SECOND PERIOD 1763-1774 During the Second Period the government was carried on by a loose interpretation of the Proclamation of 1763 and by various instructions given to the Governors. Of the latter I have only printed those which are of importance. The constitutional arrangement, pending the giving of representative institutions, was almost similar to that in a "Crown Colony." From the very beginning of this period difficulties began. The presence of British settlers in Canada alien to the Canadians in race, speech and religion, complicated the situation. They took up a position of superiority which irritated Governors Murray and Carleton. Their demands for a strict interpretation of the Proclamation of 1763 in connexion with law and justice, and for a House of Assembly in which the Canadians should not be represented, fill the documents of the period. In this section I have printed documents which illustrate various attempts (i) to interpret the Proclamation of 1763 (ii) to obtain a House of Assembly; and I have added (iii) several despatches which throw light on the chaotic state of the administration of law, and on the general difficulties with which the officials met in carrying on the government. Out of these difficulties came efforts to improve conditions. Ordinances and various reports to the British Government which I have selected illustrate these efforts. The period closes with the debates on the Quebec Act, which received the royal assent on June 22, 1774. From these debates liberal selections have been made, as they are invaluable in studying this period. |