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Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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1894-1917 (Creation)
- Creator
- Richmond (B.C.). City Clerk's Office
Physical description area
Physical description
2 cm of textual records (1 v.)
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Administrative history
The City Clerk's Office is part of the Finance and Corporate Services Division and serves as a secretariat for Council and its Committees. It performs administrative functions including: agenda preparation recording of minutes, processing and certifying by-laws, record management and distribution of records, and making records available to the public.
The Clerk's Office is responsible for the preservation of all Council and Committee records, through a records management and archives system which documents the history of Richmond.
The City Clerk is also responsible for organizing and conducting City elections.
The City Clerk's Office is often the first stop for processing citizens' petitions, complaints and requests to Council, and also receives requests for information under the Freedom of Information & Protection of Privacy legislation.
Custodial history
Scope and content
Series consists of minutes of the Board of License Commissioners, between June 13, 1894 and September 12, 1917, documenting the history of liquor supply and related activities in the community. The names and locations of social clubs, individuals, public houses, businesses and hotels are documented in the minutes. Reports of the Licence Inspector / Chief of Police record activities of gambling and gaming and details about clientelle in the hotel and clubs. In the later years (1913-1917), the Board heard many complaints and revoked licenses for the serving of liquor to "Indians", failure to operate licensed premises as a "hotel", or for allowing gambling on the premises. Convictions for illegal sale of liquor are also documented.
Notes area
Physical condition
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Restrictions on access
Access is restricted for conservation reasons due to the fragile state of the minute book.
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Finding aids
Volume list available.
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General note
Reports are attached to some of the minutes. No indexes available
General note
The Board of License Commissioners was established by Council resolution in December 1889, although a municipal bylaw specifically regulating the granting of liquor licenses was not passed until 1907. Before this time, liquor licenses were issued according to provincial statute under the Municipal Act and by municipal trade license bylaws. The provincial government granted municipalities the right to grant "shops, saloons, taverns and other licences" as early as 1872 (Municipality Act). The Board of License Commissioners, for most of its existence, consisted of the Reeve and two councillors, along with at various times the police magistrate or justices of the peace. The Board normally met in the Steveston Courthouse and regulated liqour licensing of clubs and associations and wholesale and retail (hotel) outlets. Inspection of these outlets was carried out by a Board-appointed license inspector (Chief of Police), who reported on applications and renewals for licenses, on the conduct of the state of the premises where liquor was sold, and on the class of clientelle. The Board of License Commissioners was disbanded in 1917 with national prohibition. After 1920 and the establishment of a government monopoly over liquor distribution, local government control and granting of licenses was restricted to special community events and taxation of liquor outlets.
Alpha-numeric designations
BCAUL control number: CRICH-SER-403