Essays in the History of Canadian Law Volume VI: The Legal History of British Columbia and the Yukon

This sixth volume in the Osgoode Society's distinguished series on the history of Canadian law turns to the a central theme in the history of British Columbia and the Yukon - law and order. In the early days of British sovereignty, the frenzied activity of the fur trade and the gold rush, along with clashes between settlers and Natives, made law enforcement a difficult business. Later, although law and order were more firmly established, tensions continued between the dominant populations committed to the practice and rhetoric of British justice and those groups owing allegiance to other value systems (such as Native peoples, Asian immigrants, and Doukhobors) or those resisting authority (criminals and the criminally insane). These essays look at key social, economic, and political issues of the times and show how they influenced the developing legal system. The essays cover a wide range of topics, and explore the human as well as the legal dimensions of their subjects, relating specific cases to broader theory. They demonstrate that English law has been flexible enough to accommodate diversity and is, therefore, pragmatic. The volume also proves that there is no single Canadian legal culture: geography, demography, politics, economics, and military considerations have had an impact on the shape of our legal culture. The introduction by John McLaren and Hamar Foster pulls together the many regional themes to provide a clear overview of the legal complexities of the period. Contents 7 Foreword: The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History 11 Acknowledgments 13 Contributors 15 Introduction 21 1. Hard Choices and Sharp Edges: The Legal History of British Columbia and the Yukon 21 Part I: Aboriginal People and the Law 46 2. Letting Go The Bone: The Idea Of Indian Title In British Columbia, 1849–1927 46 3. ‘Where Is the Justice, Mr Mills?’: A Case Study of R. v. Nantuck 105 4. Tonto’s Due: Law, Culture, and Colonization in British Columbia 146 Part II: Vice, Crime, and Policing 189 5. Swift Justice and the Decline of the Criminal Trial Jury: The Dynamics of Law and Authority in Victoria, BC, 1858–1905 189 6. A Distant Edge of Authority: Capital Punishment and the Prerogative of Mercy in British Columbia, 1872–1880 222 7. Vancouver Vice: The Police and the Negotiation of Morality, 1904–1935 260 8. The Making of Criminal Insanity in British Columbia: Granby Farrant and the Provincial Mental Home, Colquitz, 1919–1933 292 Part III: Religion and Education 331 9. Judgments of Solomon: Law, Doctrine, and the Cridge Controversy of 1872-1874 331 10. Creating ‘Slaves of Satan’ or ‘New Canadians’? The Law, Education, and the Socialization of Doukhobor Children, 1911–1935 370 Part IV: Labour and Social Welfare 404 11. After Union Colliery: Law, Race, And Class in the Coalmines of British Columbia 404 12. For God, Country, and the Public Purse: ‘Liberal’ Politics and the Campaign for Family Courts in British Columbia, 1939–1945 441 Part V: The Legal Profession 475 13. Fighting Spirits: The Yukon Legal Profession, 1898–1912 475 14. Exclusionary Tactics: The History of Women and Visible Minorities in the Legal Profession in British Columbia 526 Index 581