Act to Repeal So Much of an Act of the 3rd and 4th Years of Her Present Majesty, to Re-Unite the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and for the Government of Canada, As Relates to the Use of the English Language in Instruments relating to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada

First UK edition. 11-3/4 x 7-3/8 inches. 2 pages (2), [649]-650pp Disbound, Paper 1 x 1-1/2 inches missing on left border not affecting any type, otherwise, very good condition.

Full title: Cap. LVI. "Act to Repeal So Much of an Act of the 3rd and 4th Years of Her Present Majesty, to Re-Unite the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and for the Government of Canada, As Relates to the Use of the English Language in Instruments relating to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada" 14th August 1848.

The Union Act, 1840, made English the only language for the work of both the legislative council and the assembly, although it did not prevent the unofficial translation of its documents into French. At the time the House of Assembly was a total of 84 seats with 42 each to Canada East (Lower Canada) and Canada West (Upper Canada). The population however was not equal at the time with 450,000 in Canada West and 650,000 in Canada East - another British strategy to less the impact of the French-Canadian majority.

Eight years later in 1848, Francophone opposition was so strong to the 1840 Union Act that in 1848 London decided to accept the use of French in the legislature. The Act...as relates to the use of the English Language in Instruments relating to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly repealed Section 41 of the Union Act and brought back de facto bilingualism.

This ACT delegated authority and the effective transfer of control over patronage from the governor to the elected ministry and assembly. The first legal step of granting of responsible government to the colony

The government of Lafontaine-Baldwin succeeded in repealing the measure against the French language in the assembly, in the courts, and in the civil administration however both regions highly factionalized with legislative deadlocks resulting from the conflicting aspirations of the two Canadas, remained. These deadlocks were one of the main factors for Canadian Confederation in 1867.

The Constitution Act, in 1867 enshrined the right to use French and English in the houses of Parliament and the courts federally and in Quebec using a formula that would be used again three years later for Manitoba.