**** B.C. POLITICAL HISTORY : OFFICIAL SOURCES ****
*** EARLY MILESTONES IN B.C. CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY ***
1849: Colony of Vancouver Island created by Royal Charter
1851: a governing Council is appointed on Vancouver Island
1856: elections are held and a General Assembly begins to form
1858: first printing press arrives; Fraser gold rush explodes; the
separate Colony of British Columbia is set up to be
administered from Victoria
1863: on the Island, the Council is split into an Executive Council
and a Legislative Council whose appointed members are united
with the Assembly;
British Columbia has it's own appointed Executive and a
Legislative Councils is installed containing no elected
members
1864: the executive link between the two colonies is severed with
Douglas replaced as governor on the Island colony by Arthur
E. Kennedy and on the mainland by Frederick Seymour
1866: the Island colony is absorbed by British Columbia; the
capital of the united colonies is moved to New Westminster
(to the dismay of the Victoria!)
1868: pressure is applied and Victoria is officially proclaimed the
capital of the united colony once again
1869: Seymour is replaced by Anthony Musgrave; the Executive
Council drafts the terms of Confederation which Musgrave
places before the Legislative Council for approval
1870: electoral districts are established and the first general
election takes place; although the Legislative Council still
contains appointed members, for the first time elected
members are in the majority
1871: B.C. joins Confederation; the Legislative Assembly is set up
in which all appointed Members are excluded; the Executive
Council becomes the Cabinet of the first premier, John Foster
McCreight
*** PRIMARY HISTORICAL SOURCES ***
328.711 V223 hc
_House of Assembly correspondence book, 1856 - 1859_
* The letters which passed between the Governor, Legislative
Council and House of Assembly illuminate the workings of our
earliest Legislature and the public questions of the day.
328.711 V223 hm
_Minutes of the Council of Vancouver Island, 1851 - 1861_
* This unique document, much of it written down by Blanshard and
Douglas themselves remains the sole record of the proceedings
of the Council of this period. The origins of many of the laws
and policies which still affect us can be found here.
328.711 V223 hc
_Minutes of the House of Assembly of Vancouver Island, 1856 - 1858_
* The official report of the votes and proceedings of our first
Assembly provide a fascinating glimpse of the lives and times
of the characters who laid the foundations of this province.
328.71101 JOU
_Journals of the Colonial Legislatures of Vancouver Island and
British Columbia, 1851 - 1871_
* This five-volume set is a slightly edited collection of the
official minutes of the colonial Councils. Of special interest
are the Governor's speeches which opened and closed
legislative sessions, reports which were submitted to the
Councils, a full text verbatim account of the Confederation
debates as well as a detailed constitutional history of the
colonial period.
328.711 BRI
_Sessional Papers of British Columbia_
* Published since 1871 as a public information tool, they
contain an enormous collection of reports, voters lists,
records of public spending, diagrams and some historic photos.
After 1916 they became essentially collections of bound annual
reports of government ministries. Publication ceased in 1982,
but the series remains a valuable record of the issues that
have affected the province over the last century.
328.711 BRI
_Journals of the Legislative Assembly of B.C._
* The official day-to-day record of proceedings in the House
since 1871. Not to be confused with Hansard, the Journals
provide information such as the results of elections, how
Members voted on various matters, all written questions and
the Government's formal answers and a list of all documents
and reports tabled. Each volume is indexed and a one-volume
index cumulated from 1872 - 1971 has been prepared.
328.711 BRI
_Debates of the Legislative Assembly (Hansard)_
* Begun in 1970, Hansard presents the complete and accurate
record of every word which is spoken in the House. At first
only a limited record of the debates, it was expanded into a
full verbatim report of all business discussed in 1972.
Hansard is very well indexed by speaker and by issue.
_REVISED STATUTES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA_
* Laws made by the province and currently in force such as the
Motor Vehicle Act are published and updated in this set of six
blue binders. The set is accompanied by a seventh volume
containing Acts and other material of historic interest and by
a paperbound index. Statutes can only be created or changed by
passage through a process of debate and amendment involving
the whole legislature.
_LOOSELEAF REGULATIONS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA_
* Regulations are orders or rules which exist to direct the
details of the day-to-day life of the people and their
government. They may be created in two ways; by Cabinet
through an Order In Council or by an agent of government such
as a Minister who uses powers conferred through a statute.
Like the statutes, regulations are collected into a series of
six green binders under the name of the Act to which they
relate.
_British Columbia Gazette. Part I_
* Certain government, corporate and personal notices of general
public interest are published here every Thursday. These
include notices such as lists of suspended lawyers, claims
against estates, mineral and timber land sales, results of
municipal elections, road closures and changes of name which
are required by statute. Each issue is indexed and the index
is cumulated yearly.
_British Columbia Gazette. Part II_
* New regulations are published here every two weeks. Like Part
I, each issue is indexed with a cumulative index appearing
once a year.
_Orders of the Day_
* The daily agenda of the Legislative Assembly is announced in
this publication. Here we are informed of the bills which are
to be introduced or debated in a given day, reports to be
considered, Private Members' statements and written questions
to be delivered, and petitions to be brought forward. The
Orders allow you to minutely follow the pulse of each sitting
of the House.
_Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly of British
Columbia_
* Issued daily like the Orders while the Legislature is in
session, this publication presents an account of proceedings
such as votes, motions and the meat of questions asked. A most
useful Progress of Bills section allows the status or stage of
passage of any legislation to be ascertained. Much of the
information found in the Orders and in Votes and Proceedings
will be gathered together for eventual publication in the
Journals.
328.71105 BRI
_Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia_
* These are the printed rules which regulate the procedure,
conduct, and debate of the members of the legislature and of
the institutions which serve it. Administered by the Speaker
of the House, these rules exist to maximize the flow of
legislation and are the final word on how the House is to
conduct it's business.
*** NEWSPAPERS of the DAY ***
Parliamentary reporting in Colonial times began with the
publication of the first newspapers in 1858. Early publishers such
as Amor De Cosmos and John Robson reported the debates of the
government accurately while remaining fiercely critical of it's
policies in their editorials. Complete runs of the _Victoria Daily
Chronicle_, the _Times_, and the _Colonist_ are available in
microform and are an important source of information about the
government and issues of the day.
The Legislative Library has prepared a most useful index to
B.C. newspapers dating back into the last century which can be used
to track issues and events in the social and economic life of the
province. Ask at the Periodicals Desk for directions to the _B.C.
Newspaper Index_, a most useful pilot for the convoluted shoreline
which is our history.
*** ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS, SERVICES, AND PEOPLE ***
_BC Guide : Programs and Services of the Provincial Government_
* A new and most welcome guide to the structure and activities
of government offices. All provincial ministries, Crown
Corporations and agencies are described and their addresses
and phone numbers are provided. A detailed index makes this
item particularly useful. This publication is to be updated
annually or "more frequently when required".
_Telephone Directory : Government of British Columbia_
* This directory is published irregularly but it is extremely
useful for finding that critical needle in the government
haystack which may be able to provide the precise answer or
service you require.
PLEASE NOTE: THE CALL NUMBERS FOR MANY OF THESE SOURCES ARE NOT
GIVEN BECAUSE THEY ARE HELD IN SPECIAL LOCATIONS IN THE COLLECTION.
THE LIBRARIANS ON THE UPPER FLOOR OF THE LIBRARY WILL BE HAPPY TO
POINT OUT ANY OF THESE ITEMS WHICH YOU CANNOT LOCATE.
prepared by:
Peter Thompson
November, 1991
copyright,
Victoria Public Library.