There is apparently “definite evidence” the laws of Massachusetts made an appearance in at least one statute passed by the Nova Scotia Legislature in the form of “Act for Preventing Trespasses” (applied to the Dartmouth Town plot in 1818).
To satiate my curiosity on the subject of trespasses in particular (“machinery” that served as the basis for township government throughout Nova Scotia), the following is a list of such laws in both Massachusetts and Nova Scotia, in order to ease comparisons between the two.
Since my focus is Dartmouth in particular, I haven’t included any other bills from beyond the consolidation of all previous bills on the subject in Nova Scotia, in 1822, four years after it was applied to Dartmouth.
Massachusetts:
- 1698 Chap. 7. “An Act For Preventing Of Trespasses“
- 1723-24 Chap. 10. “An Act In Addition To, And For Rendering More Effectual, An Act Made In The Tenth Year Of The Reign Of King William The Third, Entituled ‘An Act For Preventing Of Trespasses.’“
- 1726-27 Chap. 3. “An Act In Addition To And For Rendering More Effectual An Act Made In The Tenth Year Of The Reign Of King William The Third, Entituled ‘An Act For Preventing Of Trespasses.’“
- 1727 Chap. 8. “An Act In Further Addition To, And For Rendering More Effectual, An Act Made In The Tenth Year Of The Reign Of King William The Third, Entituled ‘An Act For Preventing Of Trespasses.’“
- 1727-28 Chap. 3 “An Act In Further Addition To The Several Acts Relating To Trespasses.“
- 1785 Chap. 28 “An Act For The More Effectually Preventing Of Trespasses In Divers Cases.“
- 1818 Chap. 3 “An Act In Addition To The Act, Entitled ” An Act For The More Effectually Preventing Of Trespasses In Divers Cases.“
Nova Scotia:
- 1758 C. 14 “An Act for Preventing Tresspasses“
- 1759 2nd Session C. 14, “An Act, in addition to an Act, entitled, An Act, for preventing Trespasses“
- 1761 C. 10 “An ACT in addition to an Act, entitled An Act in addition to an Act, entitled An Act for Preventing Trespasses“
- 1767 C. 1 “An Act to prevent Trespasses upon Crown Lands“
- 1767 C. 8, “An ACT in further addition to an Act made in the thirty-second year of His late Majesty’s reign, entitled, an Act for preventing Trespasses“
- 1768 C. 12, “An ACT, in further addition to, and in amendment of an Act made and passed in the Thirty-second year of His late Majesty’s Reign, entitled, An Act for preventing Trespasses”
- 1768 2nd Session, C. 7 “An Act in further addition to, and in amendment of an Act, made in the Thirty-second year of his late Majesty’s Reign, entitled, An Act for preventing Trespasses“
- 1771 C. 5, “An Act in further addition to an Act made in the Thirty-Second Year of His late Majesty’s Reign, entitled, an Act for preventing Trespasses“
- 1777 C. 6, “An Act in addition to an Act, entitled, an Act to prevent Trespasses“
- 1781 C. 4, “An ACT to explain so much of an Act, made in the Thirty-Second year of His late Majesty’s reign, entitled, an Act for preventing Trespasses, as relates to the regulating Fences“
- 1784 C. 4, “An ACT in amendment of , and further addition to, an Act made in the Thirty-Second year of His late Majesty’s Reign, entitled, an Act for preventing Trespasses“
- 1789 C. 8, “An Act in further addition to an Act, made in the Thirty-Second year of the reign of King George the Second, entitled, an Act for preventing Trespasses“
- 1800 C. 3, “An Act in further addition to an Act for preventing Trespasses“
- 1813 C. 13 “An Act in addition to, and in amendment of, an Act for preventing Trespasses“
- 1818 C. 21 “A̶n̶ A̶c̶t̶ r̶e̶l̶a̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ t̶o̶ T̶r̶e̶s̶p̶a̶s̶s̶e̶s̶” (Repealed by 1822 Chap 32)
- 1818 C. 23 “An Act to extend the provisions of an Act, passed in the first year of his present majesty’s Reign, entitled, An Act in Addition to, and amendment of, an Act, entitled, An Act for preventing Trespasses, to the town of Pictou, and the Town Plot of Dartmouth“
- 1820-21 C. 6 “A̶n̶ A̶c̶t̶ t̶o̶ e̶x̶t̶e̶n̶d̶ t̶h̶e̶ p̶r̶o̶v̶i̶s̶i̶o̶n̶s̶ o̶f̶ a̶n̶ A̶c̶t̶, p̶a̶s̶s̶e̶d̶ i̶n̶ t̶h̶e̶ f̶i̶r̶s̶t̶ y̶e̶a̶r̶ o̶f̶ H̶i̶s̶ l̶a̶t̶e̶ m̶a̶j̶e̶s̶t̶y̶’s̶ R̶e̶i̶g̶n̶, e̶n̶t̶i̶t̶l̶e̶d̶, A̶n̶ A̶c̶t̶ i̶n̶ a̶d̶d̶i̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ t̶o̶ a̶n̶d̶ a̶m̶e̶n̶d̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ o̶f̶ a̶n̶ A̶c̶t̶, e̶n̶t̶i̶t̶l̶e̶d̶, A̶n̶ A̶c̶t̶ f̶o̶r̶ p̶r̶e̶v̶e̶n̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ T̶r̶e̶s̶p̶a̶s̶s̶e̶s̶” (Repealed by 1822 Chap 32)
- 1822 C. 32 “An Act for consolidating, and reducing into one Act, all the Acts, heretofore made, relating to trespasses”