NCJ Number
166855
Date Published
1995
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This study examines the historical circumstances that led to the exclusion of the English poor law and English bankruptcy law from Upper Canada in 1792; an additional goal is to determine the political and legal culture of Upper Canada in the 1790's.
Abstract
The first legislature of Upper Canada, meeting in September 1792, decided that in all matters that related to property and civil rights the civil law of England was to be adopted, with the exception of "the laws of England respecting the maintenance of the poor and bankruptcy." The direction taken in the development of Upper Canadian poor relief institutions and practices was profoundly affected by this decision. This essay reviews the historiography to show why previous investigators have been unable to explain the absence of the poor law from Upper Canada, and then examines the broader macrohistorical context within which poor relief developments occurred. In addition, information is introduced on the steps taken by colonial officials, both in England and in Upper Canada, to fashion the new Province in British North America into a particular kind of "well-ordered" society. Comparative evidence is also presented on the exclusion of the English poor law and English bankruptcy law from pre-1791 Quebec. In the final part of the study, documents from the initial session of the colony's first legislature are examined to provide additional evidence as to why the legislature decided not to follow the example of other British North American colonies. 98 notes