Nelson then read the Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada, which was very progressive for the time. Lower Canada was unilaterally declared an independent Republic and its people declared absolved of all allegiance to the British crown. The state laid down enjoyed provisions such as the Separation of Church and State, equal rights for all citizens, abolition of the feudal seigneurial system, abolition of the death penalty, liberty of the press and most notably the equality of the French and English languages including official bilingualism.