Series consists of legal records acquired, created and maintained by the Department of Railways and Canals. The transcribed records in this series contains various legal documents, including contracts, deeds, leases and correspondence relating to several canals. Also included in this series are registers and indexes, many of which refer to the transcribed legal documents. Many of the records in this series may have been created and maintained by the Departmental Law Branch. In 1909 the entire Department of Railways and Canals was reorganized and enlarged in accordance with reforms initiated under the Civil Service Act of 1908. Staff at headquarters (i.e., inside service) was increased to 85 and was divided into five main branches. The Law Branch, consisting of the Departmental Solicitor and his assistant, was responsible for all legal matters affecting the department, such as draft legislation, contracts, leases and agreements. By 1930, the Law Branch, with a staff of seven, was under the direction of the Departmental Solicitor, who was responsible for all legal matters arising out of the administration and operations. The cartographic and architectural component of this series consists of drawings of projects which include: Monkland House (Monkland, Ont.), Lachine and St. Lawrence River canals, a railway ferry on the Northumberland Straits, water and building lots in Kingston (Ont.), Montreal Court House, Champlain and St. Lawrence Railway, and timber slides on the Madawaska and Du moine Rivers and at Buckingham (Que.). These items are associated with legal documents of the Dept. of Railways and Canals ranging from documents #197 to 1424.
