Collection search - Journals of the Legislative Council [textual record]

Record information – Brief
1
Journals of the Legislative Council [textual record]

Hierarchical level:

Series

Date:

1775-1791.

Reference:

R10808-4-X-E, RG1-E1

Type of material:

Textual material

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

204489

Context of this record:

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Councils of the Province of Quebec fonds

Journals of the Legislative Council
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Record information – Details

Series includes:

10 lower level description(s)
View lower level description(s)

Date(s):

1775-1791.

Place of creation:

Québec (Province)

Extent:

77.8 cm of textual records; 58.1 cm transcripts

Language of material:

English

Added language of material:

English, French

Scope and content:

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Series consists of the journals of the Legislative Council meeting in its legislative capacity. As such these records are distinct from those found in the State Minute Books of the Executive Council (1775-1791) of the Province of Quebec series, described elsewhere within this fonds, in that they document the legislative function of the Legislative Council, whereas the state minute books document the proceedings of the Legislative Council acting in its executive capacity. The journals document the deliberations and recommendations of the Legislative Council, the readings of ordinances, votes taken on legislation and the record of the Governor's approval of legislation. Reports of various committees of the Legislative Council are also entered in the journals. Some volumes contain a rough index or table of contents.

The series includes both originals (vols. 108-110) and transcripts (vols. 6-12). The latter are certified typed copies of the originals, prepared by the National Archives in the period prior to the microfilming of the originals, in order to avoid damage to the originals from frequent use. Although they are copies, these transcripts have been accorded the status of records in their own right within this series and assigned permanent volume numbers accordingly. The transcripts include marginal notations of the corresponding page or folio numbers for the original text.

Provenance:

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Quebec (Province). Legislative Council

Biography/Administrative history:

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Quebec (Province). Legislative Council : Following the passage of the Quebec Act, the Governor was directed to summon the Council as soon as conveniently possible in order to proceed with the business of establishing government under the new constitution. However, given the fact that the provisions of the Quebec Act did not come into force until May 1775, the Legislative Council was not assembled immediately. Rather, the Council which had existed under the previous constitution continued to meet throughout the Autumn and Winter 1774-75 in order to transact the business of the state. By the time that Carleton was in a position to meet with his new Legislative Council, the concerns of civil government had been eclipsed by the outbreak of war and the American invasion of the Province. In June 1775 the Governor proclaimed martial law. The Legislative Council was summoned for the first time 17 August 1775 but only three meetings were held in August and September that year. Only once the immediate crisis of invasion had ended could attention be turned to establishing the apparatus of civil government. The Legislative Council was next summoned in its legislative capacity in January 1777 and met, thereafter, annually during the first quarter of each year.

Throughout the war period, much of the legislative activity involved the perfunctory renewal of existing ordinances or the passing of new ones dealing with aspects of the prosecution of the war and the defence of the Province. The return to peace in 1783, the requirement to deal with loyalist settlement, and a more ambitious civil government program of Lord Dorchester upon his return to the province as Governor in 1786, all contributed to an increase in the legislative activity of the Council in the final years of the Province's existence.

Finding aid:

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(Paper) The CAB RG 1 Shelf List (see RG 1, E1 section) is a typed volume-level description which provides volume titles and inclusive dates and corresponding microfilm reel numbers. The Shelf List also correlates the current volume number (assigned by the National Archives) to the letter designation (D, E, F) assigned to each volume by the records creators. CAB RG 1 Shelf List (90: Open)

Additional information:

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Preferred citation note:

Suggestions on proper citation style for the records in this series are provided in the CAB RG 1 Shelf List (see RG 1, E1 section).

Language note:

Occasional documents in French.

Availability of other formats note:

Microfilmed copies of vols. 108-110 (i.e., the originals in this series only, not the transcripts) are available on reels C-85 and C-86. Microfilming was completed in 1951. For lists correlating volume numbers with microfilm reel numbers, see the finding aid cited elsewhere within this descriptive entry.

Users of the microfilm should note that the records are not identified on the reels according to the current volume numbers (vols. 108-110). Rather, they are identified by the letter designations assigned to each bound volume by the records creators (i.e., D, E, and F) and by the dates of the material covered in each volume. To avoid confusion when using the microfilm, users should pay close attention to the descriptions provided in the finding aid.

Series title note:

The date in the series title refers to the period during which the Legislative Council existed, and not to the inclusive dates of the records (although in this case the two are the same).

Related material:

Ordinances and related legislative records are found in the Ordinances and Related Legislative Records of the Council (1764-1775) and Legislative Council (1775-1791) of the Province of Quebec series, elsewhere within this fonds.

Source:

Private

Former archival reference no.:

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RG1-E1
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

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Textual records

[Consultation90 Open]

Volume [RG1 E 1]

[Consultation 90 Open]

6--12;

[Consultation 90 Open]

108--110;

[Consultation 90 Open]

Microfilm reel

[Consultation 90 Open]

C-85--C-86;

[Consultation 90 Open]

C-96;

[Consultation 90 Open]

Terms of use:

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In order to protect the fragile originals, some records in this series have been microfilmed and the originals withdrawn from circulation. The microfilm must be used for consultation and copying rather than the originals.

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Date modified:: 2024-07-24