Archived - An Act to amend and continue the Act 32 and 33 Victoria, chapter 3 ; and to establish and provide for the Government of the Province of Manitoba, S.C. 1870, c. 3
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An Act to amend and continue the Act 32 and 33 Victoria, chapter 3; and to establish and provide for the Government of the Province of Manitoba.
[Assented to 12th May, 1870.]
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| Preamble | WHEREAS it is probable that Her Majesty the Queen may, pursuant to
the British North America Act, 1867, be pleased to admit Rupert's Land
and the North-Western Territory into the Union or Dominion of Canada,
before the next Session of the Parliament of Canada : And Whereas it is expedient to prepare for the transfer of the said Territories to the Government of Canada at the time appointed by the Queen for such admission: And Whereas it is expedient also to provide for the organization of part of the said Territories as a Province, and for the establishment of a Government therefor, and to make provision for the Civil Government of the remaining part of the said Territories, not included within the limits of the Province : Therefore Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Common, of Canada, enacts as follows: |
| Province to be formed out of N.W. territory
when united to Canada. Its name and boundaries. |
1. On, from and after the day upon which the Queen, by and
with the advice and consent of Her Majesty's Most Honorable Privy
Council, under the authority of the 146th Section of the British North
America Act, 1867, shall, by Order in Council in that behalf, admit
Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory into the Union or Dominion
of Canada, there shall be formed out of the same a Province, which shall
be one of the Provinces of the Dominion of Canada, and which shall be
called the Province of Manitoba, and be bounded as follows: that is to
say, commencing at the point where the meridian of ninety-six degrees
west longitude from Greenwich intersects the parallel of forty-nine
degrees north latitude, - thence due west along the said parallel of
forty-nine degrees north latitude (which forms a portion of the boundary
line between the United States of America and the said North-Western
Territory) to the meridian of ninety-nine degrees of west longitude,
- thence due north along the said meridian of ninety-nine degrees west
longitude, to the intersection of the same with the parallel of fifty
degrees and thirty minutes north latitude, - thence due east along the
said parallel of fifty degrees and thirty minutes north latitude to its
intersection with the before-mentioned meridian of ninety-six degrees
west longitude, - thence due south along the said meridian of ninety-six
degrees west longitude to the place of beginning. |
| Certain provisions of B.N.A. Act, 1867, to apply, to Manitoba. | 2. On, from and after the said day on which the Order of the
Queen in Council shall take effect as aforesaid, the provisions of the
British North America Act, 1867, shall, except those parts thereof which
are in terms made, or, by reasonable intendment may be held to be
specially applicable to, or only to affect one or more, but not the
whole of the Provinces now composing the Dominion, and except so far
as the same may be varied by this Act, be
applicable to the Province of Manitoba, in the same way, and to the like
extent as they apply to the several Provinces of Canada, and as if the
Province of Manitoba had been one of the Provinces originally united by
the said Act. |
| Representation in the Senate. | 3. The said Province shall be represented in the Senate of
Canada by two Members, until it shall have, according to decennial
census, a population of fifty thousand souls, and from thenceforth it
shall be represented therein by three Members, until it shall have,
according to decennial census, a population of seventy-five thousand
souls, and from thenceforth it shall be represented therein by four
Members. |
| Representation in the House of Commons. | 4. The said Province shall be represented, in the first
instance, in the House of Commons of Canada, by four Members, and for
that purpose shall be divided by proclamation of the Governor General,
into four Electoral Districts, each of which shall be represented by one
Member: Provided that on the completion of the census in the year 1881,
and of each decennial census afterwards, the representation of the said
Province shall be re-adjusted according to the provisions of the
fifty-first section of the British North America Act, 1867. |
| Qualification of voters and members. | 5. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, the
qualification of voters at Elections of Members of the House of Commons
shall be the same as for the Legislative Assembly hereinafter mentioned:
And no person shall be qualified to be elected, or to sit and vote as a
Member for any Electoral District, unless he is a duly qualified voter
within the said Province. |
| Lieutenant-Governor. | 6. For the said Province there shall be an officer styled the
Lieutenant-Governor, appointed by the Governor General in Council, by
instrument under the Great Seal of Canada. |
| Executive Council. | 7. The Executive Council of the Province shall be composed of
such persons, and under such designations, as the Lieutenant- Governor
shall, from time to time, think fit ; and, in the first instance, of not
more than five persons. |
| Seat of Government. | 8. Unless and until the Executive Government of the Province
otherwise directs, the seat of Government of the same shall be at Fort
Garry, or within one mile thereof. |
| Legislature. | 9. There shall be a Legislature for the Province, consisting
of the Lieutenant-Governor, and of two Houses, styled respectively, the
Legislative Council of Manitoba, and the Legislative Assembly of
Manitoba. |
| Legislative Council. Members and their appointment, &c. |
10. The Legislative Council shall, in the first instance, be
composed of seven Members, and after the expiration of four years from
the time of the first appointment of such seven Members, may be
increased to not more than twelve Members. Every Member of the
Legislative Council shall be appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in the
Queen's name, by Instrument under the Great Seal of Manitoba, and shall
hold office for the term of his life, unless and until the Legislature
of Manitoba otherwise provides under the British North America Act,
1867. |
| Speaker. | 11. The Lieutenant-Governor may, from time to time, by
Instrument under the Great Seal, appoint a Member of the Legislative
Council to be Speaker thereof, and may remove him and appoint another in
his stead. |
| Quorum. | 12. Until the Legislature of the Province otherwise provides,
the presence of a majority of the whole number of the Legislative
Council, including the Speaker, shall be necessary to constitute a
meeting for the exercise of its powers. |
| Voting. Equality of votes. | 13. Questions arising in the Legislative Council shall be
decided by a majority of voices, and the Speaker shall, in all cases,
have a vote, and when the voices are equal the decision shall be deemed
to be in the negative. |
| Legislative Assembly. | 14. The Legislative Assembly shall be composed of twenty-four
Members, to be elected to represent the Electoral Divisions into which
the said Province may be divided by the Lieutenant-Governor, as
hereinafter mentioned. |
| Quorum. | 15. The presence of a majority of the Members of the
Legislative Assembly shall be necessary to constitute a meeting of the
House for the exercise of its powers ; and for that purpose the Speaker
shall be reckoned as a Member. |
| Electoral Divisions. | 16. The Lieutenant-Governor shall (within six months of the
date of the Order of Her Majesty in Council, admitting Rupert's Land and
the North-Western Territory into the Union), by Proclamation under the
Great Seal, divide the said Province into twenty-four Electoral
Divisions, due regard being had to existing Local Divisions and
population. |
| Qualification of voters. | 17. Every male person shall be entitled to vote for a Member
to serve in the Legislative Assembly for any Electoral Division, who is
qualified as follows, that is to say, if he is : - 1. Of the full age of twenty-one years, and not subject to any legal incapacity 2. A subject of Her Majesty by birth or naturalization : 3. And a bonâ fide householder within the Electoral Division, at the date of the Writ of Election for the same, and has been a bonâ fide householder for one year next before the said date ; or, |
| Special, - for first election only. | 4. If being of the full age of twenty-one years and not
subject to any legal incapacity, and a subject of Her Majesty by birth or
naturalization, he was, at any time within twelve months prior to the
passing of this Act, and (though in the interim temporarily absent) is
at the time of such election a bonâ fide householder, was resident
within the Electoral Division at the date of the Writ of Election for
the same : |
| Proviso. | But this fourth sub-section shall apply only to the
first election to be held under this Act for Members to serve in the
Legislative Assembly aforesaid. |
| Proceedings at first election, &c., - how regulated. | 18. For the first election of Members to serve
in the Legislative Assembly, and until the Legislature of the Province
otherwise provides, the Lieutenant-Governor shall cause writs to be
issued, by such person, in such form, and addressed to such Returning
Officers as he thinks fit; and for such first election, and until the
Legislature of the Province otherwise provides, the Lieutenant-Governor
shall, by Proclamation, prescribe and declare the oaths to be taken by
voters, the powers and duties of Returning and Deputy Returning
Officers, the proceedings to be observed at such election, and the
period during which such election may be continued, and such other
provisions in respect to such first election as he may think fit. |
| Duration of Legislative Assembly. | 19. Every Legislative Assembly shall continue
for four years from the date of the return of the writs for returning
the same (subject nevertheless to being sooner dissolved by the
Lieutenant- Governor), and no longer; and the first Session thereof
shall be called at such time as the Lieutenant-Governor shall appoint. |
| Sessions at least once a year. | 20. There shall be a Session of the Legislature
once at least in every year, so that twelve months shall not intervene
between the last sitting of the Legislature in one Session and its first
sitting in the next Session. |
| Certain provisions of B.N.A. Act, 1867, to apply. | 21. The following provisions of the British
North America Act, 1867, respecting the House of Commons of Canada,
shall extend and apply to the Legislative Assembly, that is to say:-
Provisions relating to the election of a Speaker, originally, and on
vacancies, - the duties of the Speaker, - the absence of the Speaker and the mode of
voting, as if those provisions were here re-enacted and made applicable
in terms to the Legislative Assembly. |
| Legislation touching schools subject to certain provisions. | 22. In and for the Province, the said
Legislature may exclusively make Laws in relation to Education, subject
and according to the following provisions :- (1.) Nothing in any such Law shall prejudicially affect any right or privilege with respect to Denominational Schools which any class of persons have by Law or practice in the Province at the Union : (2.) An appeal shall lie to the Governor General in Council from any Act or decision of the Legislature of the Province, or of any Provincial Authority, affecting any right or privilege of the Protestant or Roman Catholic minority of the Queen's subjects in relation to Education : . |
| Power reserved to Parliament. | (3.) In case any such Provincial Law, as from time to
time seems to the Governor General in Council requisite for the due
execution of the provisions of this section, is not made, or in case any
decision of the Governor General in Council on any appeal under this
section is not duly executed by the proper Provincial Authority in that
behalf, then, and in every such case, and as far only as the
circumstances of each case require, the Parliament of Canada may make
remedial Laws for the due execution of the provisions of this section,
and of any decision of the Governor General in Council under this
section. |
| English and French languages to be used. | 23. Either the English or the French language
may be used by any person in the debates of the Houses of the
Legislature, and both those languages shall be used in the respective
Records and Journals of those Houses; and either of those languages may
be used by any person, or in any Pleading or Process, in or issuing from
any Court of Canada established under the British North America Act,
1867, or in or from all or any of the Courts of the Province. The Acts
of the Legislature shall be printed and published in both those
languages. |
| Interest allowed to the Province on a certain amount of the debt of Canada. | 24. Inasmuch as the Province is not in debt, the
said Province shall be entitled to be paid, and to receive from the
Government of Canada, by half-yearly payments in advance, interest at
the rate of five per centum per annum on the sum of four
hundred and seventy-two thousand and ninety dollars. |
| Subsidy to the Province for support of Government, and in proportion to its population. | 25. The sum of thirty thousand dollars shall be
paid yearly by Canada to the Province, for the support of its Government
and Legislature, and annual grant, in aid of the said Province, shall be
made, equal to eighty cents per head of the population, estimated at
seventeen thousand souls; and such grant of eighty cents per head shall
be augmented in proportion to the increase of population, as may be
shown by the census that shall be taken thereof in the year one thousand
eight hundred and eighty-one, and by each subsequent decennial census,
until its population amounts to four hundred thousand souls, at which
amount such grant shall remain thereafter, and such sum shall be in full
settlement of all future demands on Canada, and shall be paid half
yearly, in advance, to the said Province. |
| Canada assumes certain expenses. | 26. Canada will assume and defray the charges
for the following services :- 1. Salary of the Lieutenant-Governor. 2. Salaries and allowances of the Judges of the Superior and District or County Courts. 3. Charges in respect of the Department of the Customs. 4. Postal Department. 5. Protection of Fisheries. 6. Militia. 7. Geological Survey. 8. The Penitentiary. |
| General provision. | 9. And such further charges as may be incident to, and
connected with the services which, by the British North America Act,
1867, appertain to the General Government, and as are or may be allowed
to the other Provinces. |
| Customs duties, | 27. The Customs duties now by Law chargeable in
Rupert's Land, shall be continued without increase for the period of
three years from and after the passing of this Act, and the proceeds of
such duties shall form part of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada. |
| Customs laws. | 28. Such provisions of the Customs Laws of
Canada (other than such as prescribe the rate of duties payable) as may
be from time to time declared by the Governor General in Council to
apply to the Province of Manitoba, shall be applicable thereto, and in
force therein accordingly. |
| Inland Revenue laws and duties. | 29. Such provisions of the Laws of Canada
respecting the Inland Revenue, including those fixing the amount of
duties, as may be from time to time declared by the Governor General in
Council applicable to the said Province, shall apply thereto, and
be in force therein accordingly. |
| Ungranted lands vested in the Crown for Dominion purposes. | 30. All ungranted or waste lands in the Province
shall be, from and after the date of the said transfer, vested in the
Crown, and administered by the Government of Canada for the purposes of
the Dominion, subject to, and except and so far as the same may be
affected by, the conditions and stipulations contained in the agreement
for the surrender of Rupert's Land by the Hudson's Bay Company to Her
Majesty. |
| Provisions as to Indian title. Grant for half-breeds. |
31. And whereas, it is expedient, towards
the extinguishment of the Indian Title to the lands in the Province, to
appropriate a portion of such ungranted lands, to the extent of one
million four hundred thousand acres thereof, for the benefit of the
families of the half-breed residents, it is hereby enacted, that, under
regulations to be from time to time made by the Governor General in
Council, the Lieutenant-Governor shall select such lots or tracts in
such parts of the Province as he may deem expedient, to the extent
aforesaid, and divide the same among the children of the half-breed
heads of families residing in the Province at the time of the said
transfer to Canada, and the same shall be granted to the said children
respectively, in such mode and on such conditions as to settlement and
otherwise, as the Governor General in Council may from time to time
determine. |
| Quieting titles. | 32. For the quieting of titles, and assuring to
the settlers in the Province the peaceable possession of the lands now
held by them, it is enacted as follows : |
| Grants by H. B. Company. | 1. All grants of land in freehold made by the Hudson's
Bay Company up to the eighth day of March, in the year 1869, shall, if
required by the owner, be confirmed by grant from the Crown. |
| The same. | 2. All grants of estates less then freehold in land
made by the Hudson's Bay Company up to the eighth day of March
aforesaid, shall, if required by the owner, be converted into an estate
in freehold by grant from the Crown. |
| Titles being occupancy with permission ; |
3. All titles by occupancy with the sanction and under
the license and authority of the Hudson's Bay Company up to the eighth
day of March aforesaid, of land in that part of the Province in which
the Indian Title has been extinguished, shall, if required by the owner,
be converted into an estate in freehold by grant from the Crown. |
| By peaceable possession. | 4. All persons in peaceable possession of tracts of
land at the time of the transfer to Canada, in those parts of the
Province in which the Indian Title has not been extinguished, shall have
the right of pre-emption of the same, on such terms and conditions as
may be determined by the Governor in Council. |
| Lieut. Governor to make provisions under Order in Council. | 5. The Lieutenant-Governor is hereby authorized, under
regulations to be made from time to time by the Governor General in
Council, to make all such provisions for ascertaining and adjusting, on
fair and equitable terms, the rights of Common, and rights of cutting
Hay held and enjoyed by the settlers in the Province, and for the
commutation of the same by grants of land from the Crown. |
| Governor in Council to appoint form, &c., of grants. | 33. The Governor General in Council shall from
time to time settle and appoint the mode and form of Grants of Land from
the Crown, and any Order in Council for that purpose when published in
the Canada Gazette, shall have the same force and effect as if it were a portion
of this Act. |
| Rights of H. B. Company not affected. | 34. Nothing in this Act shall in any way
prejudice or affect the rights or properties of the Hudson's Bay Company, as
contained in the conditions under which that Company surrendered
Rupert's Land to Her Majesty. |
| Lieut. Governor to govern N.W. Territory for Canada. | 35. And with respect to such portion of Rupert's
Land and the North-Western Territory, as is not included in the Province of
Manitoba, it is hereby enacted, that the Lieutenant-Governor of the said
Province shall be appointed, by Commission under the Great Seal of
Canada, to be the Lieutenant-Governor of the same, under the name of the
North-West Territories, and subject to the provisions of the Act in the
next section mentioned. |
| Act 32 and 33 V., c3, extended and continued. | 36. Except as hereinbefore is enacted and
provided, the Act of the Parliament of Canada, passed in the now last
Session thereof, and entitled, " An Act for the Temporary Government of
Rupert's Land, and the North-Western Territory when united with Canada,"
is hereby re-enacted, extended and continued in force until the first
day of January, 1871, and until the end of the Session of Parliament
then next succeeding. |