An Act Respecting the Territorial Division of British Columbia for Judicial and Other Purposes

1895 COUNTIES DEFINITION. CHAP. 10.

CHAPTER 10.

An Act respecting the Territorial Division of British Columbia for Judicial and other purposes.

[21st February, 1895.]

ER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legis H lative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows :—

1. This Act may be cited as the " Counties Definition Act, 1895." gh^ title.

2. For all purposes relating to the administration of justice, and Division of Province where it is not hereafter otherwise provided in an Act relating to a oun les' special branch thereof, and for all other purposes dealt with in any Act wherein the provisions hereof shall be incorporated or referred to, the Province shall be divided in the manner hereinafter provided, which divisions shall be known and described as "Counties," and the Electoral Districts included in the same shall be the Electoral Districts and Ridings thereof created and denned by the "Legislative Electorates and Elections Act, 1894," and the polling divisions shall be those created on the 28th day of September, A.D. 1871, under authority of the " Election Regulation Act, 1871:"

(1.) THE COUNTY OF VICTORIA The County of Vic toria. Shall consist of the Electoral Districts of— 1. Victoria City. 2. North Victoria. 3. South Victoria. 4. Esquimalt. 31 CHAP. 10. COUNTIES DEFINITION. 58 VICT.

Nanaimo. (2.) THE COUNTY OF NANAIMO Shall consist of the Electoral Districts of— 1. Nanaimo City. 2. North Nanaimo. 3. South Nanaimo. 4. Cowichan-Alberni. 5. Comox. 6. Cassiar.

Vancouver. (3.) THE COUNTY OF VANCOUVER

Shall consist of the ElectoraFDistrict of— 1. Vancouver City. 2. Richmond Riding of New Westminster, except that portion foi ming the Municipality of Burnaby.

Westminster. (4.) THE COUNTY OF WESTMINSTER

Shall consist of the Electoral Districts of— 1. New Westminster City. 2. Delta Riding. 3. Chilliwhack Riding. 4. Dewdney Riding. 5. That portion of Richmond Riding forming the Municipality of Burnaby. 6. Hope and Yale Polling Divisions of Yale.

Yaie. (5.) THE COUNTY OF YALE

Shall consist of the Kamloops, Nicola Lake, Okanagan, and Rock Creek Polling Divisions of Yale Electoral District.

Cariboo. (6.) THE COUNTY OF CARIBOO

Shall consist of the Electoral Districts of— 1. Cariboo. 2. Lillooet. 3. Lytton and Cache Creek Polling Divisions of Yale.

Kootenay. (7.) THE COUNTY OF KOOTENAY Shall consist of the Electoral Districts of— 1. East Kootenay. 2. West Kootenay.

Limits of Counties 3. The limits of all Counties bounded, or partially bounded, by the bounded by the sea. the gea ahaU extend to the boundary of the jurisdiction of the Courts of the Province, and the limits of all Counties on any inlet, gulf or Inlets lakes rivers. strait, lake or river shall extend to the middle of the said inlet, gulf or strait, lake or bay, and to the middle of the main channel of said 32 1895. COUNTIES DEFINITION. CHAP. 10. river, and unless herein otherwise provided, shall also include all the islands the whole or the greater part of which are comprised within Islands. the outlines of said Counties prolonged.

4. The Lieutenant-Governor may by Proclamation annex any gore Lieut. -Governor may annex small or small tract of land, not forming part of any County, to any County, tracts of land, settle or partly to each or more Counties than one to which it may be adjacent, doubts, etc. and may in the same manner settle any doubt which may at any time arise or exist in regard to the boundaries on the ground of any County, and such gore or tract shall thenceforward for the pin poses of this Act form part of the County to which it is annexed, and the boundaries so settled shall thenceforward be the boundaries between the Counties affected for the distance specified.

5. On the date upon which this Act comes into force, the districts Districts under "County Courts or territorial divisions, by whatever name known, existing under the Act," "Supreme " County Courts Act," the " Supreme Court Act," and the " Sheriffs' Court Act," and "Sheriffs' Act" Act," and any amendments to any of said Acts, for the purposes cease, and in lieu thereof respectively, shall cease to exist, and instead thereof, for all the following : purposes of said Acts or of any other Act referring to a district created thereunder, the counties defined herein are and shall from such date be deemed to be established in the manner shown in the following table, viz.:—

To take the place of-

County established Under County hereby. Court Act. Under Supreme Court Act. County Court Under Sheriffs' Act. District of:

Victoria Victoria Judicial District.. . Victoria County of Victoria. Nanaimo Judicial District. . Nanaimo County of Nanaimo. Vancouver .... Vancouver Judicial District Vancouver County of Vancouver. Westminster .. Westminster Judicial Dist.. New Westminster County of Westminster. Yale Clinton Judicial District... Yale County of Yale. Cariboo Judicial District . .. County of Cariboo. Kootenay West Kootenay Judicial Dist. Kootenay County of Kootenay.

6. This Act shall not affect any proceedings, suit, or matter Pending suits not pending in the Supreme or in any County Court at the time when the a eo e ' same comes into operation; but such proceedings, suit or matter shall be carried on in the Registry of the Supreme Court, or in the County Court, in which the same is or may be pending, in the same manner as if this Act had not been passed, and notwithstanding the fact that such Registry or Court would not thereafter be the proper Registry or Court in which to institute the same. 33 CHAP. 10. COUNTIES DEFINITION. 58 VICT. Process in hands of >j Any Sheriff, the boundaries of whose bailiwick are altered hereby, Sheriff not affected, . . . may, notwithstanding the passage of this Act, proceed upon and com plete the execution or service within the limits of his old bailiwick of any mesne or final process in his hands at the time of the passing of this Act, or of any renewal of such process, or of any subsequent process in the same suit; and the acts of such Sheriff in that behalf shall be and be held and construed to be legal and valid in the same manner and to the same extent as if this Act had not been passed. Judges, Registrars, 8. All Judges, Registrars, Sheriffs, Clerks of the Peace, Officers, or iurisdiction°'' aVe °*iQer persons appointed to or discharging any public duties in relation to the administration of justice shall, upon the coming into force of this Act, have jurisdiction and authority without further appointment within the limits of the County or Counties substituted for the former territorial division or divisions within which they, or any of them, theretofore exercised such jurisdiction or authority.

Lieut.-Governor 9. The Lieutenant-Governor may, by Proclamation published in the Countiraheret6 de- Britisn Columbia Gazette, substitute one or more of the Counties fined for the corres- hereby defined for the corresponding jury district or districts established ponding jury district _ ,, T , , ,, .,...... „ . . under the Jurors Act, with such exceptions (it any) as may be speci fied in such Proclamation, or may with similar exceptions (if any) proclaim a County which at present is not covered by any jury district to be a jury district within the meaning of the "Jurors Act." Act comes into force 10. This Act shall not come into force until a day to be fixed in a by Proclamation. Proclamation of the Lieutenant-Governor, published in the British Columbia Gazette.

VICTORIA, B C: Printed by RICHARD WOLFENDEN, Printer to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty. 1895.