Document Signed By Queen Victoria, Canada Warrant, Seal Intact
Document measures 15 3/4 x 12 1/2
This document is a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria, and signed by her, dated April 2, 1841, appointing C. D. Day as a member of the Executive Council of the Province of Canada.
Document Details
Date: The document is dated the "second day of April 1841" in the "Fourth Year of Our Reign" (Queen Victoria's reign began in June 1837).
Appointee: The warrant names C. D. Day Esquire, due to the Crown being "well satisfied of the Loyalty Integrity and Ability".
Appointing Authority: The appointment is made "By Her Majesty's Command".
Context: The appointment was for the newly unified Province of Canada, which was created by the Act of Union of 1840 and came into effect in February 1841, uniting Upper and Lower Canada into a single political entity. The document mentions the Right Honorable Charles, Baron Sydenham, who was the first Governor General of the Province of Canada.
Charles Dewey Day (1806–1884) was a prominent Canadian lawyer, politician, judge, and educational figure. The document you provided is a key early appointment in his distinguished career in the newly formed Province of Canada.
Career Overview
Early Life and Legal Career: Born in Vermont, Day moved to Montreal, Lower Canada, with his family in 1812. He was called to the bar in 1827 and practiced law, primarily representing lumber merchants in the Ottawa Valley.
Political Appointments: He was appointed Solicitor General of Lower Canada in 1840 to the Special Council that governed the province after the Rebellions. Following the Act of Union in 1841, he was elected to the first Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada and served in the Executive Council as Solicitor General.
Judicial Service: Day resigned from politics in 1842 to become a judge on the Court of Queen's Bench of Lower Canada. He was later appointed to the Superior Court in 1850.
Legal Codification and Commissions: He was a central figure in Canadian legal history, serving on the commission that drafted the Civil Code of Lower Canada, which was enacted in 1866. He was also appointed to the federal royal commission in 1873 that investigated the "Pacific Scandal," a major political scandal that led to the downfall of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald's government.
Education: Day was a dedicated promoter of education throughout his life. He was involved with McGill College for decades, serving as acting principal and becoming the first Chancellor of McGill University from 1864 until his death in 1884. He was instrumental in establishing the McGill Law School.
Charles Dewey Day died while visiting England in January 1884.
Document measures 15 3/4 x 12 1/2
This document is a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria, and signed by her, dated April 2, 1841, appointing C. D. Day as a member of the Executive Council of the Province of Canada.
Document Details
Date: The document is dated the "second day of April 1841" in the "Fourth Year of Our Reign" (Queen Victoria's reign began in June 1837).
Appointee: The warrant names C. D. Day Esquire, due to the Crown being "well satisfied of the Loyalty Integrity and Ability".
Appointing Authority: The appointment is made "By Her Majesty's Command".
Context: The appointment was for the newly unified Province of Canada, which was created by the Act of Union of 1840 and came into effect in February 1841, uniting Upper and Lower Canada into a single political entity. The document mentions the Right Honorable Charles, Baron Sydenham, who was the first Governor General of the Province of Canada.
Charles Dewey Day (1806–1884) was a prominent Canadian lawyer, politician, judge, and educational figure. The document you provided is a key early appointment in his distinguished career in the newly formed Province of Canada.
Career Overview
Early Life and Legal Career: Born in Vermont, Day moved to Montreal, Lower Canada, with his family in 1812. He was called to the bar in 1827 and practiced law, primarily representing lumber merchants in the Ottawa Valley.
Political Appointments: He was appointed Solicitor General of Lower Canada in 1840 to the Special Council that governed the province after the Rebellions. Following the Act of Union in 1841, he was elected to the first Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada and served in the Executive Council as Solicitor General.
Judicial Service: Day resigned from politics in 1842 to become a judge on the Court of Queen's Bench of Lower Canada. He was later appointed to the Superior Court in 1850.
Legal Codification and Commissions: He was a central figure in Canadian legal history, serving on the commission that drafted the Civil Code of Lower Canada, which was enacted in 1866. He was also appointed to the federal royal commission in 1873 that investigated the "Pacific Scandal," a major political scandal that led to the downfall of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald's government.
Education: Day was a dedicated promoter of education throughout his life. He was involved with McGill College for decades, serving as acting principal and becoming the first Chancellor of McGill University from 1864 until his death in 1884. He was instrumental in establishing the McGill Law School.
Charles Dewey Day died while visiting England in January 1884.
