First Alienation of Crown Land - ABCLS · Torrens System of Title ... evidence at law and in...
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First Alienation of Crown Land Jeff Beddoes, Senior Deputy Surveyor General March 7, 2012 ©2012 Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia
Transcript of First Alienation of Crown Land - ABCLS · Torrens System of Title ... evidence at law and in...
First Alienation of Crown Land
Jeff Beddoes, Senior Deputy Surveyor General
March 7, 2012
©2012 Land Title and Survey Authority
of British Columbia
British Columbia Enjoys a Modified Torrens System of Title
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of British Columbia 2
Land Title Act Effect of indefeasible title Section 23 (2) An indefeasible title, as long as it remains in force and uncancelled, is conclusive evidence at law and in equity, as against the Crown and all other persons, that the person named in the title as registered owner is indefeasibly entitled to an estate in fee simple to the land described in the indefeasible title, subject to the following:
(a) the subsisting conditions, provisos, restrictions, exceptions and reservations, including royalties, contained in the original grant or contained in any other grant or disposition from the Crown; (e) a highway or public right of way, watercourse, right of water or other public easement; (f) a right of expropriation or to an escheat under an Act;
First Alienation of Land in British Columbia
Table of Contents Slide 4 Early Explorers
Slide 6 Hudson Bay Charter
Slide 9 Oregon Treaty
Slide 13 Hudson Bay Company
Slide 21 Colony of Vancouver Island
Slide 24 Colony of Mainland British Columbia
Slide 30 Colony of British Columbia
Slide 35 BC joins the Dominion
Slide 36 Defining the Railway lands for transfer to Canada
Slide 45 Dominion Lands in British Columbia
Slide 46 E&N Lands
Slide 59 Surveys of Dominion Lands
Slide 74 British Columbia Surveys and Grants and some relevant law
Slide 85 Typical field book, Official plan and Crown grant
Slide 92 Section 55 Land Act
Slide 97 Section 56 (2)( c) Land Act
Slide 100 Crown grant exceptions and reservations
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Early Explorers
• Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra – First recorded landing 1775
• James Cook – Nootka Cove 1778
• Esteban José Martínez – 1789 established Fort San Miguel at Friendly Cove
• George Vancouver – Spring 1792
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of British Columbia 4
On May 30, 1838, Queen Victoria issued the Hudson Bay a 21 year Charter for northwestern North America
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The Oregon Treaty
• Signed June 15, 1846
• Between Britain and the United States
• Established the 49th parallel as the mainland border between British North America and the US and kept Vancouver Island under British control
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• After the signing of the Oregon Treaty, the Hudson Bay Company moved its west coast headquarters to Victoria
• On January 13, 1849, the British colonial office designated Vancouver Island a Crown colony
• The colony was immediately leased to the HBC for a ten year period
• Although Richard Blanshard was the original Governor, he only lasted a year until Sir James Douglas was given the governorship, thus Douglas had the dual role of Hudson Bay Company Chief Factor and Colonial Governor
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Legal Description, HBC Grant Lot 124
“Situate on Esquimalt Harbour and Deadman‟s River and otherwise bounded by two straight lines as shown on annexed Tracing from the Official Map of Esquimalt District of the following lengths and bearings by Compass viz: A.B. bearing S 10°.45 W length 4,000 links C.D. bearing W 10°.45 E length 4,000 links And separated from each other by 980 links measured at right angles to the line C.D. And containing 40.00 acres from which are deducted for Rocks 25 acres and for Public Roads 1 acre leaving chargeable 14 acres __?__ upon the ground to correspond with the letter on the Map are marked by posts with Stones under.”
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• Some Hudson Bay grants extended to the low water mark
• Hudson Bay grants housed by BC Archives
• Search of the Archives did not find the grant for Section 14, Sooke District
• However, found a purchase certificate dated July 4, 1858 and numbered Certificate # 78. Upon which were the following;
“Mr. Grahame paid £50.0.0 on 200 acres of land, lettered XIV upon Sooke District” , and
“Forfeited and offered at auction Dec 13, 1861. Not sold. JDP”
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Colony of Vancouver Island
• Hudson Bay Charter expired on May 30, 1859
• Colony of Vancouver Island continues (remember it was established in 1849)
• Colony wishes to encourage settlement
• Surveys and Colonial Crown grants are made
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Colony of British Columbia (the mainland)
• The mainland colony of British Columbia was established on August 2, 1858
• Sir James Douglas was appointed Governor (on the condition that he sever his relationship with the Hudson Bay Company)
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Colony of British Columbia (Mainland and Vancouver Island )
• In October 1866, due largely to the financial destitute of the Colony of British Columbia (the mainland), the two colonies merged under the governorship of Sir Arthur Kennedy
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The provincial Land Act applies to grants issued by the Colony of Vancouver Island, the Colony of British Columbia and the amalgamated Colony of British Columbia
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of British Columbia 34
British Columbia becomes a Province
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of British Columbia 35
British Columbia Terms of Union
(Order of Her Majesty in Council admitting British Columbia into the Union)
At the Court at Windsor, the 16th day of May, 1871
11. The Government of the Dominion undertake to secure the commencement simultaneously, within two years from the date of the Union, of the construction of a railway from the Pacific towards the Rocky Mountains, and from such point as may be selected, east of the Rocky Mountains, towards the Pacific, to connect the seaboard of British Columbia with the railway system of Canada; and further, to secure the completion of such railway within ten years from the date of the Union And the Government of British Columbia agrees to convey to the Dominion Government, in trust, to be appropriated in such manner as the Dominion Government may deem advisable in furtherance of the construction of the said railway, a similar extent of public lands along the line of railway throughout its entire length in British Columbia, not to exceed, however, twenty (20) miles on each side of said line
British Columbia’s commitments under the Terms of Union
The conveyance of a strip of land twenty (20) miles on each side of the proposed railway to the Dominion Government
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Attempting to Reserve Land 1
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In anticipation of transferring lands to Canada, BC passed:
In 1874, a Gazette Notice reserving “a strip of land Twenty Miles in width along the Eastern Coast of Vancouver Island between Seymour Narrows and the Harbour of Esquimalt…” This was rescinded in 1883 and replaced by a new Gazette Notice reserving all un-alienated lands along the east coast of Vancouver Island from a line between the head of Saanich Inlet and Muir Creek to a line defined between Crown Mountain and Seymour Narrows
Attempting to Reserve Land 2
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The province enacted the 1875 Land Act, (B.C., Statutes, 1875, 38 Vict., no. 5), authorizing the reserve of any lands not otherwise lawfully held by record, pre-emption, purchase, lease, or Crown grant, for the purpose of conveying the same to the Dominion Government, “in trust”, for the use and benefit of the Indians, or for railway purposes, as mentioned in Article 11 of the Terms of Union
Railway Belt Lands Transfer
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BC finally transferred land to Canada in 1884 by an Act relating to the Island Railway, the Graving Dock, and Railway Lands of the province, ( the Settlement Act) of 1884 (BC Statutes, 1884, 47 Vict., c. 14)
Miscalculation
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Initial estimates were that the 40-mile tract of land would comprise 24,000 square miles of land or 50,360,000 acres of agricultural and mineral land. Note: This was a clerical error and should have been 15,360,000 acres or, in today‟s terminology, 6,215,971.46 hectares (See Robert E. Cail, Land, Man, and the Law. The Disposal of Crown Lands in British Columbia, 1871 – 1913, UBC Press, 1974, p. 128.)
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The Settlement Act of 1884 transferred: • All available lands in the Railway Belt; • A block of 3,500,000 acres in the Peace River District;
and • 1,900,000 acres - over 20 percent - of Vancouver Island
The Dominion Railway Lands
• What did Canada do with the lands transferred to them by the Settlement Act of 1884?
The huge Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railroad Grants
Township Surveys and Dominion Patents
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The First E&N Railway Land Grant
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Much of the Vancouver Island lands were transferred by the Dominion, by statute (the First „grant‟) to the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway (E&N Railway), controlled by Robert Dunsmuir
E&N Second Land “Grant”
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E&N “make up” lands were transferred from Canada to the E&N Company by Dominion Patent on October 4, 1905 • Approximately 86,346 acres • This second conveyance abuts the north end of the First
grant lands • This conveyance “makes up” for land that was not
available to the E&N in the first grant Thus one must review the Dominion Patent to understand what was included when working in this area
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In the first and second conveyance, the E&N Company received all coal, coal oil minerals, timber, base minerals and the beds of all (available) bodies of water They did not receive precious metals – gold and silver The province did grant precious minerals – gold and silver – within the E&N Lands – thus the “G” lots
E&N Third and Fourth Land “Grants”
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The Vancouver Island Settler‟s Rights Agreement Ratification Act, 1910 • Vancouver Island Settler‟s Rights Act 1904 compensated
for the settlement of claims by settlers who had pre-empted before the First E&N conveyance
• E&N Company received provincial Crown grants of 20,000 acres (being the third E&N Grant lands)
• E&N Company received a provincial Crown grant of coal - 10,157 acres (being the fourth E&N Grant lands)
Ownership of Minerals – Grants and re-Grants in the E&N Lands
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Although base minerals were conveyed to individuals where they obtained a Colonial, Federal or Provincial grant, or who had pre-empted prior to the Land Reserve of 1875, one must be cautious for if the land reverted and was re-granted after the Land Act of 1891 then base minerals were reserved
