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JOHN BAPTISTE LAPORTE, BEING AN EXPLANATORY REFUTATION OF THE GROUNDS OF OPINION CONTAINED IN THE REPORT OF A COMMITTEE OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, OF THE 26th OF SEPTEMBER, 1843, IN BEFERENCB TO THE BEACH LOT AT L'ANSE DES MERES ; AND ALSO, HEING A VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS, AND IN SUPPORT OF THE CLAIMS OF THE ABOVE-NAMED INDIVIDUAL, UPON HER MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT TO THE BEACH LOT IN QUESTION. QUEBEC- PRINTED BY GILBERT STANLEY, 15, BUADE STREET, 1843. V P(iOV ca: mate preh tavoi impc and a bi] and instE nam Legi " fei " re seen beer as t( year UOM wii: nize Frai ther tend of t of I brie Syd had alsc oft by app vim led; and PHOVINCK OF* CANADA. Ji To the Right Honorable Sir CitAHLES TnEOi'nii.ts Metcalfe, Baronet, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Hotiorahle Order of the Bath, one of Her Majesty's most Honorable Privy Council, Governor General of British North America, and Captain General and Governor in,. Chief in and over the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Island of Prince Edward, and Vice Admiral of the same. The present Remonstrance, made on the part of Mr. Jean Baptiste Laportc, and by him offered as an explanatory refutation of the grounds of opinion entertained by the Honorable Committc^e of the Executive Council, who framed the Report of the twenty-sixth of September last, in reference to the Beach Lot at Lanse des Meres, and as a vindication of the rights and claims of that individual upon Government to the property in question, is most humbly and respectfully submitted for consideration. It is presumed it will be conceded, as an admissible principle of justice, that it is materially essential to the right understanding of the merits of a case, that no misap- prehension of facts, or erroneous statements shoidd exist, in order to arrive at conclusions favourable to the ends of justice; such being undoubtedly an object of paramount importance in any case, but particularly so in the present one, where, not only the fionor and good faith of the Crown, but also the rescinding of a solemn pledge-nay more, ot a binding and bona fide contract of sale, made and concluded between Government 1 and Mr. J. B. Laporte, are brought into question. I By the medium of this Remonstrance would Mr. Laportethen, in the first pla^, I instance the assertion made by Mr. William Lampson, in the Petition addressed in he I name of the Ursuline Nuns to the House of Assembly, at the last Session ot the f Legislature, as constituting a subject matter of complaint, namely, " of an undue pre- " tbrence having been given by Goverrnent over them to Mr. J. B. Laporte, with refe- " rence to the grant of the Beach lot at L'anse der, Meres," -a statti^nent, as w-ill be seen, not in unison with truth nor in accordance with facts, such matter never havmg been in question ; but, on the contrary, a most prolonged and olistinate judicial contest as to the right of property in the said Beach-lot having been during a period ot thirteen years, most pertinaciously and vigorously maintained by these parties with the Crown. However, upon this fictitious and erroneous ground of complaint has the abovenamed William Lampson, (because none other party can Government now consistently recog- nize, seeing that the Ursuline Nuns, by a disposal of their claims to the Messi,s. Erasers, and by the latter to William Lampson, have not only alienated but divested themselves of all legal and equitable rights which they, at one time, may have pre- tended to the said property, if any such ever existed,) succeeded, with the bon-owea name of these Religious ladies, in preventing the original intentions of the Crown, in lavour of Laporte, from being carried into effect for the present. The Honorable Committee, in their Report, have deemed it advisable to refer briefly to the Report of the Executive Council, during the administration of the late Lord Sydenham, dated of the eleventh of May, 1H41, as exhibiting to what extent the Crown had pledged itself to Laporte in regaril of the Beach Lot at L'anse des Meres, without also considering that so far back as the year 1827, Government had, upon the memorial of that individual, praying for a permanent grant of the said Beach-lot, and the same signed by numerous old and respectable citizens of Queliee, certifying as to the merits ot his application, directed Sir James Stuart, Bart., the present Chief Justice of the late I ro- vince of Lower Canada for the District of Quel)ec, (then Attorney General, and aeknow- ledged to be one of the most eminent lawyers in the Province,) to give Ins opinion and report upon the same ; and wlieiice originated, upon his advice, the institution ot the petitory action (action petiioire) of tlie Crown against Laportc— «»r'>-'»/i(j/ indeed as 9 af^iiiiist Iiiiii, Idit fcijdilj/ as ai^ain,-<( llie Ursiilinc Nim«, the latter being called in l)y LaiioHe, tlic Det'cndaiit in the suit, to intervene in tlie tuuse, for the expresH purpone of having the question then at issue, and the only real one in the case — that of ownership— decided between them and the Crown. It is, therefore, from this distant |)eriod that Laporte relied with implicit confidence upon the understanding then entered into with the (.^rown, and in virtue whereof he has since been called upon in his cluuaeter of 'I'enanl, to pay, and did pay, to Goveniment all arrears of Rent for the period of eight years, although he did not receive any portion of the rents in question IVom the sublenantH themselves. The whole of the proceedings in this cause, and the various binding agreements and compacts subscciucntly made between Government and Laporte, as the original dis- coverer, the sanui varying in their tenor and api)lication, but, as matters progressed, becoming more obligatory upon tin; (Jrown in eHectually seciiring tiie int(!rests of Laporte, constituting him atone lime a tenant of the Crown, and as such demanding and receiving rents from him,— next directing him as a lessee to accept of an emphyteotie lease, and finally concluding with him. in tlu; character of vendee, a solemn and bituUng contract — no less than a sale of the Heach-lot in qiuslion, complete and perfect in all legal requi- sites ; — all these facts it is represented most unanswerably anil convincingly establish the assertion above made, and show how and under what circumstances the pledge was given, and finally ratified by the Crow'n. The whole of the Orders in Council, in c()nser[uencc, from the year 1827, in re- ference to the said Beach-lol. ujjto the last order of the Executive Council of the 13th of December, 1H41, as regards this transaction between Government and Laporte, were, and are in their disposition and cliaracter. in conliniialion of and as a confirmation to the lattjr of the understanding and agreement made as above stated. The Honorable Commiltce have Ihouglit proper in their Report to remark "that the " very name I/aiisr (h's Mnrs is indicative of the said Beucb-lot being the property of " the Urs'.dine N\nis, that their title was never questioned until lH27, and had been in "their possession for a century." — It is, however, no less true that IJavse des Meres, as a name of designation to the property in cpiesticm, has been, and is an obsolete appel- lative, and that the locality is generally and puldiely kiu)wn as " Cap Blanc,' or the White Cape. The assertion also tluvt the title of the'Nuns never had been disputed until the year 1827, and that tlu'y had been in possession for the period of a century of Me actual hcalifj/, has already been matter of consideration for Courts of Justice ; and, although these pretensions, in every variety of legal shape and argumentative form, have been urged before these tribunals, every w'ay competent to decide upon their nu'rits, — yet, have the decisions, both as to law and fact, been m favour of the Crown, and adverse to such pretensions.* The Honoral)le Committee have bocn pleased further to observe, that Lapijrte insti- gated the bringing of the said Petitory action, upon the grounds of his having Ijccn disappointed in his expectation of obtaining a renewal of his lease from the L'rsuline Nuns. Now, thvJ tiiis is altogeti.cr a gratuitous and erroneous supposition, is evident from the fact that the lease in question did not expire until the year 1838, a period of eleven years afterwards, but on the contrary, the rigid and expediency at the time of religious bodies, Gens de wain viorte, leasing out beach lots having been considerably bruited and questioned, the right of proprietorship therein being supposed to be vested in the Crown, the question finally came under the serious consideration of the Govern- ment, as above stated, and was idtimately referred to the legal tribunals of the country for investigation and decision, as being the most i quitable and judicious modis of ter- minating all doubts and difficulties upon the suljject.f I * L'anse des Mrres in fact as a namo !)(!in Blanc as above stated. The asseition made that the \nns were in possession Ibr a century is an erroneous state- ment, and untriie. The possession of the Niuis conunenced by an act of ownership in 1S08, by a lease to Mr. Coltman, 7f> years rdter the ])assing of their title, which the Courts have declared did not give it them, ard only U) years before suit brought. t As to the truth of tiiis statomont, reference might be craved to Sir James Stuart, Chief Justice in and for the District of Quebec ; the same being to his personal knowledge, when acting at that period in his capacity of Attorney Gciieral, as already nu'ulioned. '.J I I I i 3 The Uonoral.lr Connuiltor liiivo uIm., it. i\n-\v \U'[mi, i-xprcHscd Kt|•on^ i\m\A^ as to the question of tho hnw ""tl''.V^ -'"«l« ''y ^^\ l^-^V^Ho nM^ihu^ In.n to any (•ons.- deratio. for tli. samo IVo... (lovnuuMnt, inasmuch as th. nnim.vonu.n s ,nado won' o rXortlmcU at th. expiration of Ih. has. to tho Ursuhno Nuns and that the property itHuif, annually enhancing in value, would well repay such expenditure. But i8 thiH hitter allegation correct ?-0u the contrary, has not th(! situation of Laporte, during this long pending husiness, hecome more critical and .■nihaiassing in cCiy oint of View, as well pecuniary as otherwise ; the truth heing that, although large 8mus if money hav heen ex.ende.l hy hin, in coiiv*.rting a harren heach into a hah.table sP! yet in consecp.ence of the delays arising from these contheting interests, have tho means of Laporte been most ruinously affected. In the above Report, the Honorable Committee have also questioned the value and importance to tin- Crown of the information given by Laporte, as the original discoverer ; and in doing so have apparently based their ..pinion upon a statement so at variance Tth he actual facts, as to render it essentially neec.ssary to a true imders and.ng ol the Tase to insert a cpjotation therefrom in the present Remonstrance, and which is as follows :— "To iudgc of the claim, it is proper to ascertain whether the information upon which - it is fouiuh^l was of any value or importance to the Crown. Whatever may have been " ts value on the 7th March, ]8;W, when the Report of tlua,ower Canada touncd was " mad it became of no value whatever on the ;«)th July, 1810, when \he.)udgment ofthe " Couri of King's Heneh was reversal in Appeal, and the Nuns, and not the Crown, " were declared to be the proprieUns of tlie beach up to highwater mark. " The iudgment in appeal, which the Crown has not sought to disturb, leaves the " Nuns piiiseiy wIumc they stood in lH27. as t.. ih.oivncrshipup lo Inghwater mark ; " and all that the C:rown obtaiurd by the suit was the mterval below this, subject to " the right of pre-emption of the Ursulines." That the above statement is incorrect in every particular, will at once be seen by a reference to the language and tenor of the judgments themselves. How, therefore, the as on that b the decision of the Court of Appeals '' tl,e Nuns and vot the Crown, ^'were declaJto be the proprietors of the Imvh „i> to hfwatn nmrkj[^, furthermore, that by such decision " the Nuns were precisehj where they stood ^n\S21 as to he owner. - ship up to hiqhwatcv war/.:" could bc^ made, and introduced mo the body of the Rei oit of the Honorable Committee, not only as being a statement well founded m fact and in truth, but also as a basis upon which reasons have been assigned, arguments advanced, and conclusions deduced, which in their practical results would operate immeasurably to the disadvantage of the interests of Laporte, is, it is suggested, both extraordinary and unaccountable. The iudgment rendered in the Court of Appeals will, upon a perusal, be found to differ but in one respect from that of the decision given by the Court of King s Bench- thatis as to the actial line of highwater mark. The latter named tribunal saving com- pletely set aside the blue line laid down in William Sax s plan, and declaird the cliff to L the actual line of highwater mark ; and of which blue line, a Report of a Conwuttee oftheivhoIeCouneil, dated the 11th May, IS-il and approved o by the ate Lord Sydenham, then Governor General, in Council of the 1 th June, 184 , in jdluding to the iudRinent of the Court of Appeals, ami the line ot highwater mark m the plan of Mr Saxe states it to be ■' a line in fact below the true highwater mark made, and not - intended to (establish its exact locality, or supported in the proceedings by any evidence " showing that it was a true line ascertained by actual survey.* The Court of Appeals, on the otlur hand, by its Judgment was altogether guided T^ountloss affidavits eouUl l-o iM-oduood to establish that tho bhu, hue made by Mr. Saxo, as cmisti- tuting Wghwatcr mark, is both unn.asonal.U- a,ui absurd : au//,.„•„(,;■ mark ; with this dilVcrnico, that the decision of tin; Court of Appeals, as u bigiier trd>unal, limited the hiyh-water mark to the blue line in question. It may hero be observed, that the Judgment of the Court of Kings Hencli enters lullymtoan investigation of the titles of the Ursnline Nuns; and d.rlares " that the '' leach lot >xt L'<,,>sc (Ivs Merrs lovms no part or portii.n of the ground sold by one Uuqiut to these Heligu)us ladies." On the other hand, the Judgment of th,; Court of Appeals apparently evades the taking of such question into consideration ; and is satisfied as to their legality, by remarking - that the Nuns held under titles wliieh it was not the objeet ol the Inlormation to try."* In investigating the question of the vidiio and importance to Government of the discovery and eonsetiuent information of Laporte, the same, it is to be presumed, will not most assuredly be considered in a restrictive sense; but if examined in a just, eniiit. able, and liberal point of view, then the answer is stlf-evident-inasniuch as, m,t only rem the period that the point in controversy as to the right of o,r„ers/,m of Heaeli lots upon this original intormation was determine.l. I,v the said Judgment of the Court of Kiiiir'n Bench, to be vested in the Crown, did all .iiHi.ultics cease to exist as to oinnrshiAn respect to Beaches m general on the River St. Lawrence all doubts on the contrary on the subject being peremploiily silenced, but likewise have innnmeiable Letters J'atcnt Hi<:.n^"' ''''''? ''^'"^•^''''t'T'^'"""*'*'''' importance and value to Government nf the re ir''^ '-^nd 'nlormation of Laporte in the most possible limited sense, u, I , t . Iv o That, whatever may have been ,ts vol,,,' „n tho Itl, M,m/,, m9, when the l^no of 1840 when the judgment ol the Court of Kind's Bench was reversed in i\n, '.I mi '^^^^"»Y"dnot the Crown, d.rlarH to l^e t/n' proprlrfors „p to Inaln,^^ m^r And also that that judgment, never having been disturbed, leavc(s the aC^^ w^^^^^^^ "where they stood in 1827 as to the o,rm-rship up to hi^hwater mark." I.smuch a respect from the language, meaning, and intent of the judgment in question md s no Ztr?"T'fr^'^'^'''^'''r '^'^yvo^ "'■ viow, but, furthermore, a varia e th Z actual facts of the case ; and cannot, therefore, in common juslic'e to Laporte, he , e iv ! 1 as a criterion by wh.c'i any fair or reasonable conclusions could be ar ived at i , nUl i^r^StS^ i£S"°" '' ''' ^'^'"^ ■'''' "'■ ''' ""''--y -' "^'^••-'•- ""ta^::i . ^J^^ ^""f ''''''' ''^ }^^^C^^r^ o{ Appeah in f\ict, as already explained, onlv dilTerin- InTi '/'"^f r* "V^" ^"'""^ "f ^'"-'^ "^"^^'^ ^^ •« »^^ ^^^'-^'^t line of highwie S ""^ '^' beach being, by the former sentence or judgment, declared to be .; !o h^hwater * ^* ''^ving bRcn jndicinlly ruled and decidod thi.t tlio object of tl,e information fvl,.,l .„ .i . , the Crown was not for the purpose of Irvin- tlie titles of its ndvors- rie 1m^ nf ' '"^ >?"' "^ question at issue, ti,e owners/up 'of tl,e lieach "vl.oneo he u«- itrofthn I, ;'t ''''';'' '''« ".>^- "»'y/-''l tiie same by the Honorable Con,mittoe, partieularlv as no new f ct or „ c^r E' been eii'X'7 "^''tn'^ original question already determined by the tribunals of the country ^''"""^' ""'' ''''^ I liai till! reiil anil iutriiiMc value f)!" f ll,u sail! lfcH.1. 1"! "■»>, im.l ., >il»ta.. I ),.>," coiii|«.™iivi'ly ,|"'''l'- fonniiiR ail iWegnil I"™"" "' "' ' t''''! ,.'<,.,[ a, alidvc wiilc'd, 1" l.a|i"il>-. "li.KU 3''i:o,:i!,ity"> ,i:.;'..,,..»s i.o„„i.n .■ .iounmicm. the suLjocl wholly aillcrcnt lioiu thusu hchl b> Uul olhtii. Mr. T.aport(>, a.ul ho luuinj^ only lor ^l';; '^ ' , S^,^ 7 o .n.nls is wanting ; the vvlu>,vl.y the necessary .nlbrmat.on to e nab c h " •;* " Honorable Cnnnittee, liberty is here used of ren.arku.g, f «,;;'';;';;' t Majesty's in awarding; the praise which is »'h1» 'l''^'ll) 'j^^;, ,', ,. \^i;\,. , :„ u,, Ucports upon these .alters, shoul.l, under circumstances have j-one as . ^^ I^^ ; ^^ at his hands, upon loth or justice to l.aporu. and ot courtesy to " 'y; J '^,^'^ ^^ J,.^pi,uKi..«'V observations :onununicati.-,n ln■in,^ made to lun, ot tlje P''^^^'''^, , ^n*; , ' ! ^^ the iXuns, elalive to the assumed discoyenes mad.- m ^ "• a d ! , , ' , ,,t,, General, md which it is remark»-d so singularly escaped the uotice ol I Honorable Committee, neial of Hir Majesty's 111 iHYiimiiis "'^ 1 ■ 1 I i; .,,i.,.„.iMiu liini in his Uei'orts upon these Domain lor the labour, diligence, and research ;»'> >' y ;' ^ j"^* '^ ,, ,, appro'priale act matters, should, under circumstances, have gone a st. P,V''»''^'; '"l'^.;^,, ^„ ,,LS,„\,,,. i,„on bo conunumca relative and wl 1 u ,..v.„;o,w nvide by the Honorable Committee upon the In adverting to the several '^'Z ^Z^'^.^, ''' V/. ^ ' n..ticeable, that no mention is Reports of die Inspector (Jeneral it 'J; .;,;",, ^^yc-.u-ral on the subject; although made by them ol' the Ileports ol Her ^^'i^^^ '^!^C^,,^,^^^^^ of the such were undouble.lly made, and weiv, it i> ^"I'l 'J, ' right of Laporle, and in support of h.s claims upon Govcnmcnt. The remark made by die nonoral>le C'7>|--;n,':St'v".^e ^^S.;? the Nuns, as held und.. deed '-;- ^^^^J'-jJ^^;, ; :^ ;L I aU.gc'l lact in support of t^ %^r::^ST:^n^^^^^ ^^^ -^ .^ apply to tl. presem ease. Because d^ere being no speciac ;i>'-f^ -;-;--;:::[,; t l^ei^'tl^ie^!:: Nuns, they might, it 's granted, be bou.uledmgni.dn^^ unfounded in and yet, as it has already bec.i . ecided by ,<-"" ,' _« . f^ .^^^^ \ll,-,,,,, of property being thei/chim to the beach; the right ot ""''^'r^f ^'t dEJIule between die Crown the only (luestion in issue in die cause, and Uic only one i and the Nuns. The Inspector Cen.-ral, wluwe attention, H- ^^1. extncts ^nnsljed in^u^^I^on of the Honorable Conunitlee, has evidently been ^ I'' \^^' .^^J,^^^',^,^^^^^ and low-water this matter, namely, that of the projn.etorsh.p ot /'> ,, f ^e .ru'tk,^' n,akes in his Report mark, the only point really in conteslalion ^'^l^ "^^^^^^^J*^^ 'u,',. Nuns, which it was (without entenng into an absolute investigation o ^^t^^^^^^ u,e older tides, it iot his object to do) the relleCion or rennu k j'-; P^^^iJ^l-Zf ,,,,,,, ,,, /,„.•.," /. .. it appeared to him that the origmal grants gave ^1^^ bmi^^^^^^^^^ ,, j ^.J^j therefore, nlilst be presume.], in freuch " hor.e „„ sud par ^''^^^^^Xvy reverse of the con- this supposition or assumption to be t.ue,thu^^^ chision come to bv the Honorable Comnutt.e; ^^^^'^^^^^^^^J^ SUllZ. h.lonJd to the extended below high-water mark, the Cliil as Crown, inasmuch as dial by which a thing is and therefori; the remark, in this r.:si)ecl, ot elusive in reason nor in point of appli<"ibility. reporls of the Insprdor (ininal. (i.lin lli-m "' tlun m*<,) <-. a consequence, nuist have belonged to the lunuuled ^' reuu.n.stn.nce was theirjntles, that they had,." I^^^.'^^:'^^ !'- «--na,y, estal^li.hi,;^,:; ^^"•f f ^^f -^'^'J being furthermoV p ^nitts do vn^o r'^ ?" '" ''^/" ^"^"''t '^'' ^'^l^i^ granted to them direct from the Fren ■! C o • ■ n T % ^"IV'^'^ter mark, and the same theless accorded Letters Patent \o^^^SkJ!"' ^T^^' ^overnnunt, „,...,• property being in this manner entiix^y d ni d 1' ^^ n ' ''' ""'"'■'^ "'"* ^"^'^^"-' "^ tbe oHhe aentlenKu of the ...na.,, aJc^Si^d Ci; .:^;V- ^SEo;!:;!^ ::r^-« Ihe Claims, on the other lnn,l ,^r at - discoverer, in pVi,,,, i"|-°l it 'tl 4 t^'rvui T" '""■"'■""■""'. - "" ".iKinal the Crown, and lie l„,i„„ ,i,., „,,..„„.,',,, ''"•'' ," ,»""■'' ,*''"'"' »"sput d l>y ' y ^ "^^^^ ^ ^^^, ,,^1 question at issue, the already madJ in a former P^^'l^^^^'^^^ "^,^ ^e Co it ot Kings Bench settled as being ownerskip of Beach-lots w.u. by the ^^^^^ "^^M. ot^Government to Beach-lots vested in the C'rown. all iur her 3;'^ .^' f ^^^^^f'^^^^^^^^^^^ the case above alluded to, ami- having ceased. Subsequently <« f ^ '^", , ^^^^f.^, ^l^^ ^ers of Beach-lots from Government cable arrangements were enteivdntob.c.M^^^^^^^ tl,e present case, neitlier the andtheKmis,ortheH-re^i^senUu^^^^^^^^ ^.^^1^^ eoncern^l or brought interests, honour, good taith oi P'^"hJ " . - j | f^^ speculative purposes, ssirui:^dhSi.;ih^;n The case of James Reynar and that, of J. R D.port^ - -g-^^^;;- -^^:;:: claims upon Government, do -^f ^'^ f'^'J^%,^,,r.r,-iho question regarded by (Jovevnment in tl>e ligh ot an o g ^^^^ j. ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^,^_ oiou;,er.}ap. then decided as above ^t'^/^'^^' ^^^^J tt J^^^ /^ .^^ -l^h, ^^^, of turbed er.joyment of Bea>h-hK P^-7'^'^> Z^^,,,^. .^^^ "m^ in his varied character of Laporte upon Government, ans>ng l'^, ;, ^/^ j^,!^, ^iJ^bly and legally entitled him to ;:X,:^;oS.lJft,".e2„S'™.Slu:l'l"':S.t^,nni., .on, Oov„„,n™,. The lleport of the Honoraljle Committee, after considering the claims of Mr. Larorte as those of a stranger,* proceeds to enquire " How /ar the pubbc Jaith and the " honor of the Government maj) not stand pkcl/jed to Laporte, so as to render U tmperatwe " vmn His Erccllcnnj, the Admhmfrafor in Chtrf of the Proiunce, to supi a Patent m " A 9 farour " In discussing this question, one cf grave audserious consideration, as wellfo Government as for alf classes of Her Majesty's subjects in this country, similarly situated, the Honorable Committee Report as ioUows :— " The application of Laporte. and the Order in Council in Lower Canada, are pre- " dicated upon the judgment of the Court of Kings Bench, and the presumption that « the Cinwn was the proprietor up to higlnvater mark. Ihe judgment of the Court of " Appeals, given sul)sequent to this order, and the titles and possession ot the Nuns, " provt> this assumption to be erroneous. The law of the land is plain that where a " grant has been made in error, the Crown has been deceived, aiu the rig it.s ot one indi- " ?idual have been granted to his prejudice to another, that the Patent shall be repealed " and set aside, even after it has be( n signed and scaled. In the present instance the " Patent not only has not issued, but the sale to Laporte is not i-oniplete, the ground has " not been surveved, nor its value ascertained-neither law nor justice can imtitle Laporte " to claim at the'hands of Your Excellency, at this time, the execution ot the Order m » Council of Lov.^r Canada, when, in consequence of subsequent occurrences which " however relate back to the time the order was made, the Government ot Lower Canada " would be compelled to cancel that order if that Government were still m existence " Laporte cannot, in the state in wliieh tlu- matter now stands, demand, consisten ly with " fairness and honesty, a grant to luui of what, contrarv to his own statement, belongs " to another. " The pledge given to hiiu ceased to be Ijiiuling Ihe moment that the condition upon " which it was given ceased 1o exist, the Govi'rnment intended to make him a. grant of " property belonging to the Crown, not of property belonging to the Nuns ; and, in the " opinion of the Committee, Laporte cannot compel Your Excellency to commit an " injustice." " When the subject at ]n-esent under consideration, was brought to the notice of tlie " Committee in May and in December, KS-11, its difHculty suggested the expt;dienee of " making a grant to Laporte without guarantee of title, the Executive Council were con- " scions that legal difiiculties encompassed the question, and were anxious that the Crown '• should be relieved from them." How, indeed under the actual, and from what has already been premisv\^ implied circumstances of Mr. Laporte's case, this individual, not only formally but yirtuiilly recog- nized during a period of sixteen consecutive years by the Crown, as its Tenant, Lissee, and Vendee, in a transaction which has reduced him, the only real sufferer, to a state of poverty, and (should his claims fail to lueit with due and equitable consideration at the hands of the Crown,) utter ruin, is to be declared a stranger, -one unknown in this par- ticular to Government, is indeed a statement furnishing not only food for eonjectuiv but matter of surprise ; particularly, when the o[)ponents of the Crown now represented in the puson of one William Lampson, (an ;dien l)y birth, and whose violent conduct, in these matters, has been severely animadverted (ju iii the lleport of the late Lord Sydenham) — are, as possessing the more legitimate rights and claims upon Government, to be pre- ferred to Laporte, as the select purchaser of the beach lot in question. It is evident, to make use of the language of the Report, that not only from the above quoted extracts have the Honorable Committee takin an altered view of the subject, but also in framing said Report have laboured under a misapprehension of the facts— whence a train of reasoning has been assumed, and followed throughout the Report in question, which causes the same in its conclusions to differ from all other reports hitherto made by the Executive Council of the country on the said subject.— How, otherwise, could •-Tho Honorablo Connnitto- in their Hopoi' ''■'^■'' 'If"'-'"'"'' '^ J"'*' '""i'' ''^l"^'^"""' *" ^'>'''^ ^^^- ['"P"'"''' a (Jomrooii liiforiner as wt-ll as sti-angcr. I' would be well lor llic iiileri'sU of l.apnrtc wore he coiisKicrod in sucli, inasmuch as in Law he would be ciititlod to at least one-halt' of the value clthe information given, and even in some instanees to the whole. In tiie present case, however, his clauns are uuceremoiuouHly and phuisilily dismissed with great personal lo-i- in lieu of e(|iiitiil)le reniiMieration. 9 " Council in Lower Canada, »">^ f°""J„'^ Z pro^'fr np to high-fater mark; " Bencli, and tlie assumption that thtC'Ownjas J J ,„ ,„,,, „rier, and the .. audti;atthe Judgment o he Court oApp A mO- l^.^_^ ^^ ^ .. Tte :fth'e''S;:rnrLrStS:*at°i:;'t^^^^^^^^^^ *e Cro«wasthe propneto. of the Beach. , , . i • 1-1- t *„o " Thp law of the land is plain, To quote further from the said R^-* -h>.h st^a^^^^ J^^^^ ,^^^.,,,, ,, ,He rights " that where a grant has been "^'^^'^^ ,^" ^ ^^^ ' [^^^^^^^^^ to another, that the Patent sh.U b - of one individual have been g'-'^^f ^ « "^ Ssi^ned and sealed;" and also, " In the » repealed, and set T^^^^:^^t^i:^^. ^ut tke saU to La.orte . not cou. iju, in the present case, that the to- o;- cJa^e^^-Pj^j^^^^ ^i „orte^-was thele any attempt on his P'^^t'^^J^^^^^Seaedsion rendered by the Court Cernment, or to lead the Crown "^«,7«,7i rjJ^/^Committee, (although upon erro- of Appeals, so repeatedly referred *» M ^he tW" ^^^-^ (^ ..^^ent- neous groimds,) as decisive ot H'"^''j'Xf Crow^^^^^ the subject v On the con rary, was such at that period the opinion ot ^btC own on -^^^^ ,, ,,t for his rights, Crown. ''W hi.hrGo>..nmentinte,ue<.ou«m^^^^^ " '':::. is p^nm., -^-^ -^ - Si-:^'^ ?ii statement, made in the l''^'*'',','^;' -.u, ^'sm.d u eonrse of '-^^^^g;"' 'te tloL i-^>;r;^t™asr, r::t"*;:;;;;;;! - £r :tS!ra^:...n.-r;:;;-;^;-»X:rli,:ltp-^^ as a denial ot upon would really, under the existmt, all justice to the claims ot Laporte. ^ ^^^^^^ The Honorable C^ommittee, in bringing their c^^^^^^ m 'Ik ''that the subject, then under lieir ^on^uuitim, ^^ h^ ^^.^^.^^.^^^^^ suggested ""nitt ' in the mitl. of May -^1;;;^:^ ^^.^^antee of Title ; the Executive spedience of making a grant to Lapoitc, witno b to remar " Comni the expedi . , ,., ,o,00Cv, havin. been deposited in a Bank at Quebec^^nK^ SVpaUraV the' "handrof th. Crow,^ 10 " Council being conscious that legal clifticulty encompassed tl^^^'l^f^^i^' BeTch lot'in in conclusion, recommend, so as to ensure justice to all parties, ''hat the Beath-lot m ^ SuTs on b set up at public sale, alter due notice, and that the Nuns, as Kipan n pro- - Eor " be reseried the right of taking the property withiu twenty-lour hours alter the " sale, at the rate offered by the highest bidder." If the first mentioned remark is intended to show that, at that period, the Executive Counc 1 of the country contemplated that the rights of the Crown were m egal danger, the reZi t not in "lace ; inasnn.ch as the grant then ordered was in a spirit ot justice so Tde no 01 y in^vL'ard to Laporte's peculiar situation during this protracted trausac ion, llSi^rSi ;;^se of rati^iug inVod laitli the ^^^^^f:^:^^^^^:^^ so far as it lay in the power of the Crown so to do ; he, La.oitt, ha\mg tlic opuou reserved to him of continuing the contestation at his own disposition and expense.* The expediencv, in the opinion of the Honorable Committee, of setting up the pro- rertv in c,ue ion to the highest bidder, and of reserving the right to the party rep e- Si " thrKuns of taking the same at the amount of the purchase price, must undoubt- eS mecLe M Laport ° and all others from becoming vendees.-'i Ins proceedmg, it .SLCon com, l.^'ly foreclosing h of all caann upon Government ancrali™3y of retrieving his losses. The opposite party, l)y such an act, beccmung n^lSto^oftle improvement" made bv Laporte during the pendency ot this bug and nS^ ; pr cnlSinatd business, the same haling been made ma spir. o pc^r cct re lanc UDOiVepled-e and good failh of Government; and upon the strength ol a hul, Lapmtc h?s and s\ 11 eh^ possession of tlie said property "t great annual cost, and m opposition ^he^c^ntmilbiible attempts of WiUialn Lampson ^o.^'^f-- •^'"^,i:X"' hI^^^ ThP reoresentativcs of the .\uns themselves, formerly the lierec opponents, lately, he StsolLwU would not, in heir ingenious PelUion to the Executive, hazard a clami rights ol ^;°';^' ''"''' wiilioul ilr>t pronosin- the conciliatory and plausible oiler of c rS bSr^^t^ WmShls iui rolemems, but which the Crown then honour- abijCd judiciously rejected, as incompatible with its engagements to Laporte. recommended^at all by the Honorable Committee in the present Report.f Tt must bo conceded, upon an examination of this last executed Report, that not only has J J^^l^nslSr^f Respect been shown in the same to the P---;-.;; I!;,^^ /, ^r tl,o Pmwn but under the rea c rcumstances ol the case, the inKicnce is mmimmim ably or justly entided. ""T^.apnealtothe Queen and Privy Cou.jeil hv the ]:"-- ;-^,;":;--;?>i£,S".'^n 't^e^J;::! never carried 'inlo cfTeet, the Committee therefor.. ^vhK•h lran,e.l ''''''''',',,,;",,,„, ,ho part of the t T1.0 risl.l ..!■ im.miilio.i 1» an an. .lio o c «')>:., „,, j,u,mat of ita .nj»n/r'. Laporte, bewg ,„,,,„ Govevnnu«nt, ami in (.uebUon. „o\vayB ^-^X^^ couccvucd ov bvought into i .uhougbnonew the Crown is in anyw rcsin-clfully *^" '"^'\, Vviim ol' Laiioite matter or tact h^ >^y ^^^.^ ^^ ,ny ^'^^P ! /^ ;„, ,u1,ied, evuu'c "!^,; ;,,,,,,. a i>rH«<««i upon Governm,"^;^^^- province on t ^ ^" , Jponcnts ol ^^^^^^I'Vaieiul contests troni aU other l^^" . "^ acsiro to hold out t ^ A^^^^. u,c t- vo^yn,-•- o| . ^^„ ,avise the question, "" ^o" ^ J, i,, had laHh upon ^ " i^. i,,a ^,mdcr circnun i- ^ t" ^^^ „.,^, for encroaclnncnt , ^^^^ or ju^^^^'f «" ' n ^ U^' solemn cngagem n^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ :„A;c»ut!iblY, entitle butu i ri„„„„utee 12 «.. «t th^ nrpspiit time to be considered as solemn declarations of public ^tf; Site or art to be viewed and treated as documents of no import wliolly nuga- To y. b"; ; n s^u" aTd in letter, and embodying no pledge or -» -J^jch t^^^^^^^^ faith and unsullied honour of the Crown stands m danger of being arepaiably com promised ? Thirdbj -Whether the contract of salemade by the Crown upon its own terms and condiSS-Laporte. the same essentially and fo-ally comp ete bo^^^^^ and effect, is now upon the broad and even basis ol equity ^o be denied and '^^ and let it then be asked, in virtue of what given principle °^^ t^^J^ J^^oT^^^ measure be rendered justifiable '\ Or. is the Government of tj^e country ho. oma^^^^^^^^^^ dialing all subservient motives and purposes, now prepared by ^ne act ol ">'\on^"|!™^yj^ redeem its pledge, and grant to an humble but loyal subject of Hei Majesty, a due, lull, ana final confirmation of his rights 1 In the concluding part of this Remonstrance, would Mr. Laporte, by an earnest and Intheconciucun parioi ^^j . , ^p.^rnment, as representing m his person ♦n^nLuWnhlP nrefereuce humbly so cit that the Government, in tie giacious excicise made him of the property m question. Fin^llv in the resoectful but firm assertion of his rights and claims upon Governmem, by and under favour of the Crown. I ; I,