the other by the Local Government of Lower Canada, and the third by the General Government; it being further provided that the selection of the arbitrators shall not take place until after the General Parliament for British North America and Local Legislatures for Upper and Lower Canada have been elected—and that the third arbitrator shall not be a resident in either Upper or Lower Canada.

SCHEDULE A.

Electoral Divisions in Lower Canada referred to in the above Resolutions:—

Counties of Pontiac,
Ottawa,
Argenteuil,
Huntingdon,
Missisquoi,
Brome,
Shefford,
Stanstead,
Compton,
Wolfe and Richmond,
Megantic and
the Town of Sherbrooke.

SCHEDULE B.

DIVISIONS TO STAND WITII THEIR PRESENT BOUNDARIES.

1. Counties of—Prescott, Glengarry, Stormont, Dundas, Russell, Carleton, Prince Edward, Halton and Essex.

2. Ridings of Counties:—Lanark North, Lanark South, Leeds and Grenville, North Riding, South Riding Leeds, South Riding Grenville, Northumberland East, Northumberland West (less South Monaghan), Durham East, Durham West, Ontario North, Ontario South, York East, York West, York North, Wentworth North, Wentworth South, Elgin East, Elgin West, Waterloo North, Waterloo South, Brant North, Brant South, Oxford North, Oxford South, Middlesex East Riding.

3. Cities and Towns:—Toronto East, Toronto West, Hamilton, Ottawa, Kingston, London, Brockville, with the Township of Elizabethtown, Niagara, with the Township of Niagara, Cornwall, with the Township of Cornwall.

NEW AND ALTERED ELECTORAL DIVISIONS.

3 ½. District of Algoma:—

4. County of Bruce divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the North and South Ridings.

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Bury, Lindsay, Eastnor, Albemarle, Amable, Arran, Bruce, Elderslie and Saugeen and the Village of Southampton.

The South Riding shall consist of the Townships of Kincardine (including Village), Greenock, Brant, Buron, Kinloss, Culross and Carrick.

5. The County of Huron divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the North and South Ridings:—

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Ashfield, Wawanosh, Turnberry, Howick, Morris, Grey, Colborne, Hullet, including the Village of Clinton, and McKillop.

The South Riding shall consist of the Town of Goderich and the Townships of Goderich, Tuckersmith, Stanley, Hay, Usborne and Stephen.

6. The County of Middlesex divided into three Ridings, to be called respectively the North, West and East Ridings:

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of McGillivray, Biddulph, (taken from the County of Huron) and Williams East, Williams West, Adelaide and Lobo.

The West Riding shall consist of the Townships of Delaware, Carradoc, Metcalfe, Mosa and Elefrid and the Village of Strathroy.

The East Riding shall consist of the Townships now embraced therein, and be bounded as it is at present.

7. The County of Lambton shall consist of the Townships of Bosanquet, Warwick, Plympton, Sarnia, Moore, Enniskillen and Brooke, and the Town of Sarnia.

8. The County of Kent shall consist of the Townships of Chatham, Dover, East Tilbury, Romney, Raleigh and Harwick, and the Town of Chatham.

9. The County of Bothwell shall consist of the Townships of Sombra, Dawn and Euphemia (taken from the County of Lambton), and the Townships of Zone, Camden with the Gore thereof, Orford and Howard (taken from the County of Kent).

10. The County of Grey divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the South and North Ridings:—

The South Riding shall consist of the Townships of Bentinck, Glenelg, Artemesia, Osprey, Normanby, Egremont, Prothon and Melancthon.

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Collingwood, Euphrasia, Holland, Saint Vincent, Sydenham, Sullivan, Derby and Keppel, Sarawak and Brooke, and the Town of Owen Sound.

11. The County of Perth divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the South and North Ridings:—

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Wallace, Elma, Logan, Ellice, Mornington, and North Easthope, and the Town of Stratford.

The South Riding shall consist of the Townships of Blanchard, Downie, South Easthope, Fullarton, Hibbert, and the Villages of Mitchell and St. Mays.

12. The County of Wellington shall be divided into three Ridings, to be called respectively North, South and Centre Ridings:—

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Amaranth, Arthur, Luther, Minto, Maryborough and Peel, and the Village of Mount Forest.

The Centre Riding shall consist of the Townships of Garafraxa, Erin, Eramosa, Nichol and Pilkington, and the Villages of Fergus and Elora.

The South Riding shall consist of the Town of Guelph, and the Townships of Guelph, and Puslinch.

13. The County of Norfolk shall be divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the South and North Ridings:—

The South Riding shall consist of the Townships of Charlotteville, Houghton, Walsingham and Woodhouse, and with the Gore thereof.

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Middleton, Townsend and ,Wyndham, and the Town of Simcoe.

14. The County of Haldimand shall consist of the Townships of Oneida, Seneca, Cayuga North, Cayuga South, Rainham, Walpole and Dunn.

15. The County of Monck shall consist of the Townships of Canborough, and Moulton and Sherbrooke, and the Village of Dunville (taken from the County of Haldimand), the Townships of Caistor and Gainsborough (taken from the County of Lincoln), and the Townships of Pelham and Wainfleet (taken from the County of Welland.)

16. The County of Lincoln shall consist of the Townships of Clinton, Grantham, Grimsby and Louth, and the Town of St. Catharines.

17. The County of Welland shall consist of the Townships of Bertie, Crowland, Humberstone, Stamford, Thorold and, Willoughby, and the Villages of Chippewa, Clifton, Fort Erie, Thorold and Welland.

18. The County of Peel shall consist of the Townships of Chinguacousy, Toronto, and the Gore of Toronto, and the Villages of Brampton and Streetsville.

19. The County of Cardwell shall consist of the Townships of Albion and Caledon (taken from the County of Peel), and the Townships of Adjala and Mono (taken from the County of Simcoe).

20. The County of Simcoe, divided into two Ridings, to be çalled respectively the South and the North Ridings:—

The South Riding shall consist of the Townships of West Gwillimsbury, Tecumseth, Innisfil, Essa, Tossorontio, Mulmur, and the Village of Bradford.

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Nottawasaga, Sunnidale, Vespra, Flos, Oro, Medonte, Orillia and Matchedash, Tiny, Tay, Balaklava and Robinson, and the Towns of Barrie and Collingwood.

21. The County of Victoria divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the South and North Ridings:—

The South Riding shall consist of the Townships of Ops, Mariposa, Emily, Verulam, and the Town of Lindsay.

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Ops, Mariposa, Emily, Dalton, Digby, Eldon, Fenelon, Hindon, Laxton, Lutterworth, Macaulay and Draper, Sommerville and Morrison, Muskoka, Monck and Watt (taken from the County of Simcoe), and any other surveyed Townships lying to the North of the said North Riding.

22. The County of Peterborough, divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the West and East Ridings:—

The West Riding shall consist of the Townships of South Monaghan (taken from the County of Northumberland), North Monaghan, Smith and Ennismore, and the Town of Peterborouqh.

The East Riding shall consist of the Townships of Asphodel, Belmont and Methuen, Douro, Dummer, Galway, Harvey, Minden, Stanhope and Dysart, Otonabee and Snowden, and the Village of Ashburnham, and other surveyed Townships lying to the North of the said East Riding.

23. The County of Eastings divided into three Ridings, to be called respectively the West, East and North Ridings:—

The West Riding shall consist of the Town of Belleville, the Township of Sydney, and the Village of Trenton.

The East Riding shall consist of the Townships of Thurlow, Tyendinaga and Hungerford.

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Rawdon, Huntingdon, Madoc, Elzevir, Tudor, Marmora and the Village of Stirling, and any other surveyed Townships lying to the north of the said North Riding.

24. The County of Lennox shall consist of the Townships of Richmond, Adolphustown, North Fredericksburgh, South Fredericsburgh, Ernesttown and Amherst Island, and the Village of Napanee.

25. The County of Addington shall consist of the Townships of Camden, Portland, Sheffield, Hinchinbrooke, Kaladar, Kennebec, Olden, Oso, Anglesea, Burrie, Clarendon, Palmerston, Effingham, Abinger, Miller, Canonto, Denbigh, Loughborough and Bedford.

26. The County of Frontenac shall consist of the Townships of Kingston, Wolfe Island, Pittsburg and Hove Island and Storrington,

27. The County of Renfrew divided into two Ridings, to be called respectively the South and North Ridings:—

The South Riding shall consist of the Townships of McNab, Bagot, Blithfeld, Brougham, Horton, Admaston, Grattan, Matawatchan, Griffith, Lyndoch, Raglan, Radcliffe, Brudenell, Sebastopol, and the Villages of Arnprior and Renfrew.

The North Riding shall consist of the Townships of Ross, Bromley, Westmeath, Stafford, Pembroke, Wilberforce, Alice, Petawawa, Buchanan, South Algoma, North Algoma, Fraser, McKay, Wylie, Rolph, Head, Maria, Clara, Haggerty, Sherwood, Burns and Richards, and any other surveyed Townships lying north-westerly of the said North Riding.[7]

On the motion for adoption of the address,

Antoine-Aimé Dorion [Hochelaga] moved an amendment in the effect that the new Constitution shall not be put in force until it shall first be submitted to a vote of the people.[8]

Lost.  Yeas, 13; Nays, 52.[9]

Antoine-Aimé Dorion [Hochelaga] again moved, in amendment, seconded by the Luther Holton [Chateauguay],

That all the words after “now” to the end of the Question, be left out, and the words, “committed to a Committee of the whole House, to provide that if the General or Local Constitutions enacted by the Imperial Parliament should involve any departure from the Resolutions adopted by this House, such Constitutions shall not take effect until submitted for the approval of the House,” inserted instead thereof;[10]

Joseph Cauchon [Montmorency] said he had voted for the Quebec Resolutions[11] upon the distinct pledge of the Government, that they would accept the Confederate Constitution, on the basis of these resolutions, without alteration or change in any particular.

John A. Macdonald [Kingston, Attorney-General West and Minister of Militia] said the Government would adhere in every particular to the Quebec Resolutions[12].  But they could not assert jurisdiction over the paramount authority of the Crown.  No doubt the Imperial Parliament would respect the wishes of this House and he had every confidence that no changes would be sought to be made.

Joseph Cauchon [Montmorency] would accept the declaration of the Government that no departure from the Quebec resolutions would be agreed to.  He could not now consent to vote for want of confidence in the Government after their assurance that the scheme would be adhered to.

George Brown [Oxford South] said the hon. member for Hochelaga [Antoine-Aimé Dorion] had opposed Confederation from the first, and now he had moved an amendment to declare that we should set ourselves above the Imperial Parliament.  We have asked them to do a certain thing, and now he wishes us to tell them, “If you do not do it in the right way, we shall not take it at all.”  He hoped his hon. friend would withdraw his motion because if put it would be voted down, and every man who voted against it would be made to appear as if he was willing to admit the possibility of changes being made.  This House had no right to presume that any changes would be introduced.

The amendment—

That all the words after “now” to the end of the Question, be left out, and the words, “committed to a Committee of the whole House, to provide that if the General or Local Constitutions enacted by the Imperial Parliament should involve any departure from the Resolutions adopted by this House, such Constitutions shall not take effect until submitted for the approval of the House,” inserted instead thereof;[13]

—was lost.

YEAS

Biggar
Dorion (Hochelaga)
Dufresne (Iberville)
Geoffrion
Holton
Laframboise
Macdonald (Cornwall)
and Scatcherd—8.

NAYS

Archambeault
Ault
Bellerose
Bowman
Brown
Burwell
Cameron (Ontario North)
Cameron (Peel)
Carling
Cartier (Attorney-General)
Cartwright
Cauchon
Chapais
Cockburn
Cowan
De Boucherville
Denis
Dufresne (Montcalm)
Dunkin
Ferguson (Frontenac)
Gibbs
Haultain
Higginson
Howland
Jackson
Knight
Langevin
Le Boutillier
Macdonald (Attorney-General)
Macfarlane
Mackenzie
Magill
McDougall
McGee
McGiverin
McIntyre
McKellar
Morris
Morrison
Oliver
Poulin
Rankin
Robitaille
Ross (Dundas)
Scoble
Shanly
Somerville
Stirton
Street
Sylvain
Taschereau
Walsh
Wells
White
and Wright (East York)—55.[14]

So it passed in the Negative.[15]

Ordered,

That the said Address be now read a second time.

The said Address was accordingly read a second time, and agreed to.

Ordered,

That the said Address be engrossed.

Resolved,

That an humble Address be presented to His Excellency the Governor General, informing His Excellency that this House hath voted an humble Address to Her Majesty on the subject of the Local Governments and Legislatures of Lower and Upper Canada respectively, when the Union of the Provinces of British North America is effected, and praying that His Excellency will be pleased to transmit the same to Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, to be laid at the foot of the Throne.

Ordered,

That the said Address be engrossed.

Ordered,

That the said Address be presented to His Excellency the Governor General, by such Members of this House as are of the Honorable the Executive Council of this Province.

ENDNOTES

[1]      Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada (1866), pp. 359-361. Schedule B has been added for completeness.

[2]      Journals, p. 361. This insertion includes the sentence preceding the amendment. Added for completeness.

[3]      Reinserted for clarity.

[4]      Journals, p. 361. Added for completeness.

[5]      The full resolution reads, “That a Select Committee, composed of the Honorable Mr. Attorney General Macdonald, the Honorable Mr. Attorney General Cartier, the Honorable Mr. Solicitor General Langevin, the Honorable Mr. Rowland, and the Honorable Mr. McDougall be appointed to draft an humble Address to Her Majesty founded upon the Resolutions adopted by this House on the subject of the Local Governments and Legislatures of Lower and Upper Canada respectively, when the union of the Provinces of British North America is effected” Journals, p. 362.

[6]      This Resolution may be from an earlier draft. On Aug. 2, 1866 in the Journals, p. 275, the resolution was amended, “by inserting the words ‘provisions of the’ after the word ‘the,’ where it occurs the first time.” However, the amendment was written in the Journals in an irregular way and we are uncertain whether it was even passed on Aug. 2, 1866 or whether this version of the resolutions contains an earlier version of the eleventh clause.

[7]      Journals, pp. 362-367. Added for completeness.

[8]      The full amendment reads as follows, “That all the words after ‘That’ to the end of the Question be left out, and the words ‘an humble Address be presented to His Excellency the Governor General, praying that His Excellency, in view of the magnitude of the interests involved in the Resolutions for the Local Constitutions of Upper and Lower Canada respectively, under the Federal Union of the British North American Provinces, and the entire change of the Constitution of this Province, will be pleased to direct that a constitutional appeal shall be made to the people before these Resolutions are submitted for final action thereon to the consideration of the Imperial Parliament,’ inserted instead thereof” Journals, p. 367.

[9]      The vote count is wrong in the Scrapbook Debates (Ottawa Times) version, which reads “62”. The newspaper is again wrong (by ten votes again) in the vote count later in the debates. The editors have gone with the official Journals for this as it is backed up by the printed names of those who votes against. Journals, p. 367.

[10]    The editors (2022) have used this more reliable source and removed the following passage from the Scrapbook Debates “Francis Jones [Leeds & Grenville North] then moved an amendment to provide, that if the General or Local Constitutions, as passed by the Imperial Parliament shall differ in any particular from the resolutions adopted by this House, they shall not be put in force until first submitted for approval to the Canadian Parliament.”  The passage was removed because, while it was the same in substance as the Journals, it misattributed the mover of the amendment. Journals, p. 367.

[11]    The Quebec Resolutions which were agreed to by the Legislative Assembly can be found on Mar. 13, 1865, pp. 1027-1032.

[12]    The Quebec Resolutions which were agreed to by the Legislative Assembly can be found on Mar. 13, 1865, pp. 1027-1032.

[13]    The amendment is reinserted for clarity.

[14]    The names of the “nays” were not listed in the original.  The vote count is also once again wrong in the Scrapbook Debates (Ottawa Times) version, which reads “62”. The actual nays are 52. To substantiate the correct number that the Journals lists and to be consistent with having the names of the “yeas” listed, the editors have added all the names for clarity sake. Journals, p. 368.

[15]    This line “So it passed in the Negative” until the end of the day’s proceedings come from Journals, p. 367. This replaces the removed line from the Scrapbook Debates, which abruptly reads “The address was then passed.”