as follows:--On the south by the United States boundary, on the west by the Rocky Mountains, on the north by the northern branch of the Saskatchewan, on the east by Lake Winnipeg, the Lake of Woods, and the waters connecting them. 8. All titles to land, up to the 8th March 1869, conferred by the Company, are to be confirmed. 9. The Company is to be at liberty to carry on its trade without hindrance in its corporate capacity, and no exceptional tax is to be placed on the Company's land, trade, or se vants, nor any impost duty on goods introduced by them previous to the surrender. 10. Canada is to take over the materials of the electric telegraph at cost price; such price including transport, but not including interest for money, and subject to a deduction for ascertained deterioration. 11. The Company's claim to land under agreement of Messrs. Vankoughnet & Hopkins to be withdrawn. 12. The details of this arrangement, including the filling up the blanks in Articles 4 and 6, to be settled at once by mutual agreement. It is due both to the representatives of Canada and to the Company to add, that these terms are not intended by Lord Granville as the basis of further negotiation, but a final effort to effect that amicable accommodation, of which he has almost despaired, but which he believes will be for the ultimate interest of all parties. If this be rejected, either on behalf of the Company or on behalf of the Dominion, his Lordship considers that his next step must be to procure an authoritative decision as to the rights of the Crown and the Company, and with this object he will recommend Her Majesty to refer their rights for examination to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, whose decision will form a basis for any future legislative or executive action which Her Majesty's Government may find necessary. Whatever may be the result of this proposal, his Lordship desires to express his sense of the openness and courtesy which he has experienced throughout these negotiations, both from the representatives of Canada and from the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Company, and the patience with which they have entertained proposals which, from their point of view, must no doubt have appeared inadequate. Lord Granville is aware that a proposal of this kind will require consideration, but he hopes that you will lose no time beyond what is necessary in acquainting him with your decision. I am, &c. COPY of a LETTER from the Right Hon. Sir Stafford H. Northcote, Bart., to Sir, Hudson's Bay House, London, 22 March 1869. In reply to your letter of the 9th instant,* transmitting the terms of a proposal which Earl Granville recommends for the adoption of this Company, and of the Canadian representatives, I have the honour to inform you that the Committee have given their most careful consideration to that proposal, and that they have been in communication with the Canadian Ministers on some points connected with it, and I am to transmit to you a copy of the correspondence which has taken place with them. The Committee have summoned a special general court of the proprietors on Wednesday next to consider the proposed terms, and they have come to a resolution that they will recommend the court to adopt the proposal. I am I am desired by the Committee to invite Earl Granville's attention to the 6th of the resolutions adopted at their meeting on the 12th instant, relating to the salary of the Bishop of Rupert's Land, and to the observations of the Canadian representatives thereon. The Committee, while acknowledging the force of the objections urged by the Canadian Ministers to the endowment, out of the public revenues of Canada, of an Anglican Bishopric of Rupert's Land, desire to point out to Earl Granville that the Hudson's Bay Company have entered into a legal contract, in their capacity of owners of the territory which is now to be transferred to Canada, by which they are bound to continue this endowment in perpetuity. It is manifestly reasonable that on ceding the territory they should be relieved of this obligation; and the Committee desire me to suggest for Earl Granville's consideration, that the object might be attained in the simplest manner, by Canada consenting to pay to the Company a fixed sum, as a compensation for vested interests, or under any other name that might be preferred, which sum the Company would invest for the support of the bishopric. My dear Sir George Cartier, 86, Harley-street, 11 March 1869. THE directors of the Hudson's Bay Company have held a meeting to-day to consider Encl. in No. 22. Lord Granville's letter. Before, however, they can form a judgment on his proposals, they are anxious to have some explanation on points which do not appear very clear to them. Without entering into the question of the value of their territory for purposes of colonisation, they feel that its possession is of very great value to the Company as a basis for the promotion of their trade, and they are anxious to satisfy themselves that, if it is surrendered, some adequate security will be afforded for their trading interests. The two points upon which we are anxious for information are these: first, what will be the position of the Company with reference to the territory lying outside the Fertile Belt; and, secondly, what will be the nature and probable limit of the burdens which will be laid upon our property within that district. Regarding the country lying outside the Fertile Belt as a hunting ground alone, we presume: 1st. That we shall be at liberty to hunt over it freely, and without being subjected to any license, tax, or other similar impost; 2nd. That we shall be granted a title to our posts, and to such adjoining land as may be necessary for their maintenance, and for supplying pasture and wood; 3rd. That we shall be allowed to cut such wood as we may require in any part of the territory. In addition to these rights, we should much like to suggest that it would be for the interest of the Company, and still more for that of Canada, that Canada should give us for a limited period some special control over the importations into the hunting country, so as to enable us to keep spirits from the Indians. With regard to the taxes which may be laid on our lands within the Fertile Belt, we presume that with respect to their wild and unsold lands, the Company will stand on the same footing as the Canadian Government, that is to say, on the footing of a proprietor and not of an alienee, and will therefore not be subject to taxation until the land is sold or brought into cultivation. Can you let me have an answer to this letter before 12 o'clock to-morrow, as we are to hold a meeting at two to consider the question further? Sir George E. Cartier, Bart. I remain, &c. Dear Sir George Cartier, Hudson's Bay House, 12 March 1869. I AM desired by the Committee of this Company to forward to you a copy of the inclosed resolutions, which have been adopted at our meeting to-day, and to request that you will favour me with an answer, which I may lay before the Committee at their meeting on Tuesday next. I remain, &c. AT a Special Committee held on the 12th of March 1869, at the Hudson's Bay House, to reconsider Letter from Sir Frederic Rogers, Bart., dated Downing-street, 9th March 1869: The Governor reported that Sir G. Cartier and Mr. M'Dougall had explained to him the system of municipal taxation to which the Company would be subject in respect of their lands. Resolved, That this Committee will recommend the shareholders to accept the proposal of Lord Granville, if the Canadian Ministers will agree to the following modifications: 1. That Canada will lay no export duty on furs. 2. That the 6th Article be modified so as to allow the Company to defer exercising their right of claiming their proportion of each township for not more than 10 years after it is set up. 3. That no charge be made upon the Company for the expenses of survey. 4. That the proportion of land which they are allowed to claim be increased from onetwentieth to one-tenth. 5. That York and Moose factories be retained as ports of entry. 6. That Canada undertakes to pay the 300 l. a year now paid to the Bishop of Rupert's Land, and other charges of a public character now borne by the Company. 7. That some provision be made for referring to arbitration any question which may arise out of the agreement. To Sir Stafford Northcote, M.P., Governor. Westminster Palace Hotel, London, 15 March 1869. Sir, WE have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of certain resolutions adopted by the Governor and Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company on the 12th instant, suggesting important modifications of the proposal of Lord Granville for the transfer of Rupert's Land to Canada. We beg you will inform the Committee that in our opinion the proposal of Lord Granville is much more favourable to the Hudson's Bay Company than any previous proposal of the Imperial Government, and much more onerous to Canada than its Government and people have been led to expect. With great reluctance, we have consented to recommend Lord Granville's proposal, if accepted by the Company pure et simple, but not otherwise, to the favourable consideration of the Canadian Government. The modifications and additions proposed by the Committee are not, in our judgment, "details" within the purview of the 12th Article of Lord Granville's proposal, but substantive and material changes, affecting the very basis of the arrangement. We cannot, therefore, assent to them, or undertake to recommend their acceptance by the Canadian Government. We have further to observe that, in making these demands upon us, the Committee assume that the changes they propose will be accepted or approved by the Imperial Government. If we are correctly advised, the Committee are not warranted to make that assumption. In the letter of Sir Frederic Rogers, communicating to us a copy of Lord Granville's proposal, we are assured that it conveys "the views of Her Majesty's Government," and in the letter conveying these views to the Company, it is stated that "these terms are not intended by Lord Granville as the basis of further negotiations." It follows, we think, that Lord Granville's proposal is to be regarded as the ultimatum of the Imperial Government, and must be accepted or rejected in its entirety. The Act 31 & 32 Vict. c. 105 (which was not introduced at the instance, or passed in the interest of the Canadian Government), placed the negotiation of the terms of surrender by the Company to the Crown in the hands of Her Majesty's Imperial Government, where, until the Act is repealed or the negotiation fails, we are of opinion it must remain. We shall be glad to confer with you upon all questions of "detail" which, by the terms of Lord Granville's proposal, are left to be adjusted between the Canadian Government and the Hudson's Bay Company. We have, &c. To Sir G. E. Cartier, Bart., and the Hon. William M'Dougall, C.B. Hudson's Bay House, London, 16 March 1869. Gentlemen, I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yesterday's date, in reply to my letter to Sir G. Cartier, in which I enclosed to you a copy of the resolutions adopted at the meeting of the Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company on the 12th inst. It is unnecessary for me to enter into the question you raise as to whether Earl Granville would or would not accept any modifications of the terms set forth in his Lordship's recent communication to this Committee, if they should be agreed to by this Committee on the one hand, and by yourselves on the other. While stating that he regarded those terms as not being intended as the basis of further negotiations, Lord Granville added that he left the details of the arrangement to be settled by mutual consent. The greater part of the resolutions transmitted to you in my letter of the 12th, were resolutions intended to lead to a settlement of certain details, on which it will be necessary for the Committee to offer full explanation to the shareholders of the Company, if they decide on submitting Earl Granville's proposals to a general meeting. If, in your opinion, any of them go further than this, the Committee will be ready to reconsider them, and to confer with you upon them. As regards the resolution, by which the Committee proposed that the amount of land to be left to the Company should be one-tenth instead of one-twentieth, I am to state that the Committee have rescinded that resolution. They will await a communication from you with regard to the other resolutions, before coming to a conclusion as to the' course they should adopt. I am, &c. (signed) Stufford H. Northcote. To the Right Honourable Sir Stafford Northcote, Bart. Sir, Westminster Palace Hotel, 18 March 1869. WE have the honour to acknowledge your letter of the 16th inst., in which you inform us that the Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company have rescinded the resolution adopted on the 12th inst., asking for one-tenth instead of one-twentieth, as proposed by Lord Granville, of the land which may be surveyed for settlement in the surrendered territory. You further state that if the other resolutions go further than the "details of the arrangement" left by Lord Granville to be "settled by mutual consent," the Committee are ready to reconsider them. 1. With reference to the first resolution, "That Canada will lay no export duty on furs," we beg you will inform the Committee that it is not the policy or the practice of the Canadian Government to resort to export duties as a source of revenue. We feel no hesitation in stating our firm belief that no such duties as the Committee wish to prohibit will be levied, but it would obviously be improper for us to consent to any arrangement that would fetter the free action of the Canadian Parliament in respect to modifications of the tariff which the future exigencies of the country may render necessary. 2. The proposal to modify the 6th Article, so as to permit the Company to defer the exercise of the right of claiming their proportion of lands in any township for a period of 10 years after survey, might, we think, be agreed to, on condition that they limit their claim to allotment from the lands which may be unsold at the time they declare their intention to take their proportion in that township. 3. The demand to be relieved from the expenses of survey, which Lord Granville proposed the Company should bear, is not, we think, a "detail" within the meaning of the 12th Article. But if it will remove the apprehension that charges under this stipulation may become excessive, we see no objection to a proviso that the expense to the Company for the survey of the lands allotted to them shall in no case exceed 10 cents. per acre. 4. We have no doubt that York and Moose factories will be retained as ports of entry, if goods continue to be imported there. But if, by the opening of interior communications, the trade should be diverted to other ports, it would not seem reasonable that the Government should be bound to maintain customs establishments at Hudson's Bay. The practice of the Canadian Government is to establish ports of entry wherever the interests of trade and commerce require them, and we do not therefore think it either necessary or expedient to make any stipulation on the subject. 5. The demand that the salary of the Anglican Bishop of Rupert's Land should hereafter be charged upon the Canadian Treasury, cannot be regarded as a "detail" within the 12th Article of Lord Granville's proposal. The surrender of the rights and powers of government by the Company will necessarily involve the assumption of "all charges of a public character" in the new government. in the new government. But an agreement to continue the charges now borne by the Company," eo nomine, would so far perpetuate a system, which the transfer of the territory to Canada is intended to supersede. 6. The last proposal of the Committee is open to very serious objections. The surrender of the powers of government and of territorial jurisdiction by the Company to the Crown, and the transfer of these powers to the Canadian Government, are acts of State, authorised by Imperial Statute, and will have all the force and permanence of fundamental law. The proposal to refer all questions which may arise under this law to some extraconstitutional tribunal is not warranted by the British North America Act, and would, we fear, if adopted, create confusion and embarrassment, and postpone indefinitely the establishment of a satisfactory government in Rupert's Land. We must decline to admit, even by implication, that the judicial tribunals, and the general and local authorities of the Dominion, will fail to understand, or hesitate to respect and carry out in good faith, all the terms and conditions of the proposed arrangement No. 23. Bart., to the Right Bart., M.P. 24 March 1869. • Page 42. COPY of a LETTER from Sir Frederic Rogers, Bart., to the Right Honourable Sir, Downing-street, 24 March 1869. I AM directed by Earl Granville to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 22nd instant.* As regards the payment of the salary of the Anglican Bishop of Rupert's Land, in the event of the transfer to Canada of the territorial rights of the Hudson's Bay Company. Lord Granville desires me to state that, having informed each party that his proposal was intended as final, and not as a basis for further negotiation, he is precluded from giving his sanction to any additional condition, unless agreed to by both sides, when, if not opposed to any general principle, he will be happy to concur. No. 24. No. 24. From Sir Frederic COPY of a LETTER from Sir Frederic Rogers, Bart., to the Right Honourable Rogers, Bart., to the Right Hon. Sir Stafford H. Northcote, Bart., M.P. 3 April 1869. Sir, Sir Stafford H. Northcote, Bart., M.P. Downing-street, 3 April 1869. I AM directed by Earl Granville to enclose, for your information, a copy of a letter addressed by him to Sir G. Cartier and Mr. M'Dougall, and a letter which he has received from them in reply, in which they intimate their accept Sir G. Cartier and ance of the terms proposed to you and them for the surrender of the territorial Sir F. Rogers to Mr. McDougall, 9 March 1869, page 63. Sir G. Cartier and Mr. M'Dougall 27 March 1869, and other rights of the Hudson's Bay Company in Rupert's Land. I am to add that his Lordship has been informed, in conversation by these gentlemen, that they believe that the Canadian Government will agree to those terms, and have a confident hope that their Parliament will not reject them; to Sir F. Rogers, and they added, that in the event of the transfer taking place, the Hudson's page 64. Bay Company might rely upon the justice and goodwill of the Government and Parliament of Canada. |