Blake Act of 1878: A Legislative Solution to Urban Violence in Post-Confederation Canada (From Law, Society, and the State: Essays in Modern Legal History, P 215-242, 1995, Louis A Knafla and Susan W S Binnie, eds. -- See NCJ-166852)

• NCJ Number: 166859
• Author(s): S W S Binnie
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 28 pages
• Sale Source: University of Toronto Press
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

This essay examines the circumstances that led to the Blake Act of 1878, i.e., urban sectarian rioting, the effect of the Blake Act, and the lessons to be learned from this "failed" legislation.

Abstract

The pattern of frequent and major riots characteristic of the pre-Confederation period in Canada continued into the post- Confederation period. Collective violence reached alarming levels during the 1870's, an especially turbulent decade marked by strikes, demonstrations, and sectarian violence across the country. As in previous periods of rioting, the government reacted by passing new legislation specifically aimed at reducing the incidence of riots. The Blake Act prohibited the carrying of weapons altogether. The law had strictly local application, a point that was attractive to legislators who wanted to appear to take action without imposing arms control uniformly across the country. The claim that the legislation was unfamiliar to most magistrates and to the judiciary is buttressed by the rarity with which it is mentioned in legal texts as well as the absence in law reports of references to its practical use. The legislation was rarely mentioned in the press, even after proclamation in a city. As for the practical application of its powers, only one account of the use of measures under the act has been confirmed. After three abortive proclamations of the statute, the Blake Act was allowed to lapse and was not renewed by Parliament in 1884. The Reform party appeared to lose faith in the legislation even before that date. Whether or not the Blake Act had a direct effect on the practice of carrying guns in urban areas, the outbreaks of violent incidents in urban areas had abated by the end of the decade. The Blake Act points out the complex patterns of links that provided the impetus for the development of new criminal legislation. The development and use of the Blake Act suggest a lack of coherence in various levels of the state, a finding that implies that notions of the state as a set of unified, purposeful, and functional agencies assumes too much in this period. 94 notes