Submissions to and reports of the Councils of the Province of Quebec relating to the audit of provincial public accounts [textual record, philatelic record]
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Record information – Brief 1Submissions to and reports of the Councils of the Province of Quebec relating to the audit of provincial public accounts [textual record, philatelic record]
Hierarchical level:SeriesDate:1751-1794.Reference:RG1-E15A, RG4-B43, RG4-B13Type of material:Textual material, Stamps and stamp productsFound in:Archives / Collections and FondsItem ID number:204512Link to this record
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Record information – Details Series includes:2 lower level description(s)View lower level description(s)Date(s):1751-1794.Place of creation:Québec (Province)Extent:ca. 3.4 m of textual records.
400 postal covers.Language of material:EnglishAdded language of material:English, FrenchScope and content:Series consists of submissions to Council and reports of Council committees, relating to the Council function of auditing provincial public accounts, 1751-1794; records of the committee investigating the claims of Dr. James Bowman for combatting the St. Paul's Bay Disease, 1785-1791; and records of the Commissioners of Freight, 1780-1794. (More information on the records pertaining to Dr. Bowman and to the Commissioners of Freight is found at a lower level of description.)
The picture that emerges of the committee system through which the Council carried out its functions is one of transition. For some issues, such as the regulation of land-related matters, "permanent" committees were appointed and separate minute books were maintained to document deliberations and decisions. For others, even where the business was onerous and regular, the Council continued to appoint temporary committees. The Council's role in auditing the public accounts is a case in point. The work of reviewing and approving both claims against the government for payment for services rendered and the half-yearly statements of the public accounts was an important yet time-consuming responsibility. It was routinely delegated to a committee, frequently made up of the same councillors, but one whose members were nominated each time for the purpose. A more formal structure which entailed the appointment of an Inspector General of Provincial Public Accounts and the assignment of Council's duties to a permanent Board of Audit was a feature of government introduced only after 1791. During the Province of Quebec period, the 'Report of the Committee on the Public Accounts' existed as an independent document, and its text was entered into the Council minute books on State matters. A separate set of minute books was not maintained for the proceedings of the committee.
Records described as "submissions to Council and reports of Council committees, relating to the Council function of auditing Provincial public accounts, 1751-1794," include not only accounts and supporting vouchers but also reports, petitions in support of claims for payments, draft minutes of the Council committee, schedules of documents presented, etc. The records were for a long period subdivided to some extent according to subject, with files or volumes focused on specific public works projects. The order was such that identification of missing items was not feasible. (RG 1 E 15A).
Included in the submissions and reports to Council are reports of the Inspector of Chimneys for the city and district of Quebec, 1769-1772 which include nominal lists of the householders whose chimneys were swept, with commentary on their economic circumstances. (RG 1 E 15A, volumes 2 and 3).
Volumes 1 to 45 of this series also consist of 400 postal covers covering the period from 1782 to 1823. Most covers were mailed from Montreal and Three Rivers, but covers from smaller towns in Lower Canada appear in the series as well. Straight-line type postmarks are well represented, with covers from Berthier (1786-1791), Drummondville (1821), Montreal (1782-1808), Quebec (1805-1808) and Three Rivers (1788-1822).Finding aid:(Paper) The CAB RG 1 Shelf List (see RG 1, E 15A section) is a typed and hand-written volume-level description which provides volume titles and inclusive dates. CAB RG1 Shelf List The finding aid to RG 1 E 15A has been withdrawn by the archivist pending reorganization of the records. See the responsible archivist. (not applicable)Philatelic record (Electronic) The finding aid describing these covers has been prepared and is available. CPA-258 (90: Open)
http://data2.archives.ca/pdf/pdf001/p000001804.pdf(Electronic) All or some of the documents described have been digitized and are available at the following address: (90: Open)
http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_mikan_204512(Electronic) Les documents décrits ont été complètement ou en partie numérisés et sont disponibles à l'adresse suivante : (90: Open)
http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_mikan_204512?usrlang=frAdditional information:Arrangement note:The arrangement of the submissions to Council and reports of Council committees, relating to the Council function of auditing provincial public accounts, 1751-1794, was examined in 1985-1987 with a view to reconstructing the original order - voucher and statements filed in numeric sequence according to the schedules of presentation for audit to be found in the Minutes. During the initial attempts to reorganize the records in 1986-1987, every effort was made to correlate the vouchers and statements from various officials, and those statements with the Report of the auditing committee. Numerous difficulties were encountered, as no numbering sequence was developed and consistently used (a direct contrast with the system developed in Upper Canada), and there were frequent delays in auditing. Researchers should note that documents relating to activities of a particular year may be found audited several years later. For purposes of arrangement, the key date is that of auditing (insofar as that could be established). Where the date of auditing could not readily be determined, the filing was based on the date a statement was prepared for submission, or date payment was receipted. This reorganization work has yet to be completed., Records which, by virtue of their provenance and date, would normally be included in this series are found in other fonds in the holdings of Library and Archives Canada. For practical reasons relating to the arrangement of such records by the custodians who inherited them after 1791, they cannot now be included within the present fonds and series. A number of records currently described in RG 4 (Records of the Civil and Provincial Secretaries, Quebec, Lower Canada and Canada East), series A1, vols. 1-52, date from the Province of Quebec period and are documents which the Councils would have created and/or accumulated. They include many reports, returns and accounts relating to the expenditure of public funds and the collection of money on the government's behalf. As explained in the 1953 published inventory (Public Archives of Canada, Manuscript Division: Preliminary Inventory, Record Group 1, Executive Council, Canada, 1764-1867), the Council records included in those volumes were already inter-mingled at the time of acquisition with records of the Civil and Provincial Secretaries for Lower Canada. This inter-mingling is attributed in the 1953 inventory to the fact that for many years the offices of Clerk of Council and Civil Secretary were held in plurality by one individual who, apparently, did not keep the records separate, although there is reason to believe that the inter-mingling is attributable to interference with the records by a later custodian (the Keeper of the Records after 1867 in the Office of the Secretary of State of Canada). Regardless of the explanation, it was recognized in 1953, and is no less true today, that it is not feasible to separate out the records belonging to each office and to attach them to their respective fonds. Therefore, these records have been left as part of RG 4 and users should consult that fonds.Language note:Some documents are in French.Availability of other formats note:In consideration of their value for genealogical and historical research, the reports of the Inspector of Chimneys for the city and district of Quebec, 1769-1772, were microfilmed in 1986 on reel H-1758. The original reports (which constitute parts only of former archival reference RG1-E15A, vols. 2 and 3) were restored as a necessary preliminary to microfilming. Researchers are nonetheless required to consult the microfilm rather than the originals.Related material:The minutes of Council proceedings in performing the function of auditing provincial public accounts are included among the minutes of other aspects of state business in two series found elsewhere within this fonds: Minute Books of the Council (1764-1775) of the Province of Quebec; and State Minute Books of the Executive Council (1775-1791) of the Province of Quebec.
Researchers should also consult RG 4 (Records of the Civil and Provincial Secretaries, Quebec, Lower Canada and Canada East), series A1, vols. 1-52.Source:PrivateFormer archival reference no.:RG1-E15A
RG4-B43
RG4-B13 -
Ordering and viewing options Conditions of access:Textual records[Consultation95 Open, no copying]Volume [RG1 E 15 A] 1--106[Consultation 95 Open, no copying]Microfilm reel H-1758[Consultation 95 Open, no copying]Philatelic records[Consultation95 Open, no copying]Volume [RG1 E 15 A][Consultation 95 Open, no copying]7--14;[Consultation 95 Open, no copying]21--37;[Consultation 95 Open, no copying]39--42;[Consultation 95 Open, no copying]45;[Consultation 95 Open, no copying]Terms of use: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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