An Act to amend, explain and continue an Act passed in the Seventh year of the Reign of Her Majesty, intituled "An Act to prevent Obstruc. tions in Rivers and Rivulets in Upper Canada" W [28th July, 1847. ] Preamble. Penalty on persons obU. C. structing rivers or rivulets in HEREAS doubts have arisen as to the true construction and meaning of an Act past in the seventh year of the Reign of Her Majesty, intituled, An Act to prevent Obstructions in Rivers and Rivulets in Upper Canada, and it is necessary that the meaning and intent of the said recited Act, should be declared, and that the same should be amended and continued : Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, constituted and assembled by virtue of and under the authority of an Act passed in the Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland, and intituled, An Act to re-unite the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and for the Government of Canada, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That any person who shall throw into any river, rivulet or watercourse, or any owner or occupier of a mill who shall suffer or permit to be thrown, in that part of this Province heretofore known as Upper Canada, any slabs, bark, waste stuff or other refuse of any saw-mill (except saw dust) or any stumps, roots, shrubs, tan-bark or waste wood, timber, or leached ashes, or any person or persons who shall fell, or cause to be felled, in or across any such river, rivulet or watercourse, any timber or growing or standing tree or trees, and shall allow the same to remain in or across such river, rivulet or watercourse, shall thereby incur a penalty not exceeding five pounds and not less than one shilling for each day during which such obstruction shall remain in, over, or across such river, rivulet, or watercourse, over and above all damages which shall arise therefrom; and that such penalty and To be recoverdamages shall and may be respectively recovered with costs, in a summary way, before able in the any one or more of the Justices of the Peace for the District, in the manner provided vided by 4 and by the Act passed in the Session held in the fourth and fifth years of Her Majesty's Reign, and intituled, An Act for consolidating and amending the Laws in this Province relative to malicious injuries to property; Provided always that nothing herein contained shall extend or be construed to extend to any dam, weir or bridge erected in or over tend to dams, any such River, Rivulet or watercourse or to any thing done bona fide in the erection weirs or bridor for the purpose of the erection of any such dam, weir or bridge, or to any tree cut used as briddown or felled across any such River, Rivulet or watercourse for the purpose of being ges. used as a means of passage from one side of any such River, Rivulet or watercourse to manner pro 5 Vict. c. 26. Proviso: -Act not to ex or trees Provided such the other: Provided always further, that such tree shall not be suffered to lie across tree does not obstruct the water or the passage of Rafts, &c. Proviso as to obstructions not wilful. Act amended to such River, Rivulet or watercourse in such a manner as to impede the flow of water or the passing of rafts in the same ; Provided also, that no obstruction happening without the wilful default of, or in the bona fide exercise by any party of his rights, shall occasion to the party any fine or forfeiture unless upon default to remove such obstruction after notice and reasonable time afforded for that purpose. II. And be it enacted, That all the provisions of the Act hereby amended, shall peappies under apply to the penalties and the mode of enforcing payment and the appropriation thereof, and to all the proceedings under this Act. this Act. Duration of this Act and of the Act amended. III. And be it enacted, That this Act and the Act hereby amended and explained, shall be and continue and remain in force for the full term of four years from the passing hereof, and thence until the end of the then next Session of the Provincial Parliament and no longer. MONTREAL :-Printed by STEWART DERBISHIRE & GEORGE DESBARATS, DLMO : ANNO DECIMO ET UNDECIMO VICTORIÆ REGINE. CAP. XΧΙ. An Act for the organization of the Notarial Profession in that part of this WHEREAS [ 28th July, 1847.] it is of the utmost importance to the peace and welfare of families, Preamble. that the Notarial Profession should be exercised by well educated and duly qualified persons, and abuses are found to have crept into the exercise of those functions, for which it is expedient to provide a remedy by constituting Boards of Notaries, and by establishing proper regulations with regard to admission to the Profession, and for the general organization of the Profession in Lower Canada: Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, constituted and assembled by virtue of and under the authority of an Act passed in the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and intituled, An Act to re-unite the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and for the Government of Canada, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That after the passing Boards of Noof this Act, there shall be established in Lower Canada, in the manner hereinafter taries estabprescribed, three Boards of Notaries, one for the District of Quebec, including the several DisDistrict of Gaspé, to be called, "The Quebec Board of Notaries," -one for the Districts. trict of Montreal, to be called, "The Montreal Board of Notaries," and one for the Districts of Three-Rivers and St. Francis, to be called, "The Board of Notaries for Three-Rivers." lished in the posed. II. And be it enacted, That each Board of Notaries shall be composed of members How they elected in the manner hereinafter explained; and the number of such members shall shall be combe twelve for the Quebec and Montreal Boards respectively, and nine for the Board of Quebec and Notaries for Three-Rivers; and the Quorum for the despatch of Business shall be eight Montreal. for the Quebec and Montreal Boards, respectively, and six for the Board for Three- Three Rivers. Rivers. III. And be it enacted, That the Members of each Board shall elect, What Officers they shall President. First. A President, who shall only vote when the votes are equally divided, shall have. call special meetings of the Board when he shall deem it expedient, or on the requisi- His duties. tion of two members, stating the purpose of the meeting, or on that of the Syndic hereinafter mentioned, and shall preserve order at all meetings. Secretary. Treasurer. Syndic. His duties. Proviso as to officers being also Members of the Board. Proviso as to officers absent at any time. How such Officers shall be appointed or removed. Powers and functions of the Board of Notaries. Secondly. A Secretary, who shall draw up and enregister the proceedings of the Board, shall have custody of all Records and deliver copies thereof, shall collect the facts relative to any charge brought against a Notary, and report the same to the Board. Thirdly. A Treasurer, who shall have charge of the Common Fund hereinafter mentioned, shall receive and pay monies upon the order of the Board, and shall account for the same as the Board shall direct. Fourthly. A Syndic, who shall conduct the prosecution on any charge brought against a Notary. Provided always, that in addition to the special powers hereby assigned to the Officers aforesaid each of them shall, if he be a member of the Board, vote as such in the same manner as the other members, at all meetings of the Board; except that with regard to any matter relating to any charge against a Notary, the Syndic conducting the prosecution shall not vote; and provided also, that in case any of the Officers aforesaid shall be absent or prevented from acting, his place may be supplied by the appointment of another pro tempore by the majority of the members present at any meeting at which there shall be a Quorum. IV. And be it enacted, That the President shall always be chosen from among the members of the Board, but the other Officers aforesaid may be chosen either from among the members of the Board or from among the Notaries within its jurisdiction; and the Board may remove any Officer at pleasure and appoint another in his stead; but no Officer shall be so removed except by the vote of at least two thirds of the members of the Board. V. And be it enacted, That each Board of Notaries shall have power, First. To grant or to refuse, after public examination, all certificates of qualification Certificates of required by applicants for admission either as Students or as Notaries. qualification. Summoning Notaries. Punishing Notaries for of fences. Secondly. To summon before it when need shall be, any Notary within its jurisdiction. Thirdly. To cause any such Notary to be punished according to the nature of his offence, by removal or suspension from office, or by depriving him of his vote at General Meetings, or by excluding him from the Board for a time not exceeding three Proviso as to years for the first offence, nor six years for a second or subsequent offence; Provided cases where a Notary shall be liable to suspension or removal. always, that if the charge brought before the Board against any Notary shall appear sufficiently serious to call for his suspension from the exercise of his functions, or his removal from office in cases of fraud or corruption, the Board shall associate with it by lot, a number of Notaries equal to the number of members of the Board, from among those within its jurisdiction, who shall be bound to serve, under a penalty of five pounds currency; and the Board thus composed may by a majority of the whole, pronounce its opinion as to such suspension and the duration thereof, or as to such removal from office; but no opinion shall be pronounced unless two thirds at least of all Opinion to be those summoned to attend the meeting be present; and in any such case the opinion so submitted to Q. B. Proviso. pronounced shall be submitted to the Court of Queen's Bench for judgment thereon, in the manner provided by the twenty-first section of this Act: Provided also, that nothing nothing in this section shall deprive the party injured of any remedy which he may have against the Notary. each Board. Notary inculpated to be summoned. Service of VI. And be it enacted, That the mode of proceeding at each Board of Notaries shall Mode of probe as follows, that is to say: the Syndic shall bring before the Board all infractions of ceeding by discipline, and he shall be bound to do so either ex officio, if the facts be within his per- Duties of the sonal knowledge, or at the instance of the parties interested, or at that of any member Syndic. of the Board, and the said complaining parties shall prove the grounds of their complaint on oath before the President of the Board of Notaries having jurisdiction within the locality, or in his absence before a Justice of the Peace, and the said President and Justice of the Peace are hereby specially authorized to administer such oath; and it shall be the duty of the Syndic to summon any Notary inculpated to appear before the Board within a reasonable delay, (which shall not be less than that allowed on Writs of Summons to appear before the Superior Term of the Court of Queen's Bench for the District,) by a letter stating the object of the citation, to be signed by the Syndic and transmitted by the Secretary, who shall keep a note thereof, and shall prove the service of the letter upon the Notary inculpated either in person or at his domicile or office, (étude,) and such service may be made by any Bailiff of the said Court; Provided always, that the Board shall not proceed on any matter concerning any individual, except after having heard or duly summoned as aforesaid, the Notary inculpated or interested and such other parties as shall desire to be heard, who in all cases may be represented or assisted by a Notary or Advocate; the minutes of the proceedings of the Board shall mention the reasons on which the same are founded, and shall be signed by the President and by the Secretary, and shall contain the names of the members present, and shall be notified, if need be, to those whom they may concern, in the manner prescribed with regard to citations, and the fact of their having been so shall in such case be notified in the margin of the minute; Provided also, that no citation shall be made except by order of the majority of a Quorum of the members of the Board, and such order shall be entered on the Register of the Board. VII. And be it enacted, That the meetings of the said Boards of Notaries shall be held as follows: those of the Quebec Board of Notaries at the City of Quebec, those of the Montreal Board of Notaries at the City of Montreal, and those of the Board of Notaries for Three-Rivers at the Town of Three-Rivers, -on such days and at such hours as shall be appointed by the said Boards respectively, and in such places as shall be selected for the purpose; but there shall not be less than three meetings in each year for the examination of applicants for admission as Students or as Notaries; Provided always, that in each year there shall be one General Meeting of the Notaries within the jurisdiction of each Board, and that extraordinary General Meetings may be held whenever circumstances shall require them, or the Board shall deem them advisable, and such meetings shall be called by advertisements in two newspapers, and inserted in both languages at least fifteen days previously; and all Notaries within the jurisdiction of the Board shall be invited to attend either for the purpose of making the appointments mentioned in the eighth section, or to advise together on matters of interest to the Profession; And provided also, that any meeting of any Board of Notaries, or any General Meeting of the Notaries within its jurisdiction, may be adjourned by consent of the majority of the Notaries present thereat, to such day and hour as may be agreed upon. notice. Proviso : Board not to the parties inculpated be summoned. Reasons of recorded. proceed until or duly decision to be Proviso: citaby order of a tions must be majority of a Quorum. Times at which the meet. Boards shall Proviso: at ral meeting to be he'd in meetings. Proviso: be adjourned. VIII. least gene. each year Extraordinary meetings may |