JUGE —PRESEANCE

PRrivy CouxcœIL, 2nd july 1849.

On petition from Canada,

Present: Lord BROUGHAM, Lord LANGDALE, the Right Hon, Dr LUSHINGTON, and the Right Hon. T. Pemlterton LEIGH.

În re JusriCE ELZÉAR BÉDARb.

W here a judge of a district court in Canada, was removed from that court to another district court, and the letters patent appointing him

nière éviux choses 23e Vic.

lu Recordu Trecor:certaines Cour du art. 82 de tion. Les reste, que ,qui voucun magisocédure en , lui-même * lui-même émettre et car, d'après ites intentre 103 des poursuites u’en Ss’ap- Ge V ict., on signer Juiressort de ar ce statut esquelles possède une

inution projuridietion

Right Hon.

ton LEIGH.

oved from that ppointing him

judge to the latter court, also granted him precedence over the judges of that court, whose commissions were of later date than his own;

Hd : That such grant of precedence was valid, and that the judge had a right to rank and take precedence accordingly.

This was a petition by Justice Elzéar BÉDARD, one of the putanes judges of the Court of Queen's Bench for the district of Montreal, in Canada, complaining of a rule, determination, or order of the other judges of that court, refusing him right of precedence over justice DAY and justice SMITH, the other puisnés judges of that court. The petition set forth, that petitioner was appointed on the 22nd of february 1836, one of the ju ‘‘ces of the Court of King's Bench for the district of Quebee, Ly letters patent and commission under the great seal of the province, subsequently sanctioned by warrant under the royal sign manual and seal of His late Majesty William the fourth, in virtue of which petitioner as:umed the duties of judge of the Court of King's Bench for the district of Quebec, taking his rank immediately after justice PANET, his senior. That urder the provincial statutes, 34 Geo. IL, e. 6 ; 3 Geo. IV, ec. 17: 10 & 11 Geo. IV, c. 7 ; and 7 Vict. c. 17, the province of Lower-Canada was, for the more convenient administration of justice, divided into tive districts,where Courts of King's Bench, having in each of these divisions the same powers and jurisdiction, were established. That petitioner had, from time to time, acted as judge of the Court of AA Bench, in four of such districts, namely, the districts of Quebec, Three-Rivers, Saint-Francis and Gaspé, and as such judge of the Court of Queen's Bench, in the year 1843, became, under the operation of the provincial statute, 7 Vict.,

. 18, one of the judges of the “Court of Appeals for Lower- Û anada,” whose jurisdiction extends to the whole province of Lower-Canada. That whilst attending those several courts, he took, in virtue of his commission and letters patent, his rank and precedence in the Court of Appeuls for Lower-Canada, both in Montreal and Quebec, and in the sittings in bunco of the Court of King's Bench at Quebec, Three-Rivers and Saint-Francis, next immediately after justie PANET, his senior on the Quebec Bench, and before justires MONDELET, DAY and SurrH, whose commissions as judges of the Queen's Beach, were posterior in dat: to the 22nd february 1836. That when required to act under the 7th Vict.,e. 16,5. 15, tauthorizing, in certain cases, the governor, by special instrument under his hand and seul, to appoint and empower any one of the justices of one court to sit ad hoc in another district), the judges have invariably taken their rank and precedence according to the date of their former commissions as Judges, in their own districts, and not according to the date