jurisdiction of the Exchequer Court was provided under sections 58 and 59 of the Act: The Supreme and Exchequer Court Act made it clear that the Exchequer Court of Canada was inspired by the Court of Exchequer in England, both in name and in jurisdiction, focusing as it did on matters of revenue. In the same year, however, England abolished the Court of Exchequer, merging its jurisdiction into the High Court of Justice. Nonetheless, the jurisdiction provided to the Exchequer Court of Canada initially consisted of: concurrent original jurisdiction over all cases relating to the enforcement of the revenue laws; exclusive original jurisdiction over any demand or relief sought in like manner as the English Court of Exchequer in its revenue side; and concurrent original jurisdiction over all civil cases where the Crown is the plaintiff or petitioner. The independence of the Exchequer Court was not immediately established. Indeed, justices of the Supreme Court also sat as justices of the Exchequer Court in the early years. The two Courts were not separated until 1887, at which time the functions of the Official Arbitrators were subsumed into the Exchequer Court. George W. Burbidge, a lawyer from New Brunswick, was the first Exchequer Court judge appointed under this new arrangement. At the same time, the Court's jurisdiction was expanded to include exclusive original jurisdiction over all claims against the Crown. Jurisdiction over railway insolvency Beginning in 1901, railways gained the ability under the Railway Act to apply to the Court to secure a scheme of arrangement in the event of insolvency. Acquisition of admiralty jurisdiction While s. 96 of the BNA Act, 1867 constituted the superior courts in the provinces, admiralty law jurisdiction was not conferred on them, which continued to be vested in the vice-admiralty courts under the British Vice Admiralty Courts Act, 1863. Separate courts existed in British Columbia, Lower Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The absence of such a court for Ontario led to the Parliament of Canada, exercising its power under s. 101, to create the Maritime Court of Ontario through the passage of the Maritime Jurisdiction Act 1877. This was held to be a valid exercise of federal jurisdiction by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1879. This mix of courts was rationalized after the British Parliament passed the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890, where British possessions were authorized to create their own courts of