One of Durham's secretaries, Charles Buller drafted a
scheme for commuting the tenures into freehold, but his
plan did not find acceptance.
For nearly twenty years after Durham's investigation the
question of abolishing the seigneurial tenures remained
a football of Canadian politics. Legislative commissions
were appointed; they made investigations; they presented
reports; but none succeeded in getting any comprehensive
plan of abolition on the statute-books. In 1854, however,
the question was made a leading issue at the general
election. A definite mandate from the people was the
result, and 'An Act for the Abolition of Feudal Rights
and Duties in Lower Canada' received its enactment during
the same year.
The provisions of this act for changing all seigneurial
tenures into freehold are long and somewhat technical.
They would not interest the reader. In brief, it was
arranged that the valid rights of each seigneur should
be translated by special commissioners into an annual
money rental, and that the habitants should pay this
annual sum. The seigneur was required to pay no quit-rent
to the public treasury. What he would have paid, by reason
of getting his own lands into freehold, was applied pro
rata to the reduction of the annual rentals payable by
the habitants. It was arranged, furthermore, that any
habitant might commute this yearly rental by paying his
seigneur a lump sum such as would represent his rent
capitalized at the rate of six per cent.
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