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. George Jervis Goodhue, We" _ ". The Report was then mad by the Clerk, as fullowa/--. Osaoonx HALL, 11th February, 1873. The undersigned judges, who have con- sidertd the Estate Bill (No.132), intituled "An Act to declare and determine the true meaning and intention of an Act intituled, Ma Act to cogmrgn the deed for the distrr. i bution and "ttlemon' of the estate of the ! Honourable George Jervis Goodhue, de- ceased,' forwarded to the judges under the Provincial 34 Vin, cap, 7, to report thereon, beg lane to submit the (allowing observe- 1iraus relative thteretor-lt being the peculiar duty of the judges to interpret the Acts passed by the Legislature, and to expound their meaning, they can only do so by reference to me language used in framing thcteAeta of Parliament: they can know nothing of the intention of tho Itegiata. turc, ssvefroin the Iany,vage in which the Acts pushed by them are expressed, A Court of competent Jurisdiction having, byits judg. nu-nt, declared the meaning of an Act or Par. tiametd, the only safe rule to not upon is. that the declaration of the meartiug so made must be accepted as the this interpretation ot the statute, until such judgment is altered or reversed. or a dill'eront meaning giVun to the. statute by a tribunal of equal or greater authority. U rider our 3, stern of jadioatare, the highest judicial ovathorityiu this Province is vetted in the Court ot Appeals, which his tshtced on interpretation on the Provincial '; statute, Ill Vic, cap 99, which the petition. ' (is coniidcr erroneous, or to use the words of ( the pediiouns referring to the decision of the _ Court of Appeals as to the intent and mean- irq of the statute, judging as they were bound to do from the words of the statute, , '* That the What of such construction (of the f statute} is entirely to defeat the intention of the Legislature," and they desire this present Parliament to pass an Act, 66 declaring and determining the true intention and obj not of the Legislature in passing the said former Act. " , his is, iue Ifect, asserting that the judg- ment of therurt of Apptalsis erroneous, and l the authority of the Legislature is invoked to correct the error. This, in substance, and l almost in words, would be the nature of an , application to a Court of Appeal to correct the erroneous judgment of the Court ap peeled irnm, 'l'he lugsl tribunal to appeal to to correct the decisions of the Court of _ Appeal in this 1'roemets, if erroneous, is the Jr viciul Committco of Her Majesty's Privy ' c, incil ; and until the law in that respect H l charged, the pa sing of an Act by the been i Lcgisiaturo in effect to declare the doouioa , of the Court of Appeals hero to be erroneous, ! sums to be highly objectionable. In any I \'ZBW that can be taken of the mutter, there _ would sun. to be considerable 1lithualty in _ establishing to the satisfaction of this Parlia- nut, what the true "intention and object " of the tirtst Parliament of Iratario was in pas/me the Act alluded to be any evl lento which ought not equally to have convinced the Judge or the Court of Appeals of sum intrut and object. The only new or fresh evidence suggestoi in the petition nppcsrs to be that, when " the Bill" referred to wss before the Legislature the following amend- ment was rejected on u division, viz ' " That the Bill should not: new be read third timo,but 7 _ that it be referred back forthwith to a Corn- l mittco ot the Whole, with an instruction to iEtl8umllllliitlF0lrWIt amend the some by inserting, as the fourth l clause, the following t - ' 4, Provide-d ____.__ always, and it is hereby dealsrezl, that the foregoing enactments, or any mill] "lltlMEliT--lMillll1 SESSIUN. of them, shall not take eflcct until it shall have bien decided by A majority of the , I ' " judges of one of the Superior Courts in thi, WED-VINE": beb- 12. Province, that the interests in the testator's The Speaker took the chnir st three o'clock. et.ts.t.e,hy.tAe ssid will lyq.yethty.1 in trust for PETITIONS all his children. who shall be living on the . . death oi he said wife, wore on his death, or The following petitions were presented: - "filly "In" thereafter. before the passing of Mr. Oli-Prom the County Council of thia Act, We?" "tenets in the children of Oxford, praying for the conservation of l thotttteto.r. .Thc action ot the Luglslstlve l . forests in Ontario. l, gift??? En? "clean? t1? {mendinent 'lt,', l , r" I i yy on Wt n ". view that t ey I ts to the, school Aot. vested interests in the children of the _ men . ' tearator; and, as they were not legislating to l .Ar-rr.orn the School Board of Smith s dcprivo the grandchildrcrs of any "gm. they I Falls, praying for certain amendments to might poem under tho will, it ' was not l the Fiohoe JLA. uncertain-y to make s reference to the judges 3 Mr. Mowat --Ftotn John Cunningham to (condo that point ; and lookinn st the and others of Wolford, praying that on Act .dement of the Court of Appesls such msv . may pass to prohibit the msnulsoture sud be. astound to have been the real ground for also! intoxicating liquors. awning vtc.le, gingidmenltl; or they may have , 'Lll in lice twat at, under the will of THE G00DH UE ES TATE. the toststor,his children took a vested interest Mr. SPEAKER informed the House, that " 1hvtrid.t.usry, "We. and that there could the Clerk had received from the judges sp- be '.": WWW" 0ono to the grandchildren in t.2hd, to inquire into and report on Estate 1tyislatiiy; to vest the shsros of the children lin, their Reportin thocueeof 8ilUNa.l32p, at once, i?ttea.d of delaying until the death to declare and determine the true meaning of the .teftator a wife. It seems to have been and intention of an Act intituled, "An Act the opunon of all the judges that the interests to confirm the deed for the distribution sud of the children were not vested interests; settlement of the estate of the Honounble ti-.-----,.--.--, I