Essays in the History of Canadian Law: Nova Scotia

This third volume of Essays in the History of Canadian Law presents thoroughly researched, original essays in Nova Scotian legal history. An introduction by the editors is followed by ten essays grouped into four main areas of study. The first is the legal system as a whole: essays in this section discuss the juridical failure of the Annapolis regime, present a collective biography of the province's superior court judiciary to 1900, and examine the property rights of married women in the nineteenth century. The second section deals with criminal law, exploring vagrancy laws in Halifax in the late nineteenth century, aspects of prisons and punishments before 1880, and female petty crime in Halifax.The third section, on family law, examines the issues of divorce from 1750 to 1890 and child custody from 1866 to 1910. Finally, two essays relate to law and the economy: one examines the Mines Arbitration Act of 1888; the other considers the question of private property and public resources in the context of the administrative control of water in Nova Scotia.

Table of Contents Foreword Acknowledgments Contributors Abbreviations1. Introduction The Legal System: An Overview 2. 'The Dayly Cry for Justics': The Juridical Failure of the Annapolis Royal Regime, 1713-1749 3. The Superior Court Judiciary of Nova Scotia, 1754- 1900: A Collective Biography 4. Married Women's Property, Chancery Abolition, and Insolvency Law: Law Reform in Nova Scotia, 1820-1867 The Criminal Law in Society 5. Poverty, Unemployment, and the Administration of the Criminal Law: Vagrancy Laws in Halifax, 1864-1890 6. From Bridewell to Federal Penitentiary: Prisons and Punishment in Nova Scotia before 1880 7. Raised in Rockhead. Died in the Poor House': Female Petty Criminals in Halifax, 1864-1890Woman, The Family, and the Law 8. Divorce in Nova Scotia, 1750-1890 9. Child Custody and Divorce: A Nova Scotia Study, 1866-1910Law and Economy 10. The Mines Arbitration Act, 1888: Compulsory Arbitration in Context 11. From Private Property to Public Resource: The Emergence of Administration Control of Water in Nova ScotiaIndex