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Essays and addresses

During the period of French domination, the Command- ant at the Fort was the judge and exercised almost unlimited power; and in this territory practically the same rule ob- tained after the British Conquest for a.

Time.

In 1763, Murray received power 3 as Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the province of Quebec to erect Courts of Civil and Criminal jurisdiction within the province of Quebec this province was formed by Eoyal Proclamation of October 7th, 1763; it contained all the territory now the provinces of Ontario and Quebec and included also the De- troit country! Accordingly, September 17th, of the following year 4 Mur- ray established a Court of Kings Bench for the province to sit at Quebec and with jurisdiction in all cases civil and criminal.

This Court was presided over by the Chief Justice of the province: and an appeal lay from his decision to the Governor and Council, (including the Chief Justice), in cases of over 300 sterling : where the amount in dispute was 500 sterling or more an appeal lay from the Governor and Council to the King in His Privy Council.

It had been intended that the Chief Justice should sit twice a year in a Court of Assize and General Gaol Delivery at Montreal ; but this was found unnecessarily expensive, and the direction was given that this Court should sit only once a year at Montreal, as well as once a year at Three Rivers.