96 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



and trample on the welfare of the existing generation, it must henceforth 

 be the first and steady purpose of the British Government to establish 

 an English population with English laws and language in this Province 

 and to trust its government to none but a decidedly English Legis- 

 lature. "^ 



In the Union Act there was inserted a provision that "all Writs, 

 Proclamation, Instruments for summoning and calling together the 

 Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of the Province of 

 Canada, and for proroguing and dissolving the same and all Writs 

 of Summons and Election and all Writs and public Instruments 

 whatsoever relating to the said Legislative Council and Legislative 

 Assembly or either of them and all Returns to such Writs and Instru- 

 ments, and all Journals, Entries and written or printed Proceedings 

 of what nature soever of the said Legislative Council and Legislative 

 Assembly and of each of them respectively and all written or private 

 Proceedings and Reports of Committees of the said Legislative 

 Council and Legislative Assembly respectively shall be in the English 

 language only: Provided always that this Enactment shall not be 

 construed to prevent translated copies of any such Document being 

 made but .no such copy shall be kept among the Records of the 

 Legislative Council or Legislative Assembly or be deemed in any case 

 to have the force of an original Document. "^ 



Vigorously opposed as was the Act in both Houses of Parliament, 

 no exception seems to have been taken to this clause. 



But the French Canadian people never submitted to this pro- 

 scription of their language; their leaders on both sides agitated against 

 it both in the Canadian Parliament and out of it. At length, in 1848, 

 the Imperial Parliament repealed the obnoxious section.^ There- 

 after the French language received due consideration in the Canadian 

 Parliament. 



No discrimination against its use in the new Dominion was ever 

 contemplated. At the Quebec Conference, it was moved by Mr. 

 (afterwards Sir) A. T. Gait and unanimously agreed to "that in the 

 General Legislature and in its proceedings, the English and French 

 languages may be both especially employed. And also in the Local 

 Legislature of Lower Canada and in the Federal and Local Courts 

 of Lower Canada." This with a change making it read "Federal 

 Courts and in the Local Courts" appeared in the Report of the 

 Delegates, and the Resolution of Westminster, with an immaterial 



1 "Report etc.," p. 212: this has already been quoted in another connection. 



2 (1840) 3 and 4 Vict., C. 35, S. 41 (Imp.) 



^ (1848) 11 and 12 Vict., C. 56, S. 1 (Imp.). The Canada Gazette appeared in 

 both languages as early as 1844. 



