Council For The Affairs Of The Province Of Quebec

The Council for the Affairs of the Province of Quebec, more commonly called the Legislative Council of Quebec (but not to be confused with the later institution with that same name), was an advisory body constituted by section XII of the ''Quebec Act'' of 1774. Together with the representative of the Crown (the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor or the temporary Administrator of the province), it acted, between 1774 and 1791, as the legislature of the old Province of Quebec.

Powers

The Council had the "Power and Authority to make Ordinances for the Peace, Welfare, and good Government, of the said Province, with the Consent of his Majesty's Governor, or, in his Absence, of the Lieutenant-governor, or Commander in Chief for the Time being.", excepting the power to:

Eligibility

Section VII of the ''Quebec Act'' opened the door of all provincial offices to Roman Catholic subjects. The section exempted Catholics from taking the Test Oath (the abjuration of the Catholic faith) and made them take an alternative oath of allegiance to the British Crown:

Because of this special oath they were required to vow, Canadian Catholics, who formed the immense majority of the population in the province, were permitted to take a more direct part to the legislation of their native country. In practise however, Catholic Legislative Councillors remained a minority in the Council from its creation in 1774 to its abolition in 1791.

Composition

Councillors numbered between at least seventeen and no more than twenty-three. In 1775, Colonial Secretary Lord Dartmouth instructed Governor General Guy Carleton to call in these individuals to fill in the Council:
* Hector Theophilus de Cramahé, Lieutenant Governor
* Hugh Finlay
* Thomas Dunn
* James Cuthbert
* Colin Drummond
* François Lévesque
* Edward Harrison
* John Collins
* Adam Mabane
* Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry
* Paul-Roch de Saint-Oursbr>
* Pécaudy de Contrecœur
* George Waters Allsopp
* Charles-François Tarieu de La Naudière
* La Corne Saint-Luc
* Alexander Johnstone
* Conrad Gugy
* François-Marie Picoté de Belestre
* Charles-Régis Des Bergères de Rigauville
* John Fraser

Some of these members had been sitting on the first Council of Quebec constituted by Governor General James Murray in 1764 to advise on all matters of State. About 12 years later, in May 1787, the Council's composition was:
* Hector Theophilus de Cramahé,
* William Smith,
* Edward Harrison,
* Adam Mabane,
* Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry,
* John Fraser,
* William Grant,
* François Baby,
* Samuel Johannes Holland
* René-Amable Boucher de Boucherville,
* Hugh Finlay,
* John Collins,
* George Pownall
* François-Marie Picoté de Belestre,
* Henry Caldwell
* Paul-Roch de Saint-Ours,
* Joseph-Dominique-Emmanuel Le Moyne de Longueuil
* John Johnson,
* Jean-Baptiste Le Comte Dupré

With the adoption of the '' Constitutional Act'' of 1791, the sections of the ''Quebec Act'' dealing with the Council, its composition, and powers, were repealed. However, most of the members then sitting on the Council were called into the new Legislative Council of Lower Canada created by the said act.

Notes

References

*
* Quebec Act or {{cite wikisource , title=An Act for making more effectual Provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec in North America 14th year of the reign of George III, chapter 83 (U.K.), 1774

See also

* Constitutional history of Canada

Legal history of Canada
Political history of Quebec
1774 establishments in the Province of Quebec (1763–1791)
Parliaments of Canada
Province of Quebec