A cold-blooded effort to bolster up the legal profession": The battle between lawyers and notaries in British Columbia, 1871-1930

Histoire Sociale

Volumn 32, Issue 64, 1999, Pages 206-235

  Brockman, Joan ^a  

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EID: 0039627994     PISSN: 00182257     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
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References (170)

1. The number of possible notaries in British Columbia was fixed by statute in 1981 at 322, at a time when there were 4,500 lawyers in the province. However, in 1929 Edmund C. Senkler, secretary of the Law Society, swore an affidavit In the Matter of the Application for Enrollment as a Notary Public by Mr. John Alexander Stewart stating that there were 1,000 notaries, compared to 600 lawyers, in British Columbia. British Columbia Archives and Records Service (hereafter BCARS), MSS 948, series VIII, vol. 43, file 43, affidavit sworn June 25, 1929. It is possible that the number of notaries was exaggerated. Bernard Hoeter discovered that the 1950 list of 800 notaries was meaningless because the "registrar duly recorded all new commissions but the list implied that notaries neither retired, resigned nor died". Bernard Hoeter, "Signed, Sealed and Delivered: A Short History of Notaries, Scribes, Tabellios and Scriveners and other Learned Men of Public Faith Together with a Practical Review of the Evolution of Law and Notarial Procedure in Particular in Connection with the Development of Western Civilization as we Know it Today for the Benefit of Notarial Candidates and Other Interested Readers" (unpublished manuscript, Vancouver, 1991), p. 198. How the number of notaries came to be fixed at 322 in 1981 is discussed elsewhere: Joan Brockman, " 'Better to Enlist Their Support Than to Suffer Their Antagonism': The Game of Monopoly Between Lawyers and Notaries in British Columbia, 1930-1981", International Journal of the Legal Profession, vol. 4, no. 3 (1997), pp. 197-234. The statute was amended in 1993 to allow for 323 notaries in the province, in recognition of a notarial seal that had not been counted in 1981 (personal communication from Dr. Bernard Hoeter and Mr. Stan Nicol, January 22, 1999).
2. The number of possible notaries in British Columbia was fixed by statute in 1981 at 322, at a time when there were 4,500 lawyers in the province. However, in 1929 Edmund C. Senkler, secretary of the Law Society, swore an affidavit In the Matter of the Application for Enrollment as a Notary Public by Mr. John Alexander Stewart stating that there were 1,000 notaries, compared to 600 lawyers, in British Columbia. British Columbia Archives and Records Service (hereafter BCARS), MSS 948, series VIII, vol. 43, file 43, affidavit sworn June 25, 1929. It is possible that the number of notaries was exaggerated. Bernard Hoeter discovered that the 1950 list of 800 notaries was meaningless because the "registrar duly recorded all new commissions but the list implied that notaries neither retired, resigned nor died". Bernard Hoeter, "Signed, Sealed and Delivered: A Short History of Notaries, Scribes, Tabellios and Scriveners and other Learned Men of Public Faith Together with a Practical Review of the Evolution of Law and Notarial Procedure in Particular in Connection with the Development of Western Civilization as we Know it Today for the Benefit of Notarial Candidates and Other Interested Readers" (unpublished manuscript, Vancouver, 1991), p. 198. How the number of notaries came to be fixed at 322 in 1981 is discussed elsewhere: Joan Brockman, " 'Better to Enlist Their Support Than to Suffer Their Antagonism': The Game of Monopoly Between Lawyers and Notaries in British Columbia, 1930-1981", International Journal of the Legal Profession, vol. 4, no. 3 (1997), pp. 197-234. The statute was amended in 1993 to allow for 323 notaries in the province, in recognition of a notarial seal that had not been counted in 1981 (personal communication from Dr. Bernard Hoeter and Mr. Stan Nicol, January 22, 1999).
3. The number of possible notaries in British Columbia was fixed by statute in 1981 at 322, at a time when there were 4,500 lawyers in the province. However, in 1929 Edmund C. Senkler, secretary of the Law Society, swore an affidavit In the Matter of the Application for Enrollment as a Notary Public by Mr. John Alexander Stewart stating that there were 1,000 notaries, compared to 600 lawyers, in British Columbia. British Columbia Archives and Records Service (hereafter BCARS), MSS 948, series VIII, vol. 43, file 43, affidavit sworn June 25, 1929. It is possible that the number of notaries was exaggerated. Bernard Hoeter discovered that the 1950 list of 800 notaries was meaningless because the "registrar duly recorded all new commissions but the list implied that notaries neither retired, resigned nor died". Bernard Hoeter, "Signed, Sealed and Delivered: A Short History of Notaries, Scribes, Tabellios and Scriveners and other Learned Men of Public Faith Together with a Practical Review of the Evolution of Law and Notarial Procedure in Particular in Connection with the Development of Western Civilization as we Know it Today for the Benefit of Notarial Candidates and Other Interested Readers" (unpublished manuscript, Vancouver, 1991), p. 198. How the number of notaries came to be fixed at 322 in 1981 is discussed elsewhere: Joan Brockman, " 'Better to Enlist Their Support Than to Suffer Their Antagonism': The Game of Monopoly Between Lawyers and Notaries in British Columbia, 1930-1981", International Journal of the Legal Profession, vol. 4, no. 3 (1997), pp. 197-234. The statute was amended in 1993 to allow for 323 notaries in the province, in recognition of a notarial seal that had not been counted in 1981 (personal communication from Dr. Bernard Hoeter and Mr. Stan Nicol, January 22, 1999).
4. Hamish Gow surveyed the role of notaries in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1972 and concluded that "in the common law countries, [notaries'] principal function for the last three centuries ... has been to act as authenticators of the due execution of important documents. ... In the Province of British Columbia, for peculiar and historical reasons they have been permitted to become conveyancers without any of the controls or educational requirements imposed in the Province of Québec and civil law countries." Hamish Gow, "In the Matter of 'Notaries'", Advocate, vol. 31 (1973), p. 173.
5. Candidates also go through a screening process, in which the Society of Notaries Public investigates their educational background, commissions a financial character report from an investigative agency, and corresponds with character references. Although candidates are not required to have any education beyond high school graduation, the society prefers that they have a college diploma or university degree. Preference is also given to those who have some experience in the work of notaries. Articling is not required; however, the society strongly recommends that a candidate article with a notary public. The entire educational process takes up to two years and costs approximately $10,000. Information taken from "Education and Membership Information" provided by the Society of Notaries Public to prospective applicants.
6. This list is taken from a brochure printed by the Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia, "What a Notary Public Can do For You". Section 18 of the Notaries Act, RSBC 1996, c. 344, provides that notaries in good standing with the society may do the following: (a) draw instruments relating to property which are intended, permitted or required to be registered, recorded or filed in a registry or other public office, contracts, charter parties and other mercantile instruments in British Columbia; (b) draw and supervise the execution of wills (i) by which the testator directs the testator's estate to be distributed immediately on death, (ii) that provide that if the beneficiaries named in the will predecease the testator, there is a gift over to alternative beneficiaries vesting immediately on the death of the testator, or (iii) that provide for the assets of the deceased to vest in the beneficiary or beneficiaries as members of a class not later than the date when the beneficiary or beneficiaries or the youngest of the class attains majority; (c) attest or protest all commercial or other instruments brought before the member for attestation or public protestation; (d) draw affidavits, affirmations or statutory declarations that may or are required to be administered, sworn, affirmed or made by the law of British Columbia, another province of Canada, Canada or another country; (e) administer oaths; (f) perform the duties authorized by an Act. Lawyers in British Columbia on the Law Society's practising list can use the title notary public, and they have all the powers of a notary public (Legal Profession Act, RSBC 1996, c. 255, s. 31). For a discussion of notaries in the United States, see Michael L. Closen and G. Grant Dixon III, "Notaries Public From the Time of the Roman Empire to the United States Today, and Tomorrow", North Dakota Law Review, vol. 68 (1992), p. 873.
7. Notaries in Quebec (which has a civil law system) "have exclusive jurisdiction over mortgages, marriage contracts, transfer of a deceased person's property, and declaration of joint ownership". They share jurisdiction with lawyers in other areas of civil, business, and commercial law; however, they do not litigate and cannot be appointed as judges. Vincent Moier, "Ask a General Practitioner", National (October 1997), p. 48. See Benito Arruñada, ̃The Economics of Notaries̃, European Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 3, no. 5 (1996), p. 37, for a discussion of Spanish notaries, who also work in a civil law system.
8. Notaries in Quebec (which has a civil law system) "have exclusive jurisdiction over mortgages, marriage contracts, transfer of a deceased person's property, and declaration of joint ownership". They share jurisdiction with lawyers in other areas of civil, business, and commercial law; however, they do not litigate and cannot be appointed as judges. Vincent Moier, "Ask a General Practitioner", National (October 1997), p. 48. See Benito Arruñada, ̃The Economics of Notaries̃, European Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 3, no. 5 (1996), p. 37, for a discussion of Spanish notaries, who also work in a civil law system.
9. Newspaper accounts used words associated with war: ̃War Waged Against Notary Public Bill̃, Victoria Daily Colonist, December 12, 1925, p. 1; "Ancient Feud Over Notaries Opened Again", Victoria Daily Times, March 6, 1928, p. 5; "Laymen of House Hear Battle on Lawyers' Powers", Victoria Daily Times, December 14, 1925, pp. 1, 3; "Notaries Bill is Withdrawn Under Fire", Vancouver Daily Province, December 15, 1925, p. 15.
10. Newspaper accounts used words associated with war: ̃War Waged Against Notary Public Bill̃, Victoria Daily Colonist, December 12, 1925, p. 1; "Ancient Feud Over Notaries Opened Again", Victoria Daily Times, March 6, 1928, p. 5; "Laymen of House Hear Battle on Lawyers' Powers", Victoria Daily Times, December 14, 1925, pp. 1, 3; "Notaries Bill is Withdrawn Under Fire", Vancouver Daily Province, December 15, 1925, p. 15.
11. Newspaper accounts used words associated with war: ̃War Waged Against Notary Public Bill̃, Victoria Daily Colonist, December 12, 1925, p. 1; "Ancient Feud Over Notaries Opened Again", Victoria Daily Times, March 6, 1928, p. 5; "Laymen of House Hear Battle on Lawyers' Powers", Victoria Daily Times, December 14, 1925, pp. 1, 3; "Notaries Bill is Withdrawn Under Fire", Vancouver Daily Province, December 15, 1925, p. 15.
12. Newspaper accounts used words associated with war: ̃War Waged Against Notary Public Bill̃, Victoria Daily Colonist, December 12, 1925, p. 1; "Ancient Feud Over Notaries Opened Again", Victoria Daily Times, March 6, 1928, p. 5; "Laymen of House Hear Battle on Lawyers' Powers", Victoria Daily Times, December 14, 1925, pp. 1, 3; "Notaries Bill is Withdrawn Under Fire", Vancouver Daily Province, December 15, 1925, p. 15.
13. Discussed in Brockman, "'Better to Enlist Their Support'". Lawyers and notaries also had agreements and disagreements with other occupations, but these are not discussed here.
14. Anne Witz, Professons and Patriarchy (London and New York: Routledge, 1992), p. 52. The minor modifications made to Witz's model are not a criticism of her model, as she recognizes that not all professional projects will be the same. Witz incorporates much of the work on professional projects that came before her (see chap. 1-2). However, she focuses on actors and their resources, rather than conducting a macro-analysis similar to some of the other historical works on the professions. See Harold Perkin, The Rise of Professional Society: England Since 1880 (London and New York: Routledge, 1989), for an example of an alternative approach.
15. Anne Witz, Professons and Patriarchy (London and New York: Routledge, 1992), p. 52. The minor modifications made to Witz's model are not a criticism of her model, as she recognizes that not all professional projects will be the same. Witz incorporates much of the work on professional projects that came before her (see chap. 1-2). However, she focuses on actors and their resources, rather than conducting a macro-analysis similar to some of the other historical works on the professions. See Harold Perkin, The Rise of Professional Society: England Since 1880 (London and New York: Routledge, 1989), for an example of an alternative approach.
16. Andrew Abbott, The System of Professions (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1988). Also see Keith M. Macdonald, Sociology of the Professions (London: Sage Publications, 1995).
17. Andrew Abbott, The System of Professions (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1988). Also see Keith M. Macdonald, Sociology of the Professions (London: Sage Publications, 1995).
18. Witz, Professions and Patriarchy, p. 48.
19. Ibid., pp. 46, 197.
20. Ibid., pp. 104, 197.
21. Ibid., p. 105.
22. Ibid., pp. 48-50.
23. Ibid., p. 58.
24. Ibid., p. 67. Witz relies on Johnson's work regarding the dependence of the professions on the state, but also recognizes that men and women have unequal access to external resources (p. 192). T. Johnson, Professions and Power (London: Macmillan, 1972); T. Johnson, "The State and the Professions: Peculiarities of the British", in A. Giddens and G. Mackenzie, eds., Social Class and the Division of Labour: Essays in Honour of Ilya Neustadt (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982). Likewise, lawyers and notaries had unequal access to the Legislative Assembly, but this unequal access at first appeared to be in the notaries' favour, then tipped in favour of the lawyers. However, inter-occupational conflict continues today.
25. Ibid., p. 67. Witz relies on Johnson's work regarding the dependence of the professions on the state, but also recognizes that men and women have unequal access to external resources (p. 192). T. Johnson, Professions and Power (London: Macmillan, 1972); T. Johnson, "The State and the Professions: Peculiarities of the British", in A. Giddens and G. Mackenzie, eds., Social Class and the Division of Labour: Essays in Honour of Ilya Neustadt (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982). Likewise, lawyers and notaries had unequal access to the Legislative Assembly, but this unequal access at first appeared to be in the notaries' favour, then tipped in favour of the lawyers. However, inter-occupational conflict continues today.
26. Ibid., p. 67. Witz relies on Johnson's work regarding the dependence of the professions on the state, but also recognizes that men and women have unequal access to external resources (p. 192). T. Johnson, Professions and Power (London: Macmillan, 1972); T. Johnson, "The State and the Professions: Peculiarities of the British", in A. Giddens and G. Mackenzie, eds., Social Class and the Division of Labour: Essays in Honour of Ilya Neustadt (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982). Likewise, lawyers and notaries had unequal access to the Legislative Assembly, but this unequal access at first appeared to be in the notaries' favour, then tipped in favour of the lawyers. However, inter-occupational conflict continues today.
27. Witz, Professions and Patriarchy, p. 59.
28. Ibid., p. 210.
29. The law gives lawyers a greater say in politics than any other occupational group, save (perhaps) professional politicians. See T. C. Halliday, Beyond Monopoly (Chicago and London: University of Chicago, 1987). Furthermore, the political power of judges has been expanded in Canada with the introduction of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to the point where some claim that politics has been legalized in Canada. See Michael Mandel, The Charter of Rights and the Legalization of Politics in Canada (Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing, 1994). There are numerous views on this. See Joel Baakan, Just Words: Constitutional Rights and Social Wrongs (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997).
30. The law gives lawyers a greater say in politics than any other occupational group, save (perhaps) professional politicians. See T. C. Halliday, Beyond Monopoly (Chicago and London: University of Chicago, 1987). Furthermore, the political power of judges has been expanded in Canada with the introduction of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to the point where some claim that politics has been legalized in Canada. See Michael Mandel, The Charter of Rights and the Legalization of Politics in Canada (Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing, 1994). There are numerous views on this. See Joel Baakan, Just Words: Constitutional Rights and Social Wrongs (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997).
31. The law gives lawyers a greater say in politics than any other occupational group, save (perhaps) professional politicians. See T. C. Halliday, Beyond Monopoly (Chicago and London: University of Chicago, 1987). Furthermore, the political power of judges has been expanded in Canada with the introduction of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to the point where some claim that politics has been legalized in Canada. See Michael Mandel, The Charter of Rights and the Legalization of Politics in Canada (Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing, 1994). There are numerous views on this. See Joel Baakan, Just Words: Constitutional Rights and Social Wrongs (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997).
32. See, for example, Constance B. Backhouse, "'To Open the Way for Others of My Sex': Clara Brett Martin's Career as Canada's First Woman Lawyer", Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, vol. 1, no. 1 (1985), p. 1; Joan Brockman, "Exclusionary Tactics: The History of Women and Minorities in the Legal Profession in British Columbia", in Hamar Foster and John P. S. McLaren, eds., Essays in the History of Canadian Law: Volume VI, British Columbia and the Yukon (Toronto: Osgoode Society, 1995), p. 508; Mary Jane Mossman, "Feminism and Legal Method: The Difference it Makes", Australian Journal of Law and Society, vol. 3 (1986), p. 30; Lois K. Yorke, "Mabel Penery French (1881-1955): A Life Re-Created", University of New Brunswick Law Journal, vol. 42 (1993), p. 3.
33. See, for example, Constance B. Backhouse, "'To Open the Way for Others of My Sex': Clara Brett Martin's Career as Canada's First Woman Lawyer", Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, vol. 1, no. 1 (1985), p. 1; Joan Brockman, "Exclusionary Tactics: The History of Women and Minorities in the Legal Profession in British Columbia", in Hamar Foster and John P. S. McLaren, eds., Essays in the History of Canadian Law: Volume VI, British Columbia and the Yukon (Toronto: Osgoode Society, 1995), p. 508; Mary Jane Mossman, "Feminism and Legal Method: The Difference it Makes", Australian Journal of Law and Society, vol. 3 (1986), p. 30; Lois K. Yorke, "Mabel Penery French (1881-1955): A Life Re-Created", University of New Brunswick Law Journal, vol. 42 (1993), p. 3.
34. See, for example, Constance B. Backhouse, "'To Open the Way for Others of My Sex': Clara Brett Martin's Career as Canada's First Woman Lawyer", Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, vol. 1, no. 1 (1985), p. 1; Joan Brockman, "Exclusionary Tactics: The History of Women and Minorities in the Legal Profession in British Columbia", in Hamar Foster and John P. S. McLaren, eds., Essays in the History of Canadian Law: Volume VI, British Columbia and the Yukon (Toronto: Osgoode Society, 1995), p. 508; Mary Jane Mossman, "Feminism and Legal Method: The Difference it Makes", Australian Journal of Law and Society, vol. 3 (1986), p. 30; Lois K. Yorke, "Mabel Penery French (1881-1955): A Life Re-Created", University of New Brunswick Law Journal, vol. 42 (1993), p. 3.
35. See, for example, Constance B. Backhouse, "'To Open the Way for Others of My Sex': Clara Brett Martin's Career as Canada's First Woman Lawyer", Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, vol. 1, no. 1 (1985), p. 1; Joan Brockman, "Exclusionary Tactics: The History of Women and Minorities in the Legal Profession in British Columbia", in Hamar Foster and John P. S. McLaren, eds., Essays in the History of Canadian Law: Volume VI, British Columbia and the Yukon (Toronto: Osgoode Society, 1995), p. 508; Mary Jane Mossman, "Feminism and Legal Method: The Difference it Makes", Australian Journal of Law and Society, vol. 3 (1986), p. 30; Lois K. Yorke, "Mabel Penery French (1881-1955): A Life Re-Created", University of New Brunswick Law Journal, vol. 42 (1993), p. 3.
36. John Neil Sutherland, "T. D. Pattullo as Party Leader" (MA thesis, University of British Columbia, 1960), p. 4.
37. "Premier Promises Notaries Redress", Victoria Daily Colonist, December 13, 1922, pp. 1, 3.
38. Martin Robin, Pillars of Profit: The Company Province, 1934-1972 (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1973), pp. 11-12. However, Robin was of the view that Pattullo owed a debt to Manson.
39. The legal profession mobilized to ensure that the Attorney-General was legally trained. See, for example, BCARS, MSS 948, series VIII, vol. 45, file 56, Annual Meeting of the Law Society of British Columbia, 1939, p. 40.
40. The preamble to the first Notaries Act, SBC 1872, states, "whereas it has been considered doubtful whether the Governors of the former Colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island had the power to grant Commissions for making Notaries Public; And whereas it is advisable to remove all doubt upon the subject, and as well to confirm all such Commissions and Appointments as have been already issued and made ...". There is evidence that notaries worked in what is now British Columbia as early as 1864, and by 1875 there were 40 notaries (Hoeter, "Signed, Sealed and Delivered", p. 195).
41. Notaries Appointment Act, SBC 1872, s. 2.
42. The Law Society of British Columbia v. Gravelle and the Society of Notariés Public of British Columbia, October 9, 1998, BCSC A964141, Vancouver Registry. In this case, the court decided that notaries in England were not allowed to probate wills in 1858, and so it followed that British Columbia notaries were not allowed to do so. In an earlier case, the British Columbia Court of Appeal decided that, since notaries were not allowed to incorporate companies in 1858, neither were British Columbia notaries. See Reference re Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia (1969), 69 WWR 475.
43. Notaries Appointment Act, SBC 1884, c. 23, s. 2.
44. C. W. Brooks, R. H. Hemholz, and P. G. Stein, Notaries Public in England Since the Reformation (London: The Society of Public Notaries of London, 1991), chap. 5.
45. J. Eades Ward, History of Notaries and the Notaries of Canada (Vancouver: The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia, 1937), p. 12. Ward was the first secretary of the Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia in 1927 and served until 1939 (Hoeter, "Signed, Sealed and Delivered", p. 197). Ward, with permission, used large extracts from Bernard Wallace Russell, Office and Practice of a Notary of Canada (Toronto: Carswell Company, 1927), and a similar quotation is found in Russell's book, p. 12.
46. J. Eades Ward, History of Notaries and the Notaries of Canada (Vancouver: The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia, 1937), p. 12. Ward was the first secretary of the Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia in 1927 and served until 1939 (Hoeter, "Signed, Sealed and Delivered", p. 197). Ward, with permission, used large extracts from Bernard Wallace Russell, Office and Practice of a Notary of Canada (Toronto: Carswell Company, 1927), and a similar quotation is found in Russell's book, p. 12.
47. J. Eades Ward, History of Notaries and the Notaries of Canada (Vancouver: The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia, 1937), p. 12. Ward was the first secretary of the Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia in 1927 and served until 1939 (Hoeter, "Signed, Sealed and Delivered", p. 197). Ward, with permission, used large extracts from Bernard Wallace Russell, Office and Practice of a Notary of Canada (Toronto: Carswell Company, 1927), and a similar quotation is found in Russell's book, p. 12.
48. J. Eades Ward, History of Notaries and the Notaries of Canada (Vancouver: The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia, 1937), p. 12. Ward was the first secretary of the Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia in 1927 and served until 1939 (Hoeter, "Signed, Sealed and Delivered", p. 197). Ward, with permission, used large extracts from Bernard Wallace Russell, Office and Practice of a Notary of Canada (Toronto: Carswell Company, 1927), and a similar quotation is found in Russell's book, p. 12.
49. Hoeter, "Signed, Sealed and Delivered", p. 195.
50. The situation might have been aggravated by the appointment of James Alexander Macdonald as the Chief Justice of British Columbia in 1909. Prior to his appointment, Macdonald had spent six years as leader of the Liberal provincial opposition. In addition, the Attorney-General had to deal with other infighting on the bench. See David R. Verchere, A Progression of Judges: A History of the Supreme Court of British Columbia (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1988), chap. 12-13.
51. "Bringing Notaries Within Range of the Machine", Victoria Daily Times, January 29, 1910, p. 10; "Brewster Objects". Victoria Daily Colonist, February 2, 1910, p. 1.
52. "Bringing Notaries Within Range of the Machine", Victoria Daily Times, January 29, 1910, p. 10; "Brewster Objects". Victoria Daily Colonist, February 2, 1910, p. 1.
53. Hoeter, "Signed, Sealed and Delivered", p. 195.
54. Verchere, A Progression of Judges, pp. 45-46.
55. Alfred Watts, A History of the Legal Profession in British Columbia, 1869-1984 (Vancouver: Law Society of British Columbia, 1984), p. 50.
56. Quoted in ibid., p. 48. See also Verchere, A Progression of Judges, p. 28. The anti-Canadian bias also existed on Vancouver Island.
57. Quoted in ibid., p. 48. See also Verchere, A Progression of Judges, p. 28. The anti-Canadian bias also existed on Vancouver Island.
58. See W. Wesley Pue, Law School: The Story of Legal Education in British Columbia (Vancouver: Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia, 1995), chap. 1-2. There were also lawyers in British Columbia who had been trained in England and Ontario (Osgoode Hall Law School): see Pue, Law School, p. 22. The law schools shut down during part of World War I. Although they reopened in 1919, Victoria's was closed in 1923 and Vancouver's in 1943. See Pue, Law School, p. 60.
59. See W. Wesley Pue, Law School: The Story of Legal Education in British Columbia (Vancouver: Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia, 1995), chap. 1-2. There were also lawyers in British Columbia who had been trained in England and Ontario (Osgoode Hall Law School): see Pue, Law School, p. 22. The law schools shut down during part of World War I. Although they reopened in 1919, Victoria's was closed in 1923 and Vancouver's in 1943. See Pue, Law School, p. 60.
60. See W. Wesley Pue, Law School: The Story of Legal Education in British Columbia (Vancouver: Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia, 1995), chap. 1-2. There were also lawyers in British Columbia who had been trained in England and Ontario (Osgoode Hall Law School): see Pue, Law School, p. 22. The law schools shut down during part of World War I. Although they reopened in 1919, Victoria's was closed in 1923 and Vancouver's in 1943. See Pue, Law School, p. 60.
61. This appears to be the dominant objection in the newspaper articles; however, the opposition members also accused the governing party of allowing such naturalizations to gain the vote of the Japanese. There were also some concerns that the two notaries were being used as political scapegoats. According to W. Peter Ward, White Canada Forever, 2nd ed. (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1990), there had just been an "unprecedented tide of Oriental immigrants" into the province in 1899 and 1900, and the politicians recognized "the political utility of prejudice" (pp. 55-56).
62. "Fraudulent Naturalization", Victoria Daily Colonist, March 12, 1901, p. 5. The concern appeared to be that the Japanese were "depriving while men of work".
63. "Those Cancelled Commissions", Vancouver Daily Province, April 11, 1901, p. 4.
64. "Fraudulent Naturalization", Victoria Daily Colonist, March 12, 1901, p. 5. See also "Commissioners may be Cancelled", Vancouver Daily Province, January 11, 1901, p. 5; "Rattling Speech", Vancouver Daily Province, March 12, 1901, pp. 1, 3.
65. "Fraudulent Naturalization", Victoria Daily Colonist, March 12, 1901, p. 5. See also "Commissioners may be Cancelled", Vancouver Daily Province, January 11, 1901, p. 5; "Rattling Speech", Vancouver Daily Province, March 12, 1901, pp. 1, 3.
66. "Fraudulent Naturalization", Victoria Daily Colonist, March 12, 1901, p. 5. See also "Commissioners may be Cancelled", Vancouver Daily Province, January 11, 1901, p. 5; "Rattling Speech", Vancouver Daily Province, March 12, 1901, pp. 1, 3.
67. This class distinction between the clients of lawyers and the clients of notaries was confirmed by Dr. Bernard Hoeter in a conversation on October 19, 1998. Dr. Hoeter was commissioned as a notary in British Columbia in 1960 and was the secretary of the Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia from 1969 to 1986. It may also be that notaries were drawn from a different social, and perhaps ethnic, group than lawyers. Notaries had roots in the community and often dealt with immigrants who required notarized documents and translation services. Lawyers were most often from England and likely did not speak a second or third language. In 1909 Victoria law students asked the Law Society to establish a law school in Victoria rather than Vancouver, because "Victoria as the home of proportionately greater leisure and moneyed class of people would probably furnish a relatively greater number of students than Vancouver". BCARS, MSS 948, vol. 40, file 15, Letter to the Law Society, May 27, 1909. Notaries have always claimed to offer more personal service at a lower fee than lawyers and were likely more accessible to the working class and small entrepreneur.
68. BCARS, MSS 948, series 8, vol. 40, file 14, G. H. Thompson to Secretary of the Law Society, received October 29, 1908. The Inferior Court Practitioners Act, RSBC 1897, c. 54, is discussed infra.
69. "Unauthorized Practice of Law", Canada Law Journal, vol. 55 (1919), p. 376.
70. British Columbia became a province in 1871, after, the anti-professional Jacksonian era in the United States and after the more formal organization of the legal profession in England. See W. Wesley Pue, "'Trajectories of Professionalism'? Legal Professionalism After Abel", Manitoba Law Journal, vol. 19 (1990), pp. 394-398, and "Moral Panic at the English Bar: Paternal vs. Commercial Ideologies of Legal Practice in the 1860s", Law and Social Inquiry, vol. 15, no. 1 (1990), p. 49. However, the professions in Canada did not escape criticism in the nineteenth century. See Michael Bliss, A Living Profit (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1974), in which he quotes the Canadian Manufacturer (1893) as stating that the training of professionals was seen as the "educating of rich men's children - for which the country had no possible use" (p. 118).
71. British Columbia became a province in 1871, after, the anti-professional Jacksonian era in the United States and after the more formal organization of the legal profession in England. See W. Wesley Pue, "'Trajectories of Professionalism'? Legal Professionalism After Abel", Manitoba Law Journal, vol. 19 (1990), pp. 394-398, and "Moral Panic at the English Bar: Paternal vs. Commercial Ideologies of Legal Practice in the 1860s", Law and Social Inquiry, vol. 15, no. 1 (1990), p. 49. However, the professions in Canada did not escape criticism in the nineteenth century. See Michael Bliss, A Living Profit (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1974), in which he quotes the Canadian Manufacturer (1893) as stating that the training of professionals was seen as the "educating of rich men's children - for which the country had no possible use" (p. 118).
72. British Columbia became a province in 1871, after, the anti-professional Jacksonian era in the United States and after the more formal organization of the legal profession in England. See W. Wesley Pue, "'Trajectories of Professionalism'? Legal Professionalism After Abel", Manitoba Law Journal, vol. 19 (1990), pp. 394-398, and "Moral Panic at the English Bar: Paternal vs. Commercial Ideologies of Legal Practice in the 1860s", Law and Social Inquiry, vol. 15, no. 1 (1990), p. 49. However, the professions in Canada did not escape criticism in the nineteenth century. See Michael Bliss, A Living Profit (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1974), in which he quotes the Canadian Manufacturer (1893) as stating that the training of professionals was seen as the "educating of rich men's children - for which the country had no possible use" (p. 118).
73. British Columbia became a province in 1871, after, the anti-professional Jacksonian era in the United States and after the more formal organization of the legal profession in England. See W. Wesley Pue, "'Trajectories of Professionalism'? Legal Professionalism After Abel", Manitoba Law Journal, vol. 19 (1990), pp. 394-398, and "Moral Panic at the English Bar: Paternal vs. Commercial Ideologies of Legal Practice in the 1860s", Law and Social Inquiry, vol. 15, no. 1 (1990), p. 49. However, the professions in Canada did not escape criticism in the nineteenth century. See Michael Bliss, A Living Profit (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1974), in which he quotes the Canadian Manufacturer (1893) as stating that the training of professionals was seen as the "educating of rich men's children - for which the country had no possible use" (p. 118).
74. M. P. Aidan Butterfield, "Those Indomitable Notaries of British Columbia", Professional Administrator (1986), p. 21; W. E. Burns, "Report Prepared for the Committee on Encroachments on the Lawyers' Sphere of Activities", Year Book Canadian Bar Association (1928), p. 367.
75. M. P. Aidan Butterfield, "Those Indomitable Notaries of British Columbia", Professional Administrator (1986), p. 21; W. E. Burns, "Report Prepared for the Committee on Encroachments on the Lawyers' Sphere of Activities", Year Book Canadian Bar Association (1928), p. 367.
76. In 1915 Manitoba had managed to limit notaries to administering oaths, attesting to documents, and giving notarial certificates. "Report of Joint Committees on Encroachments and Publicity", in Conference of the Governing Bodies of the Legal Profession of Canada, Programme and Handbook (1931), p. 33.
77. Lawyers, who were forced by the government to accept women into the legal profession in 1912, were also concerned that women might add to the competition of providing legal services. See Brockman, "Exclusionary Tactics". However, there appears to have been little fanfare over the first woman notary. After numerous enquiries (some still ongoing), I have been unable to determine who the first woman notary was. In 1960, when Bernard Hoeter became a notary, he recalls that there were two women and approximately 250 men (personal communication).
78. "Manson to Cut Down on Notaries for Public Good", Victoria Daily Times, December 9, 1922, p. 7; Journals of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, 1922, p. 166. Alexander Manson was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1916. In 1922 he was appointed to the cabinet as Attorney General. He was re-elected in 1933 and resigned his seat for his appointment to the British Columbia Supreme Court in 1935. He was forced to retire in 1961, following an amendment to the Constitution Act in 1960 that required federally appointed judges to retire at the age of 75 (Verchere, A Progression of Judges, p. 155). His career as Attorney-General from 1922 to 1928 was riddled with controversy, ranging from his criticism of employers who did not give preference to white employees ("Want Orientals out of Industry", Victoria Daily Colonist, June 3, 1922, p. 3; "Let Orientals Go Home, Says Manson", Victoria Daily Times, June 3, 1922, p. 28) to an investigation by the Law Society of his department withholding a report on the sanity of an accused (Mr. Yamamoto) who was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang ("Benchers Probe Charges Against Attorney General", Vancouver Evening Sun, July 17, 1925, p. 1). He also faced calls for his resignation over the investigation of Wong Foon Sing, charged with the murder of Janet Smith ("Manson Gives House Facts in Defending Conduct of Janet Smith Investigation", Victoria Daily Times, November 17, 1925, p. 2). As a judge he was known as the modern "hanging judge", and the mother of a man he sentenced called him, amongst other things, a "miserable, rotten, sadistic old bastard". The rest of her "epithets remain unprintable". George L. Murray, "Manson's Last Case", Advocate, vol. 42 (1984), p. 407.
79. "Manson to Cut Down on Notaries for Public Good", Victoria Daily Times, December 9, 1922, p. 7; Journals of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, 1922, p. 166. Alexander Manson was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1916. In 1922 he was appointed to the cabinet as Attorney General. He was re-elected in 1933 and resigned his seat for his appointment to the British Columbia Supreme Court in 1935. He was forced to retire in 1961, following an amendment to the Constitution Act in 1960 that required federally appointed judges to retire at the age of 75 (Verchere, A Progression of Judges, p. 155). His career as Attorney-General from 1922 to 1928 was riddled with controversy, ranging from his criticism of employers who did not give preference to white employees ("Want Orientals out of Industry", Victoria Daily Colonist, June 3, 1922, p. 3; "Let Orientals Go Home, Says Manson", Victoria Daily Times, June 3, 1922, p. 28) to an investigation by the Law Society of his department withholding a report on the sanity of an accused (Mr. Yamamoto) who was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang ("Benchers Probe Charges Against Attorney General", Vancouver Evening Sun, July 17, 1925, p. 1). He also faced calls for his resignation over the investigation of Wong Foon Sing, charged with the murder of Janet Smith ("Manson Gives House Facts in Defending Conduct of Janet Smith Investigation", Victoria Daily Times, November 17, 1925, p. 2). As a judge he was known as the modern "hanging judge", and the mother of a man he sentenced called him, amongst other things, a "miserable, rotten, sadistic old bastard". The rest of her "epithets remain unprintable". George L. Murray, "Manson's Last Case", Advocate, vol. 42 (1984), p. 407.
80. "Manson to Cut Down on Notaries for Public Good", Victoria Daily Times, December 9, 1922, p. 7; Journals of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, 1922, p. 166. Alexander Manson was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1916. In 1922 he was appointed to the cabinet as Attorney General. He was re-elected in 1933 and resigned his seat for his appointment to the British Columbia Supreme Court in 1935. He was forced to retire in 1961, following an amendment to the Constitution Act in 1960 that required federally appointed judges to retire at the age of 75 (Verchere, A Progression of Judges, p. 155). His career as Attorney-General from 1922 to 1928 was riddled with controversy, ranging from his criticism of employers who did not give preference to white employees ("Want Orientals out of Industry", Victoria Daily Colonist, June 3, 1922, p. 3; "Let Orientals Go Home, Says Manson", Victoria Daily Times, June 3, 1922, p. 28) to an investigation by the Law Society of his department withholding a report on the sanity of an accused (Mr. Yamamoto) who was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang ("Benchers Probe Charges Against Attorney General", Vancouver Evening Sun, July 17, 1925, p. 1). He also faced calls for his resignation over the investigation of Wong Foon Sing, charged with the murder of Janet Smith ("Manson Gives House Facts in Defending Conduct of Janet Smith Investigation", Victoria Daily Times, November 17, 1925, p. 2). As a judge he was known as the modern "hanging judge", and the mother of a man he sentenced called him, amongst other things, a "miserable, rotten, sadistic old bastard". The rest of her "epithets remain unprintable". George L. Murray, "Manson's Last Case", Advocate, vol. 42 (1984), p. 407.
81. "Manson to Cut Down on Notaries for Public Good", Victoria Daily Times, December 9, 1922, p. 7; Journals of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, 1922, p. 166. Alexander Manson was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1916. In 1922 he was appointed to the cabinet as Attorney General. He was re-elected in 1933 and resigned his seat for his appointment to the British Columbia Supreme Court in 1935. He was forced to retire in 1961, following an amendment to the Constitution Act in 1960 that required federally appointed judges to retire at the age of 75 (Verchere, A Progression of Judges, p. 155). His career as Attorney-General from 1922 to 1928 was riddled with controversy, ranging from his criticism of employers who did not give preference to white employees ("Want Orientals out of Industry", Victoria Daily Colonist, June 3, 1922, p. 3; "Let Orientals Go Home, Says Manson", Victoria Daily Times, June 3, 1922, p. 28) to an investigation by the Law Society of his department withholding a report on the sanity of an accused (Mr. Yamamoto) who was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang ("Benchers Probe Charges Against Attorney General", Vancouver Evening Sun, July 17, 1925, p. 1). He also faced calls for his resignation over the investigation of Wong Foon Sing, charged with the murder of Janet Smith ("Manson Gives House Facts in Defending Conduct of Janet Smith Investigation", Victoria Daily Times, November 17, 1925, p. 2). As a judge he was known as the modern "hanging judge", and the mother of a man he sentenced called him, amongst other things, a "miserable, rotten, sadistic old bastard". The rest of her "epithets remain unprintable". George L. Murray, "Manson's Last Case", Advocate, vol. 42 (1984), p. 407.
82. "Manson to Cut Down on Notaries for Public Good", Victoria Daily Times, December 9, 1922, p. 7; Journals of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, 1922, p. 166. Alexander Manson was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1916. In 1922 he was appointed to the cabinet as Attorney General. He was re-elected in 1933 and resigned his seat for his appointment to the British Columbia Supreme Court in 1935. He was forced to retire in 1961, following an amendment to the Constitution Act in 1960 that required federally appointed judges to retire at the age of 75 (Verchere, A Progression of Judges, p. 155). His career as Attorney-General from 1922 to 1928 was riddled with controversy, ranging from his criticism of employers who did not give preference to white employees ("Want Orientals out of Industry", Victoria Daily Colonist, June 3, 1922, p. 3; "Let Orientals Go Home, Says Manson", Victoria Daily Times, June 3, 1922, p. 28) to an investigation by the Law Society of his department withholding a report on the sanity of an accused (Mr. Yamamoto) who was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang ("Benchers Probe Charges Against Attorney General", Vancouver Evening Sun, July 17, 1925, p. 1). He also faced calls for his resignation over the investigation of Wong Foon Sing, charged with the murder of Janet Smith ("Manson Gives House Facts in Defending Conduct of Janet Smith Investigation", Victoria Daily Times, November 17, 1925, p. 2). As a judge he was known as the modern "hanging judge", and the mother of a man he sentenced called him, amongst other things, a "miserable, rotten, sadistic old bastard". The rest of her "epithets remain unprintable". George L. Murray, "Manson's Last Case", Advocate, vol. 42 (1984), p. 407.
83. "Manson to Cut Down on Notaries for Public Good", Victoria Daily Times, December 9, 1922, p. 7; Journals of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, 1922, p. 166. Alexander Manson was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1916. In 1922 he was appointed to the cabinet as Attorney General. He was re-elected in 1933 and resigned his seat for his appointment to the British Columbia Supreme Court in 1935. He was forced to retire in 1961, following an amendment to the Constitution Act in 1960 that required federally appointed judges to retire at the age of 75 (Verchere, A Progression of Judges, p. 155). His career as Attorney-General from 1922 to 1928 was riddled with controversy, ranging from his criticism of employers who did not give preference to white employees ("Want Orientals out of Industry", Victoria Daily Colonist, June 3, 1922, p. 3; "Let Orientals Go Home, Says Manson", Victoria Daily Times, June 3, 1922, p. 28) to an investigation by the Law Society of his department withholding a report on the sanity of an accused (Mr. Yamamoto) who was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang ("Benchers Probe Charges Against Attorney General", Vancouver Evening Sun, July 17, 1925, p. 1). He also faced calls for his resignation over the investigation of Wong Foon Sing, charged with the murder of Janet Smith ("Manson Gives House Facts in Defending Conduct of Janet Smith Investigation", Victoria Daily Times, November 17, 1925, p. 2). As a judge he was known as the modern "hanging judge", and the mother of a man he sentenced called him, amongst other things, a "miserable, rotten, sadistic old bastard". The rest of her "epithets remain unprintable". George L. Murray, "Manson's Last Case", Advocate, vol. 42 (1984), p. 407.
84. "Manson to Cut Down on Notaries for Public Good", Victoria Daily Times, December 9, 1922, p. 7; Journals of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, 1922, p. 166. Alexander Manson was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1916. In 1922 he was appointed to the cabinet as Attorney General. He was re-elected in 1933 and resigned his seat for his appointment to the British Columbia Supreme Court in 1935. He was forced to retire in 1961, following an amendment to the Constitution Act in 1960 that required federally appointed judges to retire at the age of 75 (Verchere, A Progression of Judges, p. 155). His career as Attorney-General from 1922 to 1928 was riddled with controversy, ranging from his criticism of employers who did not give preference to white employees ("Want Orientals out of Industry", Victoria Daily Colonist, June 3, 1922, p. 3; "Let Orientals Go Home, Says Manson", Victoria Daily Times, June 3, 1922, p. 28) to an investigation by the Law Society of his department withholding a report on the sanity of an accused (Mr. Yamamoto) who was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang ("Benchers Probe Charges Against Attorney General", Vancouver Evening Sun, July 17, 1925, p. 1). He also faced calls for his resignation over the investigation of Wong Foon Sing, charged with the murder of Janet Smith ("Manson Gives House Facts in Defending Conduct of Janet Smith Investigation", Victoria Daily Times, November 17, 1925, p. 2). As a judge he was known as the modern "hanging judge", and the mother of a man he sentenced called him, amongst other things, a "miserable, rotten, sadistic old bastard". The rest of her "epithets remain unprintable". George L. Murray, "Manson's Last Case", Advocate, vol. 42 (1984), p. 407.
85. "Manson to Cut Down on Notaries for Public Good", Victoria Daily Times, December 9, 1922, p. 7; Journals of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, 1922, p. 166. Alexander Manson was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1916. In 1922 he was appointed to the cabinet as Attorney General. He was re-elected in 1933 and resigned his seat for his appointment to the British Columbia Supreme Court in 1935. He was forced to retire in 1961, following an amendment to the Constitution Act in 1960 that required federally appointed judges to retire at the age of 75 (Verchere, A Progression of Judges, p. 155). His career as Attorney-General from 1922 to 1928 was riddled with controversy, ranging from his criticism of employers who did not give preference to white employees ("Want Orientals out of Industry", Victoria Daily Colonist, June 3, 1922, p. 3; "Let Orientals Go Home, Says Manson", Victoria Daily Times, June 3, 1922, p. 28) to an investigation by the Law Society of his department withholding a report on the sanity of an accused (Mr. Yamamoto) who was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang ("Benchers Probe Charges Against Attorney General", Vancouver Evening Sun, July 17, 1925, p. 1). He also faced calls for his resignation over the investigation of Wong Foon Sing, charged with the murder of Janet Smith ("Manson Gives House Facts in Defending Conduct of Janet Smith Investigation", Victoria Daily Times, November 17, 1925, p. 2). As a judge he was known as the modern "hanging judge", and the mother of a man he sentenced called him, amongst other things, a "miserable, rotten, sadistic old bastard". The rest of her "epithets remain unprintable". George L. Murray, "Manson's Last Case", Advocate, vol. 42 (1984), p. 407.
86. "Attorney-General Defends Lawyers", Victoria Daily Colonist, February 8, 1924, p. 3. Manson suggested that unemployed lawyers might find work in the business of developing natural resources in the province. He also thought lawyers were "peculiarly equipped" for public office. While Manson may have been spurred on by the various bar associations with which he kept in touch, he was not above taking on such projects with greater personal enthusiasm than one might expect from a politician. His anti-Japanese and anti-Chinese comments were particularly cutting.
87. Bill 83, An Act Respecting Notaries Public (1922), s. 4.
88. Ibid., s. 6 and 7.
89. Ibid., s. 11. Section 8 required all notaries to indicate on all their documents the date on which their commissions expired, and failure to do so could result in a line not exceeding $10, following summary conviction.
90. Journals of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, December 8, 1922, p. 174.
91. "Manson to Cut Down on Notaries for Public Good", Victoria Daily Times, December 9, 1922, p. 7. The legislation at that time stated that notaries had the power to attest all commercial instruments and "otherwise act as is usual in the office of Notary". RSBC 1911, c. 173, s. 3.
92. James Morton, Honest John Oliver (London: J. M. Dent and Sons, 1933). Jean Barman, The West Beyond the West: A History of British Columbia (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991), described him as a "proponent of simpler values in an increasingly complex age" (p. 236).
93. James Morton, Honest John Oliver (London: J. M. Dent and Sons, 1933). Jean Barman, The West Beyond the West: A History of British Columbia (Toronto:
94. "Premier Promises Notaries Redress", Victoria Daily Colonist, December 13, 1922, pp. 1, 3.
95. SBC 1922, c. 18, s. 2.
96. "Struggling Lawyer is Given a Chance", Victoria Daily Times, December 14, 1922, p. 13.
97. Mackenzie, who graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1913 and was called to the bar in 1919, was noted in the newspapers for his opposition to the immigration of Japanese persons. In 1922 Mackenzie promoted amendments to the Constitution which would allow British Columbia to prohibit Asiatics from acquiring property or proprietary interests in the province ("Boldness Urged by Mackenzie for Oriental Problem", Victoria Daily Times, November 22, 1922, p. 18; "Would Ban Orientals from Living Here", Victoria Daily Colonist, November 22, 1922, p. 7; "Ian Returns to Practice Law in City", Vancouver Daily Province, July 13, 1949, p. 2). In 1924 he promoted the immigration to Canada of "hundreds of hardy Scotch fishermen" who could "outstrip the Japanese as fishermen" ("Ask Government to Bring Hardy Hebrideans Here", Victoria Daily Times, February 22, 1924, pp. 1, 2). In the 1930s and 1940s Mackenzie continued his campaign as Liberal member of the House of Commons, and he was appointed to the Senate in 1948. See, for example, "No Japs for B.C. Mackenzie's Pledge", Vancouver Sun, September 19, 1944, p. 13. He died in 1949, at the age of 59 ("Mackenzie Devoted His Life to Canada", News-Herald [Vancouver]. September 4, 1949, p. 2). One of the reviewers of an earlier version of this paper asked whether anti-Asian racism may have been a theme that underscored the occupational rivalry between the notaries and lawyers. While this appeared to be a factor in the 1900 episode, anti-Asian racism was so widespread in British Columbia that it is difficult to determine whether this was the case. The first Asian notary was not appointed until 1950. See Brockman, "'Better to Enlist Their Support'", p. 210.
98. Mackenzie, who graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1913 and was called to the bar in 1919, was noted in the newspapers for his opposition to the immigration of Japanese persons. In 1922 Mackenzie promoted amendments to the Constitution which would allow British Columbia to prohibit Asiatics from acquiring property or proprietary interests in the province ("Boldness Urged by Mackenzie for Oriental Problem", Victoria Daily Times, November 22, 1922, p. 18; "Would Ban Orientals from Living Here", Victoria Daily Colonist, November 22, 1922, p. 7; "Ian Returns to Practice Law in City", Vancouver Daily Province, July 13, 1949, p. 2). In 1924 he promoted the immigration to Canada of "hundreds of hardy Scotch fishermen" who could "outstrip the Japanese as fishermen" ("Ask Government to Bring Hardy Hebrideans Here", Victoria Daily Times, February 22, 1924, pp. 1, 2). In the 1930s and 1940s Mackenzie continued his campaign as Liberal member of the House of Commons, and he was appointed to the Senate in 1948. See, for example, "No Japs for B.C. Mackenzie's Pledge", Vancouver Sun, September 19, 1944, p. 13. He died in 1949, at the age of 59 ("Mackenzie Devoted His Life to Canada", News-Herald [Vancouver]. September 4, 1949, p. 2). One of the reviewers of an earlier version of this paper asked whether anti-Asian racism may have been a theme that underscored the occupational rivalry between the notaries and lawyers. While this appeared to be a factor in the 1900 episode, anti-Asian racism was so widespread in British Columbia that it is difficult to determine whether this was the case. The first Asian notary was not appointed until 1950. See Brockman, "'Better to Enlist Their Support'", p. 210.
99. Mackenzie, who graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1913 and was called to the bar in 1919, was noted in the newspapers for his opposition to the immigration of Japanese persons. In 1922 Mackenzie promoted amendments to the Constitution which would allow British Columbia to prohibit Asiatics from acquiring property or proprietary interests in the province ("Boldness Urged by Mackenzie for Oriental Problem", Victoria Daily Times, November 22, 1922, p. 18; "Would Ban Orientals from Living Here", Victoria Daily Colonist, November 22, 1922, p. 7; "Ian Returns to Practice Law in City", Vancouver Daily Province, July 13, 1949, p. 2). In 1924 he promoted the immigration to Canada of "hundreds of hardy Scotch fishermen" who could "outstrip the Japanese as fishermen" ("Ask Government to Bring Hardy Hebrideans Here", Victoria Daily Times, February 22, 1924, pp. 1, 2). In the 1930s and 1940s Mackenzie continued his campaign as Liberal member of the House of Commons, and he was appointed to the Senate in 1948. See, for example, "No Japs for B.C. Mackenzie's Pledge", Vancouver Sun, September 19, 1944, p. 13. He died in 1949, at the age of 59 ("Mackenzie Devoted His Life to Canada", News-Herald [Vancouver]. September 4, 1949, p. 2). One of the reviewers of an earlier version of this paper asked whether anti-Asian racism may have been a theme that underscored the occupational rivalry between the notaries and lawyers. While this appeared to be a factor in the 1900 episode, anti-Asian racism was so widespread in British Columbia that it is difficult to determine whether this was the case. The first Asian notary was not appointed until 1950. See Brockman, "'Better to Enlist Their Support'", p. 210.
100. Mackenzie, who graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1913 and was called to the bar in 1919, was noted in the newspapers for his opposition to the immigration of Japanese persons. In 1922 Mackenzie promoted amendments to the Constitution which would allow British Columbia to prohibit Asiatics from acquiring property or proprietary interests in the province ("Boldness Urged by Mackenzie for Oriental Problem", Victoria Daily Times, November 22, 1922, p. 18; "Would Ban Orientals from Living Here", Victoria Daily Colonist, November 22, 1922, p. 7; "Ian Returns to Practice Law in City", Vancouver Daily Province, July 13, 1949, p. 2). In 1924 he promoted the immigration to Canada of "hundreds of hardy Scotch fishermen" who could "outstrip the Japanese as fishermen" ("Ask Government to Bring Hardy Hebrideans Here", Victoria Daily Times, February 22, 1924, pp. 1, 2). In the 1930s and 1940s Mackenzie continued his campaign as Liberal member of the House of Commons, and he was appointed to the Senate in 1948. See, for example, "No Japs for B.C. Mackenzie's Pledge", Vancouver Sun, September 19, 1944, p. 13. He died in 1949, at the age of 59 ("Mackenzie Devoted His Life to Canada", News-Herald [Vancouver]. September 4, 1949, p. 2). One of the reviewers of an earlier version of this paper asked whether anti-Asian racism may have been a theme that underscored the occupational rivalry between the notaries and lawyers. While this appeared to be a factor in the 1900 episode, anti-Asian racism was so widespread in British Columbia that it is difficult to determine whether this was the case. The first Asian notary was not appointed until 1950. See Brockman, "'Better to Enlist Their Support'", p. 210.
101. Mackenzie, who graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1913 and was called to the bar in 1919, was noted in the newspapers for his opposition to the immigration of Japanese persons. In 1922 Mackenzie promoted amendments to the Constitution which would allow British Columbia to prohibit Asiatics from acquiring property or proprietary interests in the province ("Boldness Urged by Mackenzie for Oriental Problem", Victoria Daily Times, November 22, 1922, p. 18; "Would Ban Orientals from Living Here", Victoria Daily Colonist, November 22, 1922, p. 7; "Ian Returns to Practice Law in City", Vancouver Daily Province, July 13, 1949, p. 2). In 1924 he promoted the immigration to Canada of "hundreds of hardy Scotch fishermen" who could "outstrip the Japanese as fishermen" ("Ask Government to Bring Hardy Hebrideans Here", Victoria Daily Times, February 22, 1924, pp. 1, 2). In the 1930s and 1940s Mackenzie continued his campaign as Liberal member of the House of Commons, and he was appointed to the Senate in 1948. See, for example, "No Japs for B.C. Mackenzie's Pledge", Vancouver Sun, September 19, 1944, p. 13. He died in 1949, at the age of 59 ("Mackenzie Devoted His Life to Canada", News-Herald [Vancouver]. September 4, 1949, p. 2). One of the reviewers of an earlier version of this paper asked whether anti-Asian racism may have been a theme that underscored the occupational rivalry between the notaries and lawyers. While this appeared to be a factor in the 1900 episode, anti-Asian racism was so widespread in British Columbia that it is difficult to determine whether this was the case. The first Asian notary was not appointed until 1950. See Brockman, "'Better to Enlist Their Support'", p. 210.
102. Mackenzie, who graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1913 and was called to the bar in 1919, was noted in the newspapers for his opposition to the immigration of Japanese persons. In 1922 Mackenzie promoted amendments to the Constitution which would allow British Columbia to prohibit Asiatics from acquiring property or proprietary interests in the province ("Boldness Urged by Mackenzie for Oriental Problem", Victoria Daily Times, November 22, 1922, p. 18; "Would Ban Orientals from Living Here", Victoria Daily Colonist, November 22, 1922, p. 7; "Ian Returns to Practice Law in City", Vancouver Daily Province, July 13, 1949, p. 2). In 1924 he promoted the immigration to Canada of "hundreds of hardy Scotch fishermen" who could "outstrip the Japanese as fishermen" ("Ask Government to Bring Hardy Hebrideans Here", Victoria Daily Times, February 22, 1924, pp. 1, 2). In the 1930s and 1940s Mackenzie continued his campaign as Liberal member of the House of Commons, and he was appointed to the Senate in 1948. See, for example, "No Japs for B.C. Mackenzie's Pledge", Vancouver Sun, September 19, 1944, p. 13. He died in 1949, at the age of 59 ("Mackenzie Devoted His Life to Canada", News-Herald [Vancouver]. September 4, 1949, p. 2). One of the reviewers of an earlier version of this paper asked whether anti-Asian racism may have been a theme that underscored the occupational rivalry between the notaries and lawyers. While this appeared to be a factor in the 1900 episode, anti-Asian racism was so widespread in British Columbia that it is difficult to determine whether this was the case. The first Asian notary was not appointed until 1950. See Brockman, "'Better to Enlist Their Support'", p. 210.
103. Mackenzie, who graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1913 and was called to the bar in 1919, was noted in the newspapers for his opposition to the immigration of Japanese persons. In 1922 Mackenzie promoted amendments to the Constitution which would allow British Columbia to prohibit Asiatics from acquiring property or proprietary interests in the province ("Boldness Urged by Mackenzie for Oriental Problem", Victoria Daily Times, November 22, 1922, p. 18; "Would Ban Orientals from Living Here", Victoria Daily Colonist, November 22, 1922, p. 7; "Ian Returns to Practice Law in City", Vancouver Daily Province, July 13, 1949, p. 2). In 1924 he promoted the immigration to Canada of "hundreds of hardy Scotch fishermen" who could "outstrip the Japanese as fishermen" ("Ask Government to Bring Hardy Hebrideans Here", Victoria Daily Times, February 22, 1924, pp. 1, 2). In the 1930s and 1940s Mackenzie continued his campaign as Liberal member of the House of Commons, and he was appointed to the Senate in 1948. See, for example, "No Japs for B.C. Mackenzie's Pledge", Vancouver Sun, September 19, 1944, p. 13. He died in 1949, at the age of 59 ("Mackenzie Devoted His Life to Canada", News-Herald [Vancouver]. September 4, 1949, p. 2). One of the reviewers of an earlier version of this paper asked whether anti-Asian racism may have been a theme that underscored the occupational rivalry between the notaries and lawyers. While this appeared to be a factor in the 1900 episode, anti-Asian racism was so widespread in British Columbia that it is difficult to determine whether this was the case. The first Asian notary was not appointed until 1950. See Brockman, "'Better to Enlist Their Support'", p. 210.
104. "Laymen of House Hear Battle of Lawyers' Powers", Victoria Daily Times, December 14, 1925, pp. 1, 3; "Notaries Bill Stoutly Opposed", Vancouver Sun, December 8, 1925, p. 2.
105. "Laymen of House Hear Battle of Lawyers' Powers", Victoria Daily Times, December 14, 1925, pp. 1, 3; "Notaries Bill Stoutly Opposed", Vancouver Sun, December 8, 1925, p. 2.
106. Bill 46, An Act to Amend the "Notaries Act" (1925); Journals of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, December 7, 1925, p. 105. A companion bill, Bill 45, An Act to Amend the Legal Professions Act (1925), would have expanded the definition of the practice of law to include, among other activities, "counselling or advising upon any question of law, examining or reporting upon any title to properly, and drawing or revising any document intended or required to be registered, recorded, or filed in any public registry or office of record, and drawing or revising any will or testamentary document".
107. "Notaries Bill Stoutly Opposed", Vancouver Sun, December 8, 1925, p. 2. Cyrus Peck worked in the Klondike and then became a general agent and broker in the salmon canning industry in northern British Columbia. He was first elected to the federal Parliament in 1917, lost hs seat in 1921, and sat in the B.C. legislature from 1924 to 1933 ("Legendary Peck, VC Honored by 'His Own'", Victoria Daily Colonist, September 28, 1956, p. 13). At his death in 1956, Peck was remembered as the "only man in the British Empire to win the Victoria Cross in the First World War while a member of Parliament" ("Cy Peck, First War VC, Dies at 85", Vancouver Sun September 28, 1956, p. 3).
108. "Notaries Bill Stoutly Opposed", Vancouver Sun, December 8, 1925, p. 2. Cyrus Peck worked in the Klondike and then became a general agent and broker in the salmon canning industry in northern British Columbia. He was first elected to the federal Parliament in 1917, lost hs seat in 1921, and sat in the B.C. legislature from 1924 to 1933 ("Legendary Peck, VC Honored by 'His Own'", Victoria Daily Colonist, September 28, 1956, p. 13). At his death in 1956, Peck was remembered as the "only man in the British Empire to win the Victoria Cross in the First World War while a member of Parliament" ("Cy Peck, First War VC, Dies at 85", Vancouver Sun September 28, 1956, p. 3).
109. "Notaries Bill Stoutly Opposed", Vancouver Sun, December 8, 1925, p. 2. Cyrus Peck worked in the Klondike and then became a general agent and broker in the salmon canning industry in northern British Columbia. He was first elected to the federal Parliament in 1917, lost hs seat in 1921, and sat in the B.C. legislature from 1924 to 1933 ("Legendary Peck, VC Honored by 'His Own'", Victoria Daily Colonist, September 28, 1956, p. 13). At his death in 1956, Peck was remembered as the "only man in the British Empire to win the Victoria Cross in the First World War while a member of Parliament" ("Cy Peck, First War VC, Dies at 85", Vancouver Sun September 28, 1956, p. 3).
110. "Big Delegation Voices Protests on Notary Bill", Victoria Daily Colonist, December 15, 1925, p. 6.
111. Ibid. The Law Society was set up to investigate complaints against lawyers, whereas no similar arrangement existed for notaries.
112. "Laymen of House Hear Battle on Lawyers' Powers", Victoria Daily Times, December 14, 1925, pp. 1, 3.
113. Journal of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, 1925, p. 140; "Notaries Bill is to be Withdrawn", Victoria Daily Colonist, December 16, 1925, p. 5.
114. Journal of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, 1925, p. 140; "Notaries Bill is to be Withdrawn", Victoria Daily Colonist, December 16, 1925, p. 5.
115. Bill 81, An Act to Amend the "Notaries Act" (1925), s. 2.
116. Bill 80, An Act to Amend the "Legal Professions Act" (1925), s. 2.
117. "Notaries Bill Withdrawn", Vancouver Sun, December 19, 1925, p. 3; "New Legislation on Power of Notaries", Victoria Daily Times, December 19, 1925, p. 4.
118. "Notaries Bill Withdrawn", Vancouver Sun, December 19, 1925, p. 3; "New Legislation on Power of Notaries", Victoria Daily Times, December 19, 1925, p. 4.
119. "Elect Loutet Head of New Association", Vancouver Daily Province, August 12, 1926, p. 7.
120. "Amendments to the Notaries Act Get Second Reading", Vancouver Daily Province February 26, 1927, p. 3.
121. Manson may have been assisted by the fact that Premier Oliver was sick during this period. He died in office on August 17, 1927.
122. Notaries Act (1926-1927), c. 49, s. 2.
123. Ibid., c. 49, s. 6.
124. Ibid.; "To Raise Notary Public Standard", Victoria Daily Times, February 26, 1927, p. 12.
125. Henry (Harry) Perry, a newspaper publisher from Prince George, was first elected as a Liberal member to the Legislative Assembly in 1920, defeated in 1928, and re-elected in 1933. He was Speaker of the House from 1933 to 1937 and was defeated in 1949. He died in 1959, at the age of 70, "Veteran of B.C. Politics, Harry Perry Dies, Aged 70", Vancouver Sun. December 28, 1959, p. 28. Robin, Pillars of Profit, also described him as a "broker of insurance and real estate" (p. 66 ) and "the maverick from Prince George" (p. 190).
126. Henry (Harry) Perry, a newspaper publisher from Prince George, was first elected as a Liberal member to the Legislative Assembly in 1920, defeated in 1928, and re-elected in 1933. He was Speaker of the House from 1933 to 1937 and was defeated in 1949. He died in 1959, at the age of 70, "Veteran of B.C. Politics, Harry Perry Dies, Aged 70", Vancouver Sun. December 28, 1959, p. 28. Robin, Pillars of Profit, also described him as a "broker of insurance and real estate" (p. 66 ) and "the maverick from Prince George" (p. 190).
127. Henry (Harry) Perry, a newspaper publisher from Prince George, was first elected as a Liberal member to the Legislative Assembly in 1920, defeated in 1928, and re-elected in 1933. He was Speaker of the House from 1933 to 1937 and was defeated in 1949. He died in 1959, at the age of 70, "Veteran of B.C. Politics, Harry Perry Dies, Aged 70", Vancouver Sun. December 28, 1959, p. 28. Robin, Pillars of Profit, also described him as a "broker of insurance and real estate" (p. 66 ) and "the maverick from Prince George" (p. 190).
128. "Members Protest Legislation on Notaries Public", Victoria Daily Times, March 1, 1927, p. 16; "Notaries Bill Raises Storm", Vancouver Daily Province, March 1, 1927, p. 9.
129. "Members Protest Legislation on Notaries Public", Victoria Daily Times, March 1, 1927, p. 16; "Notaries Bill Raises Storm", Vancouver Daily Province, March 1, 1927, p. 9.
130. "Notaries Public Bill Criticized", Victoria Daily Colonist, March 1, 1927, p. 6. He also referred to barbers and hairdressers, who were trying to professionalize at this time.
131. "Attempts to Kill Notary Bill Fail", Victoria Daily Times, March 2, 1927, p. 16.
132. W. E. Burns, "Report of Committee on Encroachment on the Lawyers' Sphere of Activities", Minutes of the Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Bar Association, 1928, p. 367. Burns was called to the bar in 1900 and practised in Vancouver. He was a Bencher of the Law Society from 1922, until he was made a life member in 1944. He served as treasurer of the Law Society from 1938 to 1940. Watts, History of the Legal Profession, p. 93; "W. E. Burns Passes at 72", Vancouver Daily Province, January 2, 1946, pp. 1, 6.
133. W. E. Burns, "Report of Committee on Encroachment on the Lawyers' Sphere of Activities", Minutes of the Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Bar Association, 1928, p. 367. Burns was called to the bar in 1900 and practised in Vancouver. He was a Bencher of the Law Society from 1922, until he was made a life member in 1944. He served as treasurer of the Law Society from 1938 to 1940. Watts, History of the Legal Profession, p. 93; "W. E. Burns Passes at 72", Vancouver Daily Province, January 2, 1946, pp. 1, 6.
134. W. E. Burns, "Report of Committee on Encroachment on the Lawyers' Sphere of Activities", Minutes of the Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Bar Association, 1928, p. 367. Burns was called to the bar in 1900 and practised in Vancouver. He was a Bencher of the Law Society from 1922, until he was made a life member in 1944. He served as treasurer of the Law Society from 1938 to 1940. Watts, History of the Legal Profession, p. 93; "W. E. Burns Passes at 72", Vancouver Daily Province, January 2, 1946, pp. 1, 6.
135. Hunter practised law in Ontario for three years before he was called to the bar in British Columbia in 1892. He was appointed Chief Justice of British Columbia in 1902 and held that position until his death in 1929 at the age of 65. "Chief Justice of the B.C. Supreme Court Dies Here", Victoria Daily Times, March 15, 1929, p. 1. Verchere, A Progression of Judges, comments that he "was marred by his inability to control his taste for liquor" and that this "much diminished" his work on the court (p. 114).
136. Hunter practised law in Ontario for three years before he was called to the bar in British Columbia in 1892. He was appointed Chief Justice of British Columbia in 1902 and held that position until his death in 1929 at the age of 65. "Chief Justice of the B.C. Supreme Court Dies Here", Victoria Daily Times, March 15, 1929, p. 1. Verchere, A Progression of Judges, comments that he "was marred by his inability to control his taste for liquor" and that this "much diminished" his work on the court (p. 114).
137. "Rules to Put B.C. Notaries on New Plane", Victoria Daily Times, September 30, 1927, p. 1. The rules are reproduced in Ward, History of Notaries, pp. 17-19. The rules actually state that a person has to receive at least 50% in each examination, wild an overall average of 66%.
138. "Rules to Put B.C. Notaries on New Plane", Victoria Daily Times, September 30, 1927, p. 1. The rules are reproduced in Ward, History of Notaries, pp. 17-19. The rules actually state that a person has to receive at least 50% in each examination, wild an overall average of 66%.
139. "Notaries Must Know B.C. Law", Vancouver Daily Province, September 30, 1927, p. 1.
140. "Petition Will Be Presented", Victoria Daily Colonist, October 21, 1927, p. 1; "Notaries Seek New Chance to Retain Position", Victoria Daily Times, October 12, 1927, p. 9; "Ex-Notaries Seek Relief', Victoria Daily Colonist, November 13, 1927, pp. 1, 2.
141. "Petition Will Be Presented", Victoria Daily Colonist, October 21, 1927, p. 1; "Notaries Seek New Chance to Retain Position", Victoria Daily Times, October 12, 1927, p. 9; "Ex-Notaries Seek Relief', Victoria Daily Colonist, November 13, 1927, pp. 1, 2.
142. "Petition Will Be Presented", Victoria Daily Colonist, October 21, 1927, p. 1; "Notaries Seek New Chance to Retain Position", Victoria Daily Times, October 12, 1927, p. 9; "Ex-Notaries Seek Relief', Victoria Daily Colonist, November 13, 1927, pp. 1, 2.
143. "Manson Moves to Restore Seals to B.C. Notaries", Victoria Daily Times, January 24, 1928, p. 1.
144. Editorial, Victoria Daily Colonist, October 21, 1927, p. 4.
145. "Notaries Public Bill is Debated", Victoria Daily Colonist, February 15, 1928, p. 3.
146. "Notaries Act Nearly Killed", Victoria Daily Colonist, March 6, 1928, p. 12.
147. "Ancient Feud Over Notaries Opened Again", Victoria Daily Times, March 6, 1928, p. 5, "Notaries Act Nearly Killed", Victoria Daily Colonist, March 6, 1928, p. 12.
148. "Ancient Feud Over Notaries Opened Again", Victoria Daily Times, March 6, 1928, p. 5, "Notaries Act Nearly Killed", Victoria Daily Colonist, March 6, 1928, p. 12.
149. Ibid.
150. "Notaries to Register Here", Victoria Daily Times, March 20, 1928, p. 14; "Notaries Warned to Register Now", Victoria Daily Times, April 20, 1928, p. 1.
151. "Notaries to Register Here", Victoria Daily Times, March 20, 1928, p. 14; "Notaries Warned to Register Now", Victoria Daily Times, April 20, 1928, p. 1.
152. "Notaries Act Nearly Killed", Victoria Daily Colonist, March 6, 1928, p. 12.
153. "Law Society Wins Appeal", Victoria Daily Times, July 5, 1928, p. 1.
154. The Law Society of British Columbia v. Stewart (1928), 40 BCR 401.
155. Mr. Justice Aulay Macaulay Morrison was a Liberal member of the House of Commons from 1896 until 1904, at which time he was appointed to the British Columbia Supreme Court. He served as Chief Justice from 1929 to 1942. Verchere, A Progression of Judges, wrote that some people saw him as a "judicial bully who enjoyed misusing his power on the bench" (p. 120). In 1911 Mr. Justice Morrison had dismissed Mabel Penery French's application for a writ of mandamus to compel the Law Society to accept her application to be admitted to the bar, because the act only allowed for persons to be admitted. See Brockman, "Exclusionary Tactics"; Yorke, "Mabel Penery French". Morrison must have been somewhat sympathetic to notaries, as he spoke at one of their lunch meetings in 1938 ("Stamp of Notary Symbol of Trust", Vancouver Daily Province, February 26, 1938, p. 15).
156. Mr. Justice Aulay Macaulay Morrison was a Liberal member of the House of Commons from 1896 until 1904, at which time he was appointed to the British Columbia Supreme Court. He served as Chief Justice from 1929 to 1942. Verchere, A Progression of Judges, wrote that some people saw him as a "judicial bully who enjoyed misusing his power on the bench" (p. 120). In 1911 Mr. Justice Morrison had dismissed Mabel Penery French's application for a writ of mandamus to compel the Law Society to accept her application to be admitted to the bar, because the act only allowed for persons to be admitted. See Brockman, "Exclusionary Tactics"; Yorke, "Mabel Penery French". Morrison must have been somewhat sympathetic to notaries, as he spoke at one of their lunch meetings in 1938 ("Stamp of Notary Symbol of Trust", Vancouver Daily Province, February 26, 1938, p. 15).
157. Mr. Justice Aulay Macaulay Morrison was a Liberal member of the House of Commons from 1896 until 1904, at which time he was appointed to the British Columbia Supreme Court. He served as Chief Justice from 1929 to 1942. Verchere, A Progression of Judges, wrote that some people saw him as a "judicial bully who enjoyed misusing his power on the bench" (p. 120). In 1911 Mr. Justice Morrison had dismissed Mabel Penery French's application for a writ of mandamus to compel the Law Society to accept her application to be admitted to the bar, because the act only allowed for persons to be admitted. See Brockman, "Exclusionary Tactics"; Yorke, "Mabel Penery French". Morrison must have been somewhat sympathetic to notaries, as he spoke at one of their lunch meetings in 1938 ("Stamp of Notary Symbol of Trust", Vancouver Daily Province, February 26, 1938, p. 15).
158. Mr. Justice Aulay Macaulay Morrison was a Liberal member of the House of Commons from 1896 until 1904, at which time he was appointed to the British Columbia Supreme Court. He served as Chief Justice from 1929 to 1942. Verchere, A Progression of Judges, wrote that some people saw him as a "judicial bully who enjoyed misusing his power on the bench" (p. 120). In 1911 Mr. Justice Morrison had dismissed Mabel Penery French's application for a writ of mandamus to compel the Law Society to accept her application to be admitted to the bar, because the act only allowed for persons to be admitted. See Brockman, "Exclusionary Tactics"; Yorke, "Mabel Penery French". Morrison must have been somewhat sympathetic to notaries, as he spoke at one of their lunch meetings in 1938 ("Stamp of Notary Symbol of Trust", Vancouver Daily Province, February 26, 1938, p. 15).
159. BCARS, MSS 948, series VIII, vol. 43, file 43, J. A. Stewart's Affidavit In the Matter of the Notaries Act and In the Matter of the Application for Enrollment as a Notary Public by John Alexander Stewart, sworn June 22, 1929.
160. BCARS, MSS 948, series VIII, vol. 43, file 43, Edmond C. Senkler's Affidavit In the Matter of the Notaries Act and In the Matter of the Application for Enrollment as a Notary Public by John Alexander Stewart, sworn June 25, 1929.
161. BCARS, MSS 948, series VIII, vol. 43, file 43, Edmond C. Senkler's Affidavit In the Matter of the Notaries Act and In the Matter of the Application for Enrollment as a Notary Public by John Alexander Stewart, sworn July 8, 1929.
162. BCARS, MSS 948, series VIII, vol. 43, file 43, letter from P. R. Leighton to E. C. Senkler, July 23, 1929. Leighton emigrated from England in 1908 and was called to the bar in British Columbia in 1922. He retired from practice in 1951 and died the following year. "Nos Disparus: Percival Robert Leighton", Advocate, vol. 10 (1952), p. 155.
163. The argument for Mr. Stewart indicates that the original was signed by "P. McD. Kerr". There is no indication that Kerr was involved with Stewart's earlier application, and Kerr received no publicity from this case. In all likelihood, Kerr was Paul McD. Kerr, a B.C. barrister, who was nominated as the federal Liberal candidate in South Vancouver in 1926. "Liberals Name Kerr in South Vancouver", Vancouver Daily Province, August 7, 1926, p. 5.
164. BCARS, MSS 948, series VIII, vol. 43, file 43, written argument of Mr. Kerr, Counsel for the applicant, In the Matter of the Notaries Act and In the Matter of the Application for Enrollment as a Notary Public by John Alexander Stewart, July 15, 1929.
165. BCARS, MSS 948, series VIII, vol. 43, file 43, letter from P. R. Leighton to E. C. Senkler, July 23, 1929.
166. BCARS, MSS 948, series VIII, vol. 43, file 43, letter from E. C. Senkler to A. H. MacNeill, Treasurer of the Law Society, November 28, 1929.
167. Journals of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, March 15, 1931, p. 74.
168. See Brockman, "'Better to Enlist Their Support'" for the period 1930-1981.
169. In 1993 a motion at the annual general meeting of the Law Society to "explore the feasibility of amending legislation to place notaries public under the jurisdiction of the [Law] Society" was defeated. The chair of the Notaries Committee reassured members that the society would oppose the expansion of notaries into corporate and probate law (Benchers Bulletin, October 1993, p. 8). In 1995 the Law Society and the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association launched an advertising programme in Kelowna, B.C., "in the context of an aggressive negative media campaign by the BC Society of Notaries Public". In 1997 it was reported that the advertising campaign "had minimal impact on public opinion or behaviour". BarTalk, vol. 9, no. 6 (December 1997), p. 9.
170. In 1993 a motion at the annual general meeting of the Law Society to "explore the feasibility of amending legislation to place notaries public under the jurisdiction of the [Law] Society" was defeated. The chair of the Notaries Committee reassured members that the society would oppose the expansion of notaries into corporate and probate law (Benchers Bulletin, October 1993, p. 8). In 1995 the Law Society and the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association launched an advertising programme in Kelowna, B.C., "in the context of an aggressive negative media campaign by the BC Society of Notaries Public". In 1997 it was reported that the advertising campaign "had minimal impact on public opinion or behaviour". BarTalk, vol. 9, no. 6 (December 1997), p. 9.