USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > Municipal government history and politics, Vol. V > Part 18
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3 Christie, v. 356.
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internal government of the upper province. Some difficulties arose in dealing with this question on account of the position taken by Lower Canada. During the suspension of the Con- stitution in French Canada, an ordinance had been passed by the Special Council " to provide for the better internal govern- ment of this province by the establishment of local or muni- cipal institutions therein." The province was divided into twenty-two districts, comprising certain seigniories, townships, and parishes. The Governor and Council fixed and deter- mined the number of Councillors who were elected for every district. The warden was appointed by the Governor-General, and his duties were regulated by instructions from the same high functionary. The meetings of householders, at which the parish or township officers as well as the district Council- lors were elected and other business was transacted, were con- vened on the authorization of the warden by one of the Justices of the Peace for the district. The Governor had the power to dissolve a district Council under extraordinary circumstances. Instructions were issued by the Governor and Council to the chairmen of parish or township meetings, assessors, collectors, surveyors of highways and bridges, overseers of the poor, and other local officers.1
Consequently, the system in operation in Lower Canada was entirely controlled by the government. It was the desire of the Upper Canadians, who had been gradually educated for more popular local institutions, to elect the warden and other officers. The measure which was presented in 1841, by Mr. Harrison, provincial secretary of the upper province, provided that the inhabitants of each district should be a body corporate within the limits prescribed by the Act, and pro- vision was made for the formation of municipal councils, to consist of a warden and a fixed number of councillors in each district. Power was given to these councils to assess and collect from the inhabitants such moneys as might be necessary
1 Canada Sessional Papers, 1841, App. X.
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for local purposes, and generally to adopt measures for the good government of the respective districts represented in these local bodies. The Upper Canadians naturally wished to elect their own Warden, but it was argued that it was inexpedient to concede to one province privileges not given to the other. · The French members in the legislature were not only opposed to the measure passed by the special council, but believed that, if they sanctioned the passage of a liberal measure in Upper Canada, it would be followed by similar legislation for Lower Canada. The most influential men in that province were opposed at that time to any system that might impose local direct taxation on the people.1
Imperfect as was the Act of 1841, it was the commencement of a new era in municipal government in Canada. In the course of a few years the Act was amended, and the people at last obtained 1 full control of the election of their own municipal officers. Statutes passed from time to time swept away those numerous corporate bodies which had been established by the legislature of the old province, and provided by one general law " for the erection of municipal corporations and the establishment of police regulations in and for the several counties, cities, towns, townships and villages in Upper Canada."? Lower Canada was also brought into the general system, according as the people began to comprehend the advantages of con- trolling their local affairs. The ordinance of the special council was repealed in 1845 by an Act, which provided that every township or parish should constitute a municipal cor- poration, represented by a council elected by the people, and presided over by a President or Mayor, also elective.3 This parish organization seemed peculiarly well adapted to the habits of the people of French Canada, where the parish is connected 81. with their dearest and most interesting associations ; but for L.
wu's Canada since the Union of 1841, i. 146.
1 Dent Incui 12 Vict. c. 80, and 12 Vict. c. 81.
" Con, Stat.
3 Turcotte, Can nada sous l'Union, ii. 24.
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U
some reason or other it was soon changed to a county govern- ment, which lasted for a number of years.1 Without, how- ever, dwelling on the numerous acts which occupied con- siderable time in the legislature for years with the object of maturing and perfecting a general municipal system accept- able to the people and commensurate with their progress in self-government, it is sufficient to say that some time before 1867, when the provinces were confederated, Upper and Lower Canada enjoyed at last local institutions resting on an essentially popular basis, and giving every possible facility for carrying out desirable public improvements in the municipal divisions. The tendency of legislation indeed for years took a dangerous direction. Acts were passed, in 1853 and subsequent years, enabling the municipalities to borrow money for the con- struction of railways on the guarantee of the province.2 The result was much extravagance in the public expenditures and the increase of local taxation in many muncipalities of Canada, which hampered the people for many years, notwithstanding the benefits derived from the construction of important public works, until the government was forced to come to their assistance and relieve them of the burdens they had imposed upon themselves.
At the present time, all the provinces of the Dominion of Canada enjoy a system of local self-government which enables the people in every local division, whether it .be a village, town, township, parish, city, or county, to manage their own internal affairs in accordance with the liberal provisions of the various statutory enactments which are the result of the wisdom of the various legislatures of the different provinces within half a century. It is in the great province of Ontario that we find the system in its complete form. While this system
1 In 1855 Mr. Drummond, then attorney-general, brought in a bill re- storing the parish municipality, while preserving the county organization. Turcotte, ii. 260.
2 l'urcotte, ii. 202. See Consol. Stat. 22 Vict. c. 83.
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is quite symmetrical in its arrangement, it is also thoroughly practical, and rests upon the free action of the ratepayers in each municipality. The whole organization comprises :-
(1.) The minor municipal corporations, consisting of town- ships, being rural districts of an area of eight or ten square miles, with a population of from 3000 to 6000.
(2.) Villages with a population of over 750.
(3.) Towns with a population of over 2,000. Such of these as are comprised within a larger district termed a " county," constitute
(4.) The county municipality, which is under the govern- ment of a council composed of the heads of the different minor municipal divisions in such counties as have already been constituted in the province.
(5.) Cities are established from the growth of towns when their population exceeds 15,000,1 and their municipal jurisdic- tion is akin to that of counties and towns combined. The functions of each municipality are commensurate with their respective localities.2
The Council of every county consists of the Reeves and Deputy Reeves of the townships and villages within the county, and one of the Reeves or Deputy Reeves shall be the . Warden. The Council of every city consists of the Mayor, and three Aldermen for every ward. The Council of every town consists of the Mayor and of three Councillors for every ward where there are less than five wards, and of two for each ward where there are five or more wards. The Council of every incorporated village and of every township consists of one Reeve (who presides) and of four Councillors. The
1 As a matter of fact, while the general law provides as above, for many years past it has been the practice for towns in Ontario, when they have a population of ten thousand souls, to obtain a special act of incorporation as a city. See case of City of St. Thomas, Ont., Stat. 44 Vict., c. 46. Also, City of Guelph, 1879.
2 Canadian Economics; Montreal Meeting of the British Association, 1884, p. 317.
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persons elected must be natural-born or naturalized subjects of the Queen, reside within the municipality, and be possessed of a certain legal or equitable freehold or leasehold varying from $400 in townships to $1,500 in cities for freehold, and from $800 to $3,000 for leasehold. The electors must be ratepayers in the municipality. Widows and unmarried women who are in their own right rated for a property or income qualification sufficient to qualify male voters can now vote at municipal elections in this province. Every election must be held in the municipality to which the same relates. The election is by ballot, and complete provision is made for the trial of controverted elections and the prevention of corrupt practices. The municipal officers comprise a Warden, Mayor or Reeve, Clerk, Treasurer, Assessors, Collectors, Auditors, Valuators. The Mayors, Reeves, Aldermen and Councillors are elected by the taxpayers, but the Warden and all the other municipal officers are appointed by the Councils. The powers of these bodies are exercised by by- law,1 when not otherwise authorized or provided for. Certain by-laws require the assent of the ratepayers. The Councils have the power to pass such laws creating debts and levying rates under certain restrictions set forth in the statute : for the purchase of property ; for the appointment of municipal officers ; for the aid of agricultural and other societies, manu- facturing establishments, road companies, indigent persons and charities ; for taking a census; with respect to drainage, the purchase of wet lands, the planting of ornamental trees, driving on roads and bridges, the seizure of bread or other articles of light weight, or short measurement ; for the security of wharves and docks and the regulation of harbors ; for the laying out and the improvement of cemeteries, the prevention
1 This legal term is an historic link that binds our municipal system to the old English township. In the shires of England where the Danes acquired a firm foothold the township was often called " by "; it had the power of enacting its own "by-laws," or town laws, as municipal corporations have generally to-day."-Fiske's American Political Ideas, p. 46.
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.
of cruelty to animals; for the purchase of property required for the erection of public schools thereon; and providing for the establishment and support of public schools according to law; for the regulation of fences ; for the preservation of the public peace and morals ; for the licensing of ferries ; for the establishment of markets, fire companies, sewerage and drain- age; for the aid of railways, by taking stock or granting a loan or bonus to the same.1 These municipal bodies can be restrained in Ontario, as in other provinces, by the superior Courts when their by-laws are in excess of their powers. The Courts may also compel them to exercise their power in proper cases. The provincial Legislature grants the muni- cipal authorities certain powers, and at the same time commits the proper exercise of those powers to the controlling care of the Courts.2
The Council of every municipal district in Ontario has now the power to make such material improvements as are neces- sary for the convenience and comfort of the people; but, more than that, the whole municipal organization has been satisfac- torily adapted to the requirements of a national system of education.3 On the enterprise and liberality of the munici- palities depends the efficiency of the educational system of the province. The wealthy communities are able to erect school- houses, which are so many evidences of their deep interest in public education and of the progress of architectural taste in
1 Revised Statutes of Ontario, c. 174.
$ ()'Sullivan's Manual of Government, p. 191.
3 The Reverend Dr. Ryerson, who devoted his life to founding and devel- oping the Ontario system of Public Instruction, said years ago on this point : "By their constitution, the municipal and school corporations are reflections of the sentiments and feelings of the people within their respect- ive circles of jurisdiction, and their powers are adequate to meet all the economic exigencies of such municipality, whether of schools or roads, of the diffusion of knowledge, or the development of wealth." See a valuable account of the working of the system in one of the official publications of the Ontario Government : "Educational System of Ontario." Edited by Dr. Hodgins, Deputy Minister of Education.
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the country. The Legislature has also given power to any incorporated city, town or village to establish free libraries whenever a majority of the taxpayers express themselves in favor of such institutions.1 In Ontario, as a rule, munici- palities have taken advantage of the admirable opportunities which the law gives them of promoting the welfare and happi- ness of all classes, which are so intimately connected with the education and culture of the people. The city of Toronto, indeed, immediately availed itself of the law providing for free libraries, and has set an example which it is to be hoped will be followed by other communities in Canada. The free library, to quote from an eloquent speech delivered not long since in the city of Birmingham, "is the first fruit of a clear understanding that a great town exists to discharge the same duties to the people of that town which a nation exists to dis- charge towards the people of that nation." 2.
In all the other provinces the municipal system, if not quite so symmetrical as that of Ontario, is based on the same principles. In the province of Quebec the municipal divisions consist of villages, towns, parishes, or townships and counties. The parish is necessarily recognized in the general law provided for the municipal organization of the
1 Ont. Stat., 45 Vict. c. 22.
" A very intelligent writer in the Nineteenth Century (August, 1886) gives us an interesting sketch of the remarkable civic development of the great Midland capital. " From main drains to free libraries, from coal gas to the antique, whatever concerns the physical and mental well-being of her children, that is the business, the official business, of this renowned city of the Caucus. . . . That the city cares as much for the culture of her people as for the sweeping of her streets is the boast of every Birmingham man, from the Chief Magistrate to the humblest master-craftsman bending over his 'factored' work in his own garret. And lastly, in order that the com- munity might have the freest possible scope for its energies, there came into force in 1884 the Consolidation Act, one of the chief effects of which was the removal of the limit of the public rate for libraries, museums, galleries, and the Art School; and, in a word, the extension of borrowing powers indefinitely." It would be well for Canadians and Americans generally to study the recent history of this enterprising English city.
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province. When a canonical parish has been once formed by the proper ecclesiastical authority,1 it may at any time be erected into a municipality by civil authority. Although the law makes a general provision for the civil erection of a parish, it is also frequently found expedient to avoid the expense of the necessary proceedings by obtaining special powers from the Legislature for erecting and confirming a parish for all civil purposes.2 The County Council is com- posed of the Mayors of the several local municipalities of the county in which those officials have been elected. The Councillors elect one of their number to be Mayor of the local municipality, while the Warden is chosen by the County Council. The principal officers are the Secretary-Treasurer, who receives and pays out taxes and other moneys in accord- ance with law, Auditors, Inspectors of Roads and Bridges, Pound-Keepers, and Valuators. The cities and towns of the province are, however, incorporated by special Acts, and their Mayors as well as Councils are elected by the people.
In the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, the people were more laggard in adopting a municipal system than. in Upper Canada. Nova Scotia had for years a per- missive Act on its statute-book, by which any county might be incorporated when the people made formal application to the Governor-in-Council in the manner provided. It was not, however, until 1879 that an Act3 was passed providing for the incorporation of the whole province. The County Councils now consist of a Warden and Councillors. The Council elect a Warden from among themselves, a Clerk, · Treasurer, Auditors, Assessors, Pound-Keepers and Overseers of Highways. All the powers and authorities previously vested in the Grand Jury and sessions, in special sessions, or in Justices of the Peace, to make by-laws, impose rates or
1 See supra, p. 28 note.
2 For example, Quebec Stat., 45 Vict. c. 41.
3 Nova Scotia Stat., 42 Vict. c. i.
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assessments, and appoint township or county officers, are now exercised by the various municipal Councils in the province. The money annually voted for road and bridge service is now appropriated by the Councils of the municipalities under the inspection of supervisors or commissioners.1 Cities and towns are incorporated by special Acts, and the Mayors and Wardens are elected by the inhabitants duly qualified by law.2 In New Brunswick a similar municipal system has been for years in operation.3
The little province of Prince Edward Island, however, has never established a complete municipal system; the Legislature is practically the governing body in all matters of local im- provement. It passes acts establishing and regulating markets, and making provision for the relief of the poor, for court houses, jails, salaries, fire department, ferries, roads and bridges, and various other services which, in the more advanced prov- inces, are under the control of local corporations. Every session the House resolves itself into a committee of the whole, to consider all matters relating to the public roads, and to pass resolutions appropriating moneys for this purpose, in conformity with a certain scale arranged for the different townships.4 Char- lottetown and Summerside have special acts of incorporation. Provision, however, was made some years ago for the estab- lishment of certain municipal authorities in towns and villages of the island. Wardens may be elected by the ratepayers of a town or village, to perform certain municipal duties of a very limited character.5
- N. S. Stat., 44 Vict. c. i., and by 45 Vict. c. i. and 46 Vict. c. i.
2 See Act incorporating town of Sydney, 48 Vict. c. 87. It is not easy to understand why the municipal heads of towns in this province should be called "wardens." A distinction should certainly be made between the warden of the county and the heads of the other municipalities. It is confusing, to say the least.
3 Revised Statutes of New Brunswick, c. 99.
4 Assembly Journals, 1884, p. 222.
5 P. E. I. Stat., 33 Vict. c. 20. 5
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In British Columbia, Manitoba, and the Northwest Terri- tories very liberal provision exists for the establishment of municipal corporations on the basis of those that exist in Ontario.1
VII .- CONCLUSION.
I have attempted in the preceding pages to trace, step by step, the various stages in the development of that system of local self-government which lies at the foundation of the political institutions of the provinces of the Dominion. We have seen that progress in this direction was very slow until the people increased in wealth and political knowledge, and were granted a larger measure of liberty in the administration of provincial affairs. We look in vain during the days of the French Régime for anything approaching those free institu- tions which are the natural heritage of an Anglo-Saxon people. Under the invigorating inspiration of those political repre- sentative institutions, which followed the supremacy of Eng- land in Canada, the French Canadians, like all other classes of the population, learned, at last, to appreciate the advantages of being permitted to manage their own local affairs. It is noteworthy, however, that we do not find anything approach- ing the town system of New England during the early times of British North America. Those primary Assemblies of Massachusetts, which were so many representatives of the folkmoot of early English times,2 were never reproduced among the people that settled the provinces. Indeed, the con- ditions under which those countries were peopled were antago- nistic to the establishment of the town organizations of New
1 See Brit. Col. Stat., c. 129; Man. Stat., 46 and 47 Vict. c. 1; Ordinances of N. W. T., No. 2, 1885. In the Northwest Territory, the heads of the Councils, outside of cities and towns, are designated "chairmen." Else- where these officers are known as "mayors." In Manitoba, the old titles of "reeve" and "mayor" are preserved in the municipalities.
? " A New England town meeting is essentially the same thing as the folk-mote." E. A. Freeman, American Institutional History, p. 16.
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England. The British government, after its experience of the old Thirteen Colonies, decided to guide the affairs of their remaining possessions with the hand of a gentle despotism, and did not permit the formation of institutions which might weaken the allegiance of the people to the Crown. It was, however, a mistaken idea, as it was clearly pointed out in Lord Durham's Report, to have discouraged the establish- ment, at an early period, of a municipal system in Canada, which would have educated the people in self-government, and made them more capable of grappling with the difficulties of the representative institutions granted them in 1791. How- ever, the genius of an English race for managing their own affairs rose superior to the influence of a paternal government many thousand miles distant, and won, at last, for the people of Canada, a complete municipal system, which may well be the envy of the British people, who are now endeavoring to extricate themselves from the chaos of local laws, which make local government in the parent state so unintelligible to the ordinary citizen.1 All sections and peoples of the Dominion are equally favored in this respect. Throwing aside the tra- ditions of a race unfamiliar in early times with the institutions of the Teutonic peoples, the French Canadians have also been brought to a large extent into the van of municipal progress, and enabled to promote many measures of local necessity, which, otherwise, they could not have accomplished.
1 "English local government can only be called a system on the lucus à non lucendo principle. There is neither coordination nor subordination among the numerical authorities which regulate our local affairs. Each authority appears to be unacquainted with the existence, or, at least, with the work of the others. 'There is no labyrinth so intricate,' says Mr. Goschen, 'as the chaos of our local laws.' Local government in this country may be fitly described as consisting of a chaos of areas, a chaos of authorities, and a chaos of rates." Chalmers' Local Government in England, p. 15. No wonder then that English statesmen have at last awoke to the necessity of grappling with a problem which Canada herself has in a great measure solved.
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In a paper of a strictly historic scope, it would be out of place to dwell at any length on the merits and demerits of the institutions which now prevail throughout the Dominion. It is only necessary to say that we should not conceal from our- selves the fact that there is always danger in a system which hands practically to the few the control of the affairs of the many-which, in a measure, encourages the tendency of the majority to shift responsibility on to others, and, consequently, gives constant opportunities to the corrupt and unscrupulous demagogue to manage the municipal affairs of a community in a manner most detrimental to the public interests. Indiffer- ence to municipal affairs on the part of those who should have the greatest stake in their careful, economical management, is. an ever present peril under a system like ours. The absten- tion of the educated and wealthy classes from participation in local affairs, is a growing evil which, in some communities in the United States, has led to gross extravagance, corruption and mismanagement. No doubt, if it were possible to resort to the folkmoot of the old times of our ancestors, or to their best modern exemplar, the township meetings of New Eng- land, and permit the people to assemble and consult together on their local affairs, a public advantage would be gained ; but, unfortunately, such assemblages seem only possible in primitive times, when population is sparsely diffused, and large cities and towns are the exception.1 The rapid increase
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