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Date: 1902-05-24
By:Bourinot, John George
Citation: John George Bourinot, How Canada is Governed (Toronto: The Copp, Clark Company, Ltd., 1902).
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HOW CANADA IS GOVERNED

A SHORT ACCOUNT

OF ITS

EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATIVE, JUDICIAL AND
MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS

WITH

AN HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF THEIR ORIGIN
AND DEVELOPMENT

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS

BY SIR J.G. BOURNOT, K.C.M.G., LL.D., D.C.L.

CLERK OF THE CANADIAN HOUSE OF COMMONS, AUTHOR OF A MANUAL OF CONSTITUTIONAL
HISTORY, PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE IN CANADA, AND
OTHER WORKS ON THE GOVERNMENT AND CONSTITUTION
OF THE DOMINION

FIFTH EDITION

Toronto
THE COPP, CLARK COMPANY, LIMITED
1902

Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand
eight hundred and ninety-five, by THE COPP, CLARK COMPANY, LIMITED, Toronto,
Ontario, in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture.

Dedicated
TO MY FRIEND OF MANY YEARS,
DR. GEORGE STEWART,
OF QUEBEC.

SIR JOHN BOURINOT’S

Principal Constitutional and Historical Works

THE STORY OF CANADA (Nations Series). Small 8vo, pp. 464.
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CANADA UNDER BRITISH RULE (Cambridge Historical Series).
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HOW CANADA IS GOVERNED. A short Account of its Executive,
Legislative, Judicial and Municipal Institutions, etc. Small
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PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE AND GOVERNMENT IN CANADA.
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Sent post-paid, on receipt of price, by the Publishers

THE COPP, CLARK COMPANY, LIMITED
TORONTO

PREFATORY NOTE.

THIS little volume is intended to present such a succinct
review of the public institutions of Canada as will be
easily understood by all classes of her people. The first duty
of citizens in every country is to make themselves thoroughly
acquainted with the nature and operation of the system of
government under which they live. Without such a knowledge,
a man is very imperfectly equipped for the performance of the
serious responsibilities which devolve upon him in a country
where the people rule. No amount of so-called “practical
experience” can compensate a man for ignorance of the ele-
mentary principles of political science, and of the origin,
development and methods of his own government.

“I have kept steadily in view the requirements of that great
mass of people, old and young, men and women, who have
few opportunities of obtaining special knowledge of institutions
of government. I have avoided all technical language wher-
ever it is possible, and in every case have explained such
words and phrases which, although in general use. are not
always understood even by those on whose lips they are most
frequent.

I have attempted to make this citizen’s manual as complete
as possible within the limited space at my disposal. I have
borne in mind the fact that a Canadian is not merely a citizen
of Canada, and as such has duties and obligations to discharge
within the Dominion and Province, but that he is also a citizen
of the greatest and noblest empire that the world has ever seen.
Consequently one of the most important parts of this book
is devoted to a brief account of the onerous functions of the
sovereign, who, through her national councils, executive and
legislative, administers the affairs of Great Britain and Ireland,
and of her many colonies and dependencies. The third part
describes the nature and methods of the general government
of the Dominion ; the fourth part deals with the powers of the
several provincial authorities that compose the federal union,
and with the organization and procedure of the courts of law ;
the fifth part outlines the working of the municipal system, in
which all classes of citizens should be so deeply interested;
the sixth part indicates the manner in which our public schools
are administered by the government and people in every pro-
vince; the seventh part briefly explains the mode in which the
territorial districts of the Northwest are governed before they
have reached the dignity of provinces in the full possession of
responsible government. In the Appendix I give the text of
the constitution or British North America Act of 1867, and
amending acts in full. At the end of each Part of the volume
I add references to such authorities as will be most useful to
those persons who wish to go thoroughly into the study of
institutions.

In closing the book I say a few words with respect to the
duties and responsibilities that devolve upon all classes of
Canadians as citizens of a self-governing country. These
words are very inadequate when we consider the wide scope
and importance of the subject, and all I can pretend to hope
is that they may serve to stimulate thoughtful men and women
—especially those young men just assuming the obligations of
citizensliip—to think deeply on the problems of government
which are every day presenting themselves for solution, and
perhaps encourage them in a desire to perform their full share
in the active affairs of at Dominion yet in the early stages of its
national life.

J. G. BOURINOT.

OTTAWA. : Queen’s Birthday, 1895.

NOTE TO PRESENT EDITION

In submitting to the public the present edition of “How Canada
is Governed,” the author does not feel it is necessary to add any
elaborate remarks to those given above. He has simply to say
that he has carefully revised the book from the beginning to the
end; but as it is quite possible that, despite all his care in
consulting the authorities, some errors of details may still exist,
he will consider it It favour if his readers will point them out and
give him an opportunity of making this treatise as authoritative
as possible. At the same time he offers his thanks to the large
number of persons—especially to those connected with Education
—who have shown so much encouragement to his humble effort
to instruct Canadians in the working of the admirable system of
government which they have the good fortune to enjoy.

OTTAWA: Victoria Day, 1902.

CONTENTS.

MAP OF THE POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

FIRST PART.

GROWTH OF THE CONSTITUTION.

CHAPTER. PAGE.

I.—Definitions of Words and Phrases used in this Book 1
II.—Political Growth of Canada 10
III.—V.—Historical Outline  13
VI.—Federal Union 35
Bibliographical Note  42

SECOND PART.

IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT.

I.—ExecutivePower 45
II. Legislative Power 55
III.—Judicial Power 62
IV.—ImperiaI Control over Canada 64
Bibliographical Note 68

THIRD PART.

THE DOMINION GOVERNMENT.

CHAPTER. PAGE.

I.—Executive Power 73
II.—V.—Legislative Power 93
VI.—Judicial Power  128
VII.—Revenue and Expenditure 133
VIII.—Militia and Defence138
Bibliographical Note 141

FOURTH PART.

THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS.

I.—Executive Power 145
II.—Legislative Power 155
III.—Matters of Provincial Legislation 163
IV.—Judicial Power 170
V.—VI.—Courts of Law 177
VII.—Trial of Civil and Criminal Cases 197
VIII.—Provincial Revenues 211
Bibliographical Note 216

FIFTH PART.

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT IN THE PROVINCES.

I.—II.—Nature of the Municipal Systems in the Provinces 19
Bibliographical Note 240

SIXTH PART.

SCHOOL GOVERNMENT IN THE PROVINCES.

CHAPTER. PAGE.
I.—Public Schools in Ontario and Quebec 243
II.—Public Schools in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and
Prince Edward Island 254
III.—Public Schools in Manitoba and British Columbia 261
Bibliographical Note 264

SEVENTH PART.

GOVERNMENT IN THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES.

I.—Government 269
II.—Public Lands and Indians 275
Bibliographical Note 280

CONCLUSION.

The Duties and Responsibilities of Canadian Citizens 281

APPENDIX.

The Constitution of the Dominion of Canada or the British
North America Act, 1867, and Amending Acts 289

ANALYTICAL INDEX.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND AUTOGRAPHS.

PAGE.

1. Autograph of Samuel Champlain 13
2. Autograph of Governor-General Murray 15
3. Old Bishop’s Palace, Quebec, where First Parliament of
Lower Canada met in 1792 18
4. First Parliament Building, Toronto, 1796-1813 20
5. Autograph of Lord Durham 23
6. Nova Scotia Province Building 28
7. Prince Edward Island Province Building 30
8. Legislative Building of Newfoundland 31
9. Autographs of Delegates to Quebec Federal Conference
of 1864 36-37
10. The Royal Standard of Great Britain and Ireland 46
11. Westminster Palace 56
12. Autographs of Queen Victoria and Edward VII 60-61
13. Autographs of Governors-General since 1867 75
14. The Great Seal of Canada 87
15. Dominion Coat of Arms 89
16. Red Ensign of Canada 90
17. Flag of the Governor-General 90
18. Parliament Building at Ottawa 92
19. Interior of the Ottawa House of Commons 96
20. Dominion Ballot Paper 103
21. Legislative Building of Ontario 146
22. Legislative Building of Quebec 150
23. Flag of Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario 153
24. Provincial Arms 154
25. Manitoba Legislative Building 158
26. British Columbia Legislative Building 162
27. New Brunswick Legislative Building 166
28. Osgonde Hall, Toronto 186
29. City and County Buildings, Toronto 221
30. City Hall, Montreal 227
31. City Hall, Winnipeg 235
32. Upper Canada College, Toronto 244
33. Entrance to Toronto University 249
34. Harbord Street Collegiate Institute, Toronto 256
35. Ryerson Public School, Hamilton 262
36. Government House of Northwest Territories 268
37. Diagrams of Land Sections in the Northwest 275-276

FIRST PART

GROWTH OF THE CONSTITUTION

CHAPTER PAGE.

I.—DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND PHRASES USED IN THIS
BOOK. 1

II.—POLITICAL GROWTH OF CANADA. 10

III.—V.—HISTORICAL OUTLINE. 13

VI.—FEDERAL UNION.33

*See PDF for map

HOW CANADA IS GOVERNED

CHAPTER I.

DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND PHRASES USED IN
THIS BOOK.

1. Introduction.—2. Government.—3. Law of the Land.—4. Ex-
ecutive, Legislative and Judicial Powers.—5. Administration.
—6. Parliament.—7. Conclusion.

1.—Introduction.

IN the course of this book it will be necessary to use
certain words and phrases which are constantly in the
mouths of those who speak of the institutions of
government in a country. Among these words are
government,” “law,” “constitution,” “administration,”
“parliament,” “executive power,” “legislative power,”
and “judicial power,” the meaning of which it is
important to explain at the very commencement, so that
the reader may thoroughly understand the subjects
which this book professes to treat. It is always difficult
—indeed in some respects impossible—to give a short
and exact definition of terms of government which cover
so vast a ground of human experience as those in ques-
tion. All that I shall attempt to do is to give such
explanations as will suffice for the intelligent reading of
a book which is not written for the scholar, or lawyer, or
professor, who has mastered these subjects, but for the
student entering on the study of Canadian government
and for that large body of people who are absorbed in
the engrossing ernployments of life and have but few
opportunities for reading of this class.

2.-Government.

In every organized society or community of persons
like the Dominion of Canada, there must be some
machinery, or system of rules, by which the individual
actions of the members composing that society, and their
relations with one another can be regulated for the good
of one and all. The machinery or system of rules which
performs this all important work is called The Govern-
ment, which, followed to its old Greek origin, means to
steer the ship. To steer “the ship of state “—that is to
say, of a nation or people—means to govern or direct its
movements. The instrument of direction has, by the
usage of centuries, come to signify ” the government.”
The true object of this directing power is the security of
life and property, the well-being and happiness of the
whole community. The forms that government takes
are numerous. There is no more interesting study than
that which traces the development of different stages of
government ; from the earliest of all, the family, in which
the parent rules, down to the composite forms which have
grown up in the course of thousands of years to meet the
varied conditions of modern society. It is sufficient for
our purpose to show that Canada affords the most
remarkable example that the history of the World has
offered—in fact it has had no parallel—of the various
forms of government that can and do exist in a com-
munity which. is still in a state of dependency—that is to
say, still dependent in certain matters on the parent or
imperial state—and nevertheless exercises most extensive
powers of self-government. In the first place, Canada is
under a monarchical form of government, because at the
head of her affairs and of the whole empire is a sovereign,
not chosen from time to time by popular vote, but wear-
ing the crown by legal right, and removed from all con-
ditions of political conflict. In the second place, Canada
is under a parliamentary or responsible form of govern-
ment, because the sovereign or his representative in the
Dominion does not exercise any power, legislative or
executive, except through a legislature which makes the
law, and an executive which is practically chosen by that
legislature to carry out that law. In the third place,
Canada is under a representative form of government,
because the people—that is to say, all British subjects
living in Canada and having rights under the law—
choose from time to time a certain number of men to
legislate for them in parliaments or legislatures or repre-
sentative bodies. In the fourth place, Canada is under a
federal form of government because she comprises within
her territorial limits at number of provinces, or separate
political communities, exercising distinct powers of
government for provincial objects, and at the same time
combining for general purposes for the promotion of the
advantage of all those provinces. Each province has
a local government, carried on according to prescribed
forms. The whole of Canada has a federal or general
government, conducted under prescribed forms. Nor
are these the only forms of government of which we
hear constantly. In every province there is a form of
municipal government which provides for the comfort,
convenience and security of the inhabitants of cities,
towns, villages and other municipal divisions. All the
schools of a province, which are supported by provincial
moneys and municipal taxes, are also subject to a system
of well—considercd rules or machinery of government.
Accordingly from the supreme government in England,
which administers or superintends the affairs of the
whole empire, down to the little village council in a
province, which imposes taxes and provides for the
general necessities of the citizens within its municipal
control, we see how many forms enter into the machinery
of the government of Canada.

3.—Law of the Land.

The principal duty of every government is to execute
or carry out The law of the land. In its general sense
the law is a collection of rules and orders, imposed by
an established and recognized authority for the conduct
of persons living in a political society or community.
The fact that there is a government or power behind this
law to enforce it, whenever necessary, is what really
gives it strength. The law maybe either written or
unwritten, and it is both in Canada. The law which
regulates the system of federal union, generally known.
as the written constitution, or British North America
Act, is a written law or statute passed in 1867 by the
supreme power of the empire, the parliament of Great
Britain and Ireland. In addition to that written
constitutional law, there are numerous constitutional
rules, usages, and understandings, which have the force
of law since they are accepted by common consent for
the direction of parliamentary or responsible government;
which regulate the formation or resignation of a ministry,
for instance, as the writer shall explain fully hereafter (see
Third Part, c. I, sec.6). All the methods of government
which have been briefly described above, monarchical,
parliamentary, representative, federal, are secured and
regulated by this elaborate system of written and
unwritten law and rules, which forms the constitution
of the Dominion—in other words, a body of principles
constituted or established by the supreme authority of
the imperial state in accordance with the wishes of the
people of Canada. Then there is the statutory law of
the land, made up of the numerous statutes or legally
ordered acts* of the legislative bodies on the many
subjects under their control. Then there is that vast
body of rules and usages and judicial decisions which
have come to us from England and comprise the common
law of the country (see Fourth Part). The system of law
which we possess is consequently very complicated and
the result of the experiences of many centuries. Both
England and France have contributed their experiences
to our system, and we have built on that foundation a
large body of rules adapted to the conditions of a new
country.

*Statute comes from the Latin word statutus, meaning ordered,
established, setup.

4.—Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Powers.

The law regulates the division of the powers of govern-
ment into what are known as the executive legislative,
and judicial departments. The executive power carries
out and enforces the law of the land by the machinery
which that law affords. From the governongeneral in
council of the Dominion and the lieutenant-governor
in council of every province—or the supreme executive
powers of Canada—down to the humble constable or
peace officer executing a writ or order of a court, there
is a large body of public officers engaged every day in
enforcing the law of the land in accordance with the
rules and usages laid down for their direction in every
case. The legislative power makes law and alters it in
Canada in accordance with the powers granted by the
constitution or fundamental law (see above p. 5). In
the Dominion there is a central legislative power or law-
making body called a parliaInent—a name we derive
from England (see below p. 7)—and in every province
there is also a legislature with law-making rights, as well
as municipal councils having certain legislative powers
within their municipal divisions (see Fifth Part). The
judicial power applies and gives a meaning to the law
whenever disputes come before the judges in due form.
This judicial power is represented by judges and courts
duly authorized to administer justice and explain the law
in such forms as the law has ordered.

5.—Administration.

Another word which is sometimes used for “executive”
is administrative. The body of men who carry on the
government is often called the ” administration,” and with
some reason, since it is their duty to see that the duties of
their respective departments or branches of government
are carried out in accordance with law. For instance, it is
the duty of the minister of customs, and the collectors at
every port of Canada, to administer the law passed by
parliament for the regulation and collection of duties of
customs on goods coming into Canada from other
countries. It is the duty of the minister of public works,
and of the engineers, architects and clerks under his
control, to look after the construction, repairs and main-
tenance of public buildings, like post offices and custom
houses, and administer the affairs of the department
generally. It is the duty of the commissioner of crown
lands in a province to carry out the regulations for the
sale of public lands and the licensing of “timber limits,”
and to administer all the functions devolving upon his
department by law. It is the duty of the warden, mayor
or other head of a municipal council to see that the
affairs of his municipal division are administered in
accordance with the general municipal law and the special
statutes or by-laws (see Fifth Part) governing municipal
divisions. A public official, in administering the law,
acts of course on his own motion, in accordance with its
rules; a judge, in administering the law, does not act
until he is called upon to do so by a case or proceeding
which comes before him in his court in such form as the
law directs.

6. —Parliament.

The name of that great legislative body which has
performed so remarkable a part in the history of England,
and given a designation to the principal law-making body
of Canada, is said by one of the highest authorities,
Professor Freeman, to be simply the Norman French
translation of an old phrase which goes back to the time
of William the Conqueror. That king is said in an old
English record or chronicle to have had “very deep
speech “—parlement—with his national, or common
council (in Latin, commune concilium). This deep speech,
or parlement was “consequently a distinguishing fea-
ture of a meeting between king and people, and in
the end it gave its name to the assembly,” which has, in
the course of time, assumed the somewhat changed form
of parliament (in low Latin parliamentum). The name
of the House of Commons—that body where political
power now mainly rests—does not at all mean that the
great mass of the people of England, ” the commonalty,”
was ever represented in the early national assemblies.
On the contrary, the word “commons” was restricted in
meaning to a small and special representation of knights
of shires or counties, and of burgesses or citizens of a
few towns or boroughs, and cities, whose local bodies—
called communitates legal Latin documents, because
their members had certain privileges in common—
elected the representatives in question. Gradually the
term “commons” came, as a matter of convenience, to
mean those classes of the people who were not lords of
parliament, and were not summoned to the upper
house, but could be elected to the lower or commons
branch. Even the sons of lords of parliament became
commoners—identified with the mass of people. In this
way, there grew up two houses of parliament: one
representing the classes or estates called “lords spiritual
and temporal,”—peers, archbishops and bishops,—and the
other, that estate which takes in so many people and is
now called the Commons of Great Britain and Ireland.
In Canada there has never been such distinctions of
“estates” or classes. The legislative councils of the
provinces, and the present senate of the Dominion, or
upper houses of our parliaments, differ from the lower or
commons’ houses of Canada only in consequence of their
appointment by the governors, representing the king,
and of their not being elected by the people who have a
right to vote for representatives. Under the laws that
now prevail throughout Canada for the qualification of
voters, all classes and interests can be represented in our
legislative bodies. In fact, the representation of the
commons or the people is far more liberal than that in
the parent state, despite the great advances that have
been made in this direction during the last seventy
years—the period of the reform of the English parlia-
ment.

7.—Conclusion.

However imperfect the foregoing explanations may be,
it will be well for my reader to bear them in mind and to
refer to them whilst studying this short review of the
governmental institutions of Canada. Other words and
phrases that apply to the details of government will be
more conveniently explained according as each branch
of the general subject comes up in its proper place.

CHAPTER II.
POLITICAL GROWTH OF CANADA.*

*The word Canada is a memorial of the time when the French discoverer,
Jacques Cartier, found that the Indian inhabitants on the banks of the St.
Lawrence called their villages Kannata, or a collection of huts.

I. The Dominion of Canada.—2. Plan of the Book.—3. Periods
of Political Development.

1.—The Dominion of Canada.

The Dominion of Canada forms one of the most im-
portant dependencies of the most remarkable empire
known to the history of the world. It is properly called
a dependency because its government, though complete
within itself, is necessarily dependent on and subordinate
to the supreme authority of Great Britain, whose king
and parliament preside over the whole empire. This
Dominion comprises at the present time the provinces of
Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia,
Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia, as well
as a vast area of territory in the Northwest divided into
eight districts of government. These provinces and
territories are closely connected by a political system
called a federal union, to which, as a whole, has been
given the name of a Dominion from the fact that it forms
a part of the dominions or dependencies subject to the
government of the king and parliament of England. It
has a population of 5,369,666, of whom 2,182,942 live in
the English province of Ontario, formerly known as
Upper Canada; 1,648,898 in the French province of
Quebec, formerly known as Lower Canada; 893,953 in
the maritime provinces of Prince Edward Island, New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia; 254,947 in the province of
Manitoba; 177,273 in the province of British Columbia,
and 291,654. in the Northwest Territories. In the
province of Quebec there is a French population of
1,331,101. In the maritime provinces there is also a
French population of 138,776 souls; in Ontario, of
163,647; and in the Northwest and British Columbia;
Of 44,515. The remaining and larger population of
Canada is almost entirely of English, Scotch or Irish
origin. Of the whole population of Canada, about two
millions of souls are Roman Catholics, of whom two-
thirds live in the province of Quebec. Over three
millions are Protestants.

2.—Plan of this Book.

I propose to show the nature of the government of
this federal union of provinces; in other words, the
nature of the political machinery which regulates that
political society or community of people, who live in
these several provinces and territories. Hy object is
simply to give such a concise and impartial account of
the nature and working of the executive, legislative and
judicial machineryof government as will be easily under-
stood by the whole community, old and young, men and
women, and at the same time show them all that the
institutions of Canada are calculated to render the
people, irrespective of race or religion, happy and
prosperous as long as those institutions are worked out.
honestly and wisely by those who have been chosen by
the people for the administration or management of
public affairs throughout this seltigoverning dependency
of the empire.

3.—Periods of Political Development.

It is necessary that I should at the outset briefly trace
the most important steps in the political development of
the several provinces comprised in the present Dominion,
so that every one may the more clearly understand the
origin and nature of the system of government which
Canadians now possess.

I shall first refer to the political history of the large
country generally known as Canada until 1867, and now
divided into the two provinces of Quebec and Ontario.
So far there have been four complete Periods in the
political history of those provinces :

1. The Period of French rule, from 1608 to 1759-60
or the Period of absolute government.

2. The Period from 1760 to 1791, when representative
and legislative institutions were established.

3. The Period from 1791 to 1840, when representative
institutions were slowly developing into respon-
sible or complete local self-government.

4. The Period from 1840 to 1867, during which
responsible government was established in the
fullest sense of the phrase. and the federal
union was finally accomplished as the natural
result of the extended liberties of the people.

Since 1867 Canada has entered on the Fifth Period of
her political history as a federation, the nature of whose
institutions of government will be explained in the chap
ters following the historical review.

CHAPTER III.
HISTORICAL OUTLINE.

1. French rule, 1608-1760.—2. English rule, 1760—1791.

French Rule, 1608-1759-60.

The country watered by the St. Lawrence and the
Great Lakes of the West, and now divided into the pro-
vinces of Quebec and Ontario, and known as Upper and
Lower Canada before Confederation, became the col-
onial possession of France by the right of first discovery
and later settlement. Jacques (James) Cartier, a bold
sailor of St. Malo, in France, landed at Gaspé in 1534
and sailed up the St. Lawrence in 1535, or more than
forty years after the discovery of America by Columbus.
It was not until 1608, however, that Samuel Champlain,
of Brouage, on the Bay of Biscay, commenced the build-
ing of a town amid the rocks of ancient Stadaconé—

*See PDF for signature

the name of a famous Indian hamlet of the days of
Cartier—and actually laid the foundations of the colony
which has developed into the province of Quebec.
Canada was for some years under the control of com-
mercial companies to whom the king of France gave
exclusive rights over the fur trade. By 1664, however,
the rule of commercial companies came to an end and
the king established a regular government in Canada
which became a mere province of France. In Canada as
in France the head of the province had only such powers
as were expressly given him by the king who, jealous
of all authority in others, kept him strictly subordinate to
himself. The governor had command of the militia and
troops; the intendant was an official, almost equal to him
in rank, and of larger authority in the colony, since he
managed its financial affairs, and acted also as judge and
legislator. A council, exercising legislative and judicial
powers, assisted the governor and intcndant, and acted
as a colonial court of appeal in civil and criminal cases—
the king himself in council being the supreme court of
last resort or reference. Justice was administered
in cases of property and the rights of individuals in
accordance with the custom of Paris, or the French
system of law which is still one of the institutions of
French Canada. (See Fourth Part) The bishop was a
member of the council, and the Roman Catholic Church
became established by the decrees and ordinances of the
government The parish became a district for local as
well as church purposes. Tithes or regular charges for
the support of clergy and church were imposed and regu-
lated by the ordinances or statutes of the government.
All education was under the control of the church and
its numerous religious bodies. An effort was made to
establish a class of nobles by the granting of large
tracts of land to lords (seigneurs) who granted them to
cultivators of the soil (habitans) on condition of receiving
certain payments. The king and council of state kept
a strict supervision over the government of the colony.

We look in vain for evidence of popular freedom in
those days. Canada was never allowed representative
government. Public meetings of all kinds were steadily
repressed. No system of municipal government was
established, and government was in every respect
autocratic.

2.—English Rule in Canada, 1760-1791.

From the surrender of Quebec and Montreal in 1759-
1760 to the English military forces dates the commence-
inent of a new era of political liberty in the history of
French Canada. Canada formally became a possession
of England by the Treaty of Paris, of 1763, which allowed
the French Canadians the free exercise of their religion.
From 1760 to 1763 there was a military government as

*See PDF for signature

a necessary result of the unsettled condition of things in
a country that had suffered so much from war. Then
King George III. issued a proclamation—a formal
announcement of the royal will—which established the
first system of English government in the new possession
of England. The people were to have the right to elect
representatives to an assembly, but the time was not yet
ripe for so large a measure of public liberty, if indeed it
had been possible under the instructions to Governor-
General Murray which required Roman Catholics—then
the great majority, and in fact the people generally of
Canada—to take the same oath which prevented their co-
religionists in England sitting in parliament. The
government of the province was carried on for ten years
by a governor-general, aided by an executive or advising
council, composed of a few English officials and
inhabitants, and only one French Canadian. The
ordinances * or laws, passed by the governor and council,
created much discontent among the French Canadians,
since they practically laid aside the French legal system
to which they had been always accustomed, and
established the common law of England. In 1774, the
parliament of England passed the Quebec Act, which
gave the first constitution to the new province. The
government was entrusted to a governor and legislative
council appointed by the king, and the scheme of an
elected assembly was postponed as ” inexpedient,” under
existing conditions. The French Canadians were not
yet prepared for representative institutions of whose
working they had never any practical knowledge, and
were quite content for the time being with a system
which brought some of their leading men into the
legislative council. But what made the act so popular
in French Canada was the fact that it placed the French
Canadians or Roman Catholic population on the same
footing as English Canadians or Protestants, confirmed
their right to full freedom of worship, allowed the
church as a body to retain their valuable property, and
restored the French civil law with respect to property
and individual rights. The criminal law of England was,
however, to prevail througliout the province. In the
legislative council both English and French were used,
and the ordinances were drawn up in the same languages.
The governor-general was assisted in the work of
government by an advisory body of five persons—chiefly
members of the legislative council—who were chosen by
himself and called a privy council, in imitation of the
council that so long surrounded the English king. (See
Second Part, c. I, see. 3.)

* Ordinance is an old French word, which itself comes from the Latin
ordinare, to order or regulate, and is generally applied in Canadian
constitutional history to a legal order of the governor and council—a
legislative body of only one house—common to all the colonies before the
concession of a complete system of representative government. The acts
of the Northwest lieutenant-govemor and assembly are still called ordi-
nances (see Seventh Part).

OLD BISHOP’S PALACE, QUEBEC, WHERE FIRST PARLIAMENT OF LOWER CANADA MET IN 1792.
*See PDF for image.

CHAPTER IV.

HISTORICAL OUTLINE—Continued.

3. Immigration of United Empire Loyalists.—4. Representative
Institutions in Upper and Lower Canada, 1792-1840.—
5. Period of Responsible Government, 1840-1867.

3. Immigration of the U.E. Loyalists.

While the Quebec Act continued in force, there was a
very important immigration into British North America
of some forty thousand persons known as United Empire
Loyalists—that is to say, men loyal to British connection—
who decided to leave the old English Thirteen Colonies
(now a. portion of the United States), when they declared
themselves independent of England. These men laid the
foundations of the provinces now known as New Bruns-
wick and Ontario, settled a considerable portion of
Nova Scotia, and exercised at large influence on the
development of representative institutions in their new
homes.

4.—Representative Institutions in Upper and Lower
Canada, 1792-1840.

The Quebec Act lasted from 1774 to 1791, when the
English government again interfered in the affairs of
the provinces. By this time there was a rapidly
increasing English population in the western parts of the
country, and difficulties were constantly arising between
English and French Canadians on account of the legal
system not being made sufficiently clear. The British
government considered it the wisest policy to form two
separate provinces, in which the two races could work
out their own future, as far as practicable, apart from
each other.

By the “Constitutional Act,” passed by the imperial
parliament in 1791, the people were represented for the
first time in an assembly elected by themselves. The
act provided for a governor-general in Lower Canada and
a lieutenant-governor in Upper Canada, both appointed by
the sovereign. In each province there was an executive
or advisory body, chosen by the governor of the province;
a legislative council chosen in the same way, and an
assembly elected by the people in certain districts on a
restricted franchise. Members of both houses had to
hold property to a fixed amount or lose their seats.

FIRST PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS, TORONTO, 1796-1813.
*See PDF for image.

The great object of the act was to give to both Upper
and Lower Canada a constitution resembling that of
England as far as the circumstances of the country could
permit. After an experience of some years, however, it
was clear that the constitution of 1791, though giving
many privileges, had one source of weakness since
it professed to be an imitation of the English system, but
failed in that all-important principle which the experi-
ence of England has proved to be necessary for the
satisfactory working of the several branches of govern-
ment; that is to say, the principle which requires the
advisers or ministers of the head of the executive—in
other words, of the queen in England, and of a governor-
general or lieutenant-governor in Canada—to be chosen
from the political body that has a majority of the
people’s representatives in the elected assembly, and to
be responsible at once to the queen, or governor-general,
or lieutenant-governor, and to the people’s assembly, for
the work of administration and legislation. The English
Canadians in Upper Canada eventually understood and
pressed for the adoption ofthis principle, but the French
Canadian popular leaders appeared to consider the radi-
cal remedy was the election of the appointed legislative
council which was generally in French or Lower Canada
in conflict with the elected assembly.

For some years, previous to 1840, when a new constitu-
tion was given to the two Canadas, there was a “war of
races” in Lower or French Canada, where the French
and elected element predominated in the assembly, and
the English and official or ruling element in the legisla-
tive council. The executive government and legislative
council, both nominated by the crown, were virtually
the same body in those days. The ruling spirits in the
one were the ruling spirits in the other. In this contest
ofrace, religion and politics, the passions of men became
bitterly inflamed and an impartial historian must depre-
cate the mistakes and faults that were committed on
both sides. But looking at the record from a purely
constitutional point, it must be admitted that the
majority in the assembly were right in contending for
the control of the public expenditures in accordance
with the principles of English parliamentary government.
The voting of money is essentially the privilege of a
people’s house, though no measure can become law with-
out the consent of the upper house, which may reject,
but cannot change, a taxation or money bill. Another
grievance was the sitting of judges in both houses. It
was not until the assembly deluged the imperial parlia-
ment with addresses on the subject, that this grievous
defect disappeared from the political system.

In Upper Canada the political difficultics never
assumed so serious an aspect as in the French Canadian
section. Noclifference of race could arise in the western
province, and the question of money and expenditure
gradually arranged itself more satisfactorily than in
Lower Canada, but nevertheless the people at large
had their grievances. An official class, called sarcasti-
cally “a family compact,” held within its control practi-
cally the government of the province. The “clergy
reserves question,” which grew out of the grant to the
Protestant Church of Canada of large tracts of land by
the Constitutional Act of 1791, was long a burning
question in the contest of parties. The Church of
England and the Church of Scotland alone derived
advantages from this valuable source of revenue.

In those times of popular agitation, the great danger
arose from the hostility of the two races in the political
field as well as in their social and public relations. At
last, the political difficulties in French Canada ended
in the rebellion of 1837-38, led by Louis Joseph
Papineau, and Wolfred Nelson, the leaders of the popular
party. This insurrection never extended over any large
section of the French province, but was very soon
repressed by the vigorous measures taken by the civil
and military authorities. In Upper Canada, the popular
leader, William Lyon Maclcenzie, attempted to excite a
rising of the people against the government, but it never
made any headway, and he was obliged to find refuge
in the states of the American federal republic. The
result was the suspension of the representative constitu-
tion given to Lower Canada by the act of 1791, and the
government of the province from 1838 to 1840 by a
governor-general and a special council appointed by
himself. The most important fact of this time, on
account of its influence on later constitutional changes,
was the mission of Lord Durham, a distinguished English

*See PDF for signature.

statesman, who was authorized by the imperial govern-
ment to inquire into the state of the country as governor-
general and high commissioner with large powers.
Few state papers in English history have had greater
influence on the political development of the colonies
than the report which was the result of his judicial
survey of the political condition of all the provinces of
British North America. On no point did he dwell
more strongly than on the necessity that existed for
entrusting the government to the hands of those in
whom the representative body, or people’s house, had
confidence. The final issue of the inquiries made by
the imperial government into the affairs of the country
was the passage of another act in the English parliament
providing for a very important constitutional change in
Canada.

5.—Period of Responsible Government in Canada,
1840-1867.

The act of 1840, which reunited the provinces of
Upper and Lower Canada under one government, was
the commencement of that Fourth Period of political
development which lasted until 1867. The French
Canadians looked upon the act at first with much
suspicion. The fact that the French language was no
longer placed on the same footing as English, in official
documents and parliamentary proceedings, together with
the fact that Upper Canada had the same representation
as Lower Canada in the assembly, despite the larger
population of the latter section at the time of union, was
considered an injustice to the French Canadians, against
which they did not fail to remonstrate for years. But so
far from the act of 1840, which united the Canadas,
acting unfavourably to the French Canadian people, it
gave them eventually a predominance in the councils of
the country and prepared the way for the larger
constitution of 1867 which has handed over to them the
control of their own province. French soon became the
official language by an amendment of the union act, and
the clause providing for equality of representation proved
asccurity to French Canada when the upper province
increased more largely in population than the French
Canadian section. The act of 1840 was framed on the
principle of giving larger political privileges to the
Canadians and was accompanied by instructions to the
governor-general, Mr. Poulett Thomson, afterwards Lord
Sydcnham, which laid the foundation of responsible
government. It took several years to give full effect to
the leading principles of parliamentary government, and
it was not until the arrival in 1847 of Lord Elgin, one of
the ablest governors-general Canada has ever had, that
the people enjoyed in its completeness that system of
the responsibility of the cabinet to parliament without
which our constitution would be unworkable. The
Canadian legislature was given full control of taxation,
supply and expenditure in accordance with English
constitutional principles. The clergy reserves difficulty
was settled and the lands sold for public or municipal
purposes, the interest of existing rectors and incumbents
being guarded. The great land question of Canada, the
seigniorial tenure of Lower Canada, was disposed of by
buying off the claims of the seigniors, and the people of
Lower Canada were freed from exactions which had
become not so much onerous as vexatious, and were
placed on the free footing of settlers in all the English
communities of America. Municipal institutions of a
liberal nature, especially in the province of Ontario, were
established and the people of the two provinces enabled
to have that control over their local affairs in the
counties, townships, cities and parishes, which is necessary
to carry out public works indispensable to the comfort,
health and convenience of the community, and to
supplement the efforts made by the legislature, from
time to time, to provide for the general education of the
country. The civil service, which necessarily plays so
important a part in the administration of government,
was placed on a permanent basis.

The legislative union did its work until the political
conditions of Canada again demanded another radical
change in keeping with the material and political
development ofthe country, and capable of removing the
difficulties that had arisen in the operation of the act of
1840. The claims of Upper Canada to larger represent-
ation—equal to its increased population since 1840,
owing to the great immigration which naturally sought
a rich and fertile province—were steadily resisted by the
French Canadians as an undue interference with the
security guaranteed to them under the act. This
resistance gave rise to great irritation in Upper Canada
where a powerful party made representation by
population their platform, and government at last
became practically impossible on account of the close
political divisions for years in the assembly. The time
had come for the accomplishment of a great change
foreshadowed by Lord Durham, Chief Justice Sewell of
Quebec, Mr. Howe of Nova Scotia, Sir Alexander Galt
of Canada, and other public men: the union of the
provinces of British North America.

But before I proceed to refer to the results of the
convention of British American statesmen that met at
Quebec in 1864, and framed a system of federal union,
it is necessary that I should first refer to the progress of
popular government in the maritime provinces, so that
this historical sketch may be made complete until 1867.

CHAPTER V.
HISTORICAL OUTLINE—Concluded.

6.—Maritime Provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.
Island, and Cape Breton, 1714-1867.—7. Newfoundland.

6.—Maritime Provinces, 1714-1867.

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward
Island were formerly portions of the French domain in
America. John Cabot, a Venetian in the employ of
Henry VII. of England, appears to have discovered
Cape Breton and Nova Scotia in 1497 and 1498, but the
French were the first to make a settlement in 1605 on
the banks of the Annapolis Basin. Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick and a considerable part of Maine were in
the days of French rule known as Acadie,* an Indian
name. The present maritime provinces became the
possession of England by the treaties of Utrecht (1713)
and of Paris (1763). None of these provinces were
ever given written constitutions by the parliament of
Great Britain, as was the case with old Canada; but to
all intents and purposes they enjoyed, previous to 1867,
as complete a system of self-government as that large
province. Their constitutions must be sought in the
commissions of the lieutenant-governors, despatches of
the colonial secretary of state, imperial statutes, and
various official documents, which granted in the course of
time a legislative system and responsible government.

*Akade means a place, and was always used in connection with another
Indian word showing some feature of the locality. Thus Anagwakade is
White Place or Point.

In Nova Scotia, from 1713 to 1758, the provincial
government consisted of a governor or lieutenant-
governor and a council possessing both legislative and
executive powers. A legislative assembly sat for the
first time at Halifax on the 2nd October, 1758, or thirty-
four years before representative assemblies met at New-
ark (now Niagara), the capital of Upper Canada for
several years, and at Quebec, the capital of Lower
Canada.

NOVA SCOTIA PROVINCE BUILDING.
*See PDF for image.

New Brunswick, founded by Loyalists, was separated
from Nova Scotia, and created a distinct province in 1784.
Its first government consisted of a lieutenant-governor,
and a council having both legislative and executive
functions, and an assembly elected by the people.

At the time of the outbreaks in Upper and Lower
Canada, 1837-8, there was still a considerable amount of
dissatisfaction in the maritime provinces, arising from the
existence of an irresponsible council exercising execu-
tive, legislative and even judicial powers, the constant
interference of the imperial government in purely local
matters, and the abuse of the powers of the representa-
tive and executive bodies; but if there was in those
sections less discontent and less obstruction to the
regular course of government, it was because in them
there was a nearer approach to sound constitutional
practice. In New Brunswick especially, the political
controversies that had been extremely bitter between
the executive and legislative authorities were, to a great
extent, ended by the grant of all the revenues to the
assembly. Before 1840 the legislative council in the two
provinces was no longer allowed to exercise both execu-
tive and judicial functions. By 1848 the principles of
responsible government were formally carried out as in
the province of Canada.

The island of Cape Breton, known also as Isle Royale in
French Canadian history, was not ceded to England
until 1763. It was under the government of Nova
Scotia from 1763 to 1784 when it was given a separate
government consisting of a lieutenant-governor and
council having very limited legislative as well as execu-
tive functions. This constitution remained in force until
the reannexation of the island in 1820 to Nova Scotia of
which it still forms a part.

The island of Prince Edward, formerly known as St.
john, formed a part of Nova Scotia until 1769, when it
was created a separate province, with a government con-
sisting of a lieutenant-governor and a combined execu-
tive and legislative council. In 1773 an assembly was
elected. Some of the lieutenant-governors were for
years, in the early history of the island, in constant con-
flict with the assembly, and during one administration
the island was practically without representative govern-

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND PROVINCE BUILDING.
*See PDF for image.

ment for ten years. The political situation was made
much worse by the fatal mistake at the very commence-
ment of its history, of handing over all the public lands
—in fact the whole island—to a few absentee proprietors,
and it was not until the admission of the province into
the confederation that this burning question was satis-
factorily settled by the purchase of the claims of the
landlords. Responsible government was not actually
carried out until 1850-51, when the assembly obtained
full control, like the other provinces, of its public
revenues, and was allowed to manage its purely local
affairs.

7—Newfoundland.

The great island of Newfoundland, which stands at
the very gateway of the Dominion of Canada, became a
possession of England by virtue of the discoveries of
John Cabot in 1497, and of Sir Humphrey Gilbert in

LEGISLATIVE BUILDING OF NEWFOUNDLAND.
*See PDF for image.

1583—the latter having formally received permission to
assert English jurisdiction over the island. For very
many years the island was only a resort for the fisher-
men of all nations and the scene of conflict between
France and England. In 1713 the island was finally
ceded to England, and English fishermen commenced to
form settlements around its shores. Until 1832 the
system of government was most arbitrary, and a few
wealthy merchants in England and their agents in the
colony practically controlled affairs. In that year
representative institutions were allowed the people, and
the government consisted of a lieutenant-governor
assisted by an appointed council, with both legislative and
executive functions, and an elected assembly. In 1854
responsible government was conceded. The government
is placed in the hands of a lieutenant-governor appointed
by the king; of an executive or advisory council of
nine ministers; of a legislative council of fifteen
members, appointed by the governor-in-council; of an
assembly of thirty-six members, elected every four years
by manhood suffrage by ballot. While the province
is a colonial possession of England, France by virtue
of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), of Paris (1763), of
Versailles (1783), and of Paris again (1815), enjoys
certain fishery rights on a wide extent of the western
and north-easterly coast, which have always prevented
immigration and created difficulties which must be
settled by the entire removal of those concessions if the
province is ever to form a contented and prosperous
portion of the Dominion of Canada.

CHAPTER VI.
FEDERAL UNION.

1.—Summary of Political Rights, 1867.—2. Federal Union, 1867.—
3. Admission of British Columbia.—4. Acquisition of the
Northwest Territories.—5. Three leading principles of Federal
Union.—6. How Canada is Governed; Division of Authorities
of Government.

1.—Summary of Political Rights, 1867.

As the previous pages show, when it was decided in
1864 to have a meeting of representatives of the British
North American provinces to consider the feasibility of
a union, all these countries were in possession of a
complete system of local self-government, consisting of
a governor-general in Canada, and a lieutenant-governor
in each of the other provinces ; of an executive or advisory
council, appointed by the governor-general, or lieutenant-
governor, and dependent on the support of the majority
in the elected assembly; of a legislative council, ap-
pointed by the lieutenant-governor, with the advice of
his council, in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but
elective in Canada and Prince Edward Island; and of
an assembly, elected by the people.

As we look back over the century that had passed
between the Treaty of Paris, which ceded Canada to
England in 1763, and the Quebec convention of 1864,
we can see that the struggles of the statesmen and
people of British North America had won from England
for all the provinces the concession of the following
principles, which lie at the foundation of our whole politi-
cal structure :

1. The establishment at an early period of Canadian
history, of the principle of religious toleration
and equality of sects.

2. The guarantees given to the French Canadians
for the preservation of their law and language.

3. The adoption of the English criminal law in the
French as well as the English provinces.

4. The establishment of representative institutions
in every province.

5. The independence of the judiciary and its com-
plete isolation from political influences and
conflicts.

6. Complete provincial control over all local reven-
ues and expenditures through the people’s
assembly.

7. The right of Canadian legislatures to manage
their purely local affairs without imperial
interference.

8. The establishment of municipal institutions, and
the consequent increase of public spirit in all
the local divisions of the old provinces of
Upper and Lower Canada.

9. The adoption of the English principle of respon-
sibility to the legislative assembly, under which
a ministry or executive council can only hold
office while its members have seats in that
body and possess the confidence of a majority
of the people’s elected representatives.

2.—Federal Union, 1867.

Having had many years’ experience of local self-gov-
ernment, having shown their ability to govern themselves,
having recognized the necessity for a union which would
give them greater strength within the Empire, and afford
larger facilities for commercial relations between each
other, and with the rest of the world, the governments
of the several provinces, whose constitutional history we
have briefly reviewed, united with the leaders of the
opposition in the different legislative bodies, with the
object of carrying out this great measure. A convention
of thirty-three representative men was held in the autumn
of 1864 in the historic city of Quebec, and after a
deliberation of several weeks the result was the unani-
mous adoption of a set of seventy-two resolutions
embodying the terms on which the provinces through their
delegates agreed to a federal union. These resolutions
had to be laid before the various legislatures and adopted
in the shape of addresses to the queen whose sanction
was necessary to embody the wishes of the provinces in
an imperial statute.

In the early part of 1867 the imperial parliament,
without a division, passed the statute known as the
“British North America Act, 1867,” which united in the
first instance the province of Canada, now divided into
Ontario and Quebec, with Nova. Scotia and New
Brunswick, and made provisions for the coming: in of the
other provinces of Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland,
British Columbia, and the admission of Rupert’s Land
and the great Northwest.

*See PDF for signatures.

*The delegates to the Quebec conference, whose autographs I give
above, held the following positions in their respective provinces :—

Canada: Hon. Sir Etienne P. Taché, M.L.C., premier; Hon. John A.
Macdonald, M.P.P., attorney-general of Upper Canada; Hon. George
Etienne Cartier, M.P.P., attorney-general of Lower Canada; Hon. George
Brown, M.P.P., president of the executive council; Hon. Alexander T.
Galt, M.P.P., finance minister; Hon. Alexander Campbell, M.L.C.,
commissioner of crown lands: Hon. Jean C. Chapais, )l.L.C., commis-
sioner of public works ; Hon. Thomas D’Arcy McGee, M.P.P., minister of
agriculture; Hon. Hector L. Langevin, M.P.P., solicitor-general for
Lower Canada; Hon. William McDougall, M.P.P., provincial secretary;
Hon. James Cockburn, M. P. P., solicitor-general for Upper Canada; Hon.
Oliver Mowat, M.P.P., postmaster-general.

Nova Scotia: Hon. Charles Tupper, M.P.P., provincia secretary and
premier; Hon. William A. Henry, M.P.P., attorney-general; Hon.
Robert B. Dickey, M.L.C.; Hon. Adams G. Archibald, M.P.P.; Hon.
Jonathan McCully, M.L.C.

New Brunswick: Hon. Samuel L. Tilley, M.P.P., provincial secretary
and premier; Hon. Peter Mitchell, M.L.C.; Hon. CHarles Fisher, M.P.P.;
Hon. William H. Steeves, M.L.C.; Hon. John Hamilton Gray, M.P.P.,
Hon. Edward B. Chandler, M.L.C.; Hon. John M. Johnson, M.P.P.,
attorney-general.

Prince Edward Island: Hon. John Hamilton Gray, M.P.P., premier;
Hon. George Coles, M.P.P.; Hon. Thomas Heath Haviland, M.P.P.;
Hon. Edward Parlmer, M.P.P., attorney-general; Hon. Andrew Archibald
Macdonald, M.L.C.; Hon. Edward Whelan, M.L.C.; Hon. William H.
Pope, M.P.P., provincial secretary.

Newfoundland: Hon. Frederick B.T. Carter, M.P.P., speaker of the
house of assembly; Hon. Ambrose Shea, M.P.P.

Newfoundland took no steps to promote union after
the convention of 1864, which two of her representatives
attended. Prince Edward Island joined in 1873.

3.—Admission of British Columbia.

British Columbia, which took no part in the convention,
came into the federation in 1871. For many years the
mainland was separate from Vancouver Island. That
island was held in 1843 by the fur-trading corporation,
known as the Hudson’s Bay Company, and nominally
made a crown colony in 1849, or a colony without
representative institutions, in which the whole power rests
in a governor and appointed officials. The official
authority continued practically in the hands of the trading
company for some years later. In 1856 an assembly
was called, despite the very small population of the
island. The island was united with British Columbia in
1866, and the latter name given to the united colonies.
The mainland, known as New Caledonia and British
Columbia previously to 1866, was alsolong a domain of
the Hudson’s Bay Company, and it was not until 1858
that it became acrown colony. In 1863 a legislative
council was at first organized by the crown and was
partly appointed by the governor, and partly elected by
the people. By the act of 1866, uniting’ the island of
Vancouver to the government of British Columbia, the
authority of the executive government and legislature of
the latter colony extended over both colonies. Until
1871, when the province of British Columbia entered the
federal union of Canada, it was governed by a lieutenant-
governor. appointed by the sovereign, and a legislative
council, composed of heads of public departments and
several elected members. Responsible government was
not introduced into the province until after 1871.

4.—Acquisition of the Northwest and Formation of
Manitoba.

Previous to the union of 1867 that vast country known
as Rupert’s Land and the Northwest Territory was under
the control of the Hudsoifs Bay Company, who held
exclusive trading rights given by Charles II to his cousin
Prince Rupert and “the company of adventurers ”
trading in that region. It was not until 1869 that the
rights of that monopoly were purchased and the region
formally transferred to the government of the Dominion
of Canada. In 1870 a new province was formed under
the name of Manitoba and invested with all the functions
of self-government possessed by the older provinces.
Subsequently the Northwest Territories were divided
into the districts of Keewatin, Assiniboia, Saskatchewan,
Alberta, Athabasca, Yukon, Ungava, Franklin and
Mackenzie, for governmental purposes.

5.—Three Leading Principles of Federal Union.

I have given a brief historical sketch of the constitu-
tional developrnent of the countries that compose the
federal union of Canada, and I shall now proceed to
direct attention to the framework of the government of
that union.

The Canadian constitution, or British North America
Act of 1867, is a statute of the parliament of Great
Britain,before whom as the supreme legislative authority
of the empire the provinces of Canada had to come and
express their desire to be federally united. In the
addresses to the queen containing the resolutions of the
Quebec conference of 1864, the legislatures of the
provinces set forth that in a federation of the British
North American provinces “the system of government
best adapted under existing circumstances to protect the
diversified interests of the several provinces, and secure
harmony and permanency in the working of the union,
would be a general government charged with matters of
common interest to the whole country, and local
governments for each of the Canadas, and for the
provinces of Nova Scotia, New- Brunswick and Prince
Edward Island,charged with the control of local matters
in their respective sections.”

In the third paragraph the resolutions declare that
“in framing a constitution for the general government,
the conference, with a view to the perpetuation of our
connection with the mother country, and the promotion of
the best interests of the people of these provinces, desire
to follow the model of the British constitution so far as
our circumstances permit.” In the fourth paragraph it
sets forth: “The executive authority or government
shall be vested in the sovereign of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, and be administered accord-
ing to the well-understood principles of the British
constitution, by a sovereign personally, or by the
representative of the sovereign duly authorized.”

In these three paragraphs we see clearly expressed the
leading principles on which our system of government
rests:

A federation with a central government exercising
general powers over all the numbers of the union, and a
number of local governments having the control and
management of certain matters naturally and conveniently
belonging to them, while each government is administered
in accordance with the British system of parliamentary
institutions.

These are the leading principles which were made law
by the British North America Act of 1867, and which I
propose to explain in the course of the following pages.

6.—How Canada is Governed.

As the most intelligible mode of explaining the nature
of the somewhat complicated constitution of the
Dominion, I shall divide the whole subject—How Canada
is Governed—into several Parts which will set forth in
order the functions and responsibilities that belong to
the following authorities, governing the Dominion as a
dependency of England, and as a federation of provinces.

1. The Imperial Government, exercising executive,
legislative and judicial supremacy over the dependency
through a sovereign acting by and with the advice of a
responsible council, a judicial committee of the privy
council, and a parliament.

2. The Dominion Government, whose executive, legis-
lative and judicial powers as the central authority of
the federation are exercised through a governor-general
appointed by the sovereign, or crown,* as legally stated,
and acting by and with the advice ofa responsible council,
a parliament, and a supreme court.

* The word crown, where used in this work or any other, means the reign-
ing sovereign, king or queen, who is represented by the governor-general
of the Dominion and the lieutenant-governors of the provinces for purposes
of executive government.

3. The Provincial Governments, exercising executive,
legislative and judicial jurisdiction within their con-
stitutional limits, through a lieutenant-governor, appointed
by the governor-general in council, an advisory or
executive council, a legislature, and a judiciary.

In the course of these chapters I shall necessarily
explain the nature of the relations between the Imperial
and Dominion governments, and between the Dominion
and Provincial governments. I shall also give, as a
matter of convenience, a special place to the government
of the territories though it falls, strictly speaking, under
the second division of powers, and to the government of
municipalities and schools, though it also belongs to the
third division of provincial authorities.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.

I give at the conclusion of each Part of this book references to a few
works which are most accessible to those students who wish to devote more
attention to the subjects to which I have merely introduced my readers.
For instance: Bourinot’s Manual of the Constitutional History of Canada
(Toronto, 1901), which is a text book in a number of colleges, and gives
the constitution or British North America Act in full at the end.
Houston’s Constitutional Documen’s of Canada (Toronto, 1891), has the
text of the Quebec Act of 1774, the Constitutional Act of 1791, of the
Union Act of 1840, and of other statutes and official documents relating to
the constitutional development of the provinces from 1760 to 1867. Dent’s
Canada Since the Union of 1841 (Toronto, (1880-81), is correct. So is
L. Turcotte’s Canada Sous l’Union (Quebec, 1871), for readers of French.
Professor Ashley’s Lectures on the Earlier Constitutional History of Canada
(Toronto, 1889), are useful. The official record of the Parliamentary
Debates on Confederation in the legislature of Canada in 1865 (Quebec,
1865), should be carefully read. Bourinot’s Canada Under British Rule
(Toronto, 1901) may also be advantageously read as a short political
history.

SECOND PART.

IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT.

CHAPTER. PAGE.

I.—EXECUTIVE POWER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 45
II.—LEGISLATIVE POWER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 55
III.—JUDICIAL POWER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
IV.—IMPERIAL CONTROL OVER CANADA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 64

CHAPTER I.

THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT: EXECUTIVE POWER.

1.—Introduction.—2. The Sovereign.—3. Origin of the Cabinet or
Royal Advisory Council.—4. Working of the Cabinet System
and Meaning of “King in Council.”

1.—Introduction.

As the system of parliamentary government which
Canada possesses is derived from that of England, it is
important that we should clearly understand the princi-
ples on which that government rests. For the purposes
of this book it is only necessary to refer briefly to the
following supreme authorities of the empire:

The Sovereign,
Privy Council,
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council,
Parliament.

2.—The Sovereign.

In accordance with the constitutional usages and rules
which have grown up in the course of centuries, the
reigning sovereign of England, at present a king, per-
forms all executive acts through his privy or executive
council, administers justice by his courts, and makes
laws for the whole empire in his great legislature or
parliament.

The crown is hereditary by English law. A statute
passed during the reign of William and Mary, and called
the Act of Settlement, settled the succession to the
throne. vacated by James II, on the heirs of the Princess
Sophia of Hanover—a German state—the granddaughter
of James II. His Majesty the King is a lineal descen-

THE ROYAL STANDARD*
*See PDF for image.

dant of this princess. The titles of his majesty at present
are as follows: “Edward VII., R.I., by the Grace of
God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas,
King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India.”

*The Royal Standard, or personal banner of the sovereign, displays the
arms of England (three lions “passant” or walking); of Scotland (a lion
“rampant,” or erect as if attacking); of Ireland (a harp,)—the English
arms being repeated on the fourth quarter in accordance with the rules
governing such heraldic devices.

On the death of the sovereign the crown descends to
a male heir, and failing a son or son’s son to a daughter
or to a daughters son or daughter. An uncle, nephew
or male cousin of the sovereign only succeeds when there
are no sons or daughters of the sovereign. The probable
successor to the throne at the present time—the “heir
apparent” as he is legally called—is the Prince of
Wales, the only surviving son of the king, who visited
Canada in 1901 as Duke of Cornwall and York.

Though the crown is hereditary in the family of the
present sovereign, it is at the same time subject to the
authority of parliament—that is to say, of the sovereign,
the lords and the commons, acting together as a
supreme legislature. From the earliest times in the
history of England we see the evidences of the supreme
authority of the English national councils in their as-
sertion of the right to limit and regulate the succession
to the throne in a national emergency. The great council
of early English days, the Witenagemot or assembly
of the wise men—Witan meaning wise men, and gemot,
an assembly in Anglo-Saxon—elected the king, who
was the chief among the nobles of the land,—the
choice falling as a rule on a member of the family of the
deceased sovereign. Even William of Normandy, the
conqueror of England, felt it necessary to give some
show of title to his claim to the throne by being chosen
by a national council he called together. In later times
kings were deposed and chosen by the will of similar
councils of the kingdom. The revolution of 1688, which
deposed James II. for his violation of the recognized or
fundamental laws and rights of the people of England,
and placed William and Mary of Orange on the throne,
was the last example our history gives us of parliament
asserting its right to regulate the succession to the
crown. The laws of England declare that it is treason
for any one to say that the parliament—that is to say,
the king or queen, in conjunction with the two houses—
is not able to make statutes of sufficient force to limit
and bind the crown, and regulate and determine the
descent, inheritance and government of the same. Every
sovereign, at his or her coronation, solemnly promises
and swears “to govern the people of this kingdom and
the dominions thereto belonging according to the statutes
in parliament agreed on, and the respective laws and
customsof the same.”

As the king is by law the head of the executive
power, all acts of government must be carried out in his
name. It is by his will and pleasure that parliament is
called together for the despatch of business, or is pro-
rogued —that is, a session closed—or is dissolved,—that
is, a new house of commons elected by the people. He
is “the fountain of justice,” since he is represented in
his courts by his judges; he alone can confer titles,
distinctions and honours, he alone can pardon offenders
against the law—this last being his highest attribute of
sovereignty. All these and other prerogatives—that is
to say, the ancient rights and privileges belonging to the
sovereign as the head of the kingdom by law and usage
—are not now immediately exercised by himself in per-
son on his own responsibility. Everyone has heard the
maxim “The King can do no wrong.” The meaning
of this phrase must be sought in the constitutional history
of the council who are directly responsible for the acts
of the sovereign.

3.—Origin of the Cabinet or Royal Advisory Council.

From the earliest times of our history—for England’s
is Canada’s history too—there were always councils
around the sovereign whom he summoned to assist him
by their advice. The several councils gradually de-
veloped with the growth of the kingdom into a parlia-
ment of two houses in which the commons had a
representation, into law courts, and into a privy council.
The latter was a permanent or continual council of
ofiicials and nobles, the confidential counsellors of the
king. The sovereign for centuries, as late as the time
of George I., sat in council. This was the executive
body, as distinguished from the legislative body or parlia-
ment of which the king was the first branch, and which
he alone could summon, proroguc or dissolve. This
privy council became at last too large for purposes of
consultation, and King Charles I. selected from its mem-
bers a committee who were named a Cabinet Council
because they met in the kings private chamber. In
later times it was called also a “Cabal,” or club of in-
triguers, in terms of derision. This smaller council had
no special authority behind it—the privy council as a
body was alone recognized by the law as the responsible
executive council—but King Charles I. found it most
convenient for his purposes in times when he was intri-
guing against parliament. In the quarrels of the Stuarts
with the commons they were constantly asserting prero-
gatives in violation of the acknowledged rights of the
people, and this council became very unpopular as the
secret conclave, or cabal, for the king and his instru-
ments. It owed no responsibility to any one but the
king himself. It was not necessary that its members
should have seats in the popular house.

The practice of forming a committee out of the large
body of privy councillors as a special or inner body of
advisers of the crown has continued to the present time,
and the term “Cabinet,” once so unpopular, is now a
title of honour and dignity. But the modern cabinet
council is not the irresponsible instrument of the royal
will and pleasure that it was in the days of the Stuarts.
Since the revolution of 1688, when James II. was deposed,
there has been gradually developed the principle that the
cabinet must be composed of privy councillors not only
chosen by and responsible to the sovereign, but selected
from those men who have seats in parliament and have
the confidence of the majority of the poople’s representa-
tives in the house of commons, the elected body of the
great legislative council of the nation. As long as they
keep the confidence of this house they remain the
counsellors or ministers of the king, and are responsible
for the work of administration and legislation, but the
moment they lose that confidence the sovereign must
choose another set of advisers or ministers, who also
must be privy councillors—for England has always clung
to her old names and ancient institutions—and must
have the support of the popular house. Sometimes a
ministry, defeated in parliament, will be allowed by the
sovereign to ask the opinion of the people at a general
election. If they are supported at the polls and have a
majority of the people’s representatives, they remain in
office. Otherwise they must give way to the men who
have obtained the popular majority. Elsewhere, when I
come to speak of the Canadian methods of government,
which are copied from those of England, I shall explain
how the prime minister or head of the cabinet or ministry,
and the members of that body are chosen, (see p. 81).

4.—Working of the Cabinet System and Meaning of
“King in Council.”

From the foregoing necessarily imperfect summary
three leading facts in the working of the constitutional
system of England may be gathered :

1. That the privy council is, strictly speaking, the
only body known to law and usage in England
as the sovereign’s council.

2. That in order to keep up old customs and main-
tain the law, the cabinet, or responsible council,
is chosen from the large body of privy council-
lors.

3. That this responsible council must be members
and have the confidence of parliament.

When members of the house of commons, who are
not privy councillors, are called upon to form a ministry,
they must be first sworn of the privy council.* Then
they are called to the ministry or cabinet, and placed in
charge of certain departments or offices of the govern-
ment. One of these departments is entrusted with the
supervision of the affairs of the colonial empire, and is
called the secretary of state for the colonies (see below,
p. 65).

*English privy councillors are always styled ” Right Honourable.”

The cabinet, or inner council, is the body that discusses
and decides all questions of public policy: i.e., the nature
of the measures to be introduced into parliament, the
relations of England with foreign countries, treaties of
peace, declarations of war, questions affecting the govern-
ment of Great Britain and Ireland, India, and the
dependencies, important appointments, and the countless
matters that devolve on the government of a great
nation. Its deliberations are held in secret, and when it
reaches a conclusion, we see the results in executive,
administrative and legislative action, according to the
well understood methods of the British constitution.
When the action of the head of the executive—that is
of the sovereign—is necessary on any question of state,
he is advised by the premier or responsible minister.
When the sovereign has given his consent an order-in-
council is passed, and has the effect of law. In other
cases, the signature of the sovereign must also be given
to the acts of the council—such as certain appointments
by commission,* and other acts of royal authority. In
all cases any document, which is an act of the executive,
must be countersigned by a responsible minister or
official and have the “great seal” or official evidence of
the royal will affixed (see below, p. 86, for Canada’s great
seal). All orders-in-council, or other acts of executive
power, are considered to be passed by the privy council—
order-in-council means an order passed by the sovereign
by and with the advice of the privy council—the only
body known from old times as the permanent or advisory
body around the sovereign. The king never acts alone.
What he does in administration he does through the
aid of a minister or ministry,—who are members of
the privy council. In fact every act of the sovereign
in his executive and royal capacity is done on the advice
of a sworn counsellor. If the advice is wrong, or in
violation of the law, the minister or ministry who gave
it is open to the censure of parliament, or a particular
minister may be brought before the ordinary courts of
law. Consequently the maxim that “the King can do
no wrong” has arisen from the adoption of the following
constitutional principles:

1. That by no proceeding known to the law can the
king, himself the head of justice as he is of
all branches of government, he made person-
ally responsible for any act done by him in his
executive capacity.

2. That every executive act is the result of the
deliberation of a sworn council, who advise the
king thereon and are alone responsible for the
advice.

3. That no minister of the crown can bring forward
an order of the crown as a. defence or justifica-
tion of an act that is in violation of law.

4. That the minister who gives the advice becomes
responsible and liable to punishment for mis-
leading the crown.

*A commission is an authority or order to perform certain duties ; all
public officials, acting under the crown, have such an authority. It comes
from the Latin word committere, to place or trust a thing somewhere.

The sovereign, it is well to mention here, has never
satin council with the cabinet since the days of George
the First, who departed from the practice of his royal
predecessors on account of his ignorance of the English
language. What was in his case a matter of convenience
has ever since become the settled practice. Now the
sovereign—and the same is true of the governor-general
of the Dominion and a lieutenanbgovernor of a province
—is informed of the results of the deliberations of
council, and acts on the advice of a responsible minister.

CHAPTER II.
THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT LEGISLATIVE POWER.

1. Sovereign in Parliament.—2. Origin of Parliament.—3. Char-
ters of English and Canadian Constitutional Liberties.—4.
Strength of Parliamentary Government.—5. The King’s
Onerous Duties as a Sovereign.

1.-The Sovereign in Parliament.

Every statute or law passed by the supreme legislature
or parliament of Great Britain and Ireland commences
with these words:

“That it be enacted [that is, made law] by the king’s most
excellent majesty by and with the advice and consent of the lords
spiritual and temporal and commons, in this present parliament
assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows.” Here
follow the provisions of the law or act of parliament.

I have copied these words because they show that the
sovereign is still understood in law to legislate for his
realm in a great legislative council lmown as a parlia-
ment, whilst he acts in his executive capacity in a privy
council. The legislation he assents to as the first
branch of parliament he executes or carries out in his
executive capacity, through and by the advice of his
sworn counsellors and officers appointed and sworn to
execute and administer the law justly and faithfully, as
I have shown above.

WESTMINSTER PALACE
*See PDF for image.

2.—Origin of Parliament.

The origin of parliament must be sought in the early
assemblies of our English ancestors, who were Teutons
or Germans who came from the sea-coast of northern
Germany and of Denmark. The Witenagemot of old
times, before the Norman conquest, was a national
assembly of great nobles, and ecclesiastical dignitaries,
summoned by the sovereign to consult and deliberate on
the affairs of the kingdom. After the Norman conquest
it became known as the “Great Council,” and was practi-
cally the house of lords. It had executive, legislative,
and judicial powers. The king’s special or permanent
council to which I have referred above, and the king’s
advisory law court (curia regis) became part of this
great council at certain times, and together formed a
common council of the whole realm. Eventually, the
estates of the realm, the arclibishops and bishops or the
lords spiritual, the nobles of the kingdom or the lords tem-
poral, and the commons, formed a parliament (for mean-
ing, see above, p. 7). It was a great noble, Simon de
Montfort, of Leicester—a statesman much in advance of
his age—who overthrew King Henry III. on the battle-
field of Lewes, and first surnrnoncd representatives of the
towns and counties to meet bishops and nobles in a
parliament in 1265. This scheme of Simon de Montfort
was adopted by King Edward I. in 1295, and has ever
since formed the model of the parliament of England.
Edward accepted this great council, always thereafter
known as parliament, as a most convenient instrument
for raising taxes; it being the immemorial right of
Englishmen to be taxed only with their own consent
through their own representatives. The representative
principle, as applied to government, is essentially
English. Its origin can be traced to the “motes” or
assemblies of the local divisions of England in early
English times. In the municipal system of Canada, as I
shall show later (see Fifth Part), we have copied the
names of those local divisions and of their public
officers.

3.—Charters of English and Canadian Constitutional
Liberties.

From the days of Edward I., a wise monarch, there
was for centuries a constant struggle between sovereign
and commons for the mastery. The necessity for raising
money by public taxation forced the most arbitrary
sovereigns to summon parliament sooner or later. At
all times we find nobles and commons united to resist
the unconstitutional efforts of kings to reign without the
assistance of his national council. Magna Charta, one of
the great statutes of English liberty, wrung from King
John, on the field of Runnymede in 1215, affirrned the
fundamental principle of the constitution that English-
men could not be taxed without the consent of the
national council as then constituted. Another great
statute, known as the Petition of Right, grudgingly as-
sented to by Charles I. four centuries later, when he could
not resist the demands of parliament, again affirrned that
no tax of any sort might be exacted without the consent
of parliament. The Bill of Rights, passed in 1689, when
William and Mary became joint king and queen of
England, was a strong declaration of the original rights
of the people, violated by James II., who had fled the
kingdom. This famous charter of constitutional liberty
set forth among other things :

That it is illegal for the sovereign to suspend or exe-
cute laws without the consent of parliament.

That it is illegal for the sovereign to dispense with
laws.

That it is illegal to levy money without the consent
of parliament.

That petitions to parliament are legal and punish
ments for them illegal.

That parliamentary elections ought to be free.

That freedom of speech and debate in parliament is
subject to parliamentary control only.

That parliaments ought to be frequently held.

These are the fundamental principles of parliamentary
government in England as in all the dependencies of
the crown.

4.—Strength of Parliamentary Government.

The great object of parliament is taxation in order to
meet the needs of government. English sovereigns soon
recognized the fact that Englishmen through their re-
presentatives in parliament must control all the taxes
and expenditures of the realm. From the days of the
revolution of 1688 the struggle between sovereign and
the commons practically came to an end. With the
development of the principle of ministerial responsi-
bility—the presence in parliament of a body of ministers
responsible at once to sovereign, commons and people—
harmony was created between the executive and legisla-
tive departments. The cabinet is now the connecting
link between the monarch and the people through their
representatives in parliament. As advisers of the crown,
as heads of the great departments of state constituting
the government, as the recognized heads of the political
party or combination of parties having a majority in
parliament, this cabinet, which is legally a committee of
the ancient privy council, are able to administer public
affairs without that friction and conflict between execu-
tive and parliament which was the leading feature of old
times of irresponsible councils and the personal rule of
sovereigns.

When we come to consider the government of Canada
we shall see carried out all the English methods and
principles explained above. The king in council, the
cabinet, the parliament, are all to be found working pre-
cisely in the same way in Canada.

5.—The King’s Laborious Duties as a Sovereign.

Although the king performs all executive acts
through responsible ministers dependent on the will of
parliament and people, it must not be supposed that
his functions as a sovereign are purely ornamental. On

*See PDF for signature.

the contrary, so high an authority as Mr. Glad-
stone, who was for many years a prime minister of
Queen Victoria, has told us that “no head of a de-
partment performs more laborious duties than those
which fall to the sovereign of this country.” No des-
patch ” is received from abroad, nor any sent from the
country, which is not submitted to the queen.” Her
signature “has never been placed to any public docu-
ment of which she did not approve.” Cabinet councils
“are reported and communicated on their termination
by the minister to the sovereign and they often call from
her remarks that are critical, and necessarily require con-
siderable attention.” In fact “such complete mastery of
what has occurred in this country, and of the great im-
portant subjects of state policy, foreign and domestic, for
the last fifty years is possessed by the queen that he
must be a wise man who could not profit by her judg-
ment and experience.” To these explanations of the
active life of a great sovereign, it is well to acid a fact
not generally known to Canadians, that every governor-
general is instructed to communicate directly to the
king, from time to time, the fullest information on all
questions of moment to Canada and the empire.

*See PDF for signature.

CHAPTER III.

THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT: JUDICIAL POWER.

1.—Origin of Courts of Justice.—2. Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council.

1.-Origin of the Courts of Justice.

We now come to the third division of government—
the judicial authority. The king is the fountain of
justice, and it is administered in his name. In old
times, before government assumed its present forms and
methods of action, the sovereign dispensed justice
immediately and personally in a great council or court.
The nobles,lay and ecclesiastic, the great judicial officers
of the realm, the chief justice or justiciar—next to the
king in authority—and the chancellor formed a national
supreme court of law (curia regis), over which the
sovereign presided.

In the course of many years after the conquest courts
of law were formed out of the great court or council of
the kingdom. The old names of these courts still exist
in English law, as I shall show when I come to refer to
Canadian courts (see below, p. 177). With the development
of parliamentary government, after the revolution of
1688, the judiciary were made practically independent
of the crown, and of all political influences. Their
tenure of office was made one of good behaviour,
and they can now be removed only on an address to the
crown by the two houses of parliament, after formal
impeachment* for grave offences and after full investi-
gation of any charges made against them.

*To “impeach” means to prefer grave charges of official misconduct
against a judge or other functionary, but its origin is obscure.

2.—The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
of England.

With the constitution and procedure of the courts of
law of England Canadians have no direct connection.
Justice is administered in their own courts, which have
full jurisdiction over all matters of Canadian concern,
and the king is in theory as much present in Canadian
as in English courts. But over the empire there is one
great court of appeal, to which reference can be made in
cases of important controversy and doubt. The origin
of this court, called the judicial committee of the privy
council, must be sought in the fact that even after the
formation of the regular courts out of the great court or
council of the sovereign in early times (see above, p. 49),
some of the judicial powers still remained and were
exercised in the permanent or continual council of the
sovereign. The great council became the house of
lords, which still has a remnant of its judicial powers,
while the permanent council became the privy council.
This latter was eventually divided into committees,
which still discharge some of their old functions. One
of these committees is the judicial committee, or supreme
court of the empire (see below, p. 65). It is now regu-
lated by statute and composed of the lord high chan-
cellor and other legal functionaries, who must all be
members of the king’s privy council. Since 1897 Canada
and Australia have been directly represented in this high
tribunal.

CHAPTER IV.
NATURE OF IMPERIAL CONTROL OVER CANADA.

1. Introduction.—2. Governor-General.—3. Secretary of State for
the Colonies.—4. Judicial Committee.—5. Canadian Rights of
Self-Government.—6. Making of Treaties.—7. When Canadian
Legislative Acts may be Disallowed.

1.—Introduction.

With these explanations of the leading principles of
the supreme government of the empire, I come now to
explain to my readers in what manner and to what
extent this imperial government can and does exercise
authority or control over this dependency of Canada.
The following principles and methods of procedure may
be laid down as governing the relations between the
imperial and dominion governments:

2. —The Governor-General.

The king, as the head of the executive authority of
the empire, acts through a governor-general appointed in
council, and consequently an imperial officer. It is
through him all communications between the imperial
and Canadian government must pass. When the Cana-
dian parliament requires any legislation that properly
falls within the jurisdiction of the imperial legislature,
addresses to the king are passed by the former body,
setting forth the nature of this legislation—such as an
amendment or necessary change in the fundamental law
of the Dominion or British North America Act of 1867,
which is an imperial statute, and can only be amended
in certain respects by the same authority that gave it.
This address is forwarded by the Canadian governor-
general with such remarks as are necessary, to one of
his majesty’s ministers.

3.—The Secretary of State for the Colonies.

This minister, or privy councillor, is the head of the
department of colonial affairs and known as the sec-
rotary of state for the colonies,—all possessions of the
crown, except India, being designated colonies. It is
for this important minister, who has always a seat in the
inner council or cabinet, to bring the address or other
matter requiring the action of the king and council
before that body in the manner required by usage. The
council on his advice will agree to introduce and pass
such legislation in parliament as will meet the difficulty
that has occurred in the Dominion. By the constant
interchange of communications between the imperial and
dominion governments, agreements are come to, as a
rule, on every question which requires adjustment, and
any friction in the relations of the two governments
prevented.

4.—The Judicial Committee.

The king’s courts in Canada administer justice in all
cases affecting Canadians, whether of a criminal or civil
nature, in accordance with the rights of self-government
accorded by law to the Dominion. Appeals are, how-
ever, made from the supreme and superior courts of the
Dominion to the judicial committee of the privy council
under such conditions as have been laid down by that
body under the law. The appellants, or parties who are
not satisfied with the decision of the Canadian courts,
petition the king in council for leave to appeal, andif
the appeal is allowcd—for there are cases where the
appeal may be refused—the whole case, as it appears on
the record, is submitted to the judicial committee, com-
posed of eminent judges—generally four, though three
are a quorum—who hear arguments and finally report
their decision to the king in council. This decision is
authoritative and settles the case. Criminal cases can-
not be appealed from Canada to this court. Nor will
the judicial committee admit an appeal from the supreme
court of Canada, save where the case is of gravity (see
below, p. 130).

5.—Canadian Rights of Self-Government.

It is a fundamental principle of the English constitu-
tion, as I have shown above, that a people under English
government can be taxed only with their own consent,
through their representatives, under the forms prescribed
bylaw. The imperial state having granted to Canada
a complete system of local self-government, with full
control over taxation and expenditure, it is only in
Canadian parliaments—and I here include provincial
legislatures—that Canadian taxes can be imposed and
Canadian moneys expended. If at any time Canada
requires imperial legislation, on any subject not within
her executive or legislative control, she applies to the
king in council in the way I have described above
(see p.64). The imperial parliament cannot of its own
motion constitutionally interfere with rights of local self-
government granted to the dependency.

6.—Making of Treaties with Foreign Powers.

The king’s government alone, as the supreme execu-
tive of the empire, can commence and negotiate treaties
with foreign sovereign nations. Canada being only a
dependency cannot of her own motion or action give
validity to a treaty with a sovereign nation. It is
through the imperial government and its representatives
that all treaties immediately affecting her must be made.
It is, however, now an understanding, or even maxim of
the policy governing the relations between England and
the Canadian Dominion, that Canadian representatives
shall be chosen and clothed with all necessary authority
by the king in council to arrange treaties immediately
affecting Canada, and all such treaties must be ratified
by the Canadian parliament.

7.—When Canadian Legislative Acts may be
” Disallowed.”

It is still a provision of the Canadian constitution that
every act passed by the parliament of Canada should be
submitted by the governor—general to the king in
council. This is a declaration of the sovereign authority
of the imperial government, and only means in practice
that it is within the power of the king in council, re-
sponsible for the unity and security of the whole empire,
to refuse to consent to, or in the constitutional words,
“disallow,”‘ an act (see below, p. 163) which is in conflict
with the interests of the empire at large, may threaten its
integrity, and is at variance with treaties with England, a
foreign nation, or with imperial legislation. It would be
unconstitutional, however, for the imperial government to
interfere in any matter clearly and exclusively within the
authority of the dominion government. When the
imperial parliament gave Canada a federal union and a
complete system of local self-government, and the right
to legislate on certain subjects set forth in the funda-
mental law of the constitution (the British North America
Act of 1867), it gave her full control of all such matters,
and constitutionally withdrew from all interference) in
the strictly local concerns of the Dominion. It is only
when the interests of the empire are in direct conflict
with the privileges extended to the dependency that the
sovereign authority of England should be brought into
action. This sovereign authority should never be arbi-
trarily or indiscreetly exercised, but should be the result
of full discussion between the governments of England
and the dependency, so that the interests of the two may
be brought, as far as possible, into harmony with each
other.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.

A useful elementary book on English constitutional history is David
Watson Rannie’s Historical Outline of the English Constitution (New
York, 1881). Valuable books and articles for more advanced students are
the following: Ewald’s “The Crown and Its Advisers”; or, Queen,
Ministers, Lords and Commons (Edinburgh and London, 1870), Professor
Freeman’s Growth of the English Constitution from the Earliest Times
(London and New York, 1884), Dicey’s History of the Privy Council
(London and New York, 1887), Mr. Reeve’s article on The Cabinet in the
9th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, Professor Freeman’s article on
the History of England in the same work, vol. viii, pp. 263-368, with an
index at end of subjects treated in the paper; Professor Woodrow Wilson’s
sketch of the institutional history and administration of England, in pp.
651-821, The State (Boston, 1889). Carmichael’s edition of Taswell-
Langmead’s English Constitutional History (London, 1890), is the best
history for students in general, since it is both readable, intelligible and
correct. Bagehot’s English Constitution (London and New York, 1884),
is a very clear treatise on the practical operation of parliamentary govern-
ment. It was the first successful attempt to show the defects of the consti-
tutional system of the federal republic of the United States, arising out of
the absence of a political cabinet responsible for the work of administration
and legislation, and having seats in congress.

THIRD PART.

THE DOMINION GOVERNMENT.

CHAPTER. PAGE.

CIIAIVTI-ZR. PAGE’.
I.—EXECUTIVE POWER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
II.—V. LEGISLATIVE POWER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 93
VI.—JUDICIAL POWER. . . . . . . . . . .128
VII.—REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. . . . . . .133
VIII.—MILITIA AND DEFENCE. . . . . . . . .138

CHAPTER I.

THE DOMINION GOVERNMENT: EXECUTIVE POWER.

1.—Introduction.—2. The Governor-General.—3. Privy Council for
Canada: Heads of Departments of Government.—4. Ministers
not in the Cabinet.—5. The Premier.—6. Rules and Usages of
Parliamentary Government.—7. Governor-General in Council.
—8. Civil Service.—9. Great Seal of Canada.—10. Dominion
Coat of Arms.—11. Dominion Flags.

1.—Introduction.

IN the previous chapter, I have given a short summary
of the different authorities that govern the empire as a
whole, and now come to the government of the Dominion
itself. This government is divided among the following
authorities :

The sovereign, as the head of the executive, repre-
sented by a governor-general.

A cabinet selected from the members of the privy
council for Canada, and forming the responsible
advisory council of the sovercigrfis representa-
tive.

A parliament, exercising legislative functions over
the whole of Canada.

A supreme court. exercising judicial functions as a
court of appeal from the courts of the pro-
vinces, and for the settlement of constitutional
difficulties.

The duties of these separate authorities will now be
explained.

2.—The Governor-General.

The king is the head of the executive government of
Canada. He is as much the sovereign of Canada as of
England or of Scotland, or of Ireland, and his supremacy
can be alone acknowledged in all executive or legislative
acts of this dependency. As he is unable to be present
in person in Canada he is represented by a governor-
general appointed by his majesty in council.

This functionary, generally chosen from public men of
high standing in England, has double responsibilities, for
he is at once the governor-in-chief of a great dependency,
who acts under the advice of a ministry responsible to
parliament, and at the same time the guardian of
imperial interests. He is bound by the terms of his
commission, and can only exercise such authority as is
expressly or impliedly entrusted to him by the king.
He must report regularly on all those imperial and other
matters on which the secretary of state for the colonies
should be informed, (see above, p. 64). In bills reserved
for the consideration of the imperial government he
forwards them to the secretary of state with his reasons
for reserving them. The British North America Act
provides that copies of all acts of the Canadian parliament
shall be sent by him to the secretary of state for the
colonies, that they may be duly considered and disallowed
within two years in case they are found to conflict with
imperial interests and are beyond the legitimate powers
of Canada as a dependency. The governor-general, as
the acting head of the executive of Canada, assembles,

AUTOGRAPHS OF GOVERNORS-GENERAL SINCE 1867.
*See PDF for signatures.

*Sir john Young was created Baron Lisgar in 1870, while governor-
general.

prorogues and dissolves parliament and assents to or
reserves bills in the name of his majesty; but, in the
discharge of these and all other executive duties, he acts
entirely by and with the advice of his council who must
always have the support of the house of commons.
Even in matters of imperial interest affecting Canada he
consults with the council and submits their views to the
colonial secretary of state in England. On Canadian
questions clearly within the constitutional jurisdiction of
the Dominion he cannot act apart from his advisers, but
is bound by their advice. Should he differ from them on
some vital questions of principle or policy he must either
recede from his own position or be prepared to accept
the great responsibility of dismissing them; but a dis-
missal of a ministry is an extreme exercise of authority
and not in consonance with the general constitutional
practice of modern times, when his advisers have a
majority in the popular branch of the legislature. Should
he, however, feel compelled by very exceptional circum-
stances to resort to the extreme exercise of the royal
prerogative, he must be prepared to find another body of
advisers ready to assume the full responsibility of his
action and justify it before the house and country. For
every act of the crown, in Canada and in England, there
must be some one immediately responsible, apart from
the crown itself. But a governor, like any other subject,
cannot be ” freed from the responsibility for his acts nor
be allowed to excuse a violation of the law on the plea of
having followed the counsels of evil advisers.” Cases
may arise when the governor-general will hesitate to
come to a speedy conclusion on a matter involving
important consequences, and then it is quite proper for
him to seek advice from his official chief, the secretary of
state for the colonies, even if it be ‘a matter not imme-
diately involving imperial interests.

The royal prerogative of mercy is no longer exercised
on the sole judgment and responsibility of the governor-
general, but is administered pursuant to the advice of,
the minister of justice. With respect to the allowance
or disallowance of provincial acts, ever since the coming
into force of the British North America Act, the
governor-general has invariably decided on the advice of
his ministers, and has never asserted a right to decide
otherwise. Even in the exercise of the all-important
prerogative of dissolution, which essentially rests in the
crown, he acts on the advice of his advisers. Mutual
consultation, as a rule, brings councillors of the crown
into perfect harmony with their constitutional head.
Occupying a position of neutrality between opposing
political parties, and having no possible object in View
except to promote the usefulness and dignity of his
high office, the governor-general must necessarily, in
the discharge of his important functions, have many
opportunities of aiding the interests of the country over
whose government he presides. Although the initiation
of public measures necessarily rests with the ministry,
yet there are numerous occasions when his counsel is
invaluable in the maturing of matters of the gravest
political concern. If we could see into the inner
councils of government we would be surprised at the
influence a prudent and conscientious governor can and
does exercise in the administration of public affairs.
While he continues to be clrawn from the ranks of
distinguished Englishmen he evokes respect as a link of
connection between the parent state and its dependency.
In the performance of his social duties he is brought into
contact with all shades of opinion, and wields an influ-
ence that may elevate social life and soften the bitterness
of public controversy by allowing public men to meet on
a common ground and under conditions which win their
respect. In the tours he takes from time to time
throughout the Dominion he is able to make himself
acquainted with all classes and interests, and, by the
information he gathers in this way, of the resources of
the country he can make himself an important agent in
the development of Canada. In the encouragement of
science, art and literature he has always a fruitful field
in which he may perform invaluable service.

3.—The Privy Council of Canada.

The British North America Act of 1867 provides that
the council, which aids and advises the governor-general,
shall be styled the ” King’s privy council for Canada,”
recalling that ancient council whose history is always
associated with that of the king as far back as the earliest
days of which we have authentic record (see above, p. 49).
As in England, the terms ” cabinet,” ” ministry,” “admin-
istration,” and ” government,” are indifferently applied in
Canada to those members of the privy council who are for
the time being at the head of public affairs. Privy coun-
cillors, when not in the government, retain their honorary
rank, but it is simply one that entitles them to certain
precedence on state occasions and has no official respon-
sibility. When the governor-general appoints a body of
advisers to assist him in the government hebcalls them
first to be members of the privy council and then to hold
certain offices or departments of state. It sometimes
happens, however, that ministers are appointed to the
cabinet without a portfolio or departrnent,in accordance
with English practice. The number of members of the
cabinet vary from fourteen to sixteen, of whom fourteen
are heads of departments, whose duties are regulated by
law and usage. At the present time there are the follow«
ing heads of departments or divisions of the government
for purposes of administration :

1. The President of the Privy Council, who presides over the
meetings of the cabinet, and has no departmental duties except
those clone under his supervision by the clerks, relating to the work
of the council. All orders in council, and acts of the council, are
sent from this office to those departments and persons who have
to act under them.

2. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, who is
the legal adviser of the governor-genei’al and all departments of the
government. He has the supervision of matters affecting the
administration of justice in Canada, reviews all legislative acts of
the provinces within one year after their receipt (see below, p, 168),
and in short is the law oflicer of the Dominion government generally.
He has also the superintendence of the prisons and penitentiaries
of Canada.

3. Minister of Finance and Receiver General, who has charge
of all matters relating to the finances and expenditures of the
Dominion. He lays before parliament the “budget ” (see below,
p. 119) or oflficial statement of the financial condition of the country,
explains the policy of the government with respect to public tax-
ation, the public credit, and the public currency.

4. Minister of Trade and Commerce, whose duties extend to the
execution of all laws enacted by the parliament of the Dominion
relating to such matters connected with commerce generally as nre
not by law assigned to any other department of the government of
Canada.

5. Minister of Agriculture, who has charge of the following
matters :—Agriculture, immigration, public health and quarantine,
marine and immigrant hospitals, census, statistics, and registration
of statistics, patents of invention, copyright, industrial designs and
trade marks, experimental farms.

6. Secretary of State, who has charge of all the correspondence
between the government and the provinces, and on all other official
matters relating to government generally ; registers all documents
issued under the great seal (see below, p. 86) ; has charge of public
printing and of the purchase and distribution of stationery for all
the departments of the public service.

7. Minister of Marine and Fisheries, who has supervision, under
the laws of Canada, of the sea-coast and inland fisheries, light-
houses, beacons, harbours and piers, steamers and vessels be-
longing to the government, exaxnination of masters and mates of
vessels, inspection of steamers, establishment and regulation of
marine hospitals, and generally such matters as are connected with
the marine, fisheries and navigation of Canada.

8. Minister of Militia and Defence, who is responsible for the
administration of militia affairs, including fortifications, armouries,
munitions of war, stores, schools of instruction, military college at
Kingston, Under him is a major-general, chosen from the regular
military service of England.

9. Minister of the Interior, who has control an management of
the affairs of the Northwest Territories, of the Indians, and of all
public lands belonging to the government, and of the geological
survey of Canada.

10. Postmaster General, who has the management of the post
offices and all arrangements relating to the postal service in Canada,
and between her and all other parts of the world.

11. Minister of Public Works, who has charge of the construc-
tion, repairs and maintenance of all public buildings and works
(except railways and canals).

12. Minister of Railways and Canals, who has charge of the
Intercolonial Railway between the city of Quebec, Halifax, and St.
John, and all matters which the law entrusts to him in connection
with railways and canals throughout the Dominion.

13. Minister of Customs, who has management of the collection
of the duties of customs, and of all matters incident thereto.

14. Minister of Inland Revenue, who has management of the
collection of excise cluties, of weights and measures, and of all
internal taxes generally.

A department of labour was organized in 1900, and
placed under the supervision of one of the old depart-
ments. Ministers in charge of departments receive
$7,000 a year, and the first minister an additional $1,000,
besides the sessional indemnity of $1,500. Each minister
has a permanent and non-po1itica1 deputy appointed by
the crown.

4.—Ministers not in the Cabinet.

In 1892 an effort was made to establish the English
practice of having subordinate ministers with seats in
parliament, but not in the cabinet. Two controllers of
cilstoms and inland revenue occupied this position for
some time, but in 1897 these departments were restored
to their former status (see above). The solicitor-
general is now alone a member of the government but
not a privy councillor and a member of the cabinet.
He retires with the government and must be elected
on acceptance of office.

5.—The Premier of the Cabinet.

As the members of a cabinet only occupy office while
they retain the confidence of the lower house, the
majority necessarily sit in that body, though there is
always a certain representation (from four to two), in the
upper branch or senate. Since the commons hold the
purse strings, and directly represent the people, all the
most important departments, especially of finance and
revenue, must necessarily be represented in that branch.
The ministry, then, is practically a committee of the two
houses. Its head is known as the “premier” or prime
minister, who, as the leader of a political party, and from
his commanding influence and ability, is in a position
to lead the houses and control the government of the
country. His title, however, is one unknown to the law,
though borrowed from the English political system. It
originates from the fact that he is first called upon by
the sovereign (or, in Canada, by her representative) to
form a ministry. The moment he is entrusted with this
high responsibility it is for him to choose such members
of his party as are likely to bring strength to the
government as a political body, and capacity to the
administration of public affairs. The governor-general,
on his recommendation, appoints these men to the
ministry. As a rule, on all matters of important public
policy the communications between the cabinet and
governor take place through the premier, its official
head. Every minister, however, has a right to com-
municate with the governor-general on ordinary depart-
mental matters. If the premier dies or resigns the
cabinet is dissolved, and the ministers can only hold
office until a new premier is called to the public councils
by the representative of the crown. It is for the new
premier then to ask them to remain in office, or to
accept their resignation. In case a government is
defeated in parliament, the premier must either resign
or else convince the governor-general that he is entitled
to a dissolution or general election on the ground that
the vote of censure does not represent the sentiment of
the country.

6.—Rules and Usages of Parliamentary Government.

In the rules governing the formation of the cabinet,
its dissolution by death of the premier, its resignation
when defeated in the commons, and the relations
between the governor-general and his advisers, we see
the operation of the conventions, understandings and
maxims that have grown up in the course of time, and
make parliamentary government workable. These con-
ventions, rules and usages are not “rules of law” in the
strict sense of the phrase. We do not find them laid
down in the British North America Act, or in any
statute or law of England or of Canada. The courts
can hear and decide any case or action arising out of the
provisions of the written law of the constitution, but
they could not be asked to decide on such a matter as
the propriety of a ministry resigning on a hostile vote
in the peoples house. These conventions and under-
standings have now entered into the practice of parlia-
mentary government as absolutely essential to its
operation, and have now as much force in England and
the self-governing dependencies as any legal enactment,
since they have the sanction of public approval.

7.—The Governor-General in Council.

All orders in council, commissions, proclamations, and
other acts of executive authority, follow the course of
English precedent (sec (wow, p. 52). The governor-
general in council means the governor-general acting
by and with the advice of his committee of the privy
council of Canada—that is to say, the cabinet. Procla-
mations summoning, proroguing and dissolving parlia-
ment, ivrits of election, and commissions to ofiice must
be signed by the governor-general, countcrsigned by a
minister or other proper officer, and bear the great seal
of Canada (see below, p. 86). On every executive act
there must be the evidence of ministerial responsibility
and authority.

8.—Civil Service.

The effectiveness of administration largely depends on
the conduct and ability of the civil service of Canada,
which is the term generally applied to all classes of
public, officials and employees in the several departments
of the executive government. ” Civil service” is an old
English phrase, used to distinguish the subordinates in
the civil government from the naval and military services
of the country.

All public officials are appointed by the governor on
the recommendation of the ministry of the day. All
appointments are “during pleasure “—practically, during
“good behaviour “—and the great body of clerks and
employees below the rank of deputy head (see above,
p. 81) must pass an examination on their admission and
serve a term of probation or trial of not less than six
months before finally placed on the staff of a department.
A board of examiners is appointed by the governor-
general in council to examine all candidates for admission
and give certificates of competency to those persons who
pass an examination successfully. Promotions are made
under special examination in the departments of the
public service. But city postmasters, inspectors of post
offices, inspectors, collectors and preventive* officers in
the customs, inspectors of weights and measures, deputy
collectors, and preventive officers in the inland revenue
department, may be and are generally appointed without
examination. These offices are given as rewards for
political services. The moment, however, these men are
appointed and show themselves capable in the discharge
of their duties, they become the servants of the people at
large, and not of a particular party or administration.
Recognizing their obligations in this respect, the public
officials of the Dominion must keep aloof from party
conflict and intrigue, and confine themselves to the
legitimate functions devolving upon them. Previous to
1898 all otficials of the civil service were entitled to a
certain superannuation allowance on retiring from office
after a service fixed by law, but in that year the system
was abolished. The old law now applies only to those
oflicials who were entitled to the pension previous to
1898. The present law simply forms a “retirement
fund,” created by the reservation of five per cent. out
of the salary of each official hereafter appointed; on his
retirement the amount to his credit in the fund will be
payable to him.

*Preventive officers are those whose duties are to prevent smuggling of
goods into Canada, that is to say, without paying the duty required by law.

The auditor-general, who examines, and reports to
parliarnentbn all public expenditures, occupies in the
public service the exceptional position of being remova-
ble only on the address of the two houses.

Whatever defects may still exist in the rules and
practices that regulate the public service, it is not too
much to say that the permanent officials of Canada are,
as a body, an industrious and efficient class, whose
services are indispensable to the administration of
public affairs.

9.—Great Seal of Canada.

By his majesty’s command the government of the
Dominion of Canada has authority to use a special great
seal, composed of the royal effigy, with appropriate
armorial surroundings and a combination of the arms of
the four provinces that first entered into a federal union.
As the new seal is not yet (April, 1902) prepared, the
Dominion is authorized to use the old seal of the queen’s
reign which is composed as follows :

The queen seated upon the throne, crowned, and with orb and
sceptre in her hands. Placed, apparently, upon the straight stems
of two young oak trees on either side of her, the leaves and acorns
showing between the shields, are four separate shields; upon her
right hand hangs the coat of arms of Ontario, that of Nova Scotia
beneath it ; on her left the shield of Quebec, with that of New
Brunswick below. Beneath her feet is a shield displaying her own
coat of arms, without supporters, crown, or motto ; in the tracery
above the throne or chair of state is the motto “Dieu et mon droit”
(God and my Right). In the circular margin of the whole seal, in
large letters: “Victoria Del Gratia Britanniar. Regina F.D. In
Canada Sigillum. (Victoria by the grace of God queen of Britain,
defender of the Faith. Seal in Canada”)

The illustration on the opposite page will give a better
idea of the seal than a mere Verbal description.

This seal, in accordance with the usages of English
law, is the emblem of the royal authority in Canada, the

The Great Seal.
*See PDF for image.

evidence of the royal will and prerogative exercised
under the constitutional forms peculiar to our system of
government. We can trace the use of such a seal to
very early times in English history. Its keeper always
was and is still the lord high chancellor of England
—the highest judicial officer of the crown—who origi-
nally was one of the clerks or secretaries of the king,
by whose order he affixed the seal to all official
documents of royal command. Absolute faith is given
to every paper that bears this seal. In Canada it is
affixed to proclamations summoning, proroguing and
dissolving parliament; to writs of election, commissions
of lieutenant-governors, judges, members of the privy
council, departmental ministers, speaker and members of
the senate, chief clerks of the two houses, deputy minis-
ters, and numerous other public officers ; and in short
to all official and executive acts of the king, done
under the authority of the governor-general in council.
All documents bearing the great seal must be counter-
signed by a crown officer or secretary of state.

10.—Dominion Coat of Arms.

The arms of the Dominion are composed of the arms
of the four original provinces—Ontario, Quebec, Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick—quartered or combined in
one shield, as is shown next page and on flag of gover-
nor-general on another page (see below, p. 90). It is
not unusual to add the armorial bearings of the other
provinces that have been brought into the union since
1867*—Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and British
Columbia—but this cannot be done without express
royal authority, and until this is so ordered the correct
and legal Dominion shield of arms is as stated above.

*All the arms of the provinces are given in the Fourth Part of this
work.

DOMINION COAT OF ARMS
*See PDF for image.

11.—Dominion Flags.

The famous English flag commonly called the ” union
jack” is flown from all the fortresses and garrisons of
Canada, whether under the charge of imperial military
authorities or colonial militia forces. The union jack is
a combination of three flags. The red cross on the
white ground is for England, the white cross with the
arms placed diagonally on a blue ground for Scotland,
and the red cross with the arms placed diagonally on a
white ground for Ireland. It is seen on the flags of
Canada illustrated on the following page.

The Dominion of Canada has also authority to dis-
play on all public occasions a national flag, viz., the
red or blue ensign, a flag of plain red or blue having the

THE RED ENSIGN OF CANADA.
*See PDF for image.

union jack in the upper “canton,” or corner next the
mast, and the Dominion coat of arms in the ” fly” or
field of the flag.

FLAG OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL
*See PDF for image.

The red ensign is displayed at the opening and closing
of parliament, and on national occasions. The blue
ensign is a distinguishing flag of the government vessels
of Canada ; the mercantile marine of the Dominion has
a right to use the red ensign.

The governongeiieral has authority to use a plain
union jack in the centre of which are the Dominion
arms, surrounded by a garland of maple leaves and sur-
mounted by a crown, as we show on the preceding page.
Imperial regulations at present for some reason limit the
use of this flag to occasions when the governor-general
is “embarked in boats and other vessels.” The union
jack is ordered to be flown at the government house at
Ottawa on ordinary occasions ; the royal standard at the
government houses at Ottawa. and Quebec, and at the
citadels in Quebec and Halifax (an imperial garrison) on
the queen’s birthday, and on the days of her majesty’s
accession and coronation. On the Toronto government
house the private flag of the lieutenant-governor (see
below, p. 153) is used, and other lieutenant-governors
have presumably the same right, though the union jack
is flown on ordinary occasions at Quebec. This provin-
cial capital appears also, as I have shown, to occupy an
exceptional position with respect to the uses of the royal
standard.

PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS, OTTAWA
*See PDF for image.

CHAPTER II.

THE DOMINION GOVERNMENT: LEGISLATIVE POWER.

1. Senate.—2. Home of Commons.—3. Speaker of the House of
Commons.—4. Officers of the Houses.

We have now to review the nature of the functions of
the senate and house of commons, who, with the king
(represented by a governor-general), constitute the parlia-
ment of Canada.

1.—The Senate.

Two houses always formed part of the provincial
legislatures of British North America from 1791 until
1867, when Ontario, whose example has been followed by
the majority of the other provinces of the confederation,
decided to confine her legislature to an elected assembly
and the lieutenant-governor. The upper house or senate
of the Canadian parliament bears a name which goes
back to the days of ancient Rome, and also invites
comparison with the distinguished body which forms so
important apart of the congress or national legislature
of the United States; but neither in its constitution nor
in other respects does it resemble those great assemblies.

Three great divisions of Canada, (1) Maritime Pro-
vinces, (2) Ontario, and (3) Quebec, were in 1867 each
given an equal representation of twenty-four members
with the hope of affording a special protection to their
representative interests in the upper house. Since 1867
the entrance of other provinces and the division of the
Northwest Territories into districts has disturbed this
equality and brought the number of senators up to
eighty-one in all, but at no time can the greatest
number exceed eighty-four, even should it be necessary
to resort to the constitutional provision of the law
allowing the addition of three or six new members to
meet a grave emergency, such as a deadlock in a
political crisis. The senators are appointed under the
great seal of Canada by the governobgeneral on the
recommendation of his privy council, and must be of
the full age of thirty years, and have real and personal
property worth four thousand dollars over and above
their liabilities. The president or speaker of the house
is appointed by the governor-general in ‘council. In
legislation the senate has the same powers as the house
of commons, except with respect to bills or measures
imposing taxes, or expending the public moneys which
are the proceeds of taxes on the people. Such measures
should commence in the lower or commons’ house (see
below, p. 117) and the senate cannot even amend or make
changes therein. Divorce bills are always presented first
in the senate, but this is simply as a matter of con-
venience; it has no greater legal power in this respect
than the commons. The senators of the province of
Quebec must reside in the divisions for which they are
chosen, or have their property qualification therein—a
provision intended to maintain French Canadian repre-
sentation in the upper house—but in the case of the other
provinces the law simply requires that members reside
within their province. If a member becomes bankrupt,
or if he is absent for two sessions, or if he becomes a
citizen of another country, or if he is convicted of crime,
his seat will be declared vacant.

2.—House of Commons.

It is in the commons or elected house of parliament
that political power rests. Its majority makes and
unmakes cabinets. No ministry can remain in office
without its support and confidence. For some years
the number of members representing all the provinces
amounted to two hundred and fifteen. but by a law,
passed in 1892 after the taking of the last census of the
population of Canada, the representation has been rc-
arranged as follows :—

PROVINCE. MEMBERS.

Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Quebec . . . . . . . . 65
New Brunswick. . . 14.
Nova Scotia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 20
Prince Edward Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Manitoba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
British Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Northwest Territories . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4
In all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

The representation must be readjusted after every
census, which is taken every ten years—the last in 1901.
The British North America Act provides that the
French Canadian province of Quebec must have always
a fixed number of sixty-five members, and each of the
other provinces is assigned such a number of members

*PART OF THE INTERIOR OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, OTTAWA
*See PDF for image.

as bears the same proportion to the number of its popu-
lation as the number sixty-five bears to the population
of Quebec when ascertained by the census. British
Columbia, under the terms of union, cannot have her
representation reduced below six. Under the census of
1891, one member has been given to every 22,477 per-
sons throughout the Dominion—in other words, that’is
the unit of representation until re-arranged in accord-
ance with the census of 1901.

No property qualification is now required from a
member of the house of commons, but he must be a
British subject by birth or naturalization—that is to say,
he must have taken the oath of allegiance as a British
subject after living in the country three years under the
law. He must not be a person convicted of crime, as
the house would in such cases expel him. If he becomes
insane, his seat is vacant under the general political law.
He need not reside in the district for which he is elected
to parliament. He receives, and so do senators, fifteen
hundred dollars as an indemnity or allowance if the
session exceeds thirty days in length, and ten cents a.
mile each way for travelling expenses, computed by the
shortest postal route.

8.—Speaker of the House.

The speaker of the commons, or the permanent chair-
man-an office of great dignity and responsibility—is
elected by the members of the commons on the first day
of a new parliament, or whenever a vacancy occurs by
death or resignation. He is assisted by a deputy-
speaker, also elected every new parliament or in case of
a vacancy, and who presides over what are called com-
mittees of the whole, i.e., the house without the speaker
in the chair.

4.—Officers of the Houses.

In each house there is a clerk or chief officer appointed
by the governongeneral in council, and having the assist-
ance of a large number of officers and clerks who, under
his direction, write the journals, attend committees, trans-
late the public documents, and discharge the countless
clerical duties of a legislative department.

French or English may be spoken in debate in either
house, and must be used in all the laws and records.
All the debates are reported by an official body of short-
hand writers; in the commons they appear daily in the
two laiigtmges.

The serjeant-at-arms is the principal executive officer
of the commons, who has charge of messengers and
pages, looks after the furniture of the house and offices,
arrests offenders against the privileges of the house, and
carries the mace—a gilt emblem of the authority of the
house—before the speaker on official occasions when
parliament is sitting. In addition to a serjeant-at-arms,
the senate has also a gentleman usher of the black
rod, who is the officer commanded by the governor-
general to summon the commons to attend him in the
senate chamber at the beginning or end of a session of
parliament.

CHAPTER III.
THE DOMINION GOVERNMENT: LEGISLATIVE POWER—Continued.

5.Dominion Franchise.—6. How Elections are Held.—7. Meet-
ing of Parliament.—8. Elections after a General Election.—
9. Oath of Allegiance.—10. Independence of Parliament and
Corrupt Practices.

5.—Dominion Franchise or Voter’s Qualifications.

Previous to 1885, the franchise for the several pro-
vincial legislatures was the franchise for the house of
commons, but in that year, after a very protracted
debate, an electoral franchise act was passed by parlia-
ment for the whole Dominion. The franchise, though
somewhat complicated in its details and expensive in its
machinery, was so bread as to be on the very border of
universal franchise. All persons must be registered on
a list of voters, prepared in accordance with the law, of
which the following is a summary :

All qualified male persons, who are British subjects by birth or
naturalization of the full age of twenty-one years, not insane, idiots
or convicts in prisons, or otherwise disqualified by law, can vote on
the following conditions :

1. When the owner of real property (that is land or buildings) to
the actual value of

$300 in cities,
$200 in towns,
$150 in other districts.

When the actual occupant or tenant of real property valued in
cities, towns, and other districts as above, and in possession of
such property for one year before being placed on the list of voters.
In the foregoing cases owner and occupant means a person who
owns or occupies property in his own right or in right of his wife.

2. When a resident within an electoral district with an income or
yearly earnings of at least $300 from some profession, office, trade
or investment in Canada, provided he has been a resident for one
year before being placed on the list, or before the date of the appli-
cation for that purpose.

3. When in receipt of a life ammity, that is, an income paid him
for every year of his life, secured on real estate in Canada, to the
value of $100 in money or money’s worth.

4. A farmers son, who does not vote under the foregoing pro-
visions, has a vote, if for one year before being placed on the list
he has resided with his father or mother on a farm, or other real
property, which, equally divided among the father or mother and
one or more sons, is sufficient to give father, son or sons, each a
vote under the values given above as owners or occupants of real
property (see above, sections I and 2).

5. When sons of owners of real property, not a farm, on similar
conditions as a farmer’s son, just stated (see above, section 4).

6. When a tenant or occupant of real property, who has been
in possession of the same one year before being placed on the list,
and pays a rental of $2 monthly, $6 quarterly, $12 half-yearly, or
$20 yearly.

7. When a fisherman, resident in the electoral district and
owner of real property and boats, nets, fishing gear and tackle, or
share or shares in a registered ship to the actual value of at least
$150.

8. When an Indian (except in Manitoba, Keewatin, British
Columbia or the Northwest Territories, where the Indians have no
votes) in possession and occupation of a distinct tract of land in an
Indian reserve, the improvements on which are valued at fully
$150, or who is otherwise qualified under the law.

This franchise was abolished in 1898 by the Laurier
Liberal Government, who restored the provincial lists
(see below, pp. 160, 161) for purposes of dominion
election, with some modifications in order to make the
franchise more workable in Prince Edward Island and
elsewhere. Under the present law manhood suffrage,
qualified by residence and British citizenship, practically
exists in all the provinces except Quebec and Nova
Scotia, where a small property qualification is still re-
quired as a rule. Superior and county court judges
cannot vote, but the dominion law does not allow any
provincial statute to disqualify dominion officials in the
case of dominion elections. As shown later, the ballot
system prevails throughout Canada in provincial as well
as dominion elections.

6.—How Elections are Held.

General elections are held on the same day throughout
the dominion; exception, however, is made in the case
of such large, remote districts as Cariboo, Burrard and
Yale, in the province of British Columbia; Algoma, in
the province of Ontario ; Gaspé, Chicoutimi and Sagua-
nay, in the province of Quebec, where the returning
officers shall fix the day as the law provides—the object
being to give all the electors in those constituencies full
opportunity to record their votes.

When a general election has been decided on at a
cabinet meeting, the premier so advises the governor-
gcneral, and if the latter sees no constitutional objection
(see above, p. 76), parliarnent is dissolved by a procla-
mation in the name of the king, the head of the
executive authority, who alone can summon, prorogue,
or dissolve the legislature. Another proclamation
authorizes the issue of the writs of election, or order to
the returning officer in each constituency or district that
elects a member, fixing the date of the nomination of
candidates. Any twenty-five electors (see franchise act,
above, p. 99), may nominate a candidate for the house
of commons by signing a paper in the form required by
law, and depositing $200 with the returning officer, who
shall return the same to the candidate in case of his
election or of his obtaining at least one half of the votes
polled in favour of the candidate elected, but otherwise
the deposit goes into the public revenues. When there
is no opposition to a candidate he is declared duly
returned by the returning officer at the close of the time
allowed for nominations. In case of an election, it takes
place, except in the remote and thinly settled districts
mentioned above (see p. 101), on the seventh day after
nomination day, or on the following day when the
seventh is Sunday or a statutory holiday. The places
where the votes are taken are duly advertised under the
law, and proper means taken to secure a full and correct
poll. All votes are taken by ballot.

In each polling place or station there is a register of
persons qualified to vote at the election, and when the
name of a person presenting himself to vote is found
therein, he receives a ballot paper from the deputy
returning officer, on the back of which the latter has put
his initials previously, so that they can be seen when the
ballot is folded. On the back of the counterfoil (see
form next page) attached to each ballot there is placed
a number corresponding with one placed opposite the
voter’s name in the poll book.

The following is now the legal form of a ballot paper
for the dominion elections :

*See PDF for image.

These ballot papers are kept in a book in each polling division,
and contain a mill (white perpendicular space shown above) and
a counterfoil (black perpendicular space shown above). Both the
stub and counterfuil are numbered on the back, and can be sepa-
rated from the ballot paper by a line of perforations between the
counterfoil and the stub, and between the counterfoil and the ballot
paper, The stub is separated when the voter receives the paper,
and its number is compared with that on the counterfoil when the
vote is given as below.

The elector then proceeds alone into one of the com-
partments of the station, where he can secretly mark his
ballot paper. He makes a cross with a black lead pencil
within the white space (see ballot marked accordingly)
in the division containing the name of the candidate for
whom he has decided to vote. In case there are more
than one member to be returned for the district—as in
the city of Ottawa, for instance—he makes a mark
opposite each name of his chosen candidates, He then
folds up the ballot paper so that the initials and stamp
on the back, and number on counterfoil, can be seen
without opening it. He must hand the paper, so folded,
to the returning officer, who shall examine the initials,
stamp, and number on counterfoil, so that he may ascer-
tain if it is the same paper he gave the elector. If it be
so, he shall tear off and destroy the counterfoil, place
the ballot paper in the ballot box provided for that
purpose, and always kept locked during the voting, in
the presence of the voter.

At the close of the poll or voting, which is fixed by
law from 9 o’clock in the morning without interruption,
until 5 o’clock in the afternoon of election day, the
deputy returning officer in each polling place must
count the ballots in the manner prescribed by law, and
place his statement of the number of ballot papers and
all papers in his possession relating to the election, in the
ballot box, which will be locked and sealed and sent to
the chief returning officer. The latter will open all the
boxes and sum up the votes for each candidate as given
in the statements of his deputies. He will declare the
candidate having the majority of votes duly elected ;
but in case of an equality or tie of votes, he shall give an
additional or casting vote to decide an election. Immedi-
ately after the sixth day after the final addition of votes
of the respective candidates. unless before that time he
receives notice there is to be a recount of votes by a
judge, as provided by the law, he must transmit his return
to the clerk of the crown in chancery at Ottawa, that a
certain candidate or candidates have been elected. The
clerk of the crown must publish the names of such mem-
bers elcct in the C/maria Gzzsette or official paper of the
Dominion as soon as he receives them.

7.—Meeting’of Parliament.

The proclamation of the governor-general ordering a
general election (see below, p. 101) sets forth the date
when all the writs of election must be returned by the
returning officers to whom they have been sent. Parlia-
ment is called together for the “despatch of business”
in another proclamation from the governor-general by
the advice of his council. The crown’s action is guided
in this respect by the provision in the constitutional act
of 1867 that there must be a session of parliament once
at least in every year. In other words, twelve months
cannot pass between the close of one session and the
beginning of another session of parliament. The length
of a parliament, that is to say, of all its sessions—can-
not exceed fire years altogether. But the crown may
dissolve at any time during the five years when it
is deemed expedient to appeal to the people, but this
power should not be rashly or indiscreetly exercised.

8.—Elections after a General Election.

In the foregoing paragraphs I have given some ex-
planations as to the way a general election is conducted.
In case a member, after a general election, resigns or
dies, or his seat is declared vacant by a court of law
(see below, p. 107), the crown does not issue a writ of
election until the speaker of the commons, or other
authority fixed by law, has issued a warrant—that is,
an order to the clerk of the crown in Chancery to issue
a writ for an election. This writ goes to a returning
officer appointed, as in all cases, by the governor-general
in council. The proceedings with respect to nomination,
election, voting by ballot, certificate of return of successful
candidate, are the same in a special case as in that of a
general election, described above.

9.—Oath of Allegiance.

All members elected to the house of commons, as well
as senators appointed by the governor-general, are
required by the law to take the following oath of
allegiance before they can sit in either house of parlia-
ment :—

” I, A.B., do swear that I ivill be faithful and bear true allegiance
to his majesty King Edward VII.”

Each new member of the senate and commons signs a
roll with his name after taking the oath. The clerk and
certain officers of the two houses are authorized by a
commission from the governor-general to administer this
oath.

10.—Laws Respecting Independence of Parliament
and Corrupt Practices at Elections.

The laws for the preservation of the independence of
parliament and the prevention of corrupt practices at
elections are very strict, and practically in principle and
details those in force in England. The acceptance by a
member of the house of commons of an office of
emolument or profit from the crown shall thereby vacate
his seat. Members of that house, when called to the
government as heads of departments, must at once resign
their seats and be re-elected, though an exchange of
offices can take place between ministers after their
election under the conditions laid down in the law. All
officers of the public service and contractors with the
government are forbidden to sit in parliament—an
exception being made, as in England, of officers in the
military service. Since 1874 the house has given up its
jurisdiction over the trial of controverted or disputed
elections, which previously had been considered by
committees exposed to all the insidious influences of
purely political bodies. The courts in the several
provinces are now the tribunals for the trial of all such
contested elections; and the results have so far in
Canada, as in England, been decidedly in the public
interests. The laws for the prevention of bribery and
corruption are exceedingly strict; and members are
constantly unseatcd for the most trivial breaches of the
law, often committed by their agents through ignorance
or carelessness. The expenses of candidates must be
published by their legal agents after the election. The
whole intent of the law is to make elections as economical
as possible, and diminish corruption. A candidate may
be disqualified from sitting in the commons, or voting, or
holding any office in the gift of the crown, for seven
years, when he is proved personally guilty of bribery,
and the voters in a constituency may be also severely
punished when corruption is proved against them.

CHAPTER IV.
THE DOMINION GOVERNMENT: LEGISLATIVE POWER—Continued.

11. Methods of Conducting Business and Debate: Motions, Debate,
Adjournment, Divisions, Petitions, Previous Questions, Bills,
Money Matters, The Budget, Going into Supply, Select
Committees.—12. Prorogation.

11.—Methods of Conducting Business and Debate in
Parliament.

The methods of business which the houses follow are
intended to promote the despatch and efficiency of
legislation. Their rules and usages are, in all essential
particulars, derived from those of the English parliament.
On the clay parliament has been summoned by the
crown to meet, the governor-general, either in person
or by deputy—generally the chief justice of Canada, or
other judge of the supreme court of Canada—proceeds
to the upper chamber and there, seated on the throne,
reads in the two languages the speech, in which his
government set forth the principal measures which they
purpose to present during the session. This speech,
which is generally a concise and short document, is con-
sidered as soon as possible in the two houses. As soon
as the formal answer to the address has been passed,
the houses proceed to appoint the committees, and
commence the regular business of the session. The
proceedings commence every day with prayers, taken
from the Church of England liturgy, and are read by the
speaker of the commons in English or French according
to his nationality, and by a paid chaplain in the senate.
The rules of the two houses do not vary much with
respect to the conduct of business.

THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF THE LEADING
RULES AND USAGES OF PARLIAMENT :—

Motions.—When a member wishes to obtain the
opinion of the house on a question, he gives notice of a
motion which appears after two days on the daily order
of business. It must state clearly the nature of the
question, and be seconded by another member. When
it has been proposed, or in other words read, by the
speaker from the chair, it is open to amendment and
debate. An amendment is also a motion, but no notice
need be given of it. Only two amendments to a motion
can be under consideration at one time, but if one is
rejected by the house another can be proposed, provided
it is not the same as that on which the house has already
expressed its opinion.

Debate..—The rules with respect to debate are neces
sarily strict. No member can speak except to a
motion which is in regular form before the house—that
is to say, read by the speaker from the chair, when it
becomes a “question” for debate. A reply is only
allowed, by courtesy, to the member who has proposed
a distinct motion or question, and not to one who has
made an amendment. But directly a new question
has been proposed, as “that this house adjourn,”
“the previous question,” or an amendment, members
are allowed to speak again, as the rule only applies
strictly to the prevention of more than one speech to
each separate question proposed. Members, as a rule,
sit with their hats on or off as they may please, but the
moment they rise to speak they must uncover and
address themselves to the chair. If any member should
inadvertently say “Gentlemen,” instead of ” Mr. Speaker,”
he will be called to order, though in the senate a speaker
addresses himself to “Honourable Gentlemen.” Whilst
a member is speaking no one is allowed to interrupt
him, except with his own consent, or he has infringed a
point of order, and no one should pass between him and
the chair, because he is supposed to be addressing him-
self particularly to the speaker. Any offensive allusions
against the house, or any member thereof, are not per-
missible. No member must be referred to by name,
but every one disappears for the time being under the
title of “honourable member for Toronto,” or whatever
the name of his constituency may be, and this rule, like
so many others, has for its objects the repression of per-
sonalities, and the temperate, calm conduct of debate.
No refiection must be cast on the upper house. Many
other rules exist, having for their object the keeping of
debate within moderate bounds, but it is not possible to
review them in a brief sketch of this character.

Adjournment of House or Debate.—The motion “That
the house do now adjourn” is always in order, and if carried
sets aside the question under discussion. The motion
“That the debate be adjourned” is also in order when a
“question” is under debate, and if it is carried the
“question” goes over until another day.

But if a motion for the adjournment of the house or of
the debate is lost, then the debate on the question con-
tinues as if the former had never been made. But these
motions can be renewed when a new question or motion
is proposed at the same sitting of the house.

Putting the Question and Dividing the House.—When
the debate on a motion or question is at an end, the
speaker calls for the opinion of the house. He “puts”
the question in this way: he will first read the motion
and then say:

“Is it the pleasure of the house to adopt the motion
(or amendment as the case may be)?” Those who are in
favour of the motion (or amendment) will say “yea”
(“content” in the senate); those who are of the contrary
opinion will say “nay” (“non-content” in the senate).
Members then call out “year” or “nay” (“content” or
“non-content” in the senate); and the speaker will
decide from those voices—”I think that the ‘yeas’
(‘contents’) have it.” Or, if he is in doubt, he will say,
“I cannot decide.” Then a division takes place.
Members are called in by the serjeant-at-arms and
messengers, and when they are in their places the
speaker again reads the question and says:

“Those who are in favour of the motion will stand
up.”

A clerk then calls the name of each member as he
stands up in his place, and it is recorded by the chief
clerk at the table on a printed list before him. When
the “yeas” are all recorded in this way, the speaker
calls upon the “nays” to rise, and when they are all
duly entered, the chief clerk counts up the votes on both
sides, and calls out the total number. The speaker then
declares the question “lost” or “carried,” according as
the house has decided by the number of votes recorded.

If there is a main motion or first question, an amend-
ment thereto, or second question, and also an amend-
ment to that amendment, or third question, the speaker
takes the opinion of the house, first on the amendment
to the amendment, or third question ; second, if that
be lost, then on the amendment, or second question, and
third, if that be lost, on the main motion or first ques
tion proposed to the house.

Petitions.—Every person has a right to petition parlia-
ment in respectful language on any question which
comes within the right of parliament to deal with.
Such petitions are presented by a member in his place,
and must be signed by the person petitioning on the
same sheet containing the prayer of the petition. If
there are gnore than three petitioners then the names of
three must appear on the sheet having the prayer.
Every signature must be written by the person applying
to parliament, but the petition itself may be printed in
French or English. No appendices or papers can be
attached thereto; no words can be rubbed out, or
written between the lines.

Every petition to the two houses should commence
with this form:

“To the honourable the senate (or house of commons, as the
case may be) in parliament assembled.

” The petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth.”

Then follows the nature of the petition. The conclusion should
be a prayer, or a statement shortly summing up the previous part
in these words :

“Wherefore your petitioners humbly pray that your honourable
house will (here sum up object of petition). ” And your petitioners
as in duty bound will ever pray.” Then come the signatures.

In case a petitioner requires a grant of money from
the government he should send a petition, not to the
house, which cannot receive such petitions, but

” To his excellency the governor-general in council,”
etc.

This memorial or petition should follow the foregoing
form.

It should be sent to the member for the electoral
district interested, to forward to “The honourable the
secretary of state for Canada, Ottawa,” or the petitioner
can send it direct himself to the minister in question.

Petitions, however, framed in general terms, and not
asking a money grant in direct terms, can be sent to the
two houses through a member.

Previous Question.—This proceeding is an ingenious,
though to many persons a perplexing, method of pre-
venting an amendment being moved to a motion, and of
coming to or avoiding a direct vote on that motion. It
is proposed in the form, “That the question (i.e., the
motion under consideration) be now put.” The debate
then continues as before on the original or main question,
and when it is concluded a vote is taken on the “pre-
vious question,” as just stated. If the “previous question”
is decided in the affirmative, a vote must be taken
immediately on the original question. If the “previous
question” is decided in the negative, no vote can be
taken on the original question, which disappears for
the time being, since the house has decided by its
vote that the question shall not now be put. The
important distinction between the “previous question”
in the Canadian parliament and the United States con-
gress is that in the latter debate is closed when it is
ordered, while in the former body discussion still con-
tinues on the question at issue.

Bills.—A more resolution of the house only binds itself,
and when it is necessary to make a law obligatory upon
all the people of Canada, a bill must be introduced, and
passed through several stages in the two chambers.
Then it receives the assent of the queen, through the
governongeneral, and becomes a statute or legal enact-
ment. A bill is, generally speaking, divided into several
distinct parts: (1) the title; (2) the preamble and state-
ment of the enacting’ authority; ( 3) the body of the act.
consisting oi one or more propositions, known as clauses
or sections; (4) the schedules—the latter containing legal
forms, documents, etc., mentioned in the body of the bill,
and only necessary in certain cases. Bills are either
public—that is to say, dealing with matters of a public or
general nature; or private—that is to say, relating to the
affairs of corporations, companies, or individuals. The
former class are introduced on motion in the ordinary
way, “That leave be given to introduce a bill” (here
follows title); but the latter must be brought up after a
petition and a notice in the Gazette and local papers in
accordance with strict rules, intended to give all persons
interested in the scheme full knowledge of the proposed
legislation. Private bills, when presented, must also be
rigidly subject to the scrutiny of select committees for
the reason just stated; and these committees consequently
are clothed with a certain judicial character in cases of
controversy. But all bills, public and private, must be
read three times in each house, as well as considered in
committee of the whole. The second reading is the stage
when the principle or policy or necessity of the measure
is discussed in the case of public bills—though not
necessarily so as respects private bills—while the
committee of the whole allows a free and full discussion
of the clauses or provisions, without a limitation of the
number of speeches on one question or motion. When
a bill has passed the commons it is sent to the senate for
its agreement, and as soon as that body has also subjected
it to the stages mentioned above, it is ready for the
assent of the crown. In case of amendments by one
house they must be agreed to by the other. If there is
no such agreement, the bill drops for the session. As a
rule, an interval of a day should elapse between the
different stages of a bill, especially when it involves a
tax or money vote. VVhen it is finally passed and
becomes law, it bears the signatures of the clerks of
the two houses and of his excellency the governor-
general on the back.

Money Matters.—The most important duties of the
house are in connection with money matters. Here the
constitution and the rules of parliament have imposed
many guards and checks upon hasty expenditures or the
imposition of taxes without due notice and consideration.

By the Union Act any measures for appropriating any
part of the public revenue, or for imposing any tax or
impost, must originate in the house of commons. The
house itself is restrained by the same act. It cannot
adopt or pass “any vote, resolution, address or bill for
the appropriation of any part of the public revenue, or of
any tax or impost, to any purpose that has not been first
recommended to the house bya message of the governor-
general.” A rule of the house itself declares that if any
motion be made in the house for any public aid or
charge upon the people, “the consideration or debate
thereof may not be presently (immediately) entered upon,
but shall be adjourned until such further day as the
house shall think fit to appoint; and then it shall be
referred to a committee of the whole house before any
resolution or vote of the house do pass thereon.” It
follows from what precedes that no private member is
permitted to propose a dominion tax upon the people,
or to introduce a bill providing for a public grant; such
measures must be commenced by ministers of the crown
in the shape of resolutions which are to be considered, in
committee of the whole, and when adopted form the
foundation of a bill.

The committees of supply and ways and means are
the constitutional mode of providing for public expendi-
tures. These committees are appointed at the beginning
of every session, when an address has been passed in
answer to the governor’s speech. As soon as the com-
mittee of supply has been formed, and the government
are ready, they bring down a message from his excel-
lency with the estimates of the sums required for the
public service for the next financial year, which com-
mences on the Ist of July and ends on the next 30th
June.

These estimates-contain several hundred votes arranged
in the order of the various public services. For instance-
expenses of departments of government, militia, peniten-
tiaries, administration of justice, immigration, Indians,
public works, railways and canals, quarantine and the nu-
merous other subjects for which parliament votes annu-
ally large sums of the public money. These estimates
contain the expenditures for the current and the previous
year in parallel columns, for purposes of comparison, and
it is the duty of the minister responsible for a particular
expenditure to give full explanations on the subject
when they are demanded by the house. As every» vote
is carefully considered a very considerable part of the
session is occupied by debates on this important com-
mittee, over which a permanent chairman, who is also
the deputy speaker, or another member in his absence,
presides.

The rules for proceeding in the committees of supply
and ways and means are precisely similar to those
observed in other committees of the whole house. Mem-
bers are not confined to one speech, but may address the
committee as often as they please on a particular reso-
lution. The chairman acts as speaker and decides all
questions of order. After the budget (see next page) is
formally before the house, and the leading members on
both sides have made their speeches on the commercial
and financial state of the countiy, the committee of
supply meets regularly and disposes of a large amount
of money at every session ; but every vote is very care-
fully scrutinized and the fullest explanations are demand-
ed from the government, who, on such occasions, have
to perform the most difficult and wearisome part of their
legislative duties. Resolutions agreed to in committee
are reported to the house, but they are not received until
a later day. When the committee of supply has finished
its labours, and all the money votes have been adopted
by the house, the committee of ways and means passes
certain resolutions which provide for the grants shown
to be necessary by the first-mentioned committee; and
then a bill, called the supply or appropriation bill, is
introduced by the government to carry out the resolu-
tions. When thisimportant bill has passed the usual
stages, it is sent up to the senate, where, however, it is
never altered, in accordance with constitutional usage.
On its return to the commons, it is carried up by the
speaker to the senate chamber. When his excellency
has assented to the bills passed by parliament during the
session (always in the queen’s name), the speaker of the
commons addresses his excellency, and asks for an
assent to the supply bill, and this assent is granted
with the usual formula: ” In her majesty’s name, his
excellency the governor-general thanks her loyal sub-
jects, accepts their benevolence, and assents to this bill.”

The Budget.—When the estimates have been brought
in it is the duty of the finance minister to make his
financial statement, or, in parliamentary phrase, present
the “budget.” This familiar word is derived from the
French and means “a bag;” in making his statement,
the finance minister opens the money bag of the people,
as it were, and shows them its contents, and what is
most important Izow lies! to fill it. He will on this
occasion review the expenditure of the past, and esti-
mate that for the following year, give his opinion on
the financial situation, and lay before the house a state-
ment of any scheme of taxation that the government
may have decided on, or of any changes that may be
deemed necessary in the existing tariff. One of the
most important and interesting debates of the session
generally takes place after the delivery of this speech.

Questions and Motions on going into Supply.—From
the beginning of the session, members ask questions of
the government on every imaginable public topic, and
make formal motions for papers relating to matters of
general or local interest. All such motions and inquiries
are made after two days’ notice; for the rules are very
properly framed so as to prevent surprises, and give the
house clue information of the business to come daily
before it. But in the Canadian house there are certain
methods which enable members to move motions or ask
questions without number, and even without notice. It
is always open to a member to bring up an important
question immediately—except, of course, when there is
a subject under consideration—and debate it at any
length on a motion for the adjournment of the house.
Then, as soon as committee of supply is moved on any
day, a member may make a motion on any question
he wishes, unless it refers to the votes to be discussed in
supply. As the rules do not permit any amendment to
be made to a motion at such a stage, “the previous ques-
tion,” in the English parliamentary sense, is practically
in force and it is possible to get a direct vote on an issue,
without the evasions that amendments offer on other
occasions. While in the case of all bills and other
motions, amendments must be relevant to the question,
members can here bring up any subject they please.
This is a practice which has its historical origin in the
fact that in old times, when the English parliamentary
system was developing itself, the peoples representatives
laid down the principle that the king must redress their
grievances before they should grant him the supply he
asked from the nation. Those times have long since
passed away and the people now fully control all taxes and
expenditures, but the crown still asks for money through
the ministers, and the commons grant it in due form. It is
no longer necessary to threaten the crown with a refusal
of supplies unless the people’s grievances are redressed;
but still they can refuse it to an unfaithful govern-
ment should the necessity arise. As a matter of fact,
should the government be defeated in a session before
supply is voted, the house would pass only such votes
as are necessary to meet the actual wants of the public
service, and leave the whole question of supply open
until the crisis is over and there is in office a ministry
which has the confidence of the house and country.

Select Committees.—Much of the business of the two
houses is first discussed and deliberately considered in
small bodies of members, varying in number, and chosen
on a motion duly made and seconded. Bills, public and
private, are sent to these committees, which must report
for or against them in all cases. In these select bodies,
no bill or question can be considered except it is referred
to them by the house. Members can speak as often as
they like, but otherwise the rules of debate in the house
itself prevail. Questions are put as in the house, and
the chairman, who is always elected at the first meeting,
only votes in case of a tie, or equality of votes. In
private bill (see above, p. 115) committees, however, the
chairman can vote as a member, and give a casting vote
when there is a tie. All committees must report to the
house the result of their conclusions on a bill or other
subject. Witnesses can be examined under oath when
necessary.

12.—Prorogation.

When the business of parliament is closed, the gov-
ernor-general comes down and assents to the bills as
stated above (p. U5). He then reads a speech shortly
reviewing the business of the session, and when he has
finished, the speaker of the senate rises and says:

“It is his excellency the governor-general’s will and pleasure that
this parliament be prorogued until (date), to be then here holden ;
and this parliament is accordingly prorogued (date).”

The commons then retire, and the session is at end
according to law.

If parliament is not called together “for the despatch
of business” by the date mentioned in the foregoing
speech—a very unlikely event under ordinary circum-
stances—a royal proclamation is issued from time to
time in the Canada Gazette, further proroguing the
legislature. The legal effect of a prorogation is to put
an end to all bills and other proceedings of parliament
in whatever state they are in at the time, and they
must be commenced anew, in the next session, exactly
as if they had never been begun.

CHAPTER V.

THE DOMINION GOVERNMENT: LEGISLATIVE POWER.—Continued.

13. Distribution of Legislative Powers under a Federal Union.—
14. Subjects of Dominion Legislation.

13.—Distribution of Legislative Powers.

An essential characteristic of a federal union is the
division or distribution of legislative powers between the
government of the union as a whole, and the several
countries that compose that union. Accordingly, the
British North America Act or constitution of Canada
gives to the dominion or central government at Ottawa
the control of certain matters of a general or national
character, and to the provincial governments the control
of certain matters of a provincial or local importance.
When we come to consider the nature of the provincial
governments (see below, p. 158) I shall set forth the
subjects under their control. At present we have under
consideration the duties and powers of the dominion
government.

14.—Subjects of Dominion Legislation.

The 91st clause of the constitution gives to the parlia-
ment of Canada the sole or exclusive right of making
laws on the following subjects :

1. The public debt and property.
2. The regulation of trade and commerce.
3. The raising of money by any mode or system of taxation.
4. The borrowing of money on the public credit.
5. Postal service.
6. The census and statistics.
7. Militia, military and naval service and defence.
8. The fixing and providing for the salaries and allowances of
civil and other officers of the government of Canada.
9. Beacons, buoys, lighthouses and Sable Island.
10. Navigation and shipping.
11. Quarantine and the establishment and maintenance of marine
hospitals.
12. Sea-coast and inland fisheries.
13. Ferries between a province and a British or foreign country,
or between two provinces.
14. Currency and coinage.
15. Banking, incorporation of banks and the issue of paper
money.
16. Savings-banks.
17. Weights and measures.
18. Bills of exchange and promissory notes.
19. Interest.
20. Legal tender.
21. Bankruptcy and insolvency.
22. Patents of invention and discovery.
23. Copyrights.
24. Indians and lands reserved for the Indians.
25. Naturalization and aliens.
26. Marriage and divorce. [But the provincial governments con
trol the solemnization or celebration of marriage, see below, p. 159].
27. The criminal law, except the constitution of the courts of
criminal jurisdiction, but including the procedure in criminal
matters [see below, p. 166]
28. The establishment, maintenance, and management of peni-
tentiaries.
29. Such classes of subjects as are expressly excepted in the
enumeration of the classes of subjects by this act assigned exclu-
sively to the legislatures of the provinces.

The subjects just mentioned in sub-section 29 are
(see below, p. 159) lines of steam or other ships, railways,
canals, telegraphs and other works and undertakings ex-
tending beyond the limits of a province, or declared to
be “for the general advantage of Canada,” or of more
than one province, by the Canadian parliament. A
steamer running from Montreal to Pictou, in Nova
Scotia, a railway between Nova Scotia and New Bruns-
wick, a bridge over the Ottawa river, which divides the
two provinces of Ontario and Quebec, are among the
works that come under this clause.

In order to lessen doubts, the constitution also pro-
vides that any of the foregoing subjects shall not come
within the class of matters of a local or private character
over which the provincial governments have sole legisla-
tive power (see below, p. 158). In the case of other
matters not coming within the class of subjects belong-
ing to the provinces, the parliament of Canada has alone
power to make laws for the peace, order and good
government of the Dominion.

In short, the respective powers of the parliament of
the Dominion and the legislatures of the provinces are
stated in express terms in the constitution ; any subject
that does not fall within the powers of the provincial
governments belongs to the Dominion. This is intended
to prevent disputes, as far as possible, as respects the
powers of the separate governments.

The subject of education belongs exclusively to the
provinces, but in case certain rights enjoyed by religious
minorities in the provinces are prejudicially affected by
the laws of those provinces, the parliament of Canada
may interpose and pass such legislation as will remedy
an act of injustice that the provincial governments refuse
to repeal. This is, however, a subject which falls pro-
perly to a later page (see below, p. 160).

The dominion and local governments also exercise
certain rights in common. The dominion parliament
may make laws on the subjects of agriculture and immi-
gration for any and all of the provinces, and each
legislature may do the same for the province over which
it has jurisdiction, provided no provincial act is in conflict
with any dominion act. Both these authorities are
equally interested in the promotion of matters so deeply
affecting the development of the natural resources of all
sections. The provinces, excepting Manitoba, have the
control of their lands and mines, while the Dominion is
interested in the opening up of the vast territorial area
which it has in the Northwest.

The dominion government have, by the constitution,
a general power of vetoing or disallowing any act of a
legislature within one year after its receipt from the
government of a province. The conditions under which
this important power should be exercised are explained
on another page (see below, p. 162).

The constitutional law, as I have shown, has been
framed with the object of setting forth, as clearly
as possible, the powers given to the dominion and
provincial governments, but the experience of twenty-
seven years shows no written law, however carefully
framed, can prevent differences of opinion as to its
meaning. The dominion government may read the
language of a section in one way, and the provincial
government, or the person whose rights are in question,
another way. Language, at best, is imperfect when it
comes to define rights.

In the following section I shall explain the methods
provided by the constitution for the removing of doubts
as to the meaning of its provisions, preventing conflicts
between the dominion and provincial authorities, and at
the same time doing justice, as far as possible, in all
cases where rights are affected.

CHAPTER VI.
THE DOMINION GOVERNMENT: JUDICIAL POWER.

1.—Methods of Interpreting the Written Constitution.—2. Supreme
Court.—3. Exchequer Court.—4. Admirality Court.—5. Judi-
cial Tenure of Office.

1.—Methods of Interpreting or Explaining the Written
Constitution.

The federal union of Canada derives its existence
from a constitution, known as the British North America
Act, just as a municipal body, or any incorporated com-
pany, obtains its powers from the law bringing it into
existence. Consequently every power, executive, legis-
lative or judicial, exercised by the dominion or provin-
cial govermnents, is subject to the constitution. This
constitution comes undcr the conditions applied to all
statutes or laws. Its meaning must be construed or
explained by the judges who are its authorized inter-
preters.

The judges of the courts of the provinces, from the
lowest to the highest courts, can and do constantly
decide on the constitutionality of statutes passed by the
legislative authorities of the Dominion. They do so, in
their capacity as judges and interpreters of the law, and
not because they have any special commission to that
effect, or are invested with any political duties or powers
by the constitution. The judges of the provinces are
appointed and paid by the dominion government, but
the constitution, maintenance and organization of their
courts are placed under the provincial governments. The
judges decide on cases that arise under the laws govern-
ing their respective provinces. Such cases frequently
relate to the constitutional rights of the Dominion and of
a. province. The decision of provincial judges is not
final, for the constitution has provided for the establish-
ment of a supreme court of the Dominion, to whom
appeals can be taken from the inferior courts of the
provinces.

2.—The Supreme Court of Canada.

In 1875 it was deemed advisable to pass an act
providing for the cstablislnnont of a supreme court of
Canada. But this court only a general court of appeal
for Canada in a limited sense, since the existing right of
appeal in the various provinces to the privy council has
been left untouched. Nor can it be called a final court
of appeal for Canada, since the privy council of England
entertains appeals from its judgments (see above, p. 65).
This court consists of a chief justice and five “puisne
judges,”—puisne meaning simply inferior in rank—two
of whom, at least, must be appointed from the bench or
bar of the province of Quebec—a provision intended to
give the court the assistance of men specially acquainted
with French Canadian law. Under the conditions set
forth in the act, an appeal can be taken to this court
from the highest court of final resort in a province in
civil and criminal cases. The decisions of the superior
courts of the provinces in cases of cpntroverted elections
may also be reviewed by the court. In Quebec cases
the appeal must always come from the court of
king’s bench or the superior court in review (see p. 190);
and the question at issue must involve $2,000, unless it
affects the validity of a statute and other specified matters.
The governor-general in council may also refer to the
supreme court, for hearing or consideration, important
questions relating to legislation of the provinces, or of
the Dominion, education, or any other matter of a con-
stitutional nature on which it is necessary to obtain a
judicial opinion. Constitutional controversies between
the Dominion and any province, and between the pro-
vinces themselves, can be referred to the court when the
legislature of a province has passed an act providing for
such useful references—useful, because they help to pre-
vent friction in the working of the federal machinery.
This court is intended to be, as far as practicable, a
court for the settlement of controversies that arise in the
working of the constitutional system of Canada. The
judicial committee of the privy council entertains appeals
from the supreme court only when the case is of gravity,
involving questions of public interest or some important
point of law, or is of a very substantial character.

3.—The Exchequer Court of Canada.

Another court having authority throughout the
Dominion is the exchequer, which originally formed
part of the supreme court of Canada. The two courts
were separated in 1887, and a judge especially appointed
by the governor-general in council to preside over the
exchequer court. The name of this court carries us
back to early English times. The king’s treasury was
in charge of an important officer, called “hoarder,” or
treasurer, because he took care of the “hoard” or royal
supply of money. As the kings revenues increased in
amount, and disputes grew up in connection with their
collection and management, it was necessary to divide
the duties between two departments, one administrative
and the other judicial. The chancellor of the exchequer
—the finance minister—is still the most important mem-
ber of the cabinet of England. When the English
courts of justice were formed out of the great council or
supreme court of the king (see above, p. 57), questions
affecting the revenue were referred to a committee or
court called the exchequer, which derived its name
originally from a chequered cloth which covered the table
at which the accounts were considered, and suggested to
the looker-on the idea of a game of chess between the
taxpayer and the royal officials. The duties of the
court grew in importance, and were extended to all suits
or actions in which the crown was interested. The
Canadian court has authority to hear and decide those
cases in which the revenues or property, or other interests
of the crown are involved. It hears claims against the
dominion government when any person suffers injury
from the construction or operation of a public work, and
can award damages to such persons.

4.—Admirality Court of Canada.

The dominion government have also, under the
authority of an imperial statute, conferred on the
exchequer court the powers of an admiralty court to
hear and determine all civil questions relating to con-
tracts or claims in respect of necessaries and wages, and
other matters arising out of navigation, shipping, trade
and commerce, in Canadian waters, tidal and non-
tidal. The governor-general may appoint a judge of
a superior court, or of a county court, or any barrister of
not less than seven years’ standing, to be a ” local judge
in admiralty” of the exchequer court in such districts as
may be necessary for the purposes of the act. The
provinces of Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,
Prince Edward Island and British Columbia constitute
such districts. The Yukon district has its registry at
Dawson city. The admiralty jurisdiction of the ex-
chequer court is exercised in what is known as the
Toronto admiralty district.

5.—Judicial Tenure of Office.

The judges of the supreme and exchequer courts, and
any other dominion courts, hereafter established, hold
office, like all the judges of the superior courts in the
provinces, during good behaviour, and can only be
removed on an address passed by the senate and house
of commons to the governor-generaI, after full investi-
gation into any charges that may be made against them.
In this way the judiciary is practically independent of
political or popular caprice or passion, and able to dis-
charge their high functions with fidelity and partiality.
The judges of these supreme and exclicquer courts are
appointed from the superior courts of the provinces or
from barristers or advocates of distinction and of at
least ten years’ standing at the bar.

CHAPTER VII.

THE DOMINION GOVERNMENT: REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE.

1. Duties of Customs and Excise.—2. Cost of Government.—
3. Consolidated Revenue Fund.—4. Canadian Currency.

1.—Duties of Customs and Excise.

I have now given my readers a summary of the
principal duties of the executive, legislative and judicial
departments of the Canadian government. The question
will now occur to every one who has followed me so far,
How does this government meet its expenses? The
answer is, chiefly by a system of taxation, presented and
carried in the parliament of the Dominion in the man-
ner described above (p. 116). The system is not direct
taxation—that is to say,it is not a certain amount taxed,
as in cities and other municipal divisions, on everyone’s
property and collected from the great body of the
people iiidividually. It is indirect taxation—that is to
say, imposed on the goods brought into the country by
merchants and traders, who alone pay the duties directly
and add such charges to their expenses and necessary
profits. These taxes are called “customs duties,” from
an old Norman French word, coustume, meaning a
customary or usual tax of the country, which has come
to be generally applied to any duty on foreign goods-
The people in the end, who are consumers of such goods,
pay these duties to a greater or less extent. Competition
among merchants tends to keep prices to the lowest
point compatible with the profit which every merchant
must make. In addition to the duties imposed on goods
brought or imported from other countries, like spirits,
tobacco, woollens, cottons, silks, hardware, furniture,
pianos and the countless articles purchased by the people
which make up the great proportion of dominion tax-
ation, there is a large sum collected directly from persons
engaged in the manufacture of beer, whiskey, tobacco,
and cigars, known as “excise duties “—the word excise
coming from an old French word meaning an assessment
or tax. Customs duties may be either ad valorem or
specific; the first meaning the levying of a certain per-
centage of duty on the marketable value (ad valorem) of
the goods at the original place of shipment, as sworn to
by the owner or importer, and verified by the customs
appraisers or valuators ; “specific” meaning a definite
or fixed duty collected on goods of a particular kind,
or upon a specified quantity of a commodity, entered at
the custom-house. In 1901 the duties collected on
imports used in the country were $28,425,284 altogether;
the amount of excise duties was $10,318,266; other re-
venues, from the sale of public lands, tolls on canals
and other works, post office and other sources, amounted
to $13,771,151. The total revenue consequently in that
year was $52,514,701, mostly from customs and excise
duties. I cite these figures simply to show the import-
ance of such taxes in the government of a country.

2.—Cost of Dominion Government.

These taxes and revenues are necessary to meet:

1. The charge on the public debt which was on the
30th June, 1901, $354,734,433. This is, however, the
gross debt, and from which are generally deducted
certain assets or interestwbearing investments, loans, cash
and banking accounts, which bring the net debt down to
$268,480,003 at the same date. The debt has been prin-
cipally created by the construction of public works,
canals and railways; subsidies to railways, assumption
of provincial debts under the terms of confederation.

2. Legislation, senate and house of commons, franchise
act, election expenses, etc.

3. Civil government, or salaries of governor-general
lieutenant-governors, the departments of the public ser-
vice, Northwest government, etc.

4. Public works, including buildings of all kinds, piers
and harbours, experimental farms, etc.

5. Railways and canals.

6. Administration of justice, mounted police, light-
house and coast service, militia and defence, immigration
and quarantine, geological survey, superannuation, fish-
eries, Indians, ocean and river steam service, peniten-
tiaries, mail subsidies, post office, and a great variety of
other services necessary for the government of the
Dominion.

The total ordinary expenditure in 1901 was $46,806,-
368, as against $13,486,091 in 1868, in the infancy of the
development of the confederation and before the con-
struction of public works of national importance.

3.—The Consolidated Fund of Canada.

All taxes and other revenues of Canada are paid into
the treasury in accordance with the law, and form what
is generally known as “the consolidated fund of Canada,”
out of which are paid all the charges and expenses inci-
dent to the collection and management of this fund, and
all the expenses of government. These expenses are
annually voted by parliament in the mode explained
above (see p. 1 17).

While certain sums are authorized annually by the
appropriation act—which comprises the annual grants
voted every session in supply—othor payments are made
under the sanction of statutes. These statutes, which
are’ permanent and can only be repealed or amended by
another act of parliament, provide for salaries of the
governor-general,lieutenant-governors, ministers of the
crown, judges, and other high functionaries, whose com-
pensation; it is agreed, should not depend on annual
votes, though it is always competent for any member to
move to reduce them in the shape of a bill, which may
become an act or law if the two houses agree to pass it.

All moneys are paid out of the treasury under certain
forms required by statute. A thorough system of audit
by a public officer, the auditor-general, who can only be
removed on an address of the senate and house of
commons to the governor-general, has the effect of
preventing any public expenditure not authorized by
parliament. Large sums are borrowed from time to
time by the government on terms which must be ap-
proved by parliament.

4.—The Currency of Canada.

The treasury also issues notes to the value of 25
cents, $1, $2, $4, $50, $100, $500, $1000, and $5000;
but the issue in any one year may not exceed four
million dollars, though the total amount issued and
outstanding, at any time, may exceed twenty millions,
secured for redemption by gold and Canadian guaranteed
securities.

The banks of Canada may also issue notes—five
dollars being the value of the lowest—the payment of
which is secured, as far as possible, by making the pay-
ment of the notes a first charge on the assets of a bank,
and by other provisions of a well devised general bank-
ing’ act intended to guard the monetary interests of the
public. The government has alone power to issue notes
of $4, $2, $1, and 25 cents. The Canadian silver and
copper coin in general circulation has been “minted” in
England for the use of this country. The silver coin in
use are of the value of fifty, twenty-five, twenty (very
few now), ten and five cents. Canada has no gold coin
of her own. The large notes of $1,000 and $5,000, issued
by the government, are principally held by the chartered
banks as part of their cash reserves, and for purposes of
settlement between banks. The gold eagle of the United
States is legal tender for $10, the British sovereign for
$4.86 2/3. In 1901 parliament made pecuniary provision
for the establishment of an Ottawa branch of the royal
mint by royal proclamation.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE DOMINION GOVERNMENT: MILITIA AND DEFENCE.

The British North America Act places under the
control of the dominion government the militia, naval
service, and defence of Canada. The command-in-chief
of the land and naval forces of and in Canada, however,
continues to be vested in the king. A department of
the dominion government, called the department of
militia and defence (see above, p. 80), has the superin-
tendence of this important part of the public service.
Since confederation English troops have been removed
from all places in Canada except Halifax, which is a
strongly fortified military post, and the headquarters of
the North American squadron, under the command of a
vice or rear admiral. On the Pacific side Esquimalt, on
the island of Vancouver, is also fortified, and the naval
station for the imperial fleet.

The withdrawal of English troops to so great an
extent from Canada has necessarily thrown large respon-
sibilities upon the Canadian government since 1867 for
the protection of a confederation extending over so
immense a territory between two oceans. Canada has
attempted to fulfil her obligations in this respect by the
expenditure of a large sum of money during thirty-four
years for the drill, instruction and arming of an effective
militia, drawn from the great body of the people. In
this way a spirit of self-reliance has been stimulated
from one end of Canada to the other, and on more than
one emergency, the national forces have proved their
capacity to secure peace and order and assist the empire.

By the law of Canada the militia consists of all the
male inhabitants of Canada of the age of eighteen years
or upwards and under sixty, not exempted or disqualified
by law; the population being divided into four classes,
as follows:

The first class comprises those aged eighteen or up-
wards and under thirty, being unmarried or widowers
without children.

The second class comprises those between the ages of
thirty and forty-five, being unmarried or widowers with-
out children.

The third class comprises those between eighteen and
forty-five, being married or widowers with children.

The fourth class comprises those between forty-five
and sixty.

And those liable to serve shall be called upon in the
foregoing order.

The following persons are exempt from enrolment
and actual service at any time: judges, clergymen and
ministers of all religious denominations, professors in
colleges and teachers in religious orders, persons engaged
in the collection or management of the revenue, the
wardens and officials of all penitentiaries and lunatic
asylums, persons physically disabled, and any person
being the only son of a widow and her only support.
Half-pay and retired officers of the imperial forces.
sailors actually employed in their calling, pilots during
the season of navigation, and masters of schools are
exempt from service, except in case of war. Quakers,
Mennonites and others may be exempted altogether
under regulations prescribed by the governor-general in
council.

The militia is divided into active and reserve, land and
marine forces. The land force is composed of corps
raised either by voluntary enlistment or ballot. The
active marine force shall be raised in the same way, and
composed of seamen, sailors and persons whose occupa-
tion is on vessels navigating the waters of Canada, and
the reserve force, land and marine, consists of the whole
of the men not serving in the active militia for the time
being.

The period of service in the militia is three years.
The number of men to be trained and drilled annually is
limited to forty-five thousand, except as specially author-
ized, and the period of drill is to be sixteen days, and not
less than eight days each year.

The Dominion is divided into twelve military districts,
in each of which a permanent military staff is main-
tained, under command of a colonel or lieut.-colonel.
The permanent corps and schools of instruction consist
of royal Canadian dragoons, royal Canadian artillery,
garrison artillery and a royal regiment of Canadian in-
fantry. The total strength of these permanent corps is
limited by the militia law to a thousand men.

The royal military college at Kingston, which is under
the control of the militia department, was founded in
1875, and has proved on the whole a most successful
institution. Of the total number of cadets who have
graduated, a large number have been gazetted to com-
missions in the imperial army.

Provision is now made for pensions to the militia
force, and widows and children of officers.

Heretofore an imperial officer has been chosen from
the regular English military force and given the rank of
a major-general in Canada, to command the militia and
supervise their instruction and equipment, under the
control of the minister of militia, who is responsible to
parliament for the efficiency of this department. So far
no active marine militia has been organized in the
Dominion, but the naval defences continue exclusively
under the care of the imperial government. In the
Northwest Territories peace and order have been se-
cured for years by the employment of a most efficient
body of mounted police (see Seventh Part).

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.

My readers should consult the following books on the nature and working
of dominion government: Bourinot’s Manual of Constitutional History
(Toronto, 1901); his Canadian Studies in Comparative Politics (Montreal,
1890), and in the “Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada,” 1892,
section 2; his Parliamentary Government in Canada, in the “Papers of
the American Historical Association” (Washington, 1892); his Federal
Government in Canada, in “John Hopkins’ University Studies” (Balti-
more, 1889). Dr. Todd’s Parliamentary Government in the Colonies, 2nd
ed. (London, 1894,), should be studied by advanced students. The works
mentioned in the bibliographical note at end of the Second Part of this book
(see above, p. 68) with reference to the cabinet and parliamentary government
in England also apply to the dominion government. For a clear explana-
tion of the rules, usages and understandings which govern the practice of
parliamentary government, see Professor Dicey’s Law of the Constitution,
chap. xiv, 3rd ed. (London and New York, 1889). For rules and usages
governing proceedings of legislative bodies, see Bourinot’s Procedure of
Public Meetings (Toronto, 1894), pp. 26-57. More ambitious students can
consult his largest work on Parliamentary Procedure, 2nd ed. (Montreal,
1892), which also reproduces the nnthor’s short constitutional history men-
tioned above (p. 42), with additions to end of 1891. The last chapter of
this work should be read by students, since it is devoted to General Obser-
vations on the Practical Operation of Parliamentary Government in
Canada. Bagehot’s work on the English constitution (see above, p. 69) is
very valuable in this connection. The author may also refer to a paper of
his own, published by the American Historical Association (Washington,
1891), on Canada and the United States: a Study in Comparative Politics.
It shows the advantages which Canadians content that their cabinet and
parliamentary system of government possesses over the irresponsible system
of their neighbours in the United States. The best work that shows the
inferiority of the congressional government of the republic compared with
parliamentary government is that by Professor Woodrow Wilson, on
Congressional Government (Boston, 1887).

In the Canadian Almanac for 1894 (Toronto) there is an article by Mr.
C. Campbell on the Flags and Arms of the Dominion and provinces,
which will be interesting to those who wish to study the subject intelli-
gently. In the same publication for 1895, there is additional information
in an article on Imperial and Canadian Flags.

For full information on Revenue and Expenditure, Trade and Commerce,
Militia and Defence, Customs and Excise, Public Debt, Currency and
other matters relating to the government of Canada, reference must be
made to the official “blue books,” known as Public Accounts, Trade and
Navigation Returns, Report of Minister of Militia, etc., and to the Statisti-
cal Year Book of Canada. all of which are published yearly at Ottawa by
the King’s Printer. Mr. Johnson, Dominion Statistician, has facilitated
the labours of the author of the present work.

FOURTH PART

THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I.—EXECUTIVE POWER. 145
II.—LEGISLATIVE POWER. 155
III.—MATTERS OF PROVINCIAL LEGISLATION. 163
IV.—JUDICIAL POWER. 170
V.—VI.—COURTS OF LAW. 177
VII.—TRIAL OF CIVIL AD CRIMINAL CASES. 197
VIII.—PROVINCIAL REVENUES. 211

CHAPTER I.

EXECUTIVE POWER IN THE PROVINCES.

1.—Introduction.—2. Lieutenant-Governor.—3. Executive or Ad-
visory Council.—4. List of Executive Councils in the Provinces.
—5. Provincial Arms.—6. Flags of Lieutenant-Governors.

1.—Introduction.

The provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince
Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and British
Columbia, are so many political divisions, all enjoying
extensive powers of local government and forming parts
of a Dominion whose government possesses certain
national attributes essential to the security, successful
working, and permanence of the federal union, estab-
lished by the British North America Act of 1867.

In all the provinces at the present time, there is a
very complete system of local seliigovernment, admin-
istered under the authority of the British North America
Act, by means of the following machinery :

A lieutenant-governor appointed by the governor-
general in council ;

An executive or advisory council, responsible to the
legislature ;

A legislature, consisting of an elective house in all
cases, with the addition of an upper chamber appointed
by the crown in two provinces only ;

ONTARIO LEGISLATIVE BUILDINGS, TORONTO
*See PDF for image.

A judiciary, composed of several courts in each pro-
vince, the judges of which are appointed and paid by
the dominion government ;

A civil service, with officers appointed by the provin-
cial government, holding office during good behaviour,
and not removed for political reasons ;

A municipal system of councils, composed of mayors,
wardens, reeves and councillors, to provide for the
purely local requirements of the cities, towns, town-
ships, parishes and counties of every province ;

A complete system of local self-government in every
municipality of a province, to provide for the manage-
ment and support of free schools for all classes of the
people.

2.—The Lieutenant-Governor.

The lieutenant-governor, who holds his office in prac-
tice for five years, is appointed by the governor-general
in council, by whom he can be dismissed for “cause
assigned,” which, under the constitution, must be com-
municated to parliament. He is therefore an officer of
the Dominion, as well as the head of the executive
government of a province, and possesses, within his
constitutional sphere, all the authority of a lieutenant-
governor before 1867. He acts in accordance with the
rules, usages and conventions that govern the relations
between the governongeneral and his privy council (see
above, p. 82). He appoints his executive council and is
guided by their advice so long as they retain the con-
fidence of the legislature. In the discharge of all the
executive and administrative functions that devolve
constitutionally upon him and require the action of the
crown in a province, the lieutenant-governor has all the
necessary authority. He can summon, prorogue and
dissolve the legislature, make appointments to office,
and perform all those executive acts by the advice of
his advisory council which are necessary for the govern-
ment of the province. The remarks given above with
respect to the governongeneral in council apply with
equal force to the lieutenant-governor in council (see
above, p. 83).

3.—The Executive or Advisory Council.

The executive council, which is the name now given
to the body of men composing the administration of
each province, a name borrowed from the old provincial
systems of government, varies from eight members in
Ontario to six in British Columbia, holding, as a rule,
various provincial offices as heads of departments. Their
titles vary in some cases, but generally there is in every
executive council an attorney-general, whose duties are
to act as law adviser of the government and its depart-
ments, enforce the law by prosecution in the criminal
courts, and perform other acts in connection with the
administration of justice in a province. All the mines
and minerals, public lands and forests thereon, except in
Manitoba, belong to the provincial governments, which
derive from them—especially in Ontario and Quebec—a
large revenue. In each province, consequently, there is
a commissioner of crown lands, whose duty it is to look
after their sale, lease “limits” for the cutting of timber,
supervise mining lands under special regulations, and
exercise general authority over the public domain. In
Nova Scotia and British Columbia, where the mines and
minerals are very valuable, there is a department speci-
ally entrusted with the management of those sources of
provincial wealth.

In every province there is a minister generally called
treasurer, whose special function it is to administer its
financial affairs; a commissioner to look after its
public works; a secretary and registrar to manage
the correspondence of the government, register all com-
missions under the provincial seal, as well as bonds and
securities given by public officers. In some of the
provinces there is also a minister who collects useful
information relating to the agricultural, mechanical and
manufacturing interests of the province, has control of
model farms and agricultural colleges—wherever estab-
lished, as in Ontario—and encourages all societies and
exhibitions connected with the interests of agriculture,
horticulture, fruit raising and dairying, and other indus-
tries of the same class. In the Ontario cabinet there is
also a minister of education, since that branch of the
public service is of exceptional importance in that
province in view of the great expenditure and large
number of common and grammar schools, collegiate
institutes, normal and model schools, besides the pro-
vincial university in Toronto.

All the members of the executive council, who hold
departmental and salaried offices, must vacate their seats
and be re-elected as in the case of the dominion
ministry. The principle of ministerial responsibility to
the lieutenant-governor and to the legislature is observed
in the fullest sense. All the conventions and under-
standings that govern the relations between the governor-

LEGISLATIVE BUILDINGS, QUEBEC
*See PDF for image.

general and his ministers apply with equal force to the
relations between a lieutenant-governor of a province
and his councillors (see above, p. 82).

3.—List of Executive Councils in 1902.

In British Columbia: —

President of Council (Premier).
Attorney-General.
Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works.
Minister of Finance and Agriculture.
Minister of Mines.
Provincial Secretary and Minister of Education.

In Manitoba: —

President of Council and Minister of Agriculture (Premier).
Railway Commissioner.
Attorney-General and Minister of Education.
Minister of Public Works.
Provincial Secretary.
Provincial Treasurer.

In Ontario: —

Treasurer (Premier).
Secretary and Registrar.
Attorney-General.
Commissioner of Crown Lands.
Commissioner of Agriculture.
Commissioner of Public Works.
Minister of Education.
Two members of Council without a department or office.

In Quebec:

Minister of Lands, Mines and Fisheries (Premier).
Minister of Agriculture.
Attorney-General.
Minister of Colonization and Public Works.
Treasurer.
Secretary and Registrar.
One member of Council without office.

In New Brunswick: —

Provincial Secretary (Premier).
Attorney-General.
Surveyor-General.
Chief Commissioner of Public Works.
Commissioner of Agriculture.
Two members of Council without office.

In Nova Scotia: —

President of Council and Provincial Secretary (Premier).
Attorney-General.
Commissioner of Works and Mines.
Six members of Council without office.

In Prince Edward Island: —

President (Premier).
Commissioner of Public Works.
Attorney-General.
Provincial Secretary, Treasurer and Commissioner of Agri-
culture.
Five members of Council without office.

This list of offices varies from time to time, accord-
ing to the necessities of public affairs, and the prime
minister may select any position he prefers. In five of
the provinces there are councillors who have no depart-
mental office, and consequently receive no special salary,
their expenses while attending meetings of the council
being alone paid. The crown has always the right to
summon whom it pleases to the cabinet. Not unfro-
quently, as it will be seen by reference to the oflices
indicated in the foregoing list, a member of the council
will be entrusted with the responsibilities of more than
one department of the government. Executive coun-
cillors are called “honourable,” but only while they are
members of the council.

4.—Provincial Seals and Coats of Arms.

All the provinces have arms of their own, which
appear on their great seals, or on any ensigns they have
a right to use. Each provincial seal is composed as
follows :

In the centre the royal arms, without supporters, but surmounted
by the crown; surrounding the shield, the motto “Dieu et mon
droit.” Below this shield a somewhat smaller one, containing the
provincial coat of arms. Surrounding the whole : “The seal of the
province of Ontario ” (or whatever the province may be).

On the following page we give a sketch of all the arms
of the provinces as they are composed at present.

5.—Flags of the Lieutenant-Governors.

The lieutenant-governors of the provinces have each a
flag, displaying the provincial arms (see p. 154) sur-
rounded by a wreath of maple leaves—but without the
crown—on the white ground of a union jack (see above,
p. 91).

FLAG OF THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF ONTARIO.
*See PDF for image.

ARMS OF ONTARIO.
ARMS OF QUEBEC.
ARMS OF NEW BRUNSWICK.
ARMS OF NOVA SCOTIA.
ARMS OF MANITOBA.
ARMS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.
ARMS OF P.E. ISLAND.

*See PDF for image.

CHAPTER II.

LEGISLATIVE POWER IN THE PROVINCES.

1. Legislatures.—2. Number of Members therein.—3. Voters’
Qualification in all the Provinces.

1.—The Legislatures.

The legislatures of the provinces are composed of a
lieutenanbgovernor, a legislative council and a legislative
assembly in the provinces of Nova Scotia and Quebec;
of a lieutenant-governor and a legislative assembly only
in the other five provinces. In Prince Edward Island,
however, there is an assembly elected on a basis different
from the other provinces. The legislative council,
elected for many years on a property qualification, was
abolished as a separate house in 1893 and united with
the assembly. The fifteen constituencies now return
each a councillor elected on a real estate qualifica-
tion, to the value of $325; and a member elected
on the general franchise (see below, p. 161) for the
province. The legislative councillors in Quebec and
Nova Scotia are appointed by the crown, and must have
a property qualification. The president or speaker is
also appointed by the lieutenant-govemor in council and
holds office during pleasure. Members of the council
retain their positions during life, unless they become
bankrupt, convicted of crime, absent for two sessions
consecutively (in Quebec only), or otherwise disqualified
by law. The council of Quebec consists of twenty-four
members; that of Nova Scotia of about twenty. Their
legislative rights are similar to those of the senate of
Canada. They can commence or amend all classes of
legislation except money or taxation bills (see above, 94).
While they may reject such bills as a whole, they can-
not amend them.

The legislative assemblies of the provinces are elected
by the people on a very liberal franchise—manhood
suffrage in Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba and
British Columbia, and practically so in Prince Edward
Island. A property basis still prevails in Nova Scotia
and Quebec (see below, pp. 160, 161). The number of
members varies from ninety-four in Ontario to thirty in
Prince Edward Island. They do not require any pro-
perty qualification, but must be British born or naturalized
subjects of the queen, and male citizens of the age of
twenty-one years not disqualified by law. They are paid
a certain compensation during a session, varying from
$800 in Quebec to $160 in Prince Edward Island, with
the addition of a small sum or a mileage rate, ten cents
each way in some cases, to pay travelling expenses.
Members are nominated and elected on the same day in
the provinces, and the vote is by ballot, except in Prince
Edward Island. The methods of conducting elections,
from the time of a dissolution until the return of writs
for a new legislature, are practically the same as those
for the dominion parliament. The lieutenant-governor,
by the advice of his council, issues a proclamation duly
dissolving the old legislature and appointing the day
for the return of writs, and calling the new legislature
together. Returning officers receive the writs and fix
the day for nominationand voting according to law.
Voters mark and deposit their ballots in the same
secresy as at a dominion election (see above, p. 104).

The provincial laws providing for the independence of
the legislature, like those of the Dominion, prevent
contractors and persons who receive salaries and
emoluments from the dominion or provincial govern-
ments from sitting in the assemblies. The statutes
against bribery and corruption are as strict as those for
the Dominion. In all cases the provincial judges try
cases of disputed elections, with the same satisfactory
experience that has been the result of a similar system
in the dominion elections.

The legislatures have a duration of four years—in
Quebec and Nova Scotia, of five—unless sooner dissolved
by the lieutenant-governor. They are governed by the
constitutional principles that obtain at Ottawa. The
lieutenanbgovernor opens and prorogues the assembly,
as in Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island,
Manitoba and British Columbia, or the assembly and
the legislative council in Nova Scotia and Quebec,
with the usual formality of a speech. A speaker
is elected by the majority in each assembly, or is
appointed by the crown in the upper chamber. The
rules and usages that govern their proceedings are
derived from those of England, and do not differ in any
material respect from the procedure in the dominion
parliament (see above, p. 110). The rules with respect
to private bill legislation are also equally restrictive.
The British North America Act requires that the
legislatures of Ontario and Quebec must sit once in
every twelve months, like the dominion parliament (see

MANITOBA LEGISLATIVE BUILDINGS, WINNIPEG.
*See PDF for image.

above, p. 105), but even without this constitutional
direction the fact that supplies for the public service
must be voted every year before a fixed day—either
the first of July or the first of January in the different
provinces—forces the several legislative bodies to meet
before the expiration of a financial year. If they
did not meet to pass a new supply or appropriation bill
(see above, p. 119) before the end of that year, the pro-
vince would be without money to meet the payment of
the majority of public salaries, and expenditure on public
works or other matters of provincial necessity.

2.—Number of Members in the Legislatures of Canada.

The legislative assemblies of the provinces have the
following number of members, all of whom are required
to take the oath of allegiance required for members of
the senate and house of commons of the dominion
parliament (see above, p. 106).

PROVINCES. MEMBERS.

British Columbia . . . . . 38
Manitoba . . . . . . . . . . 40
Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Quebec . . . . . . . . . . . .74
New Brunswick. . . . . . . . . . .46
Nova Scotia. . . . . . . . . . .38
Prince Edward Island . . . . . . . . . 30

Total number in provincial assemblies. . 364

Legislative councillors in Quebec and Nova
Scotia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 44
Legal maximum of senators and members in the
dominion parliament in 1895 . . 294
Northwest assembly . . . . . . . . . . 31

Total number of members in the legisla-
the bodies of Canada, . . 733

or one representative for about every 7,000 souls of the population
of the Dominion.

3.—Voting Qualifications or Electoral Franchise in the
Provinces.

In the provinces every native-born Canadian, or sub-
ject of her majesty by birth or naturalization, who is a
male person of the age of twenty-one years, not insane,
not convicted of crime, nor otherwise disqualified by any
law, and who is duly entered on the oficial list of voters,
can vote at legislative elections within their respective
provinces on the following conditions :

In British Columbia.—Resiclents in the province for six months,
and in an electoral district for one month of that time. Japanese,
Chinese and Indians have no vote. The system is consequently
manhood suffrage.

In Manitoba.—Residents in the province for twelve months, and
in the electoral division for three months before the issue of procla-
mation appointing the registration clerk therein. The system here
is also manhood suffrage. Indians and persons of Indian blood
receiving an annuity or treaty money from the crown. Persons not
British subjects by birth must be able to read ” The Manitoba
Act” in English, French, German, Icelandic, or any Scandinavian
language.

In Ontario.—Residents in the province for nine months before
the time fixed by law for beginning to make the assessment roll in
which they should be entered as qualified to vote, providing they
are at the time actually residing in the municipal district in which
they vote. The system here, too, is manhood suffrage. Enfran-
chised Indians—those who have obtained by law all the privileges
of citizens—can vote on the same conditions as other voters;
unenfranchised Indians, not residing on an Indian reserve, or
among Indians, can vote on a property qualification.

In Quebec.—Owners or occupants of real estate valued in cities
at $300, or $200 in other municipalities, or which yields a value of
$20 a year. Tenants paying an annual rental for real estate of at
least $30 in a city, and $20 in any other municipal division. Also
teachers under the control of school commissioners or trustees;
rentiers, or retired farmers, with at rental of at least $100 yearly;
farmers’ sons working on their parents’ farm, if divided equally
between them as co-proprietors; sons of owners of real property
residing with parents, on similar conditions as last; fishermen,
owners or occupants of real property and boats, fishing gear, or of
shares in a ship of actual value of at least $150; priests, curés,
and ministers of religious bodies, when domiciled for upwards of
five months in a place.

In New Brunswick.—Residents in a district for twelve months
before the making up of voters’ lists. Persons assessed for the
year on real estate to the value of $100, or on personal and real
property together to the amount of $400, whether residents or not.
Priests or other christian ministers, or school teachers, or professors
in colleges. The system is manhood suffrage.

In Nova Scotia.—Persons assessed on real property valued at
$150, or on personal, or on personal and real property together,
valued at $300. Persons exempted from taxation, when in pos-
session of the property just stated. Tenants, yearly, of similar
property. Sons of foregoing persons, or of widows, in possession
of enough property to qualify as stated above, and actually residing
on such property, Persons liaving an annual income of $250.
Fishermen with fishing gear, boats, and real estate, assessed at
an actual value of $150, provided that such property is within the
county where the vote is given.

In Prince Edward Island.—Residents in an electoral division
who have performed statute labour for twelve months before an
election. Owners or occupants of real estate, within the electoral
district, of the clear yearly value of $6, provided they have occupied
such property six months before election. Residents in Charlotte-
town and Summerside who have paid a provincial poll tax, or
twenty-five cents on such civic poll tax for year preceding election.
Owners or occupants of at least eight acres of certain reserved land
for six months in Georgetown. The system is manhood suffrage to
all intents and purposes.

BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGISLATIVE BUILDINGS.
*See PDF for image.

CHAPTER III.

MATTERS OF PROVINCIAL LEGISLATION.

1. Legal Enumeration of Subjects of Provincial Legislation.—
2. Education.—3. Dominion Power of Disallowance.

1.—Legal Enumeration of Subjects of Provincial
Legislation.

The subjects that fall within the legislative authority
of the provincial governments are very numerous and
affect immediately every man, woman and child in a
province. Comfort and convenience, liberty and life, all
the rights of citizens with respect to property, the endless
matters that daily affect a community, are under the
control of the provincial authorities.

The legislature may, in each province, “exclusively
make laws” in relation to the classes of subjects enu-
merated as follows: .

1. The amendment, from time to time, notwithstanding anything
in the British North America Act, of the constitution of the pro-
vince, except as regards the office of lieutenant-governor.

2. Direct taxation within the province in order to the raising of
a revenue for provincial purposes.

3. The borrowing of money on the sole credit of the province.

4. The establishment and tenure of provincial offices, and the
appointment and payment of provincial officers.

5. The management and sale of the public lands belonging to the
province, and of the timber and wood thereon. [In the case of
Manitoba, which was made a province after 1867, the public lands,
as well as those of the Northwest generally, belong to the dominion
government.]

6. The establishment, maintenance and management of public
and reformatory prisons in and for the province.

7. The establishment, maintenance and management of hospitals,
asylums, charities and eleemosynnry institutions in and for the
province, other than marine hospitals.

8. Municipal institutions in the province.

9. Shop, saloon, tavern, and auctioneer and other licenses, in
order to the raising of a revenue for provincial, local or municipal
purposes.

10. Local works and undertakings other than such as are of the
following classes :

a. Lines of steam or other ships, railways, canals, telegraphs and
other works and undertakings connecting the province with any
other or others of the provinces, or extending beyond the limits of
the province ;

b. Lines of steaniships between the province and any British or
foreign country ;

c. Such works as, although wholly situate within the province,
are before or after their execution declared by the parliament of
Canada to be for the general advantage’ of Canada, or for the
advantage of two or more of the provinces (see above, p. 125,
for explanations).

11. The incorporation of companies with provincial objects.

12. Solemnization of marriage in the province. Marriage and
divorce, however, belong to the dominion government (see above,
p. 124).

13. Property and civil rights in the province.

14. The adininistration of justice in the province, including the
constitution, maintenance and organization of provincial courts,
both of civil and of criminal jurisdiction, and including procedure
in civil matters in those courts.

15. The imposition of punishment by fine, penalty or imprison-
ment for enforcing any law of the province made in relation to any
matter coming within any of the classes of subjects enumerated in
this section.

16. Generally all matters of a merely local or private nature in
the province

A careful consideration of the foregoing subjects will
show how large and important a measure of local self-
government is given to all the provincial members of the
confederation. Provincial legislation in every way more
nearly affects the daily life and interests of the people of
a province than the more general and national legislation
of the Dominion. For instance, indirect taxation on
imports does not come home to all classes in every day
life like those taxes which are imposed by municipalities
on the authority of provincial statutes.

2.—Education.

It will be seen above, however, that the all-important
question of education does not fall within the enumera-
tion of matters belonging to provincial legislation, but
that it was considered necessary to devote a special
clause to this subject in the constitutional act of 1867.
The reason for this must be sought in the political
history of the question.

While the different provinces before confederation
were perfecting their respective systems of education,
the question of separate schools attained much promin-
ence. The Protestant minority in Lower Canada, and
the Roman Catholic minority in Upper Canada, earnestly
contended for such an educational system as would give
the Protestants in the former, and the Roman Catholics in

LEGISLATIVE BUILDINGS, NEW BRUNSWICK.
*See PDF for image.

the latter province, control of their own schools. Finally,
in those two provinces, separate schools obtained at the
time of the union, and it accordingly became necessary
to give the minorities in question guarantees for the
continuance of those schools, as far as such could be
given in the constitution. The British North America
Act now provides that while the legislature of a province
may exclusively make laws on the subject of education,
nothing therein shall prejudicially affect any of the
denominational schools in existence before July, 1867.
Whhere in any province a system of separate schools
existed by law at the time of the union, or was there
after established by the legislature, an appeal lies to the
governor-general in council from any act of a provincial
authority “affecting any right or privilege” of a Pro-
testant or Roman Catholic minority. In case the provin-
cial authorities refuse to act for the due protection of the
rights of minorities, in accordance with the provisions of
the constitution, then the parliament of Canada may
provide a remedy for the due execution of the same.
In the constitution given to Manitoba in 1870 there are
similar provisions, and an appeal can be made to the
governopgeneral in council when a provincial law or
decision affects any right or privilege of the Protestant
or Roman Catholic minority in relation to education.
Parliament can only within its own discretion intervene
to provide a remedy when the provincial authority does
not pass such legislation as seems necessary to the
governongeneral in council under the provisions of the
constitution.

3.—Dominion Power of Disallowance.

The British North America Act gives to the dominion
government a direct control over the legislation of each
province. While the imperial government can disallow
(reject) an act of the Canadian parliament at variance
with the interests of the empire (see Maw, p. 68), the
governor in council can within one year from its receipt,
disallow any act of a provincial legislature, and con-
sequently prevent it becoming the law. Previous to
1867 the imperial government could disallow any act of
a provincial legislature within the limits of British North
America. The power over the provinces in this respect
has now been transferred to the central government of
Canada since 1867. This political power is one to be
exercised with great discretion and judgment, as other-
wise it may involve consequences fatal to the harmony
and integrity of the confederation. It may be laid down
in general terms that this “veto” can be properly exer-
cised when the act under consideration is beyond the
constitutional power of the legislature, or when it is
hostile to the rights enjoyed by a minority under the
constitution, or when clearly dangerous to the peace and
unity of the Dominion generally. The danger arises
from the exercise of the power, on the grounds of public
policy, in the case of a question clearly within the con-
stitutional powers of a legislature. The principle that
should prevail, as a rule, is to leave to their operation all
acts that fall within the powers of the provincial legis-
lature, which within its legal sphere has as absolute a
right of legislation as the dominion parliament itself;
and if the dominion authorities, at any time, for suffi-
cient reasons, consider it necessary to interfere in pro-
vincial affairs, they must be prepared to justify their
action before parliament and the country so deeply
interested in the preservation of the union. As a. rule,
it is the wiser policy to obtain an opinion from the
courts in all cases of doubt, involving nice and delicate
points of law, rather than to use a political power which
is regarded with suspicion by the provinces. Fortunately
the law allows such references to the supreme court of
Canada (see above, p. 130).

CHAPTER IV.

JUDICIAL POWER.

1. Judicial Appointments.—2. Constitution and Organization of the
Provincial Courts.—3. Civil Law of French Canada.—4. Eng-
lish Common Law.—5. Statutory Law.

1.—Judicial Appointments.

The written constitution provides that the government
of the Dominion shall alone appoint and pay the judges
of the superior, district and county courts of the provinces,
except those of the probate courts in Nova Scotia.
Justices of the peace, police and stipendiary magistrates
are, however, appointed by the provincial governments.
The judges of all the superior courts can only be removed
on an address of the two houses of the dominion
parliament to the governor-general, and an inquiry
before a committee of the commons or senate into any
charges that may be made against them. Judges of
the supreme or superior courts must be barristers or
advocates of at least ten years’ standing at the bar of
a province; county court judges, barristers of ten or
seven years’ such standing. Stipencliary and police
magistrates must be, generally, of at least three years’
standing. All justices of the peace must have a certain
property qualification in the majority of the provinces-
All judicial appointments are made on the recommends;
tion of the dominion minister of justice, whose duty it
is to inquire into any charges made against judges, and
to advise the houses of the proper course to pursue in
such cases. When judges wish to obtain leave of
absence from their duties, or to retire from the public
service, it is through the department of justice all the
necessary measures are taken.

2.—Constitution and Organization of the Provincial
Courts.

The constitution provides also that the governments
of the provinces shall have sole control of the constitution,
organization, and procedure of all their own courts,
having civil and criminal jurisdiction. At any time
they may make changes in the constitution of those
courts, abolish any one of them, add a new court, or
impose additional duties on existing courts. But when-
ever a new judge of a superior, or district, or county
court is required by a provincial act, it is the Dominion
that provides the salary and makes the appointment.
But while the dominion parliament has no right to
abolish, or interfere with the constitution of the pro-
vincial courts within their provincial powers, it is quite
competent for that body to assign to those courts
duties in connection with matters which fall within the
undoubted powers of the central government—the trial
of disputed dominion elections, for instance. In short,
the dominion government can call upon the provincial
judiciary to carry out their legislation.

The constitution gives to the provinces exclusive
control over all matters affecting property and civil
rights, and consequently the provincial courts have to
deal with subjects that affect immediately all classes of
persons. The provincial legislature can alone pass
legislation touching these matters. On the other hand,
the dominion parliament can alone make laws relating
to crime and criminals; that is to say, define the nature
of those numerous offences against public order, religion,
morals, persons, rights of property, and the administration
of law and justice, that fall under the criminal law, and
may be punished by death, or imprisonment, or fines.
Treason, murder, manslaughter, forgery, fraud, breach of
trust, libel, burglary, receiving of stolen goods, robbery
and theft, conspiracies, are among these offences against
public order, persons and the rights of property. The
regulation of, the procedure or the formal steps in the
trial of such offences is also entrusted to the dominion
parliament. On the other hand the trial of such offences
must take place in the courts of the province which alone
have authority to administer justice in such cases under
the rules laid down by the criminal code of Canada, and
in the absence of such rules in accordance with the
common law that governs every province in the absence
of statutory enactment.

From the preceding paragraphs it will consequently be
seen that the provincial courts have conclusive powers to
try and determine all civil and criminal suits and
actions at law, affecting the lives, liberties and property
of the people within their provincial limits; that they
regulate both the law and procedure in matters of
personal or private rights, and that the dominion
government alone makes rules of law and procedure in
criminal matters. The reason of this division of
legislative authority must be sought in the historical
fact that in all the English provinces, which had so long
enjoyed local self-government before 1867, there were
differences both in the laws and procedure relating to
civil rights and property, though based on the general
principles of English jurisprudence, while in one great
province there was a distinct system or code of law to
which the people had been attached for more than two
centuries and a half.

3.—The Civil Law of French Canada.

The criminal law of England has prevailed in all the
provinces since it was formally introduced by the procla-
mation of 1763, and the Quebec Act of 1774. The
French Canadians never objected to this system of law,
since it gave them the advantage of trial by jury,
unknown to French law. The civil law, however, that
prevailed in Canada under the French rule, has con-
tinued to be the legal system in the province of Quebec
since the cession, and has obtained a hold now in that
section, which ensures its permanency as an institution
closely allied with the clearest rights of the people. Its
principles have been carefully collected and enacted in a
code which is based on the famous code prepared by the
orders of the Emperor Napoleon in the beginning: of this
century. The rules of procedure relating to the civil
law have also been laid down in a distinct code. The
civil law of French Canada had its origin, like all similar
systems, in the Roman law, on which were engrafted, in
the course of centuries, those customs and usages which
were adapted to the social condition of France. The
various civil divisions or departments of France had
their special usages which governed each, but all of
them rested on the original foundation of the Roman
code of 527-534 before Christ. The customary law or
Paris became the fundamental law of Canada during the
French rule. The law has been materially modified
since 1763 by contact with English laws and customs,
and by the necessities and circumstances of a new
country; but still, despite all the amendments and
modifications it has undergone in order to make it
more in keeping with the conditions of modern life
and the needs of commerce and enterprise, it contains
all those important principles which have the sanction
of ages in all those countries .where a similar system
prevails, and which affect the civil rights of individuals,
the purchase and transfer of property, marriage and
inheritance, and many other matters of direct interest to
all persons in a community.

4.—The English Common Law.

In the other provinces the common law of England
forms the foundation of their jurisprudence. Its general
principles were brought into this country, as into the
United States, by the early English colonists, but they
never adopted those parts of the law which were not
suited to the new condition of things in America. It is
composed of rules, principles and customs, long estab-
lished in England, and found in judicial decisions and
the records of the courts. It has been called, with much
force, “judge-made law.” It is a system replete with
the principles of individual liberty and self government.
Magna Charta (see above, p. 58) and the bill of rights
(see above, p. 58) only asserted principles of this
ancient law. It is founded on the actual experiences of
life, and not on mere theory or speculation.

5.—The Statutory Law.

In addition to the body of the common law, Canada
has also availed itself of those statutes which have been
passed by parliament in England from time to time to
meet a condition of things to which the old maxims of
the law could not apply. The establishment of legisla-
tures in the provinces, we have seen, was only a little
later than the entrance of the large British population,
and it was therefore in their power to adapt English
statutes to the circumstances of this country at the very
commencement of our history, or to pass such enactments
as were better suited to the country. Thus it happens
that gradually a large body of Canadian statutory law
has been built upon the common law foundation of the
legal structure, and with a view of making the law more
intelligible it has consequently been wisely ordered,
at different times, that all these statutes should be
revised and consolidated—that is, all the statutes on one
subject combined into one—by commissions composed of
learned lawyers and judges. The people of the Do-
minion and of all the provinces, except Prince Edward
Island, have now easy access to the statutory law
that governs them. It is also found convenient in
the intervals between the consolidations of the statu-
tory law to collect together, from time to time, all
the enactments on a particular subject and incorporate
them, with such amendments as are found necessary, in
one statute. This has been found especially useful in
the case of laws affecting railways, insurance, banking,
and other matters of public import. The criminal law
has been consolidated in this way and forms a distinct
code, or systematic arrangement of the criminal rules of
law to be applied by the courts.

CHAPTER V.

COURTS OF LAW IN THE PROVINCES.

1. Courts for Collection of Small Debts.—2. County Courts.—
3. Jurisdiction of Inferior Courts in Criminal Cases.—
4. Courts of Superior Jurisdiction.

When we come to review the judicial system of the
provinces we find in each of them several courts of
superior and inferior jurisdiction; that is to say whose
powers vary very much in importance and are duly set
forth in the statutes giving them legal existence and
authority. These courts may be conveniently classified
as follows—cornmencing at the foot of the judicial
structure—before I proceed to give a summary of their
constitution and functions in every province :—

1. Inferior courts of civil jurisdiction, for the recovery
of debts, and the settlement of civil actions of limited
amount.

2. Inferior courts of criminal jurisdiction, for the
summary and speedy trial of offenders against the
criminal law, for the preservation of the peace in every
community, for the preliminary examination of charges
of crime, and the committal of the accused to prison for
trial before a higher court.

3. Superior courts, for the trial of civil and criminal
cases, not limited in amount or nature, before a judge and
jury in each judicial district.

4. Special courts for the dissolution of marriage—only
in some provinces—the proving of wills, the trial of dis-
puted provincial and dominion elections, the revision of
voters’ lists and of assessment rolls in municipalities, etc.

5. The highest or supreme court in each province,
the court of appeal, to which cases are brought as the
law provides, from the courts of inferior jurisdiction
classified above.

By means of this machinery there is in each province
most elaborate provision made for the settlement of
controversies of every kind, for the prevention and
punishment of crime, the preservation of law and order,
The nature of this machinery is more fully explained
below.

1.—Courts for the Collection of Small Debts.

In the provinces the following courts try actions for
the recovery of small debts : —

In Ontario.—The division courts whose jurisdiction does not
extend beyond $100 in actions for debt or contract. In no case can
the sum of the amount to he gone into exceed $200. Their
jurisdiction does not cover in any shape gambling debts, liquor
drunk in a tavern, or notes of hand given therefor, titles to land,
will or settlement, tolls, customs or franchise, slander, seduction,
wills or testaments, or actions against a justice of the peace for
anything done in the execution of his office. Appeals lie under
certain conditions to a divisional court of appeal (see below, p. 189).
As a rule the presiding judges are judges of the county courts, but
any barrister may be appointed to hold the same.

In Quebec.—The circuit (see below, p. 179), recorders’
courts in cities (in cases of wages and actions between Iessors and
lessees), commissioners’ courts established in certain parts of the
country, and magistrates’ courts.

In New Brunswick.—Stipendiary* or police magistrates, parish
commissioners, and justices of the peace, where the debt does not
exceed $80.

*Stipendiary comes from the Latin stipendiarius, and means one who
receives a fixed salary by the year for regular service as distinguished from
an ordinary justice of the peace who is not so paid or employed.

In Nova Scotia.—One or two justices, according to the amount of
the debt, which cannot exceed $80 in any case.

In Prince Edward Island.—Stipendiary magistrates can new
exercise jurisdiction where the amount does not exceed $80 and
$50 respectively.

In British Columbia.—Stipendiary and police magistrates, where
the debt does not exceed $100.

In Manitoba.—The county courts are the courts for the collection
of small debts (see next paragraph).

2.—County Courts.

Higher in the legal structure are the county courts,
which have larger powers in civil actions than those just
named. The judges in these courts are appointed, paid
and removed only by the dominion government. The
following statement shows the powers of these judicial
bodies :

In Ontario, to the amount of $200 for debt or damages, or on
notes of hand or, where the amount is ascertained by the defendant’s
signature, to $600. In Nova Scotia, to $400 but not less than $20.
In New Brunswick, to $400. In Prince Edward Island, to $150. In
Manitoba, to $250. In British Columbia, to $1,000.

The superior courts of Quebec are in some respects county courts,
since a judicial district includes one or more counties, but their
jurisdiction in civil cases is not limited. Below them are the circuit
courts, which have exclusive jurisdiction where the sum is not less
than $100: also in all suits for school taxes and school fees, and
church dues, without reference to the amount ; and from their
decision in such cases there is no appeal. In actions which do not
arise in the chief town (chef-lieu) ofa district, the court has jurisdic-
tion (except at Quebec and Montreal) to the extent of $200, and over
all suits to which the crown is a party. In these cases there is an
appeal to the superior court. The circuit court is presided over by
a judge of the superior court. The ” circuit court of the district of
Montreal” is held by one of three judges called “circuit judges of
the district of Montreal,” but judges of the superior court can hold
it, and are vested with the some powers as the circuit judges.

In Montreal, and other cities in the province of Quebec, the
recorders are civic judges, having jurisdiction to decide actions for
taxes and assessments due to the city, market dues, water rates,
recovery of fines and penalties imposed by the city charter or
by-laws of the city.

The county courts, properly so called, have no jurisdiction in
cases involving any title to land, the validity of wills (except in
British Columbia), libel, slander, breach of promise of marriage, or
in actions against a justice of the peace for anything done by him
in the execution of his office.

3.—Jurisdiction of Inferior Courts in Criminal Cases.

In criminal cases the law gives to the lower courts
a certain limited jurisdiction. In all the cities of Canada
—and also in every large town of Ontario—there are
police or stipendiary magistrates who try offenders and
punish them summarily for drunkenness, disturbances,
breaches of the peace, and other minor offences, or send
for trial at the superior courts those persons who are
charged with criminal offences and cannot or do not
wish to be tried in these courts of more summary juris-
diction (see below, p. 182). Justices of the peace have
also power to convict persons charged with a criminal
offense, where the services of police or stipendiary magis-
trates are not available. In the province of Quebec the
recorders have the powers of police magistrates or of
two or more justices for the preservation of the peace.
In all cases of criminal charge it is simply the duty
of the presiding magistrate, or justices, as the law of a
province may provide, to see whether the evidence
brought before him is sufficient on the face of it to
authorize him to send the accused person to a higher
court for trial. In trivial matters the magistrate simply
issues a summons or order to the offender to appear
before him on a certain day. In serious offences, like
charges of murder, forgery, breach of trust, robbery,
arson, and so forth, he issues his warrant, which is a
command to a constable or policeman to arrest the
accused and bring him before the court immediately.
When a person disobeys a summons the magistrate will
issue a warrant for his arrest. The- justice can commit
a person to jail who refuses to be sworn or to give
evidence in a case. Prisoners may be “remanded,” that
is to say, their case may be postponed until another day
for adequate reason. Bail may be taken for their appear-
ance in such cases according to the circumstances of the
case and the nature of the offence. Witnesses are called
for the prosecution, and counsel may be heard on both
sides. The accused may be heard in answer to the
charge, after the examination of the witnesses for the
prosecution, and whatever he says is taken down in
writing—and as the justice warns him—can be given in
evidence against him at the trial. Every witness called
by the accused to testify to any fact relevant to the case
must be heard. The information—that is the written
statement, of the charge or charges generally on oath, on
which the justice issues his warrant—the evidence, and
all other papers relating to the inquiry must he forward-
ed by the magistrate to the clerk or other proper officer
of the court by which the accused is to be tried. In
cases where the accused is not charged with treason, or
an offence punishable by death, or offences against the
queen’s government or person, bail may be taken for his
appearance before the trial court by two justices or by a
judge of any superior or county court in the district
where he may be confined. In the other cases mention-
ed above, bail can only be allowed by order of a. superior
court of criminal jurisdiction for the province, the high
court of justice in Ontario, the queen’s bench in Quebec
and Manitoba, or the superior courts in other provinces.

The following judicial functionaries may at once—sum-
marily, as it is legally called—dispose of cases of persons
accused of theft, assault, gambling, or minor criminal
offences, who may choose to be tried without a jury in
preference to being committed to jail for trial before a
higher court :

In Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba.—Judges of county courts,
recorders, commissioner of police, judge of the sessions of the
peace, police and district magistrates, or other judicial officers who
can alone, under a provincial lau-, perform such acts as are usually
done by two or more justices of the peace.

In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.—Recorder,* county court
judge, police or stipendiary magistrate, commissioner of police.

* The recorders of the maritime provinces appear now to be nothing
more, as a rule, than solicitors or arlvisers for municipal corporations.
The towns’ incorporation act of Nova Scotia allows the slipendiary magis-
trate of a town to hold the office, and this is accordingly done very
generally in the province. In the province of Quebec the recorders are
judicial officers and can act as judges of sessions (see above, pp. 180, 181).
The office is a survival of old English judicial practice.

In Prince Edward Island and British Columbia.—Stipendiary
magistrates or two justices of the peace.

4.—Courts of Superior Jurisdiction.

In the provinces there are above all the inferior courts
just named, what are in practice high courts of justice,
having unlimited jurisdiction in all civil and criminal
cases.

The separate courts that long existed in Canada as in
England—king’s or queen’s bench, common pleas and
chancery—have been now practically abolished, and one
court can try and determine any case of law or equity
that comes before it in due process of law. For instance,
the king’s bench, chancery and common pleas divisions
of the high court of justice in Ontario no longer sit or
give judgments as such divisions, but all are qualified to
deal with any subject or point of law. In Prince Edward
Island, however, the chancery court is still in existence
as a distinct tribunal, though its procedure has now been
much simplified. The following paragraphs Show the
constitution of these superior courts in each province :

In Ontario.—One of the two divisions of the supreme court of
judicatuie called the high court of justice, composed of three divi-
sions. king’s bench, chancery, and common pleas, which have
equal jurisdiction in all matters, civil and criminal, not specially
confined to the county, surrogate and division courts. The king’s
bench is composed of a chief justice or president and two justices ;
Chancery, of It chancellor or president and threcjustices ; common
pleas, of a chief justice or president and two justices.

In Quebec.—The king’s bench for the trial of criminal cases, in
Montreal and Quebec—and elsewhere when necessary—composed
of a chief justice and five justices. A single judge holds the
criminal court. The superior court, composed of a chief justice
and an acting chief justice (who resides in Montreal or Quebec
according as the chief justice lives in the one or other city), and
of thirty-one justices who live in the chief towns of the judicial
districts of the province. It has full jurisdiction in all civil cases
not within the exclusive powers of the circuit or other courts of
limited jurisdiction. A judge of this court has criminal juris-
diction iu the districts outside of Montreal and Quebec.

In New Brunswick.—The supreme court, composed of a chief
justice and five judges, each of whom acts as a trial judge through-
out the province. One of the judges of this court sits as a judge
in equity. The supreme court has original jurisdiction in all matters
not belonging to the divorce, admiralty, probate and county courts,
whose functions are defined by law.

In Nova Scotia.—A supreme court, composed of a chief justice
and six justices, catch of whom sits as a trial judge throughout the
province. It has original jurisdiction in all matfers not specially
delegated to the lower courts, and it can also hear and determine
actions to recover a debt or Iiquidated demand in money which is
under eighty dollars and not less than twenty dollars. Any one
of the judges can exercise the powers previously vested in a judge
of equity.

In Prince Edward Island.—The supreme court, composed of a
chief justice and two justices, having original jurisdiction in all
civil and criminal cases. In civil cases, of debt, the action must be
for an amount above $32. All causes beyond the jurisdiction of the
county court can he tried before a judge of this court. A court of
Chancery still exists as a separate court in this province. Two
assistant judges of the supreme court are vice-chancellor and master
of the rolls, who preside over two courts having equal power and
jurisdiction in such matters as now in Ontario are given to the high
court of justice. The lieutenant-governor is nominally chancellor-
simply a survival of the old judicial system.

In Manitoba.—The court of king’s bench, composed of a chief
justice and three justices, possessing all the powers of the superior
courts of the other provinces.

In British Columbia.—The supreme court, composed of a chief
justice and four justices, having full jurisdiction in civil and
criminal cases as in other provinces.

CHAPTER VI.
COURTS OF LAW IN THE PROVINCES.—Continued.

5.—Probate and Surrogate Courts.—6. Heir and Devisce Court in
Ontario.—7. Courts for Trial of Controverted Elections.—
8. Courts of Revision of Assessment Rolls and Voters’ Lists.
—9. Divorce Courts.—10. Supreme Court of Appeal.—
11. Process of Courts.—12. Sheriff and Officers of Courts.—
13. Coroner.

5.—Probate and Surrogate Courts.

Besides the courts of superior and inferior jurisdiction
mentioned above, there are others of a special nature.
The probate courts of the provinces of Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, known also
as surrogate* in Ontario and Manitoba, are presided
over by one judge, and have power to deal with all
matters relating to the will or testament of deceased
persons, or the administration of the effects of persons
who leave no such will or testament. The word
“probate” shows the character of the duties of this
court ; its principal function is to prove—the Latin word
“probare” having that meaning—that a will is legally
executed, and can be carried out according to the last
wishes of the testator. But its jurisdiction extends over

* Surrogate comes from a Latin word, meaning to put in another’s place,
and was formerly applied in English law to a deputy or substitute of an
ecclesiastical judge, a bishop or his chancellor, who, until recent years, had
authority in cases of wills.

OSGOODE HALL (SUPERIOR LAW COURTS), TORONTO.
*See PDF for image.

all testamentary matters and causes, subject to the
revision of the superior courts—a divisional court of
the high court of justice in Ontario. In Quebec the
jurisdiction in probate rests with the superior court. In
British Columbia thr: county courts have jurisdiction up
to matters involving $2,500, and the supreme court
beyond that amount. In Ontario and Manitoba the
county judges are surrogate judges.

6.—Heir and Devisee Court in Ontario.

This court has power to determine claims to land in
the province where the crown has issued no patent in
favour of the proper claimants. Commissions under the
great seal are issued, when necessary, to commissioners,
the judges of the superior courts or other persons, to
deal with such cases as they arise.

7.—Courts for Trial of Controverted Elections.

In the case of controverted or disputed elections for
the dominion parliament or the provincial legislatures,
the statutory law of the Dominion and of each province
gives jurisdiction to the judges of the superior courts to
try and determine them. One judge suffices except in
Manitoba, where there must be two, and in Ontario, where
two sit for the trial of corrupt practices, as in the case of
dominion elections. Appeals lie to the supreme court of
appeal of a province in case of a provincial, and to the
supreme court of Canada in case of a dominion election.

8.—Courts of Revision of Assessment Rolls and
Voters’ Lists.

The county or district judges in Ontario and other
provinces also act as a court of appeal from the first
court of revision held by a municipality in matters of
disputed assessment (see Fifth Part, sec. 10). Complete
provision is also made for appeals in cases of disputed
voters’ lists for provincial elections: in Ontario, to county
judges; in Quebec, to superior court judge or district
magistrate; in Nova Scotia, to county sheriffs; in British
Columbia, to judges of county court and thence to su-
preme court ; in Manitoba, to judges of county courts;
in New Brunswick the revision of the lists is practically
under control of the local councils, and the sl1er’ifl”.s. No
voters’ lists appear to exist in Prince Edward Island.
These courts have all the powers necessary to compel
the attendance of witnesses and the production of papers
and books. In fact, all the provinces, with the exception
perhaps of Prince Edward Island, have made very com-
plete provision for placing every lawful voter on the
oflicial list.

9.—Courts of Divorce.

In the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and
Prince Edward Island there are courts with power to
dissolve a marriage between parties for such causes as
the law allows. In the case of British Columbia, the
supreme court of that province holds that it possesses all
the jurisdiction conferred on the court of divorce in
England. By the British North America Act the parlia-
ment of Canada has sole power to deal with the subject
of marriage and divorce, and can alone grant divorce by
special legislation on each case that comes before it
from Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and the Northwest
Territories, where no courts have been established by its
authority. The courts in the maritime provinces existed
before 1867, and continue to exercise their powers in the
absence of dominion legislation. The senate, where bills
of divorce are first presented by usage (see above, p. 94),
has a special committee and special rules on the subject.

10.—Supreme Courts of Appeal in the Provinces.

In all the provinces there are the following courts of
highest juristliction, to which appeals can be made from
the judgment of a court, presided over by one or more
judges:

In Ontario.—One of the divisions of the supreme court of judi-
cature, called the court of appeal, composed of a chief justice and
four justices. It hears appeals from the three divisions of the
high court of justice, king’s bench, common pleas and chancery,
within the limitations fixed by the judienture act. In cases of an
appeal from a divisional court of the high court of justice, five
members must sit as a court; from a single judge three are a
quorum. In case of illness or unavoidable absence of a judge,
the vacancy may he filled by a judge of the high court, so as to
make a quorum. The court of appeal may sit in two divisions at
the same time, with the assistance of such number of judges of the
high court as may be necessary at the time.

Below the court of appeal are the divisional courts of the high
court of justice of Ontario. Appeals are allowed to one of those
divisional courts (see p. 183, for constitution of these courts),
but limitations are imposed on the right of subsequent appeal
to the chief court of appeal. An act of 1895 provides that
there shall not he more than one appeal in the province from any
judgment or order made in any action or matter save at the instance
of the crown, or in a case in which the crown is concerned, or in
such cases as are specified in the statute. Appeal upon special
leave from a divisional court to the chief court of appeal shall not
he allowed unless the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value
of $1,000, exclusive of costs, or involves indirectly or otherwise that
sum or value; or involves the validity of a patent; or where the
judgment or order involves a question of law or practice on which
there have been conflicting decisions or opinions by the high court of
justice, or by judges thereof; or where a judgment or order is in
regard to a matter of practice, but affects the ultimate rights of
parties to the action to the extent of the said sum or value ; or where
there are other sufficient special reasons for treating the case as
exceptional and allowing a further appeal. In case a party appeals
to a divisional court of the high court in a case in which an appeal
lies to the court of appeal, the party so appealing shall not be
entitled to afterwards appeal from the said divisional court to the
court of appeal, but any other party to the action or matter may
appeal to the court of appeal from the judgment or order of the
divisional court. No judge shall sit as a judge on the hearing of
an appeal from any judgment or order made by himself.

In Quebec.—The court of kings bench which hears appeals from
the superior court in civil cases. It also hears appeals on points of
law under the criminal code (see above, p. 172). As a court of
appeal, four judges constitute a competent court, though five, and
no more, can sit. A minor court of appeal is the court of review,
consisting of three judges of the superior court, and reviewing judg-
ments given by a single judge of that tribunal. If this court of
review confirin the first judgment, an appeal can be made only to
the supreme court of Canada, or to the judicial committee of the
privy council. If the judgment is reversed by the court of review,
an appeal is allowed to the king’s bench, appeal side.

In New Brunswick.—The supreme court sitting as a full court,
but of whom four justices form a quorum.

In Nova Scotia.—The supreme court, sitting in banco, or a full
court, of whom four—or three in case of illness—form a quorum.

In Prince Edward Island.—The supreme court sitting as a full
court, and having jurisdiction on appealed chancery cases.

In Manitoba.—The court of king’s bench, sitting as a full court,
of whom three form a quorum.

In British Columbia.—The supreme court, sitting as a full court,
of whom three shall be a quorum.

From the judgments of the foregoing provincial courts
of appeal there are appeals to the supreme court of
Canada (see above, p. 129) and finally to the judicial
committee of the privy council under the limitations and
conditions laid down for such an appeal (see above,
p. 66).

Appeals are allowed to the supreme court of Canada.
in criminal cases only when the court of appeal in a
province is not unanimous. No appeal can be brought
in any criminal case from any judgment or order of
any court of Canada to the judicial committee of the
privy council (see abave, p. 66).

11.—Process.

Every court gives effect to its powers by forms of
proceeding (process) set forth in the statute defining its
jurisdiction and in its rules of practice. In civil actions,
process is of various kinds: 1. A writ of surnmons to
compel a defendant to appear before a court. 2. Sub-
poena, or summons to witnesses to appear and give evi-
dence in a suit or be subject to a penalty or punishment
(which is the translation of subpena). 3. Summons
to jurors to appear at a trial. 4. Execution of a judg-
ment or order of a court, besides other proceedings not
necessary to mention here. A warrant is a guarantee or
protection (the original meaning of an old French word
warant) to the person executing it that he has authority
for so doing. It is by warmnts that persons charged
with crime are brought before a magistrate and com-
mitted to prison, and other processes necessary in civil
and criminal cases executed.

12.—Sheriff and Officers of the Courts.

The most importantiofficer in the execution of process
of law is the sheriff, who is appointed by the lieutenant-
governor in council in the provinces, and by the
governor-general in the territories. One sheriff is
appointed for every county or judicial district in a
province. Here again we have another example of our
close adherence to old English names. The sheriff was
in Saxon times the judicial president of the scir-gemot
or assembly (gemot) of the shire (scir), one of the divi-
sions of the English kingdoms. He was the ” reeve” or
headman of the shire, the stir-grerefa, which has in the
course of centuries been softened to sheriff. In Norman
times the shire became a county, and its government,
judicial, military, and financial, was practically executed
by the sheriff, who was directly responsible to the king.
In the course of time he was deprived of his large
powers, and became a purely civil officer. He is now
in Canada an officer of dignity, connected with the
superior courts, whose orders, sentences and judgments
are carried out under his direction, even to the execution
of a criminal. He summons juries, has charge of the
jails and their keepers. He appoints his own deputies
and officers, and is responsible for their misconduct and
negligence in executing the process of the courts. He
gives security for the proper performance of his onerous
duties.

In connection with the courts there is also a large body
of officers, known as county attorneys, clerks of the
peace, deputy clerks of the crown, county court clerks,
registrars of high or surrogate courts, and others, all of
whom are appointed by the government of a province to
perform special duties in connection with the adminis-
tration of justice. Every process of a court is duly
issued, and registered in the records of the court, by the
proper officer. The prothonotaries* in Quebec and else-
where are the clerks of the superior courts, who issue
writs, keep the archives and records, and enter judgments.
In Quebec they have the right to appoint tutors and
render judgments in certain uncontested commercial
cases.

*From two Greek words, meaning a first notary or clerk.

The name of constable, now the lowest in the judicial
machinery, goes back to early Norman times, when it
represented an office of high dignity, which nobles were
proud to hold. The constables of the superior court are
generally known as bailiffs. All constables are “peace
officers” who serve the summons and warrants of the
proper courts. In cities they are known as policemen.
They can arrest persons who break the law in their
presence, and bring them before the proper court at the
earliest possible moment. Otherwise they act only
under an order from a magistrate, sheriff, or court. In
times of threatened riot or disturbance, special constables
are appointed by justices to preserve the peace. Con-
stables are appointed by the judges of sessions or
magistrates, or municipal councils, or police commission-
ers, as the law provides in each case in a province.

13.—Office of Coroner.

The office of coroner goes also back to early English
times, when he was a royal officer specially appointed to
look after the peace and interests of the crown (Latin
corona, thence coroner) in a special district allotted to
him. It is now his duty to inquire into the cause of the
death of a person who is killed or dies suddenly, or in
prison. When the circumstances of the case require an
investigation, he summons a jury, calls witnesses, and
holds an ” inquest ” on view of the body at the place
where it was found. Upon the facts disclosed a verdict
is given by the jury. Persons may be charged with
murder, manslaughter, or culpable negligence, according
to the nature of the death. When a coroner’s “in-
quisition” (inquiry or investigation) charges a person
with manslaughter or murder, he must issue his warrant
to bring the accused immediately before a magistrate or
justice, who will proceed to make inquiryinto the case as
the law provides. Coroners can also investigate the
origin of fires, when the circumstances point to in-
cendiarism or criminal design.

14.—The Legal Profession.

In each of the provinces there is a law society, incor-
porated by statute, for the promotion of the interests of
the legal profession, and the regulation of the study
necessary before admission to the practice of law. In
nearly all the provinces every person must be entered as a
student-at-law, according to the rules of the several law
societies, for five years before he can be admitted to the
bar. But an exception is made in the case of one who
has taken adegree in arts or law in a recognized univer-
sity. In Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia, the
term of studies for a barrister is then reduced to three
years. In Quebec, only one year is taken off for admission
as “an advocate “—the general designation of a lawyer
in this province—when a student has received a degree
in law in a university. In Nova Scotia four years’ study
admits a barrister, but one year is deducted in the case
of a university graduate. In New Brunswick, four years’
study is required for admission as an attorney, but one
year is taken off in the case of a university graduate.
Then a man can be admitted as a barrister one year
after becoming an attorney. In Prince Edward Island,
five years’ study is necessary for an attorney and one
year later he can be admitted as a barrister, but two
years are taken off for a university graduate. An
attorney is one who does not plead in court, but prepares
“the brief,” or case for the barrister or counsel, who can
alone plead and argue before the judge. In other pro-
vinces attorneys are also called solicitors, and are
admitted on the same terms as barristers. In all the
provinces examinations are necessary before a man can
be admitted to the study and practice of law, under the
regulations of the different law societies. The univer-
sities of the provinces now, generally speaking, have
regular courses of lectures and examinations in law, and
confer degrees of bachelor and doctor of laws.

The attorney-general of a province has precedence at
the bar over all other members, but he ranks below the
minister of justice as attorney-general of the Dominion.
Both the dominion and provincial governments appoint
king’s counsel, who have a certain precedence at the
bar, and ought to be always men of high legal standing.

15. —Notaries.

In Quebec, notaries form a distinct profession, and are
incorporated. They are public officers, whose special
duty it is to draw up and execute legal deeds, assure the
date thereof, preserve the same in safe keeping, and
deliver copies and extracts of the same, for certain fees
regulated by law. No advocate or physician can hold
the position. A course of five years’ study is required
before admission. In the other provinces, notaries are
generally lawyers, appointed for that special purpose by
the lieutenant-governor in council. Other persons, not
members of the legal profession, can be appointed when
they have the qualifications required by law. A notary
—generally called “notary public,”—as in Quebec, certi-
fies deeds and other writings, or copies of the same, and
his seal and certificate give them validity at home and
abroad. Their most common duty is in the “protesting”
of notes and bills of exchange—in other words, a legal
declaration necessary when such commercial paper or
liability is not paid at the time and place required under
the law governing these matters.

CHAPTER VII.

TRIAL OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES.

1. Origin of Courts of Assize, Nisi Prius, Oyer and Terminer,
etc.—2. Trial by Jury.—3. Trial of Civil Actions.—4. Trial
of Criminal Offences.—5. Appeals in Criminal Cases.—
6. Speedy Trial of Criminal Offences.—7. Extradition of Crimi-
nals.—8. Writ of Habeas Corpus.

1.—Origin of Courts of Assize, Nisi Prius, Oyer and
Terminer, etc.

The judges of the high courts of justice, whether
called supreme or superior, or high courts, make what
are called ” circuits ” of a province at least twice a year,
and hold courts for the trial of civil and criminal cases
not limited in their nature. These are the courts in
which life and property are most deeply involved. Here
we see in full operation that system of trial by jury which
has always been the distinguisliing feature of English
law and justice, as compared with the methods of France
and other nations. These courts have long been known
as courts of assize, nisi prius, of oyer and termincr, of
general jail delivery. In their origin and methods of
procedure we see the example of England as in all our
institutions of government. When it became necessary
to separate the original king’s court (curia regis) of early
Norman days into branches to meet the increasing
demands of the people for justice, three divisions were
formed: (1) The exchequer attended to revenue and
fiscal matters; (2) common pleas, to all matters of a
civil nature; (3) the kings bench, to criminal and all
other business not given to the other courts. In the
course of time another court arose, known as the chan-
cery, to provide redress for petitioners who could not
readily obtai’n it under the rules of law and procedure
that obtained in the common law courts. Justices also
were sent on the circuit of the kingdom to admin-
ister justice in counties. It seems to have been always
a fundamental principle of the administration of law in
England that cases, whether civil or criminal, should be
tried in local courts or in the presence of the county and
people where the suitors or accused lived, and not in a
distant or unknown tribunal. It was as an expansion of
this principle that trial by jury arose in the judicial
system of England. In olden times, for a long while
after the Norman conquest, it was customary to summon
twelve persons who lived in the inimediate neighbour-
hood where a dispute had arisen, and to swear them to
tell the truth according to their knowledge of the facts,
or by their “recognition,” as it was called. In fact,
they were simply witnesses who acted to the best of
their knowledge and belief, and represented the opinions
of the district where they lived. Eventually there arose
out of this primitive method of coming to a conclusion
on a disputed case, the practice of calling witnesses,
and of summoning twelve men of the neighbourhood
to decide on the facts as set forth in the evidence.

In the words jury, assize, nisi prius, oyer and terminer,
we see the evidences of Norman influence in the courts
of England and her colonial possessions. “Jury” Comes
from an old French word meaning to ” swear,” and was
applied to the body, because the ordinance or “assize”
that first summoned them required each member to take
an oath. “Assize” is also derived from the Norman
French, and was used originally to designate the sittings
or sessions of a judicial or even legislative body, and
subsequently even to the ordinance or law of such an
assembly. “Nisi prius” is also a phrase of old legal
proceedings. Formerly the sheriff of a county was
commanded to bring a jury to Westminster—the central
tribunal of the kingdom—on a certain day unless before
(the translation of “nisi prius”) that time the justices of
assizes came into the district. Now a trial at nisi prius
means simply when an action is tried before a judge and
jury. The words “oyer and terminer” (hear and
determine) are also relics of the days when English
statutes and the proceedings of the courts were in
Norman French. Consequently when we hear of the
judges holding such courts we know that it means that
they come clothed with authority to hold sittings at which
they will hear and judge all cases brought before them.
Then there is a general jail delivery. The jails then
must deliver up their prisoners for trial before A jury of
sworn men chosen from the neighbourhood, as in old
English times. Below I explain the method of choosing
a jury on a criminal trial (p. 205).

Persons on bail must come forward and surrender
themselves for trial, or else their securities will have to
pay the penalties the law has required.

2.—Trial by Jury in Canada.

Trial by jury, which never existed under French rule,
was established in Canada in 1785 in matters of
commerce and personal wrong. Of course thesystem
formed part of the criminal law which was introduced
into Canada after the cession in 1763, and the king
instructed the governor-general, Murray, to pass an
ordinance to permit French as well as English to sit
as jurymen. Gradually it came very generally into
operation, even in matters under the civil law. At
present, jurymen in all the provinces with the exception
of British Columbia require to be British subjects who
are on the assessment roll of a county or other district
where they serve, and to possess a certain amount of
real or personal property. In the province of British
Columbia they need only be British subjects and
electors in a district. In Quebec and Nova Scotia grand
jurors need a higher qualification than petty jurymen.
Jurymen are chosen by ballot by selectors—certain
officials of a county in Ontario and some of the other
provinces, but the process is too complicated to explain
it here intelligently. The complete list of jurors chosen
for a sitting of a court or assize is called a “panel,” from
the fact that originally the list was written on a little
slip or piece (panel in old French) of parchment. The
men selected for particular trials are said to be “impan-
nelled,” entered or enrolled on the list.

In civil cases of disputed facts juries are still required
in the majority of the provinces, but of late years the
tendency has been to allow the judge himself to decide
on the evidence in matters where there are nice and com-
plicated points of law at issue, and juries are now be-
coming less common. As a general principle, however,
in the determination of actions at law the judge decides
the law, and the jury the facts of the case. In all criminal
cases before the court an accused has a right to a jury of
twelve men, and the verdict must be unanimous for con-
viction. It is optional for him to be summarily tried by
a county judge or justice (see above, p. 176) in certain
cases.

In the trial of issues of fact in civil actions it is no
longer necessary to have a jury of twelve or to have their
unanimous verdict. In Ontario, the number ofa jury is
twelve, or eleven under certain circumstances, and the
number required for a verdict is ten. In the other pro-
vinces the respective numbers are as follows: Quebec.
twelve in all and nine for a verdict; Nova Scotia, nine in
all and seven for a verdict after four hours’ deliberation ;
in New Brunswick, seven in all and five for a verdict in
the supreme court, but five in all and four for a verdict
in the county court; in Prince Edward Island, seven in
all and five for a verdict ; in Manitoba, twelve in all but
nine for a verdict, though parties may agree to a jury of
nine; in British Columbia, eight in all in the supreme
court, with three-fourths for a verdict in the same
court, but five in all and four for a verdict in the
county court, when in either case they have been in
deliberation for three hours and are not unanimous in all
respects.

3.—Trial of Civil Actions.

In actions between persons for the settlement of a
dispute, the one who commences the suit for redress is
called the plaintiff (from the French word meaning one
who complains), and the other who is asked to give
that redress or to defend his refusal is the defendant
(From a French and Latin word meaning to ward off, or
contest). The plaintiff obtains from an officer of a court
a writ of summons containing a statement of the claim,
and this is served on the defendant, who has to put his
defence in the form required by law. The case is placed
before the court in a pleading, the object of which is to
get from both parties a full statement of the claim and
defence. When the case is ready for trial, and is called
by the officer of the court, the counsel for the plaintiff
opens the pleadings, or explains the nature of the claim
at issue. He then calls upon his witnesses, who are
examined one after the other by himself under the rules
of evidence, and cross-examined by the defendant’s
counsel to break down their testimony, if possible, or
bring out some points in favour of the defendant’s side.
Then, when the evidence for the plaintiff is all in, the
defendant may call and examine his witnesses, who are
cross-examined in turn by the plaintiffs counsel. If
there are no witnesses for the defence the plaintiff’s
counsel sums up his evidence, and the dcfendant’s coun-
sel replies. Sometimes the judge may order a “non-
suit” ; i.e., on the ground that the plaintiff has failed to
make out his case. But when evidence is given on both
sides, the counsel for the defendant sums up, and the
counsel for the plaintiff replies. If the case is one for a
jury, the judge reads the evidence and makes such
observations as law and usage allow him, and instructs
the jury as to the law of the case. The jury then retire
to their room to consider their verdict, which will be
based on the facts, the law of the case they must take
from the judge. If they have decided (see above, p. 201)
for the plaintiff or defendant they return, and through
their foreman state its nature. If they cannot agree, and
the judge is of opinion that there is no probability of their
coming to an agreement, they are discharged from
attendance, and the case has to be tried at another time
before a new jury. Speaking generally, the costs are
paid by the person who has lost his suit. These are,
however, matters of detail to be decided by the court
according to its discretion and the circumstances of the
case. The law gives suitors in civil cases every possible
opportunity of appeal to the court above (see above,
p. 182). A plaintiff or defendant may conduct his own
case, but when neither is a lawyer the wise course is to
employ a professional man. A person charged with a
criminal offence has also the right to defend himself.

4.—Trial of Criminal Offences.

In criminal cases, involving life and liberty, justice
proceeds with great deliberation. It is the duty of the
crown prosecutor—a county crown attorney in Ontario—
to take all the steps that the law requires for the trial of
a prisoner committed to jail by a magistrate (see above,
p. 175) on a. criminal offence. Before the person can be
tried before the court of assizes he must be indicted—that
is, the court must have before it a statement showing in
strictly legal form, but in explicit and popular language,
the nature of the offence for which he is to be tried.
This indictrnent must be prepared by the crown counsel
or attorney authorized by the attorney-general of a
province to look after the preliminaries of crown cases.
It is his duty to submit the “information” (see above,
p. 175) and all other papers setting forth the cause of
commitment before what is called a grand jury, which is
composed of, in the provinces, not less than twelve and
not more than twenty-four persons chosen specially
from a carefully selected panel or list of jurymen (see
above, p. 200). The grand jury do not “try” an accused.
No witnesses in support of the prisoner are examined,
but the jury simply come to a conclusion whether there
is sufficient evidence before them to put the prisoner on
his trial. If the jury decide that there is a case against
the prisoner, then-their foreman writes a “true bill” on
the bill of indictment or the information laid before
them. If there is no such case, he writes “no case,” and
the accused is entitled to his liberty unless there is
another bill of indictment in his case to be considered.
The law of the province of Quebec requires that in the
districts of Quebec and Montreal—and wherever the
judge may so order—one half of the jury must speak
English and the other half French. From time to time
an agitation has been started for the abolition of this
jury; but the conservative instincts of the people have
so far prevented any change being made in an old
English law originally instituted for the protection of
persons accused of grave offences.

In the case of a “true bill,” the accused is put on his
trial before a petty (from the French petit) or common
jury, chosen from the panel for that sitting of the court
(see above, p. 200).

The counsel for the crown is always a prominent
barrister and king’s counsel learned in the law, chosen
to conduct the prosecution by the attomey-general of
the province. In all criminal cases the crown, or the
reigning king or queen, is the prosecutor, and in his or
her name all actions are brought against those who
commit a criminal offence. The representative in a
province is the attorney-general, whose duty it is to
protect the interests of the crown and people in all
criminal cases affecting life, liberty and property. ” When
the prisoner is standing in the dock* in the presence of
the court, the indictment must be read to him, and he is
called upon to plead “guilty,” or ” not guilty ” as it most
invariably happens. The next step is to choose twelve
jurors from the panel. Each juryman is called by name
and address, but before he is sworn, both crown and
accused, acting through their respective counsel, can
“challenge” (or object to) a juryman serving on the
trial. This objection may be without cause assigned
(“peremptory”) or for some special cause, as that he
has expressed or is known to have an opinion on the
case, that he is a particular friend of the accused, or is
otherwise likely to be influenced one way or the other,
The number of “challenges” are regulated by the law.
chiefly with respect to the gravity of the offence.

* Probably from an old Dutch word, meaning a cage. A prisoner is
placed in the deck for felonious offences, or in other words for grave crimes.

The following is the procedure in calling a jury to try
a prisoner: The name and number of each juror on the
panel, and the place of his abode, are written on separate
pieces of card, each of equal size. These cards are
handed to the proper officer of the court by the sheriff or
his deputy, or other person having the panel in his
charge, placed in a box provided for that purpose, and
then well shaken together. The officer of the court
draws one card at a time, and calls out the name and
number on the same, until such a number of persons
have answered to their names as will probably be
sufficient to provide a full jury of twelve, after allowing
for challenges. The officer then proceeds to swear each
juror in the order in which his name is called, provided
he is not challenged or obliged to stand by. Provision
is made for mixed juries of English and French speaking
persons in Quebec and Manitoba, when necessary.

The twelve men at last selected and sworn in this way
compose the jury to try the prisoner on the indictment
presented by the crown. Then the crown counsel states
the case against the accused, and points out the nature
of the evidence to be produced. Witnesses for the crown
are called, and when each has sworn or “affirmed” to
tell ” the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth,” he or she is duly examined by the crown counsel.
Sometimes the court orders, in important cases and
under special circumstances, that witnesses be kept out
of the court room and separately examined. Counsel
for the defence can cross-examine the witnesses. At the
close of the case for the prosecution the defence must
declare whether it intends to present evidence, and if the
reply is in the negative the crown’s counsel may sum
up, and the defence follows. The attorney or solicitor-
general, or counsel acting in behalf of either, may reply,
but this is reserved for special occasions, or he may
reply instead of summing up. When the defence has
evidence to adduce, it has the right to open, and then
examine witnesses. Any person on trial may give evi-
dence on his or her own behalf. When the evidence
for the defence is closed the counsel can sum up. The
crown’s counsel replies, and the judge finally reviews
the evidence with strict impartiality and explains the
law as in civil suits (see above, p. 202). The jury then
retire in charge of an officer of the court to consider their
verdict. When they have decided they come into court,
and after each has answered to his name, the foreman
declares whether the prisoner is “guilty,” or “not guilty.”
When they cannot agree, and the court is satisfied that
it is useless to keep them longer, they are discharged
from attendance, and a new jury may be drawn from the
panel or the trial postponed on such conditions as
justice may require. Sometimes in giving a verdict of
guilty on a case of capital punishment the jury may
consider some circumstances justify them in adding a
recommendation of mercy, but this fact cannot prevent
the passing of the sentence, though the judge must
report the recommendation to the crown. Sometimes
the judge has it in his discretion not to impose the
highest penalty of the law, but to lessen its severity.
But in cases of high treason or murder he has no such
discretion.

5.—Appeals in Criminal Cases.

The law allows appeals to a higher court in criminal
cases under special circumstances, and on the conditions
laid down in the code. Points of law may be taken to
the court of appeal. If that court gives a final decision on
the question submitted, it is final; but if any of the judges
dissent, the case may go to the supreme court of Canada.
Sentence may be postponed until the point at issue has
been decided. A new trial may be allowed, or other
order given in the interests of justice. The court of
appeal or the minister of justice may also order a new jury
when the court before which the trial took place gives
leave to the prisoner’s counsel to apply to the appeal
court on the ground that the verdict was against the
weight of evidence, or when the minister of justice him-
self entertains a doubt as to the justice of the conviction.

If no appeal is allowed, or no new trial ordered, the
verdict and sentence of the first court hold good, and the
convicted person must suffer the punishment that the
law has awarded him, unless indeed at the last moment
the governongeneral is advised under extraordinary and
exceptional circumstances, that cannot well be defined
here, to exercise the royal prerogative of mercy, and
modify the sentence, or pardon the prisoner.

6.—Speedy Trial of Criminal Offences.

In the case of persons committed to jail for trial for
certain minor criminal offences, they may elect—state
their preference—to be tried at once without a jury by
the following judicial functionaries out of the regular
term or sittings of the court, at which they would be
tried in the due course of law.

In Ontario, county judges. In Quebec, judges of sessions, or
district magistrates, or sheriff where there are no such magistrates.
In Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, county judges. In
Manitoba, judges of the king’s bench or county courts. In British
Columbia, judges of the supreme or county courts.

7.—Extradition of Criminals.

Treaties exist between England and several foreign
countries—the United States being one—for the extra-
dition (surrender) of persons who have fled to Canada
after committing certain criminal offences in those
countries. A judge may issue his warrant for the arrest
of a fugitive on a foreign warrant, or on an information
or complaint laid before him. The judge may hear the
case in the same manner, as nearly as may be, as if the
fugitive were brought before a justice of the peace,
(see anew, p. 175) charged with committing a criminal
offence in Canada. When he commits a fugitive to
prison he shall transmit all the papers in the case to the
minister of justice, who, after inquiry, may order his
surrender to the officer authorized by a foreign state to
receive him. He cannot be surrendered until the end
of fifteen days after committal, and he can in the mean-
time apply for a writ of habeas corpus (see below). The
crimes for which a person may be surrendered are of
a grave character: murder, forgery, larceny, embezzle-
ment, abduction, arson, robbery, perjury, obtaining goods
by false pretenses, and many others ; but no person can
be given up for a purely political offence.

8.—Writs of Habeas Corpus.

This famous writ, like so many proceedings in old
Englisli times, was written in Latin, and is now recog—
nized by words that appeared therein, meaning “you
have the body to answer” (habeas corpus ad subjiciendum).
It is closely associated with the liberties of Englishmen,
and its origin must be sought in the principles of the
common law, which forbade the commitment of any
person to prison without sufficient cause. This principle
was embodied in Magna Charta (see above, p. 58), but
it was not until the reign of King Charles II. that power
was given to any court to issue the writ in cases of
persons imprisoned on a criminal charge in England, or
the colonies, or other countries, and not until 1816—or
nearly 140 years later—was it extended to commitment
on civil charges. In French Canada. no such law was
ever in force, and it was only after the cession of Canada
to England that it was introduced as a part of the
English criminal law, and incorporated into an ordinance
to prevent doubts as to its operation. Now the law
permits any person who is in prison on a criminal charge,
and believes he has a right to his personal liberty, to
obtain a writ or command of a superior court to the
jailer to bring him before that court, when his case may
be fully argued on the points raised ; and if he can show
that he is unlawfully detained the court will order him
to be discharged from custody. It is now chiefly useful
in proceedings for the surrender of a criminal fugitive to
the authorities of another country (see above, p. 208).

CHAPTER VIII.

PROVINCIAL REVENUES.

1. Sources of Revenue.—2. Provincial Subsidies.—3. Crown Lands.

1.—Sources of Revenue.

The revenues of the provinces are chiefly derived from
the proceeds of royalties from mines (very valuable in
Nova Scotia), the sales of crown lands, timber and
minerals, and the subsidies or annual allowances made
by the dominion government under the authority of the
British North America Act, for the purpose of enabling
them to carry on their government (see below, p. 213).
The ninety-second section authorizes the legislatures to
impose direct taxation on the province in order to raise
a revenue for provincial purposes, to borrow money on
the sole credit of the province, and to raise money from
shop, saloon, tavern and auctioneer licenses, in order to
the raising of a revenue for provincial, local, or muni-
cipal purposes. When the Quebec convention sat, this
question of provincial revenue was one that gave the
delegates greatest difficulty. In all the provinces the
sources of revenue were chiefly customs and excise
duties which had to be set apart for the general govern-
ment. Some of the delegates from Ontario, where
there had been for many years an admirable system
of municipal government in existence which provided
funds for education and local improvements, saw many
advantages in direct taxation; but the representatives
of the other provinces could not consent to such a pro-
position, especially in the case of Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, where there was
no municipal system, and the people depended almost
exclusively on the annual grants of the legislature for
the means to meet their local necessities. All of the dele-
gates, in fact, felt that to force the provinces to resort to
direct taxation as the only method of carrying on their
government, would be probably fatal to the success of
the scheme, and it was finally decided that the central
government should grant annual subsidies, based on
population, the relative debts, the financial position, and
such other facts as should be brought fairly into the con-
sideration of the case. These financial arrangements
were incorporated with the act of union, and necessarily
entail a heavy expense annually on the exchequer of the
Dominion. In consequence of the demand that arose
in Nova Scotia for ” better terms,” previous to and after
the union, the parliament of the Dominion, in the session
of 1869, legislated so as to meet the difficulty that had
arisen, and it was accordingly decided to grant addi-
tional allowances to the provinces, calculated on increased
amounts of debt as compared with what they were
allowed in the British North America Act of 1867 to
enter the union. Manitoba, British Columbia, and
Prince Edward Island also obtained annual subsidies in
accordance with the general basis laid down in the con-
stitution. It is from these subsidies that all the provinces
derive the greater part of their annual revenues. Nova
Scotia has a considerable fund from the proceeds of
“royalty,” or a tax levied on the quantity of coal and
other minerals raised at the mines. Ontario is in the most
favourable position from the very considerable revenue
raised from lands and timber dues, and from the admir-
able system of municipal government, which has during
half a century given such a stimulus to local improve-
ments. In none of the provinces has there been a general
system of direct taxation adopted for provincial purposes.
In the maritime provinces the extension of a system of
municipal government, within a few years, will probably
in the course of time relieve the provincial governments
of some local expenditures that have been defrayed out
of the general funds.

2.—Provincial Subsidies.

The subsidies and allowances paid in 1901 by the
dominion government to the several provincial authori-
ties in accordance with law are as follows :—

Ontario. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,339,287

Quebec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,086,713

Nova Scotia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432,807

New Brunswick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483,492

Manitoba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483,687

British Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242,689

Prince Edward Island . . . . . . . . . . .. 221,932

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,290,607

3.—Crown Lands in the Provinces.

In all the provinces there are large tracts of public,
unsettled lands, called crown lands. By the British
North America Act all the lands, mines and minerals
that belonged to Canada, Nova Scotia and New Bruns-
wick at the union remained in possession of the govern-
ments of those provinces. The terms of union with
Prince Edward Island in 1873 enabled its government to
purchase the claims of the proprietors to whom all the
lands of the province had been granted by the imperial
authorities in 1767. In this way the government of the
island became at last owners of a small tract of crown
lands not occupied by the inhabitants who, for the most
part, had been only tenants before the purchase in
question. The British Columbia government, on enter-
ing the federation in 1871, retained their public lands
with the exception of what is known as the “railway
belt,” which they conveyed to the Dominion for the con-
struction of the Canadian Pacific railway. In Manitoba
and the Northwest Territories the public lands remain
under the control of the dominion government. All
these dominion and provincial lands can be granted
only by the crown; that is to say, by the govern-
ments of Canada and of each province. The history
of tenure of land in England and her colonial posses-
sions goes back to many centuries ago. In earliest
English times, all land that was not held by individuals
belonged to the nation, and was called “folk-land.” It
could be disposed of only by consent of the people’s
council, the witenagemot, or assembly of the wisemen,
Gradually as the king’s power increased, and he came to
be regarded as the nation’s representative, the public
land was looked upon as his own. At first, he asked the
assent of the council before granting it, but eventually he
dispensed with that form altogether. With the coming
of Norman William the principles of feudalism—from
“feod,” an estate—which had so long prevailed in France
and Germany, were established in England. Feudalism
was based on the principle of a lord giving protection to
an inferior, or vassal or tenant, for a certain service.
This tenant or vassal received land from his lord in return
for personal military service, or money or men. The
absolute proprietorship in the soil, however, rested in the
lord who could resume it on a failure of the tenant or
vassal to perform his obligations. The king’ gave land to
nobles or lords for a certain service; they again divided
those lands among their own retainers also on certain
conditions of homage or service. But the king of
England from William’s time was the supreme lord to
whom the barons and nobles, as well as the tenants under
them, alone owed allegiance and service. ” Folk-land ”
became now “crown land.” The whole soil of England,
except the ecclesiastical domain, fell into the kings
possession as a result of the conquest, and he granted
it to those whom he chose. No land henceforth could
be held as a grant except from him. In the course
of centuries all the military conditions of land tenure
and other aids which the king claimed as lord paramount
of the kingdom were swept away, and the public or crown
lands became a portion of the national revenue. The
sovereign has given up his ancient hereditary revenues.
of which the crown lands were a part, in return for a
“civil list,” or a fixed sum of money granted by parlia«
ment for the support of government and the maintenance
of the dignity of the crown. In this way the crown land
has again become practically the folk-land. The convey-
ance of land in England is still rernarkably encumbered
by the conditions of old feudal tenure, but Canada as
a new country is free from all such difficulties. The
seigniorial tenure of French Canada was a simple form of
feudalism, but it was abolished forty years ago, and every
man can now hold his land as the sole proprietor (see
above, p. 25). In the present mode of granting the
public domain, however, we see a relic of feudalism.
The crown is still theoretically the owner, and in its name
alone can the public land be granted away, The crown,
however, now means the government of the Dominion, or
the government of a province, according as the lands lie
in the one or the other, and they convey and grant land
by a legal document called a “patent.” In all the
provinces, and in the Dominion (see above, pp. 80, 144),
some member of the government has the supervision
and management of this branch of the public service.
Throughout Canada there are registry offices under the
charge of officials whose special duty it is, in return for
a small fixed fee, to record all grants, titles and mortgages,
and all other matters touching the sale, conveyance, and
encumbrances of real estate, and to supply every infor-
mation that may be required at any time on such
matters.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.

The references in the bibliographical note at the end of Part Three (see above,
p. 141) apply to this Part; especially Bourinot’s Constitutional Works,
and Todd’s Parliamentary Government in the Colonies, where a review is
given of the constitutional systems of the different provinces. In all these
books comments are made on the operation of the dominion veto of
provincial legislation, and the great usefulness of the decisions of the
courts in cases of constitutional doubt and difficulty. All the books on the
cabinet system of England, mentioned in the previous bibliographical
notes (see above, pp. 68, 141) can be consulted in connection with pro-
vincial government.

FIFTH PART.

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
IN THE PROVINCES.

CHAPTER. PAGE.

I-II.—NATURE OF THE MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS OF THE PROVINCES. 219

CHAPTER I.

NATURE OF THE MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS OF THE PROVINCES.

1. Growth of Local Self-Government.—2. Statutory Law Governing
Municipal Institutions.—3. Municipal Divisions.—4. Consti-
tution of Councils.

1.—Growth of Local Self-Government.

We have now to consider the important place occupied
by local self-government in the provincial structure. In
the days of French rule, as my readers have already
been told (see above, p. 15) the most insignificant
matters of local concern were kept under the direct con-
trol of the council and especially of the intenclant at
Quebec. Until 1841 the legislature of Quebec was
practically a municipal council for the whole province,
and the objection of the habitants to any measure
of local taxation prevented the adoption of a workable
municipal system. In Upper Canada, however, the
legislature was gradually relieved of many works and
matters of local interest by measures of local govern«
ment which infused a spirit of energy and enterprise in
the various counties, towns and cities. The union of
1841 led to the introduction of municipal institutions in
both the provinces, in conformity with the political and
material development of the country. By 1867 there
was a liberal system in operation in Upper and Lower
Canada, but the same cannot be said of the maritime
provinces. It has been only within a few years that the
legislatures of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have
organized a municipal system on the basis of that so
successfully adopted in the larger provinces. In Prince
Edward Island, however, matters remain much as they
were half a century ago, and the legislature is practically
a municipal council for the whole island. Charlottetown
and Summerside have special acts of incorporation
giving them elected mayors and councils, with the right
of taxation for municipal purposes as in other provinces.
At the present time all the provinces, with this one
exception, have an excellent municipal code, which
enables every defined district, large or small, to carry on
efficiently all those public improvements essential to the
comfort, convenience, and general necessities of its in-
habitants. Even in the territories of the Northwest
every facility is given to the people in every populous
district, or town, to organize a system equal to all their
local requirements (see Seventh Part).

2.—Statutory Law Governing Municipal Institutions.

The ninety-second section of the British North
America Act (see above, p. 159), gives to the legislature
of every province full control over municipal institutions.
The legislature can consequently establish, amend, and
even abolish a municipal system within the provincial
territory. While every province has a general law regu-
lating its municipal divisions and their councils, there
are also numerous special statutes relating to the corpor-
ations or municipal councils of cities and towns. All
councils exercise their powers in accordance with statu-
tory enactment, and when they exceed them at any time

CITY AND COUNTY BUILDINGS, TORONTO.
*See PDF for image.

they can be restrained by the courts, should the matter
be brought before them, by legal process.

8.—The Municipal Divisions.

While there are many differences in the details of the
machinery, all the municipal systems of the provinces
are distinguished by certain leading characteristics. The
municipal divisions common to all provinces are county,
city, town, township and village. In Quebec the parish,
which is first an ecclesiastical or church district, can also
be formed by the civil authority at the request of the
inhabitants into a municipality. In New Brunswick, the
parish dates back to the closing days of the last century
and still remains a civil division, but it is also now
applied in statutes to incorporated towns and cities.
The county in all the provinces is the largest municipal
division, and is really made up of the townships (or par-
ishes as in Quebec and New Brunswick) within its terri-
torial limits.

4.—Constitution of Councils in the Provinces.

In Ontario the county councils are composed of coun-
cillors elected by ” county council divisions,” the number
of which depends on the population of each county. A
division elects two members for two years. The council
meets at or after two o’clock on or after the fourth Tucs-
clay of January following the election, and a majority of
a full council elect a warden from their own number.
The council in every city consists of a mayor and three
altlermen for every ward ; in every town, of a mayor and
three councillors for each ward when there are less than
five, or two when there are five or more wards; in every
township, of a revee and four councillors; in every village,
of a reeve and four councillors. Mayors, reeves, and
councillors are elected by general vote except in cities
and townships divided into wards, where each ward elects
alderinen and councillors as provided by law. Electors
may vote for a by-law providing as follows: That in
the case of towns, with a population of not more than
five thousand, a mayor and six councillors may be elected
by general vote ; in towns of more than five thousand,
and in cities of fifteen thousand and less, councils may
consist of a mayor, and one alderman for each thousand,
elected by general vote, or of a mayor and six aldermen
when the population is less than six thousand. Alder-
men in cities of more than fifteen thousand may be
elected by general vote, and in cities of more than forty
thousand, by a general vote in two electoral divisions—
one-half for each division. The councils of every muni-
cipality (except county councils as stated above) hold
their first meetings at eleven o’clock in the forenoon of
the second Monday of the same January in which they
are elected, or on same day thereafter.

In British Columbia councils of cities established since
1892 consist of a mayor and from nine to five aldermen;
of townships or of district municipalities, of a reeve and
from seven to four councillors. These numbers may be
increased under certain conditions. Mayors and reeves
are elected annually by general vote, and aldermen and
councillors by wards where such exist. The law makes
special provision with respect to cities of Nanaimo, Vic-
toria, Vancouver and New Westminster.

In Quebec the county councils are composed of all
the mayors in the “local municipalities” in the county.
These mayors are called “county councillors” in the
county council and choose the head or warden every
year from among their number. The “local municipal-
ities” comprise parishes, townships, towns and villages,
which are governed by councils, each of which is com-
posed of seven councillors elected by the ratepayers in
each municipal district, or appointed by the lieutenant-
govcrnor of the province in case of a failure to elect. A
councillor remains in office for three years, but subject to
the condition that two councillors must be elected or
appointed two years consecutively and three every
three years. The mayor or head of council is elected by
a majority—a quorum—of the whole council and holds
ofiice for a year. Cities and many of the towns have
special acts of incorporation, and aldermen and council-
lors are in all cases elected by a general vote of rate-
payers. In the majority of cities the mayors are elected
by a general vote ; in some, by the board of aldermen.

In Nova Scotia the county councils consist of council-
lors annually elected by the ratepayers—one for each
polling division of a county electing a member to the
house of assembly—and of a head or warden, appointed
by the council every year. Town councils are composed
of a mayor and not less than six councillors, elected by
the ratepayers. Many of the towns have special acts of
incorporation but all are now subject to a general act.
The mayor is elected annually, and a councillor for two
years. In Halifax, which has a special charter, the mayor
is elected annually, the eighteen alderman for three years,
one-third being elected every year.

In New Brunswick the county councils consist of two
councillors elected annually for every parish—except in
special cases provided for by law—and of a warden
appointed annually by the council. Cities have special
acts of incorporation, and elect their mayor and alder-
men.

In Manitoba the city councils consist of a mayor or
head, and of two alclermen for each ward. The town
council, of a mayor and two councillors for each ward.
The village council, of a mayor and four councillors.
A council in a rural municipality consists of the reeve
(or head) and of such a number of councillors—not ex-
ceeding six, and not less than four—as the bylaw of the
district may fix. Mayors, aldermen, reeves and council-
lors are annually elected by the ratepayers. One alder-
man for each city ward is elected for two years.

CHAPTER II.

NATURE OF THE MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS OF THE PROVINCES.—
Continued.

5. How a Council Exercises its Powers.—6. Election of Councils.
—7. Heads and Officers.—8. Meetings.—9. Bylaws.—
10. Municipal Assessment or Taxation.—11. Borrowing
Powers of Councils.—12. Historic Origin of Names of
Municipal Divisions, etc.

5.—How a Council Exercises its Powers.

After this short summary of the municipal councils in
each province we may now continue a review of the features
common to the systems of all the provinces. The
inhabitants of each of the municipalities described in the
foregoing chapter, form a “body corporate ” whose
powers are exercised by their respective councils under
the municipal law. The name of such corporate bodies
is ” the corporation of the county, city, town, etc,” or,
as in Quebec, “the municipality of the county,” or
“parish,” or “town,” as the case may be. This legal
name should be used on all occasions and in all docu-
ments affecting the corporation. The council—generally
known as “the council of the city of Ottawa,” or “the
county of Carleton,”‘as the case may be—has powers
only within the limits of its municipal district, except
in special cases where the law extends its authority.
Its orders within its legal powers must be obeyed by all

CITY HALL, MONTREAL.
*See PDF for image.

persons subject to its jurisdiction. It can acquire real
and personal property by purchase, sell or lease the
same, entcrinto contracts, and sue and be sued in any
cause and before any court like any private and incorpor-
ated company or individual.

6.—Election of Councils.

All councils are elected by the ratepayers in their
respective municipal divisions ; that is to say, by electors
rated on real or personal property on the assessment roll.
In Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia, farmers’
sons resident with their parents can vote. In Manitoba
and British Columbia, persons holding “homesteads”
under the dominion law (see below, p. 277) can also vote.
In the majority of the provinces, all taxes must be paid
before an elector can vote. In all cases, an elector must
be a British subject, of the age of twenty-one, and not a
criminal or insane. Widows and unmarried women, rated
on the assessment roll, can vote in Ontario ; in Manitoba
and British Columbia, all women who are taxed in their
own right can vote; but in Nova Scotia an exception is
made of married women whose husbands can vote.
Wardens, mayors, aldermen, reeves and councillors must
be British subjects and property holders. They must
take an oath or make a declaration of office and qualifi-
cation before assuming their seats. The elections are
held at such times as the law provides in each province
—generally in the first part of January in each year.
Nominations of candidates are made by a certain number
of electors on aclay fixed by the law before such elections.
In all the provinces, except Quebec, the Voting is by
ballot. The laws of the provinces generally—those of
Ontario being most complete—provide for the contesta-
tion of any municipal election on the ground ofviolcnce,
fraud or corruption, or incapacity, or informality in the
proceedings. Corrupt practices can be severely punished.
Judges, police or stipendiary magistrates, sheriff and
sheriffs officers, jailers, constables, officers of the courts,
officers of the councils, persons having contracts with a
council, solicitor or attorney of the corporation, cannot sit
in any municipal council of the provinces. In Ontario,
Quebec, and some other provinces the disqualification
extends to tavern-keepers and persons engaged in the
sale of liquors by retail. In Quebec, British Columbia
and Nova Scotia clergymen cannot be elected ; elsewhere
they are exempt but not disqualified. All persons over
sixty years of age, members of parliament, members of
government, all persons in the civil service of the crown,
professors of universities, and teachers in schools, firemen
and fire companies, are exempted in Ontario and other
provinces from being appointed to a council or any other
municipal office. In all these cases of exemptions and
disqualifications the law in each province must be con-
suited, as it is impossible to give here more than those
common to all the provinces.

7.—Heads and Officers of Councils.

The head of a council, as shown above, (pp. 222, 223)
is a wardeb, or mayor, or reeve. He is chief executive
officer of the corporation. He presides. over the meetings
of the council, signs, seals, and executes, in the name of
the council, all debentures, contracts, agreements or deeds
made and passed by the corporation, unless the council
otherwise provides. It is his duty to be vigilant in exe-
cuting the laws for the government of the municipality;
to supervise the conduct of all subordinate officers as far
as lies in his power ; to cause all positive neglect of duty
to be punished ; to recommend to the council such
measures as may conduce to the improvement of the
finances, health, security, cleanliness, comfort and orna-
ment of the municipality. All heads of councils, as well
as alder-men in cities are, by virtue of their office, justices
of the peace within their respective municipal divisions as
long as they are in office, for purposes arising under the
municipal law. Connected with every municipal corpor-
ation is a large body of officials, appointed in all cases by
the councils, and holding their offices during pleasure.
Such officers as clerks, and treasurers, are permanent in
their nature, but the majority of others, like assessors,
valuators, auditors, road commissioners, or surveyors,
pathmasters, poundkeepers, are, as a rule, appointed from
year to year. The practice is to continue eflicient men
in office as long as they are willing to serve. The most
important officer of every council is the clerk, whose duty
it is to record the proceedings of the council, keep all
the books, publish bylaws, and perform numerous other
duties regulated by law or the bylaws or resolutions of
the appointing body. The treasurer receives and keeps
all corporation moneys, and pays out the same as the law
or the regulations of the council direct. In Quebec and
some other provinces the duties of clerk and treasurer
are practically combined in an official called secretary-
treasurer. One or more auditors, from time to time,
review the accounts of all receipts and payments of the
officials of the municipality, and report to the council.
Other important officers of councils are these: solicitors,
to advise councils in all matters of legal doubt or contro-
versy—called recorders in Nova Scotia*; engineers, in
cities to look after public works like watenvorks, sewage,
and other matters of public necessity and convenience ;
assessors, or valuators, or commissioners (in cities), to
make annual lists of all the ratable property, on which
the councils can fix the yearly rates levied on the tax-
payers of a municipality; collectors, to collect these taxes
or rates and pay them to the treasurer; fire wardens and
firemen, for the prevention of fires; fence viewers, or
inspectors to regulate boundary and other fences; pound-
keepers, to receive and retain in safe keeping all stray
animals, which may be restored to the owners on pay-
ment of expenses, or else sold by auction after a proper
delay; pathmasters, or road surveyors, or overseers of
highways, to look after the condition of public roads,
enforce statute labour, and perform other services in
connection with the public roads and bridges. The
council of any municipality may at any time by bylaw
appoint other officers to carry out the provisions of any
act of the legislature, or enforce a bylaw of the corpora-
tion. The law provides for the establishment of health
officers and the taking of proper measures to prevent the
spread of contagious or infectious diseases. Provision
is made by the existing statutes for the appointment
of constables in rural districts and policemen in cities
for the preservation of peace and order, and the due
execution of the law. In Ontario there is ample pro-
vision made for the establishment in cities and towns of
courts presided over by police magistrates (see above,
p. 174). The councils must first establish police offices,
and affirm the expediency of appointing salaried police
magistrates, and provide for the whole or part of their
salary. The lieutenant-governor in council appoints
such officers in all provinces where they are generally
styled “stipendiary magistrates.” Councils throughout
Canada also make provision for the establishment and
maintenance of jails, lock-ups, city or town halls in their
respective municipal divisions, as the law in such cases
provides.

*See above, p. 176 note.

8.—Meetings of Councils.

The time for the first meeting of a new council is
fixed by the municipal law of each province—generally
some time in the first month of the year—but all subse-
quent meetings can be held in accordance with the
regulations of each council unless otherwise provided.
All meetings are held openly, except under special cir-
cumstances as defined by the regulations. The head of
the council presides over a meeting, and in his absence
some member of the council, as the law or regulations
order. He maintains order and decorum, but an appeal
may be made to the council against his rulings. A
quorum or a majority of the whole council is necessary
for a meeting for the transaction of business, but a
majority of such a quorum can pass any order, resolution
or bylaw, or perform any other act within the powers of
the council. As a rule open voting prevails, but in
British Columbia the election of officers is by ballot.
The regulations generally provide that no member can
vote on a question in which he has a direct personal
pecuniary interest—the common parliamentary law in
such cases. Minutes of proceedings of a meeting must
be always read, confirmed, and signed by the chairman
at a subsequent meeting. In the provinces of Ontario,
British Columbia, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick the
head of the council votes as a member, and when there
is a tie or equality of votes the matter or question under
discussion is lost or negatived. In Quebec he can vote
on every question, and has also a casting vote in case of
a tie. In Manitoba he votes only when there is a tie.
Select committees are appointed, as in parliament, for
the consideration of special matters of municipal busi-
ness, and they must report their results to the council.
All the rules of councils are based on those of the house
of commons and legislative assemblies of Canada. In
all matters of doubt reference is made to the regulations
and usages of parliament, directing the conduct of de-
bate, divisions, and other matters of order and procedure
(see above, p. 109).

9.—Bylaws of Councils.

The legislative powers of all councils are exercised by
bylaws when not otherwise authorized by statute. A
bylaw is a special law of a corporation or municipality,
which it has a right to pass in a certain form for a local
or municipal purpose defined by the general statutory
law establishing municipalities.

Every council may also make regulations for governing
the proceedings of the council, the conduct of its mem-
bers, the appointing or calling of special meetings, and
generally all such other regulations as the good of the
inhabitants of the municipality requires, and may repeal,
alter or amend its bylaws. Every such bylaw, to have
legal force, must be under the seal of the corporation,
signed by the head, or by the presiding officer of the
meeting at which it was passed, and by the clerk or
secretary-treasurer of the corporation.

The power of passing bylaws gives to the various
municipal councils of the provinces a decided legislative
character. The subjects embraced within their jurisdic-
tion are set forth with more or less distinctness in the
municipal acts of the majority of the provinces, especially
of Ontario and Quebec—those of Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick being less perfectly defined. The council of
every city, town or incorporated village may pass by-
laws for the construction and maintenance of waterworks,
the amounts required to be collected under local improve-
ment bylaws, licensing and regulating transient traders,
the purchase of real property for the erection of public
school-houses thereon, cemeteries, their improvement
and protection, cruelty to animals, fences, exhibitions
and places of amusement, planting and preservation of
trees, gas and water companies, shows, exhibitions,
tavern and shop licenses, public morals, giving intoxicat-
ing liquor to minors, nuisances, sewage and drainage,
inspection of meat and milk, the weight of bread, conta-
gious diseases, fevers, prevention of accidents by fire,
aiding schools, endowing fellowships, markets, police,
industrial farms, parks, bathing houses, cab stands, tele-
graph poles, prevention of fires, construction of buildings,
public libraries, charities and numerous other subjects
immediately connected with the security and comfort
of the people in every community.

All bylaws must be printed and advertised in one or
more newspapers, and posted in public places. In case
of aid to railways or waterworks, or the pledge of the

CITY HALL, WINNIPEG.
*See PDF for image.

municipal credit for certain other public purposes, defined
in the municipal law of Ontario, Quebec and other pro-
vinces, a vote of the ratepayers and property holders
must be taken. In Ontario, where the law is very clear
and explicit, the assent of one-third of all the taxpayers
of a municipal division is required to give legal force to
a bylaw giving aid in any shape to a railway or other
company, or raising upon the credit of the municipality
any money not required for its ordinary expenditures,
and not payable within the same municipal year. In
Ontario, British Columbia and Manitoba, the vote is
always by ballot, and any resident or other person inter-
ested in a bylaw, order or resolution of a council may
take proceedings in the courts to quash the same for
illegality. The reference of bylaws of municipalities to
the ratepayers of a municipal division for their accept-
ance or refusal is the only example which our system of
government offers of what is known in Switzerland as
the referendum (reference) of laws to the vote of the
whole people before they can come into operation.

10.—Municipal Assessment or Taxation.

The most important duty of every municipal council
is the raising of money for local purposes by direct
taxation. The burden of taxation is on real property—
that is to say, on buildings. land, machinery, trees on
lands, mines and minerals, except where they belong to
the crown. In British Columbia, improvements on land
are exempted up to a certain amount. Incomes are
taxable in the majority of the provinces, and so are
bonds, securities, and other personal property within the
limitations fixed by the law in each case. The following
classes of property are free from municipal taxation in
the provinces generally: imperial, dominion, provincial
and municipal property; Indian lands, churches, par-
sonages, and lands immediately connected therewith
(except in Manitoba); educational, charitable, scientific
and literary institutions ; agricultural and horticultural
societies; incomes of the governor-general and lieuten-
ant-governors; household effects and tools in use. In
Ontario, also, incomes up to $700 when derived from
personal earnings, those up to $400 when not so derived,
and those of farmers from his farm, are all free of taxes.
In British Columbia, also, incomes up to $1,000 are
exempt; in Quebec, $400; in Nova Scotia, $400 in
municipalities and $600 in towns. Special interests are
also protected. For instance, in Ontario and Manitoba,
the produce of the farm in store or warehouse on the
way to sale, live stock and implements in use; in Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick, fishermen’s boats, nets and
outfit to $200. But in all these matters of taxation
there are so many differences in the provinces that it is
impossible to do more here than refer generally to the
subject. Reference must be had to the assessment laws
of the provinces in all cases.

All municipal, local or direct tagges are raised and
levied upon the real or personal taxable property ac-
cording to the value given in the roll of the assessors,
or valuators, or assessment commissioners appointed by
each municipality in the different provinces for such
purposes. The council of a municipality assesses and
levies upon this taxable property a sufficient sum in
each year to pay all debts and meet all legal expendi-
tures. The laws of the provinces restrain, as far as
practicable, the powers of the corporations in this par-
ticular, and any person can ascertain by referring to the
general law governing municipal bodies, or to a special
charter of a city or town, the extent of authority of a
council in levying a rate and creating debt. In case a
person considers he is rated too high on an assessment,
or is treated exceptionally or unjustly, he can have an
appeal to a court of revision, composed of members of
the council as a rule, and finally to the courts—the
county court in Ontario, Manitoba and Nova Scotia, and
the circuit court in Quebec. In New Brunswick there is
a board of valuators and in British Columbia a court of
revision, and leave is given under certain circumstances
to have recourse to the supreme court. In Nova Scotia
there is an assessment court of appeal in towns, and
thence to the council under certain conditions.

11.—Borrowing Powers of Councils.

All councils have power under the formalities required
by the law of each province to borrow inoney, and to
levy special rates for the payment of such debts on
the ratable property of the municipality. All bylaws
for borrowing money must receive the assent of the
ratepayers before they can be enforced. Municipal de-
bentures—or legal certificates of a debt due by the muni-
cipality—can be issued to secure the repayment of sums
borrowed in accordance with the strict provisions of the
law governing such cases. All municipal property is
liable for the redemption of such debentures and the
payment of municipal liabilities.

12.—Historic Origin of Names of Municipal Divisions
and of their Officers.

In the names of the municipal divisions and of the
machinery of municipal administration, we see again
some examples of the closeness with which Canadians
cling to the names and usages of primitive times of
English government. The “township” carries us back
to the early days when our English forefathers lived in
their village communities, of which the “tun ” or rough
fence or hedge that surrounded them was a feature. The
chief officer or headman of this township was the reeve,
who as an “active” or “excellent” member of his
community took part in the various assemblies (moots)
of the people. The “alderman “—from “ealdorman” or
elder man—is a link connecting us with the early gov-
ernment of shires (for shire, see above, p. 192), and was
an office of high dignity, still represented by the English
lord-lieutenant of present times. In Ontario there
remains in the legislative electoral divisions a district
known as the “riding,” which is a changed form of
“thriding” or “triding,” or a local district made and
named by the Danes in English Yorkshire. The ancient
English shire, which was under an “ealdorman” for
civil and military purposes, became a “county” in
Norman times because a count (comte) or earl replaced
the former functionary. Our representative body for the
local government of a county is no longer called the
“folk moot” but the “council,” which comes to us from
the Normans, who again adopted it from the Latin con-
cilium (or a “collection” of people). The mayor was an
important officer connected with the royal palace of
France and has also come to us from Norman times—
its original meaning of “greater” (major) having been
gradually applied to the principal officer of a local com-
munity or municipality. The “parish” has its origin in
a Greek word, first applied in early English and French
times to a “circuit” or district, presided over by a priest
or vicar, and which for convenience sake was formed into
a civil division. Bylaw means simply the law made for
the government of a “bye,” which was a name given by
the Danes to the old English “tun ” or township.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.

The reader may consult Bourinot’s Local Government in Canada, in
Johns Hopkins’ University Studies, (Baltimore, 1887), and “Transactions
of the Royal Society of Canada,” 1887, section 2, for a short account of the
origin and development of municipal institutions in the Dominion. A
useful book is that by Mr. J. M. McEvoy, on The Ontario Township,
(Toronto, 1889), with an introduction by Professor Ashley. The report
of the Ontario Connnission on Municipal Institutions, (Toronto, 1888, 1889,
and 1893), is too diffuse and badly arranged to be of much practical use
to an ordinary student, though it is useful for purposes of consultation on
points of the practical operation of municipal institutions in Canada and
elsewhere. In Bourinot’s large edition of Procedure of Public Meetings
and Municipal Councils, (Toronto, 1894), there is a section giving a
summary of the statutory law of Ontario respecting municipal councils and
their meetings, and also some notes on the systems of the other provinces.
A student who wishes full information on such subjects will be obliged to
study the statutes of his own province in every case, since there are no
special books treating the question in a popular form. Fitness for citizen-
ship meuns not only study but practical observation of the working of
municipal government.

SIXTH PART.

SCHOOL GOVERNMENT
IN THE PROVINCES.

CHAPTER. PAGE.

I.—PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN ONTARIO AND QUEBEC .. 243

II.—PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN NOVA SCOTIA, NEW BRUNSWICK AND
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. . . . . . . . . . .254

III.—PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN MANITOBA AND BRITISH COLUMBIA. .261

CHAPTER I.

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN ONTARIO AND QUEBEC.

1. Introduction.—2. Public Schools in Ontario.—3. Public Schools
in Quebec.

1.—Introduction.

Such a review of the institutions of Canada as I have
attempted in this work would be imperfect if it did not
include a summary, however short, of the leading features
of the machinery that regulates and governs the educa-
tional system of each province’ Education is necessarily
the foundation of active citizenship and good government.

From the following summary of the machinery of
school government in all the provinces it will be seen
that it is based on the following principles: a general
supervision of education in every province by a depart-
ment of education, and contributions from the provin-
cial funds for the support of public schools free to all
classes of the people; this supervision is exercised by
means of government superintendents and inspectors,
appointed by the provincial government to visit and
report on the condition of the schools of every county;
the provincial grant is supplemented by such contt-ibu-
tions from the inhabitants of every school district as the
law provides in each case; assessments for this purpose
are levied, generally speaking, in connection with the
municipalities in each province; every school district

UPPER CANADA COLLEGE, TORONTO.
*See PDF for image.

manages its schools and funds through trustees elected
by the ratepayers. In this way the government of a
province and every municipal district are directly identi-
fied and co-operate with each other for the support and
development of the education of the people.

2—The Public Schools in Ontario.

In this province there is a department of education,
composed of a minister as a head, and members of the
executive government (see above, p. 151) as a committee
of council, and entrusted with the administration of a
most excellent school system. That system comprises
three main features of elementary, secondary and higher
education : the kindergarten, public and separate schools,
high schools and collegiate institutes, and the university,
all representing a complete organization. A child enters
the kindergarten or children’s garden*—German in its
origin—at perhaps four years of age, the public school at
six, and the high school at thirteen. After four or five
years’ close study at the high school or collegiate insti-
tute he passes after examination into the university,
where he attains his degree of bachelor of arts, and
honours according to his ability and proficiency at the
end of four years. The public and high schools and
the university are undeuomiuatioual, but the law (see
above, p. 165) enables Roman Catholics to establish
under certain conditions common schools for themselves.
Separate high schools are not provided for in the school
law. The term “separate schools” applies also to
Protestants and coloured persons, but as a matter of
practice the exception to the general principle of the
common school system is confined chiefly to Roman
Catholics.

*The name of this pleasant method of imparting education to very young
children was given by Friedrich Froebel, a German teacher, who introduced
the system in rooms opening on a garden.

In addition to the schools mentioned above, there are
also under the direction of the department: kinder
gartcns, county model schools, provincial normal schools,
and the school of ” pedagogy,” in which the highest class
of teachers receive a thorough professional training. The
educational association, and teachers’ institutes perform
a useful work in the’same direction. Provision is also
made for the establishment of art schools. Children
who may be vicious or immoral can be sent to industrial
schools.

By the law all children between eight and fourteen are
obliged to attend school for the full term during which
the school is open. The minister of education, with the
aid of a large staff, has the general direction of all the
educational forces of the country. Inspectors of high
schools, separate schools, and county model schools are
appointed by the government. County inspectors are
appointed by the county councils, and city inspectors
by the public school boards, from persons having high
qualifications as teachers.

Provision is made for the support of education by the
government and the municipalities. Counties are under
obligation to make grants of money to high schools, and
both counties and townships must aid public schools.
Each township is divided into sections, each of which is
provided with a public school, managed by a board of
three trustees who hold office for three years—one going
out of office annually, when a successor is appointed. A
grant is given by the government to each school accord
ing to the average attendance of pupils, and the county
council is required to give an equal amount. In addition,
the township council must vote a grant of $100 (or $150
if two teachers are employed) to each school. Cities,
towns and incorporated villages also receive a legislative
grant, and the municipal councils raise the balance at
the request of the board of trustees, which consists of six
or more elected members, two from each ward, of whom
one retires annually. If the board so decides, the elec-
tions may be by ballot, and on the same day as the
municipal elections. The trustees select the teachers—
all of whom must have certificates of qualification,—de-
termine the amounts to be expended for school sites,
buildings, equipments and salaries, and supervise the
school affairs generally of their special division. The
separate schools are all under government inspection,
and are generally conducted under the same regulations
as the public schools. All public schools are free. High
schools are established by the county and city munici-
palities, with the approval of the lieutenant-governor in
council. High schools may be formed by the govern-
ment into collegiate institutes if they can come up to
higher conditions imposed by the law. Government
grants to these institutions of superior education are
mainly based on the efforts of the locality. The county
council must vote a grant at least equal to that of the
legislature. After the county and legislative grants have
been received, any further amount required in addition
to the fees paid up to meet the cost of maintenance must
be made up by the municipality or district where the
high school is situated on the requisition of the board of
trustees. Each board consists of at least six trustees
and, except in the case of cities and towns separated
from the county, three of these are appointed by the
county council, and three by the council of the town or
village where the high school is situated. If the district
is composed of more than one municipality, then each
is represented on the high school board. In towns
separate from the county, all the trustees are appointed
by the town council. In cities, the council also appoints
the trustees, and if two high schools are established,
twelve trustees are appointed, and if more than two the
council appoints eighteen trustees. Each trustee holds
office generally for three years.

Liberal provision is made in the law for the establish-
ment of eificient libraries and the teaching of the princi-
ples of agriculture in the public as well as the high
schools of the province.

High school trustees and members of boards of educa-
tion cannot hold positions in the municipal councils of
the municipality or county in which those schools are
situated.

Church doctrines are not taught in the public schools,
but the principles of christianity form an essential fea-
ture of the daily exercises. Every public and high
school is opened and closed with prayer and the reading
of the scriptures, but without comment or explanation.
The trustees and clergy, however, of all denominations
are empowered to make special arrangements for reli-
gious instruction to the pupils of their own particular
church at least once a week, after the close of the school

ENTRANCE TO TORONTO UNIVERSITY.
*See PDF for image.

in the afternoon. No pupil is required to take part in
any religious exercise objected to by his parents or
guardians.

The highest institution of’ learning controlled by the
provincial government is the university of Toronto,
whose property is vested in the crown, and adminis-
tered by an officer appointed by the government. All
appointments are made by the lieutenant-governor in
council, and all statutes of the senate regulating the
institution must receive the approval of the same. The
management and administration of the affairs of the
university are placed in a board of trustees, a senate and
a council, each composed as the law provides. A num-
ber of universities and colleges in the province—at
present twelve in all—are “federated” with the univer-
sity. All colleges so federated participate in all the
advantages that the university offers. A university so
federated ceases to exercise its own powers of confer-
ring degrees except in divinity. The university confers
degrees in arts, agriculture, law, medicine, dentistry, and
science, and civil engineering. The degrees conferred
give all students the standing of alumni (graduates) of
the provincial university.

3.—The Public Schools in Quebec’

In the province of Quebec there is a department of
education composed of a superintendent and a council
of public instruction with two secretaries. The superin-
tendent is a non-political head, appointed by the lieu-
tenant-governor in council. He is a member of the
council, and its president by virtue of his office. The
council is made up of Roman Catholic and Protestant
members, and divided into two committees in the same
way for the purpose of supervising the educational affairs
of those denominations. Each of the two committees
meets separately and exercises independent action in
reference to all matters which concern the educational
work under their respective control. Each appoints its
own chairman and secretary. One of the two secre-
taries of the department is a Protestant. The superin-
tendent is a member of each committee, but he votes
only in the one to which by religion he belongs. The
schools are Roman Catholic and Protestant—the sepa-
rate schools being known as “dissentient” (see above,
p. 165)—and religion is considered as the basis of edu-
cation. The clergy of the Roman Catholic church and
of other denominations consequently take a. leading
part in the management of education, and are largely
represented on the two committees of the council-
School inspectors, of qualifications defined by the law,
are appointed for one or more counties of the province
by the government and must conform to the regulations
of the council. Roman Catholic and Protestant boards
of examiners examine and grant certificates or diplomas
of qualification to teachers.

The educational institutions of the province are divided
into elementary schools, model schools, academies or
high schools, and normal schools. In each municipality,
village, town and city, there are public schools for the
elementary education of youth, under the control of
school commissioners, or trustees in the case of dissentient
sehools—elected by the proprietors of real estate paying
taxes or monthly fees. Each municipality is divided
into school districts. Each municipality elects five com-
missioners, or three trustees, who hold office generally
for three years, and form a body corporate for the
administration of school affairs. No school teacher can
be a commissioner or trustee in his own municipality
or a contractor for a corporation of which he is a member.
These commissioners and trustees appoint teachers,
acquire and sell property for school purposes, and cause
to be levied by taxation the sums necessary for the
support of schools. In all places where a valuation of
property has been made by the municipal authorities, it
Serves as the basis of the taxes to be imposed on the
authority of the school law. Otherwise three valuators
are appointed by the commissioners or trustees. Each
school board has a secretary—treasurer appointed by the
same to act as clerk and treasurer. He collects and
pays all moneys clue to and payable by the corporation.
Trustees of dissentient schools have the same powers
and duties as commissioners of Roman Catholic schools.
They alone have the right of imposing and collecting
the taxes upon the dissentient inhabitants.

To entitle a municipality to a share of the legislative
grant—the “common school fund “—made for the
support of education, it must furnish proof that its
schools have been in operation during the school year,
and attended by at least fifteen children, The superin-
tendent pays the respective shares of the common or
provincial school fund to the several boards of commis-
sioners or trustees in two semi-annual payments. The
public moneys are distributed among the municipalities
according to population.

The government provide for the establishment of
Roman Catholic and Protestant normal schools, and
appoint their principals and teachers on the recommen-
dation of the respective committees of the council.
Roman Catholic and Protestant academies, model or
superior schools managed by trustees, also receive
government aid on the recommendation of the same
committees, and with the approval of the lieutenant-
governor in council. In the same way grants are also
made to universities, colleges, seminaries, and educa-
tional institutions other than elementary schools. Such
institutions receive aid in the relative proportions of the
respective Roman Catholic and Protestant populations
of the province according to the last census.

CHAPTER II.

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN NOVA SCOTIA, NEW BRUNSWICK AND
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

1. Public Schools in Nova Scotia.—2. In New Brunswick.—
3. In Prince Edward Island.

1.—The Public Schools in Nova Scotia.

In this province the members of the executive council
(see above, p. 152) form a council of public instruction
with extensive powers of general direction and adminis-
tration. A superintendent of education is also appointed
by the governmentto have a supervision of educational
matters and to act as secretary of the council. A pro-
vincial board of examiners inquires into and reports on
the qualifications of candidates for licenses to teach.
Inspectors of schools are also appointed by the council
of public instruction on the recommendation of the
superintendent. Normal and m del schools are sup-
ported by the government, and the council appoints the
principals and their assistants. All the public schools
of the province are undenominational. The public
school system provides for the free education of all
persons from the age of five years upwards, in a pre-
scribed course of study extending from the kindergarten
or piimary grade of the common or elementary schools
to the end of the superior course of the academy and
high school. The high school system is virtually a
provincial university of a high school grade, and every
academy and high school an affiliated college, the
diplomas being granted on the report of the provincial
board of examiners.

The province is divided into districts, with a board of
seven or more commissioners for each, appointed by the
council. These commissioners determine the boundaries
of school sections—the smallest territorial division—
establish new ones with the approval of the council, and
adjudicate on matters specially connected with the same
over a district which, on the average, is perhaps equal to
half a county of the province. Each school section in
a county has an executive board of three school trustees,
whose duties are the same as in Ontario and other pro-
vinces. They are elected by the ratepayers of their re-
spective divisions. No Commissioner, inspector or teacher
can be elected a trustee. Each board has a secretary-
treasurer to collect and disburse all school moneys.
Teachers, duly licensed by the council of public instruc-
tion, are employed by the board, and receive aid from
the public treasury out of the sum annually voted by the
legislature for schools. They are graded into four classes
and paid according to their qualifications and to the
number of days the schools have been in session. Muni-
cipalities rnust annually vote a certain amount as pro-
vided in the law for the support of schools. When any
sum is required by a section above the provincial grant
and the annual rates raised by the municipality, it must
be determined by the majority of the ratepayers of the
section at a school meeting regularly called for that
purpose. Each academy (or high school) established in
a county receives from the government a sum based on

HARBORD STREET COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE, TORONTO
*See PDF for image.

the attendance, the number of qualified teachers and the
salaries paid them by the municipality in which the
academy is situated. Ratepayers at a public meeting, as
provided by law, decide the amount to be raised by the
section to supplement the sum granted by the province
and county. Inspectors visit each school and county
academy at least yearly. The attendance at school
is stimulated by making the greater part of the county
fund payable in proportion to the attendance. There is
also a local option law by which two-thirds of the quali-
fied voters at an annual school meeting may make the
attendance of all children between seven and twelve
compulsory within certain limits.

An incorporated town forms a separate school section,
and the control and management of public schools are
vested in aboard of five commissioners, three of whom
are appointed from the members of the council, and two
by the government. The former are elected annually,
but at every annual selection at least one of the three
persons previously chosen shall, if there be one remain-
ing in the council, be appointed. The government
commissioners remain in office for three years. The
town clerk is secretary and treasurer of the board.
Attendance between the ages of six and sixteen is
compulsory in towns, but exemptions are made under
certain conditions in cases of children above twelve and
thirteen years of age.

In the city of Halifax there are twelve commissioners,
six chosen by the lieutenant-governor in council, and six
by the city council.

The regulations are well calculated to secure to every
child a free education.

A provincial school of agriculture, mining schools at
coal mining centres, schools for the deaf, dumb and
blind, also add to the effectiveness of the public free
school system of Nova Scotia.

2.—The Public Schools in New Brunswick.

In this province the lieutenant-governor, the members
of the executive council (see above, p. 152), the chancellor
of the university of New Brunswick and a chief superin-
tendent of education, constitute a board of education for
the administration of the education of the province.
The superintendent is appointed by the lieutenant-goven
nor in council, and acts as secretary to the board. Duly
qualified inspectors are appointed by the board. All
public schools are undenominational and free. The law
provides for primary, advanced, high, superior and gram-
mar schools wherever practicable. The government also
support a normal school with model departments, and
appoint the principal, who selects his assistants with the
approval of the board.

Each school district in a county has a board of three
trustees and an auditor, elected by the ratepayers—the
former for three years. The schools are supported
(1) from the provincial treasury; (2) from a county
school fund; (3) from district assessment. Teachers
are duly licensed, graded in three classes, and paid a
proportion of the provincial grant according to their
grade of qualifications. Any further sums required for
school purposes beyond that ordinarily voted must be
determined by a meeting duly called for that purpose in
the district. Loans may be raised for seven years in
special cases. The government grant to any superior
or grammar school, established in a county or parish, or
district, is in proportion to that raised by the district for
the support of teachers. The schools in St. John are
managed by a board of eleven trustees, of whom the
government appoint five and the city council’ six. In
Fredericton the government appoint four and the city
council five members of a board of trustees. In the
case of incorporated towns the board of trustees are
nine, appointed as in Fredericton.

The university of New Brunswick, which is a provin-
cial institution, is open to all persons irrespective of
creed, and forms a corporation of twelve members, nine
of whom are appointed by the lieutenant-governor in
council—one being the chancellor—and two by the
associated alumni. The superintendent is by virtue of
his office president of the senate or governing body.
composed of members of the corporation. It confers
degrees under the law regulating its functions. A cer-
tain number of students are admitted into the under-
graduate course from each county, free of fees for
education, upon the condition of passing the regular
matriculation or preliminary examination.

3.—The Public Schools in Prince Edward Island.

The general supervision of education is given by the
law to a provincial board, composed of the members of
the executive council (see above, p. 152), the principal of
the Prince of Wales college, and the chief superintendent
of education, who acts as secretary. The superintendent
is appointed by the lieutenant-governor in council, and
duly qualified inspectors, who have to visit each district
half-yearly, by the board of education. A normal school
is now amalgamated with Prince of Wales college, which
was established for the higher education of the young.
The principal and assistants of the college and normal
school are appointed by governor-in-council. The
grades are primary, advanced and high schools. They
are free to all children between five and sixteen years,
and non-sectarian. Teachers are required to open the
schools with the reading of the holy scriptures by chil-
dren without comment or explanation, but no children
are required to attend if their parents or guardians object
to this reading. Teachers must hold a license from the
board of educationwattendaiice at one term of the pro-
vincial training school being one of the qualifications.
The salaries are provided for by a provincial grant, and
by district assessment when it is necessary to increase
the former allowance, All other expenditures are met
by local or district assessment, and loans for seven years
may be raised to pay cost of new school-houses. At the
annual school meeting of a district three trustees are
elected for three years-one member retiring each year.
No teacher in active employment can act as trustee.
In the city of Charlottetown, and town of Suinmerside,
the board of trustees consists of seven members, of whom
the lieutenant-governor in council appoints four, and the
council of each place appoints three—all of whom hold
office during pleasure. All the boards of trustees
appoint a clerk or secretary, who acts also as treasurer
or accountant. All accounts and payments are duly
audited—two auditors being appointed by councils of
Charlottetown and Summerside, and one elected by a
school district in other cases. The duties of trustees are
the same as those in Ontario and other provinces.

CHAPTER III.

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN MANITOBA AND BRITISH COLUMBIA

1. The Public Schools in Manitoba.—2. In British Columbia.

1.—Public Schools in Manitoba.

In this province there is a department of education
Composed of the executive council (see above, p. 151) or
a committee thereof. It appoints and fixes salaries of
inspectors, teachers of provincial, normal and model
schools, and directors of teachers’ institutes. An advisory
board of not more than nine and not less than seven
members—partly appointed by the department and
partly elected by public and high school teachers and
the university of Manitoba—determine qualifications of
teachers and inspectors, prescribe forms of religious
exercises, classify and organize normal, model and high
schools, appoint examiners and perform other important
duties. Inspectors cannot be teachers or trustees of a
public or high school.

All education is now free and undenominational by
the provincial legislation of 1890—the Roman Catholics
having previously enjoyed denominational schools under
the law. All persons in rural municipalities between five
and sixteen, and in cities between six and sixteen, are
required to attend. Religious exercises are conducted
according to the regulations of the advisory board, but
pupils whose parents object need not remain. In any

THE RYERSON PUBLIC SCHOOL, HAMILTON.
*See PDF for image.

district where Roman Catholics or French Canadians pre-
ponderate, provision is made for religious and bilingual
teaching. Three trustees are elected for every rural dis-
trict for three years, A secretary-treasurer receives and
disburses all moneys at the order of the board. In cities,
towns and villages two trustees are elected for each ward.
One trustee for each ward, as determined by ballot, re-
tires annually; the other continues one year longer. In
every village, without wards, there are three trustees.
The schools are supported by grants from the legis-
lature, from the proceeds of the sale of public lands
granted for that purpose by the dominion government,
and taxes levied on the ratepayers of the municipalities
under the conditions provided in the law. The taxes
are levied by the municipal council on the requisition of
the trustees. Collegiate departments for more advanced
education are connected with the public schools at Win-
nipeg and Brandon, and larger towns whenever practia
cable. A normal school has been established. All
teachers must hold certificates of the first, second or
third class as issued under the regulations of the depart-
ment of education or advisory board.

The university of Manitoba is a provincial institution,
under the direction of a council,named by the provincial
colleges with which it is affiliated, by the convocation,
and by the board of education. It is only an examining
and degreeconferring body.

2—The Public Schools in British Columbia.

In this province the minister of education and other
members of the executive council (see above, p. 151)
constitute a council of public instruction. The govern-
ment appoint a superintendent of education, who is also
secretary of the council. The schools are free and
undenominational, but “the highest morality shall be
inculcated and the Lords prayer may be used at the
opening or closing.” A provincial board of examiners
grant certificates to teachers, which must always be
signed by the superintendent. The council appoint two
or more qualified inspectors. Schools are divided into
common, graded, and high schools. The law contem-
plates the establishment of a normal school. In each
rural district there is a board of three trustees elected by
the householders and freeholders, including wives of
such. In city districts there is a board of six trustees,
elected by duly qualified electors. To each board is
attached a secretary-treasurer to collect and disburse
moneys for school purposes. Schools are supported in
rural districts entirely by the government. In cities
the salaries of teachers and all other expenses incurred
by the trustees are borne and paid by the municipal
corporations. The government pay a grant of ten
dollars per head a year, based on the average actual
daily attendance of the public school pupils, to each of
the municipal corporations of the cities. Every child
from seven to twelve must attend some school or be
otherwise educated for six months in every year.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.

The machinery that regulates the public school system of a province can
only be thoroughly understood by a close study of its law, and by practical
experience of its working. This law is generally compiled and printed in
convenient manuals published by the departincnts of education. These
manuals also contain the regulations with respect to teachers, examinations,
classification of schools, and course of studies in every class of school. The
report of Mr. Miller, deputy minister of education for Ontario, on the
educational system of his province, is especially worthy of mention in this
connection, since it gives a sunnnary which interests the general reader.
The following compilations also have been found extremely useful by the
writer; The “Code of Public Instruction,” compiled and annotated by
Mr. Paul de Cazes, F.R.S.C., D.L., French secretary of the department
in Quebec; a “Manual of the School Law of Quebec, with the regulations
of the Protestant committee,” by Mr. G. W. Parmalee, English secretary
of the department of public instruction; a “Conspectus of the Public Free
School System of Nova. Scotia,” prepared for the Chicago exposition, by
Dr. A. H. MacKay, F.R.S.C., superintendent of education. The Quebec
manuals are made more valuable by the addition of notes giving the
judicial decisions rendered on the school law from time to time. These
several works, when studied in connection with the very full reports
annually published by the educational depnnnicnls of the provinces, enable
us to untlerstand the actual position and practical working of the public
schools in every section. The present writer has to express the obligations
he is under to the superintendents of education in all the provinces for the
facilities they have given him {or the preparation of what is necessarily in
so small a volume but a meagre summary of the educational system of the
Dominion.

SEVENTH PART.

GOVERNMENT IN THE NORTHWEST
TERRITORIES.

CHAPTER. PAGE.
I.—GOVERNMENT. . . . . . . . . . . .269
II.—PUBLIC LANDS AND INDIANS. . . . . . . .275

GOVERNMENT HOUSE OF NORTHWEST TERRITORIES.
*See PDF for image.

CHAPTER I.

GOVERNMENT OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES.

1. Territorial Area.—2. Government.—3. Administration of
Justice.—4. Municipal Government.—5. School Government.

1.—Territorial Area.

The territories of Canada comprise a vast region
stretching from the province of Manitoba to the Rocky
mountains, and from the frontier of the United States to
the waters of the north. It embraces more than two-
thirds of the Dominion, 2,460,000 square miles. This
region came into the pos. ssion of Canada by the
purchase of the rights of tho Hudson’s Bay company,
who had so long enjoyed a monopoly of the fur trade,
and used their best efforts to keep it an unknown land.
The government of the Dominion now holds complete
jurisdiction over the territory. The provisional dis-
trict of Keewatin was formed some years ago out of the
eastern portion until the settlement of the boundary
dispute between Ontario and the Dominion; but since
that question wzus settled it has only a nominal existence,
While it still remains under the supervision of the lieu-
tenantgovernor of the province of Manitoba. In I882
a large portion of the northxrest region was divided into
four districts for administrative purposes, Assiniboia,
now the most populous district, contains about 90,000
square miles, Saskateliewan, 114,000, Alberta, 100,300,
Athabasca, 251,000. In 1895 the following districts were
proclaimed: Mackenzie, Ungava. and Franklin. In
1898 gold discoveries brought about the organization
of Yukon district (see below, p. 271).

2. —The Government.

Until the winter of 1888 the territories were governed
by a lieutcnant-governor and council, partly nominated
by the governor-general in council, and partly elected by
the people. Then a legislative assembly of elective
members was granted by the parliament of Canada, and
the number of its members has been increased from
twenty-two to thirty-one. The lieutenant-governor is
appointed by the dominion government for five years,
and is aided by an executive council chosen by himself
from the assembly and holding office practically on the
basis of responsible government. Members of the
assembly are elected by ballot by British subjects,
residents of a district for twelve months before an elec-
tion. The assembly elects its own speaker and has a
duration of four years unless sooner dissolved. It has
power to make ordinances with reference to all matters
of a local or private nature in the territories. The four
organized territories are represented in the senate of
Canada by two senators, and in the commons by four
members. The capital of the organized territories is
Regina.

Parliament has also organized a government in the
Yukon district to meet the requirements of the popula-
tion attractcd to that wild region by the finding of gold.
Its affairs are at present administered by a commissioner
appointed by the governor-in-council; a council, partly
elected by the people, and partly appointed by the
crown, with power to pass ordinances ofa limited range.
A provisional boundary has been arranged between the
Yukon and the United States territory of Alaska.

3.—Administration of Justice.

The civil and criminal laws of Canada are in force
throughout the territories. A supreme court, consisting
of five justices for the old organized territories, are
appointed by the Ottawa government. These courts
have within their legal limits all such powers as are
incident to a superior court of civil and criminal jurisdic-
tion in the provinces. Juries must be constituted of
British subjects, six of whom can try civil and criminal
cases. Sheriffs are appointed by the dominion authori-
ties, but the lieutenant-governor may appoint justices of
the peace, and the governor—general in council police
magistrates, who shall have all powers now vested in
two justices of the peace under any Canadian law (see
above, p. 180). Either French or English may be used
in the proceedings of the courts and debates of the legis-
lature. The mounted police can act as constables for
the preservation of peace, the prevention of crime, the
arrest of criminals, the conveyance of convicted persons
to places of confinement, besides performing other duties
necessary for security and order in the territories. Jus-
tices of the peace may also appoint constables. Students
of law are admitted as advocates after five years’ study;
three when they are graduates of a university. British
and dominion barristers, solicitors and advocates are
allowed to practise. Notaries public are appointed by
the lieutenant-governor.

In the district of Yukon the dominion government
appoints two judges of a superior court of record, and
two police magistrates for the administration of justice.

4.—Municipal System.

The organized territories possess a municipal system
like the provinces. The council of every town consists
of a mayor and six councillors; of every rural munici-
pality, of a mayor and four councillors. Cities and
towns have special acts of incorporation. Mayors,
reeves, alderrnen and councillors are elected annually
by ballot. Councillors and electors must be British
subjects, resident in a municipality and assessed as
owners or occupants of real property. Electors can
also vote on personal property or income. Widows and
unmarried women, when ratepayers, can vote. Judges,
sheriffs, bailiffis, constables, dominion, territorial and
municipal officers and persons having contracts with or
claims against the municipality, cannot act as council-
lors. Taxes are collected on real and personal property,
including incomes beyond a certain amount. Exemp-
tions cover the property of the dominion and territorial
governments, Indian lands, municipal property, public
educational institutions and laws immediately connected
therewith to extent of half an acre, orphanages, houses
of industry,jails and asylums, books of public libraries,
incomes of farmers derived from their farms, incomes
of merchants, mechanics and others derived from capital
liable to taxation, grain, income derived from personal
earnings not to exceed $600, personal property to the
value of $300, household effects of every kind except
in unlicensed hotels and restaurants. Appeals may be
made to a court of revision, composed of councillors and
thence to a judge of the supreme court By-laws are
subject to same conditions as in the provinces (see
above, p. 234.). A clerk, treasurer, auditors, assessors,
collectors, road ovcrseers and other officers are appointed
by the councils as in other provinces. Strict laws exist
for the prevention of corrupt practices.

5.—School Government.

In the organized territories there is a department of
education, who appoints all officers, clerks, and persons
required for its effective working. A commissioner—a
member of the executive council—presides over the de-
partment. The law also provides an educational council
of five persons at least, two of whom shall be Roman
Catholics, appointed by the lieutenant-governor in council.
No religious instruction is permitted in any public school
until half an hour before the close in the afternoon, when
such exercises as have been arranged by the trustees are
given, but only those children who have the permission
of their parents need remain. Duly qualified school
inspectors are appointed by the lieutenant-governor in
council. A minority of ratepayers in a district may es-
tablish a separate school therein. Schools are supported
by local assessment and by grants of the government of
the dominion, which have set apart sections of public
land for that purpose (see below, p 277). All such grants
are under the control of the legislative assembly, and are
duly appropriated by it for school purposes. In rural
and village districts there are three trustees, each of
whom holds office for three years after the first election.
In towns there are five trustees, who hold office for two
years after the first election. Each board of trustees
has a secretary and treasurer—the latter may be a mem-
ber of the same. Education of children between seven
and twelve is compulsory for a. period of at least sixteen
weeks in each year. Kindergarten schools may be estab-
lished for the teaching of children between four and
seven. Teachers must possess certificates, in accordance
with the regulations of the department.

CHAPTER II.

THE PUBLIC LANDS AND INDIANS IN THE NORTHWEST.

1. Public Lands.—2. Registration.—3. Indians.

1.—Public Lands.

The lands of Manitoba and the territories are owned
by the dominion government, who have made very
liberal provisions for the encouragement of settlement.
Their administration and management is entrusted to

*See PDF for image.

the minister of interior (see above, p. 80), and to certain
commissioners, officers and clerks, whose duties are de
fined by statute and the regulations of the department.
Dominion lands are laid off in quadrilateral blocks or
townships, each containing thirty-six sections of as nearly
one mile square as the scientific survey permits, with
such road allowances between sections as the governor.
general in council prescribes. Sections are bounded and
numbered as in the diagram on preceding page.

Each section is divided into quarter sections of one
hundred and sixty acres, and consequently each town-
ship, as a rule, comprises about 23,040 acres of land.
Each such quarter section is again divided into quarter
sections, or forty acres, numbered as in the following
diagram :

*See PDF for image.

Sections eleven and twenty-nine (see first diagram)
in every surveyed township throughout the extent of the
dominion lands are set apart for the purposes of educa-
tion in the territories. Provision is also made in the
law for towns and cities. In order to give every possible
encouragement to actual settlement in Manitoba and
the territories the law provides that all surveyed even
numbered sections, which have not been otherwise re-
served for a special purpose, are to be held exclusively
for “homesteads,” or practically free homes.
son who is the sole head of a family, or any male who
is of the age of eighteen years, can on the payment of ten
dollars obtain possession of a homestead of one quarter
section, or one hundred and sixty acres of surveyed
agricultural land, and secure a perfect title from the
crown as its owner by actual residence and cultivation
every six months from the date of entry until the end of
three years. When he has complied with the terms of
the law, which are intended to encourage actual settlers
and prevent land falling into the hands of mere
speculators, he receives a “patent” or title from the
dominion government. A man who wishes to secure his
complete title in a shorter time can do so by furnishing
proof that he has lived on the land for at least twelve
months from the date of his perfecting his entry, and
that he has cultivated at least thirty acres. An actual
settler may also purchase a quarter section adjoining his
own when available, at the ordinary price, which is three
dollars an acre; one-fourth of the purchase money to be
in cash, and the balance in three equal yearly instalments
at five per cent interest annually. Other advantages are
given to settlers not necessary or possible to mention
here.

2.—Registration.

The legal regulations for the sale and transfer of lands
are very clear and simple. Five land registration dis-
tricts have been made in the territories: Assiniboia,
South Alberta, North Alberta, West Saskatchewan, and
East Saskatchewan. The business of each land titles
office is conducted by a registrar, appointed by the
governor-general in council, and discharging all those
duties performed by similar omccrs in the provinces with
respect to the grant, sale, mortgage, lease and trans-
fer of property. An inspector, appointed by the governor-
general in council, inspects the books and records of the
several land title offices from time to time.

3.—The Indians.

By the British North America Act the dominion
government has sole control over the Indians and lands
reserved for Indians in the provinces and territories of
the Dominion. One of the departments of the govern-
ment of Canada is that of Indian affairs, of which a
superintendent general is the head. It has the manage-
ment and charge of all matters relating to the Indians.
The minister of the interior (see above, p. 80) generally
fills the position of superintendent general, and has the
assistance of a number of officers to manage the business
of the department. In all the provinces and territories
there are bands or remnants of the old tribes or
“Nations” that once inhabited British North America,
who live on lands specially reserved for their use and
benefit. The law carefully guards their interests, and all
property held for them can only be alienated or leased
by their own consent, and then the proceeds are invested
for their sole advantage. The law makes very satisfactory
provision for the “enfranchisement” of the Indians; that
is, the conferring upon them the rights and privileges
of free citizens, whenever they can come up to the
qualifications laid down to meet their case. Indians in
the old provinces can vote at dominion and provincial
elections on the conditions laid down in the statutes on
the subject, but in the territories and Manitoba they
have not yet reached that degree of civilization which
would enable them to exercise the rights of white men.
There are in British Columbia and the organized terri-
tories some 50,000 Indians, in various stages of develop-
ment. They are the wards of the Canadian government,
which has always exercised a parental care over them.
They are fed and clothed in large numbers. Before
lands were laid out for settlement the Indian titles
were extinguished by treaties of purchase, conducted
between the representative of the Dominion and the
councils of the several tribes. The Indians live on
“reserves” set apart for them in valuable districts; indus-
trial farms and other schools are provided by the govern-
ment with the creditable hope of making them more
useful members of the community. Agents live on the
reserves, and inspectors visit the agencies from time to
time to see that the interests of the Indians are protected
in accordance with the general policy of the govern-
ment. The sale of spirituous liquors is expressly for-
biddcn to the Indian population, and severe punishment
is provided by the law for those who evade this wise
regulation.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.

There are no books or essays to be quoted in connection with territorial
govermnent. The subject is new, and those who wish to study it thoroughly
will have to go through the dominion statutes respecting Northwest govern-
ment, Indians, public lands, mounted police, as well as through the ordi-
nances of the Northwest assembly. Much information is found in the
Statistical Year Book of Canada and the reports of the department of the
interior.

CONCLUSION.

THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF CANADIAN CITIZENS.

I have now given an outline of the leading features of
the government of Canada, and shall conclude with a
few general observations addressed especially to my
younger readers, on whom must largely rest the effective
and pure administration of public affairs in the future of
a country, still in the infancy of its development.

Whatever defects and wealmesses may exist in certain
details of the Canadian federal structure—and this opens
up subjects of controversy into which I cannot enter in
a book like this—Canadians may fairly claim that it
seems on the whole well adapted to meet the wants and
necessities of the people of the Dominion. From the
foundation to the crowning apex it has many attributes
of strength. It is framed on principles which, as tested
by British and American experience, are calculated to
assist national development and give full liberty to local
institutions. At the bottom of the edifice are those
parish, township, county and municipal institutions which
are eminently favourable to popular freedom and local
improvement. Then comes the more important pro-
vincial organization, divided iuto those executive, legis-
lative and judicial authorities which are essential to the
working of all constitutions. Next comes the central
government which assumes a. national dignity and is
intended as a guarantee of protection, unity and security
to the whole system. And above all is the imperial
power—in other words, a sovereign who holds his
exalted position, not by the caprice of a popular vote,
but with all the guarantees of permanency with which
the British constitution surrounds the throne.

In the system of parliamentary government, which
has been developed in Canada in accordance with
English principles, we have elements of undoubted
strength as compared with those enjoyed by the people
of the United States, where neither the president of the
nation nor the governor of a state has a cabinet having
seats in the legislative assemblies of the country and re-
sponsible for the work of administration and legislation.
In Canada the governopgeneral, or the lieutenant-gover-
nor, his cabinet, and the popular branch of the legislature
are governed, as in England, by a system of rules, con-
ventions and understandings which enable them to work
in harmony with one another. The crown, the cabinet,
the legislature and the people have respectively certain
rights and powers which, when properly and constitu-
tionally brought into operation, give strength and elasti-
city to our system of government. In all cases there
must be a ministry to advise the crown, assume respon-
sibility for its acts, and obtain the support of the people
and their representatives in parliament. As a last resort
to bring into harmony the people, the legislature, and
the crown, there is the exercise of the supreme preroga-
tive of dissolution. A governor, acting always under
the advice of responsible ministers, may at any time,
generally speaking, grant an appeal to the people to test
their opinion on vital public questions and bring the
legislature into accord with the public mind. In short,
the fundamental principle of popular sovereignty lies at
the very basis of the Canadian system.

The following features of the Canadian system of
government also give it strength and stability :—

A non-political and permanent civil service in the
dominion and provincial governments—a system only
partially adopted of very recent years by the national
government of the United States, and now urged in
almost all the old states of the union.

The appointment of all judges and public officials by
the crown, on the advice of ministers responsible to
parliament for every such executive act—in contradis-
tinction to the elective system of the states of the federal
republic, where even judges are, in most cases, elected by
the people.

The independence of the judiciary of all party and
political pressure, when once appointed, since they can
be removed only by the crown, as a consequence of a
successful impeachment by the dominion parliament,
while in the several states their tenure is limited to a
certain number of years—ten on the average.

The reference of questions, involving the constitutional
rights of the Dominion and the provinces, to perfectly
independent courts on whose unbiassed decision must
always largely rest the security of a federal system.

But however well devised a system of government
may be, it is relatively worthless unless the men and
women who compose the people of Canada are always
fully alive to their duties and responsibilities. It has
been well said that “eternal vigilance is the price of
liberty,” and if the people of Canada are indifferent to
the character and ability of the men to whom, from time
to time, they entrust the administration of public affairs
—whether in the Dominion, a province, a city or other
municipal division, or a school district—they must sooner
or later themselves reap the results of their neglect.
Good and safe government means active interest on the
part of all classes of citizens, and not least on the part of
those whose intelligence, education and standing give
them a special right to be leaders in creating a sound
public opinion in their respective communities.

A famous Greek writer told all of us our duty many
centuries ago when he said that ” man is born to be a
citizen.”

Let the young citizens of Canada have always before
them a high ideal. Better to aim high than to sink low.

It is all important that the body politic should be
kept pure and that public life should be considered a
public trust. Canada is still young in political de-
velopment, and the fact that her population has been
as a rule a steady, fixed population, free from those
dangerous elements which have come into the United
States with such rapidity of late years, has kept her
relatively free from many serious social and political
dangers which have afflicted her neighbours, and to
which I believe they themselves, having inherited Eng-
lish institutions, and being imbued with the spirit of
English law, will always in the end rise superior. Great
responsibility therefore rests in the first instance upon
the people of Canada, who must select the best and
purest among them to serve the country, and, secondly,
upon the men whom the legislature chooses to discharge
the trust of carrying on the government. No system of
government or of laws can of itself make a people
virtuous and happy unless their rulers recognize in the
fullest sense their obligations to the state and exercise
their powers with prudence and unselfishness, and
endeavour to elevate public opinion. A constitution
may be as perfect as human agencies can make it and
yet be relatively worthless, while the large responsibilities
and powers entrusted to the governing body—responsi-
bilities and powers not set forth in acts of parliament—
are forgotten in view of party triumph, personal ambition,
or pecuniary gain. ” The laws,” says Burke, “reach but
a very little way. Constitute government how you
please, infinitely the greater part of it must depend upon
the exercise of powers which are left at large to the
prudence and uprightness of ministers of state. Even
all the use and potency of the laws depend upon them.
Without them your commonwealth is no better than a
scheme upon paper, and not a living, active, effective
organization.”

In Canada, I quote the words of a Canadian poetess*—

“As yet the waxen mould is soft, the opening page is fair;
It’s left for those who rule us now to leave their impress there—
The stamp of true nobility, high honour, stainless truth ;
The earnest quest of noble ends ; the generous heart of youth ;
The love of countly, soaring far above dull party strife ;
The love of learning, art, and song—the crowning grace of life;
The love of science, soaring far through nature’s hidden ways;
The love and fear of nature’s God—a nations highest praise.”

*Miss Machar, of Kingston, well known as ” Fidelis.”

APPENDIX.

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA
OR THE
BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT,
1867,
AND AMENDING ACTS.

APPENDIX.

THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT, 1867.

[Assented to by the Queen on the 27th March, 1867.

An Act for the Union of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Bruns-
wick, and the Government thereof, and for purposes connected
therewith.

WHEREAS the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick have expressed their desire to be federally united into
one Dominion under the crown of the united kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, with a constitution similar in principle to that
of the united kingdom :

And Whereas such a union would conduce to the welfare of the
provinces and promote the interests of the British empire:

And whereas on the establishment of the union by authority of
parliament it is expedient, not only that the constitution of the
legislative authority in the Dominion be provided for, but also that
the nature of the executive governxnent therein be declared :

And whereas it is expedient that provision be made for the
eventual admission into the union of other parts of British North
America:

Be it therefore enacted and declared by the queen’s most
excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the
lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present parlia-
ment assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :

1.—PRELIMINARY.

1. This act maybe cited as the British North America Act, 1867.

2. The provisions of this not referring to her majesty the queen
extend also to the heirs and successors of her majesty, kings and
queens of the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

II.—UNION.

3. It shall be lawful for the queen, by and with the advice of her
majesty’s most honourable privy council, to declare by proclamation
that, on and after a day therein appointed, not bein more than six
months after the passing of this act, the provinces of Canada, Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick shall form and be one Dominion under
the name of Canada; and on and after that day those three
provinces shall form and be one Dominion under that name
accordingly.

4. The subsequent provisions of this act shall, unless it is other-
wise exprcssed or implied, commence and have effect on and after
the union, that is to say, on and after the day appointed for the
union taking effect in the queen’s proclamation; and in the same
provisions, unless it is otherwise expressed or implied, the name
Canada shall be taken to mean Canada as constituted under this
act.

5. Canada shall be divided into four provinces, named Ontario,
Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

6. The parts of the province of Canada (as it exists at the passing
of this act) which formerly constituted respectively the provinces of
Upper Canada and Lower Canada shall be deemed to be severed,
and shall form two separate provinces. The part which formerly
constituted the province of Upper Canada shall constitute the
province of Ontario; and the part which formerly constituted the
province of Lower Canada shall constitute the province of Quebec.

7. The provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick shall have
the same limits as at the passing of this act.

8. In the general census of the population of Canada, which is
hereby required to be taken in the year one thousand eight hundred
and seventy-one, and in every tenth year thereafter, the respective
populations of the four provinces shall be distinguished.

III.—EXECUTIVE POWER.

9. The executive government and authority of and over Canada
is hereby declared to continue and be vested in the queen.

10. The provisions of this act referring to the governor-general
extend and apply to the governor-general for the time being of
Canada, or other the chief executive officer or administrator for the
time being carrying on the government of Canada on behalf and in
the name of the queen, by whatever title he is designated.

11. There shall be a council to aid and advise the government
of Canada, to be styled the queen’s privy council for Canada ; and
the persons who are to be members of that council shall be from
time to time chosen and summoned by the governor-general and
sworn in as privy councillors, and members thereof may be from
time to time removed by the governor-general.

12. All powers, authorities and functions, which under any act of
the parliament of Great Britain, or of the parliament of the united
kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or of the legislature of
Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Canada, Nova Scotia or New
Brunswick, are at the union vested in or exercisable by the
respective governors or lieutenant-governors of those provinces
with the advice, or with the advice and consent, of the respective
executive councils thereof, or in conjunction with those councils,
or with any number of members thereof, or by those governors or
lieutenant-governors individually, shall, as far as the same continue
in existence and capable of being exercised after the union in re1a-
tion to the government of Canada, be vested in and exercisable by
the governorgeneral, with the advice, or with the advice and com
sent, of or in conjunction with the queen’s privy council for Canada,
or any members thereof, or by the governor-general individually,
as the case requires, subject, nevertheless, (except with respect to
such as exist under acts of the parliament of Great Britain or of
the parliament of the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland)
to be abolished or altered by the parliament of Canada.

13. The provisions of this act referring to the governor-general
in council shall be construecl as referring to the governor-general
acting by and with the advice of the queen’s privy council for
Canada.

14. It shall be lawful for the queen, if her majesty thinks fit, to
authorize the governor-general from time to time to appoint any
person or any persons jointly or severally to be his deputy or
deputies within any part or parts of Canada, and in that capacity to
exercise during the pleasure of the governor-general such of the
powers, authorities and functions of the governor-general as the
governor-general deems it necessary or expedient to assign to him
or them, subject to any limitations or directions expressed or given
by the queen; but the appointment of such a deputy or deputies
shall not affect the exercise by the governor-general himself of any
power, authority or function.

15. The command-in-chief of the land and naval militia, and of
all naval and military forces, of and in Canada, is hereby declared
to continue and be vested in the queen.

16. Until the queen otherwise directs, the seat of government of
Canada shall be Ottawa.

IV.—LEGISLATIVE POWER.

17. There shall be one parliament for Canada, consisting of the
queen, an upper house styled the senate, and the house of commons.

18. *The privileges, immunities and powers to be held, enjoyed
and exercised by the senate and by the house of commons, and by
the members thereof respectively, shall be such as are from time to
time defined by act of the parliament of Canada, but so that the
same shall never exceed those at the passing of this act held,
enjoyed, and exercised by the Commons house of parliament of the
united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and by the members
thereof.

*Amended by a subsequent imperial Act (see below, p. 324).

19. The parliament of Canada shall be called together not later
than six months after the union.

20. There shall be a session of the parliament of Canada. once at
least in every year, so that twelve months shall not intervene
between the last sitting of the parliament in one session and its
first sitting in the next session.

The Senate.

21. The senate shall, subject to the provisions of this act, consist
of seventy-two members, who shall be styled senators.

22. In relation to the constitution of the senate, Canada shall be
deemed to consist of three divisions—

1. Ontario;
2. Quebec;
3. The Maritime provinces, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick;
which three divisions shall (subject to the provisions of this act) be
equally represented in the senate as follows: Ontario by twenty-
four senators; Quebec by twenty-four senators, and the Maritime
provinces by twenty-four senators, twelve thereof representing
Nova Scotia and twelve thereof representing New Brunswick.

In the case of Quebec, each of the twenty-four senators re re-
senting that province shall be appointed for one of the twenty-four
electoral divisions of Lower Canada specified in schedule A to
chapter one of the consolidated statutes of Canada.

23. The qualifications of a senator shall be as follows :—

(1) He shall be of the full age of thirty years.

(2) He shall be either a natural-born subject of the queen, or a
subject of the queen naturalized by an act of the parlia-
ment of Great Britain, or of the parliament of the united
kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or of the legislature
of one of the provinces of Upper Canada, Lower Canada,
Canada, Nova Scotia or New Brunswick before the union,
or of the parliament of Canada after the union.

(3) He shall be legally or e uitalny seized as of freehold for his
own use and benefit of lands or tenements held in free and
common socage, or seized or possessed for his own use
and benefit of lands or tenements held in franc-alleu or
in roture, within the province for which he is appointed,
of the value of four thousand dollars, over and above all
rents, clues, debts, charges, mortgages and encumbrances
due or payable out of, or charged on or affecting the same;

(4) His real and personal property shall be together worth four
thousand dollars over and above his debts and liabilities ;

(5) He shall be resident in the province for which he is appointed;

(6) In thecase of Quebec, he shall have his real property qualifi-
cation in the electoral division for which he is appointed,
or shall be resident in that division.

24. The governor-general shall from time to time, in the queen’s
name, by instrument under the great seal of Canada, summon
qualified persons to the senate ; and, subject to the provisions of
this act, every person so summoned shall become and be a member
of the senate and a senator.

25. Such persons shall be first summoned to the senate as the
queen by warrant under her majesty’s royal sign manual thinks fit
to approve, and their names shall be inserted in the queen’s procla-
mation of union.

26. If at any time, on the recommendation of the governor-
general, the queen thinks fit to direct that three or six members he
added to the senate, the governor-general may, by summons to
three or six qualified persons (as the case may be), representing
equally the three divisions of Canada, add to the senate accordingly.

27. In case of such addition being at any time made, the governor-
general shall not summon any person to the senate, except on a
further like direction by the queen on the like recommendation,
until each of the three divisions of Canada is represented by twenty-
four senators, and no more.

28. The nuinber of senators shall not at any time exceed seventy-
eight.

29. A senator shall. subject to the provisions of this act, hold his
place in the senate for life.

30. A senator inay, by writing under his hand, addressed to the
governor-general, resign his place in the senate, and thereupon the
same shall he vacant.

31. The place of a senator shall become vacant in any of the
following cases :—

(1) If for two Consecutive sessions of the parliament he fails to
give his attendance in the senate :

(2) If he takes an oath or makes a declaration or ackowledg-
ment of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign
power, or does an act whereby he becomes a subject or
citizen, or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject
or citizen of a foreign power:

(3) If he is adjudged bankrupt or insolvent, or applies for the
benefit of any law relating to insolvent debtors, or becomes
a public defaulter :

(4) If he is attainted of treason, or convicted of felony or of any
infamous crime :

(5) If he ceases to be ualified in respect of property or of resi-
dence: provided that a senator shall not be deemed to
have ceased to be qualified in respect of residence by
reason only of his residing at the seat of the government
of Canada while holding an oflfice under that government
requiring his presence there.

32. When a vacancy happens in the senate, by resignation, death
or otherwise, the governor-general shall, by summons to a fit and
qualified person, fill the vacancy.

33. If any question arises respecting the qualification ofa senator
or a vacancy in the senate, the same shall he heard and determined
by the senate.

34. The governor-general may from time to time, by instrument
under the great seal of Canada, appoint a senator to be speaker of
the senate, and may remove him and appoint another in his stead.

35. Until the parliament of Canada otherwise provides, the
presence of at least fifteen senators, including the speaker, shall be
necessary to constitute a meeting of the senate for the exercise of
its powers.

36. Questions arising in the senate shall be decided by a
majority of voices, and the speaker shall in all cases have a vote,
and when the voices are equal the decision shall be deemed to be
in the negative.

The House of Commons.

37 The house of commons shall, subject to the provisions of this
act, consist of one hundred and eighty-one members, of whom
eighty-two shall be elected for Ontario, sixty-five for Quebec,
nineteen for Nova Scotia, and fifteen for New Brunswick.

38. The governor-general shall from time to time, in the queen’s
name, by instrument under the great seal of Canada, summon and
call together the house of commons.

39. A senator shall not be capable of being elected or of sitting or
voting as a member of the house of commons.

40. Until the parliament of Canada otherwise provides, Ontario,
Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick shall, for the purposes
of the election of members to serve in the house of commons, be
divided into electoral districts as follows :—

1.—ONTARIO.

Ontario shall be divided into the counties, ridings of counties,
cities, parts of cities, and towns enumerated in the first schedule to
this not, each whereof shall be an electoral district, each such dis-
trict as numbered in that schedule being entitled to return one
member.

2.—QUEBEC.

Quebec shall be divided into Sixty-five Electoral
Districts, composed of the Sixty-five Electoral Divisions
into which Lower Canada is at the passing of this Act
divided under Chapter Two of the Consolidated Statutes
of Canada, Chapter Seventy-five of the Consolidated
Statutes for Lower Canada, and the Act of the Province
of Canada of the Twenty-third Year of the Queen, Chapter
One, or any other Act amending the same in force at the
Union, so that each such Electoral Division shall be for
the Purposes of this Act an Electoral District entitled to
return one member.

3—NOVA SCOTIA.

Each of the Eighteen Counties of Nova Scotia shall be
an Electoral District. The County of Halifax shall be
entitled to return Two Members, and each of the other
Counties One Member.

4.—NEW BRUNSWICK.

Each of the Fourteen Counties into which New
Brunswick is divided, including the City and County of
St. John, shall be an Electoral District. The City of
St. John shall also be a separate Electoral District. Each
of those Fifteen Electoral Districts shall be entitled to
return One Member.

41. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides,
all Laws in force in the several Provinces at the Union
relative to the following Matters or any of them, namely: —
the Qualifications and Disqualifications of Persons to
be elected or to sit or vote as Members of the House of
Assembly or Legislative Assembly in the several Provinces,
the Voters at Elections of such Members, the Oaths to be
taken by Voters, the Returning Officers, their Powers and
Duties, the Proceedings at Elections, the Periods during
which Elections may be continued, the Trial of contro-
verted Elections, and Proceedings incident thereto, the
vacating of Seats of Members, and the Execution of new
Writs in case of Seats vacated otherwise than by Dissolu-
tion,—shall respectively apply to Elections of Members
to serve in the House of Commons for the same several
Provinces.

Provided that, until the Parliament of Canada other-
wise provides, at any Election for a Member of -the House
Of Commons for the District of Algoma, in addition to
Persons qualified by the Law of the Province of Canada
to vote, every Male British Subject, aged Twenty-one
Years or upwards, being a Householder, shall have a
Vote.

42. For the first election of members to serve in the house of
commons the governor-general shall cause writs to be issued by
such person, in such form and addressed to such returning officers
as he thinks fit.

The person issuing writs under this section shall have the like
powers as are possessed at the union by the officers charged with
the issuing of writs for the election of members to serve in the
respective house of assembly or legislative assembly of the
province of Canada, Nova Scotia or New Brunswick; and the
returning officers to whom writs are directed under this section
shall have the like powers as are possessed at the union by the
officers charged with the returning of writs for the election of
members to serve in the same respective house of assembly or
legislative assembly.

43. In case a vacancy in the representation in the house of
commons of any electoral district happens before the meeting of
the parliament or after the meeting of the parliament before
provision is made by the parliament in this behalf, the provisions
of the last foregoing section of this act shall extend and apply to
the issuing and returning of a writ in respect of such vacant
district.

44. The House of Commons on its first assembling
after a General Election shall proceed with all practicable
Speed to elect One of its Members to be Speaker.

45. In case of a Vacancy happening in the Office of
Speaker by Death, Resignation, or otherwise, the House
of Commons shall with all practicable Speed proceed to
elect another of its Members to be Speaker.

46. The Speaker shall preside at all Meetings of the
House of Commons.

47. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides,
in case of the Absence for any Reason of the Speaker
from the Chair of the House of Commons for a Period
of Forty-eight consecutive Hours, the House may elect
another of its Members to act as Speaker, and the Member
so elected shall during the Continuance of such Absence
of the Speaker have and execute all the Powers, Privileges,
and Duties of Speaker.

48. The Presence of at least Twenty Members of the
House of Commons shall be necessary to constitute a
Meeting of the House for the Exercise of its Powers,
and for that Purpose the Speaker shall be reckoned as a
Member.

49. Questions arising in the House of Commons shall
be decided by a Majority of Voices other than that of the
Speaker, and when the Voices are equal, but not otherwise,
the Speaker shall have a Vote.

50. Every House of Commons shall continue for Five
Years from the Day of the Return of the Writs for Commons.
choosing the House (subject to be sooner dissolved by
the governor-general), and no longer.

51. On the Completion of the Census in the Year One Thousand
eight hundred and seventy-one, and of each subsequent decennial
adjusted by such Authority, in such Manner, and from such Time,
as the Parliament of Canada from Time to Time provides, subject and
according to the following Rules:

(1) Quebec shall have the fixed Number of Sixty-five Members:

(2) There shall be assigned to each of the other Provinces such
a Number of Members as will bear the same Proportion to the
Number oi its Population (ascertained at such Census) as the
Number Sixty-five bears to the Number of the Population of
Quebec (so ascertained):

(3) In the Computation of the Number of Members for a Province
a fractional Part not exceeding One Half of the whole Number
requisite for entitling the Province to a Member shall be disre-
resgarded, but a fractional Part exceeding One Half of that
Number shall be equivalent to the whole Number:

(4) On any such Readjustment the Number of Members for a
Province shall not be reduced unless the Proportion which the
Number of the Population of the Province bore to the Number
of the aggregate Population oi Canada at the then last preceding
Re-adjustment of the Number of Members for the Province
is ascertained at the then latest Census to be diminished by
One Twentieth Part or upwards:

(5) Such Readjustment shall not take effect until the Termina-
tion of the than existing Parliament

52. The Number of Members of the House of Commons
may be from Time to Time increased by the Parliament
of Canada, provided the proportionate Representation
of the Provinces prescribed by this Act is not thereby
disturbed.

Money Votes; Royal Assent.

53. Bills for approaching any Part of the Public
Revenue, or for imposing any Tax or Impost, shall orginate
in the House of Commons.

54. It shall not be lawful for the House of Commons
to adopt or pass any Vote, Resolution, Address, or Bill for
the Appropiiation of any Part of the Public Revenue,
or of any Tax or Impost, to any Purpose that has not been
first recommended to that House by Message of the
governor-general in the Session in which such Vote,
Resolution, Address, or Bill is proposed.

55. Where a Bill passed by the Houses of the Parlia-
ment is presented to the governor-general for the Queen’s
Assent, he shall declare, according to his Discretion, but
subject to the Provisions of this Act and to Her Majesty’s
Instructions, either that he assents thereto in the Queen’s
Name, or that he withholds the Queen’s Assent, or that he
reserves the Bill for the Signification of the Queen’s
Pleasure.

56. Where the governor-general assents to a Bill in
the Queen’s Name, he shall by the first convenient Oppor-
tunity send an authentic Copy of the Act to one of Her
Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State, and if the Queen
in Council within Two Yeasts after Receipt thereof by the
Secretary of State thinks fit to disallow the Act, such
Disallowance (with a Certificate of the Secretary of State
of the Day on which the Act was received by him) being
signified by the governor-general, by Speech or Message
to each of the Houses of the Parliament or by Proclama-
tion, shall annul the Act from and after the Day of such
Signification.

57. A Bill reserved for the Signification of the Queen’s
Pleasure shall not have any Force unless and until, within
Two Years from the Day on which it was presented to
the governor-general for the Queen’s Assent, the Governor
General signifies, by Speech or Message to each of the
Houses of the Parliament or by Proclamation, that it has
received the Assent of the Queen in Council.

An Entry of every such Speech, Message, or Proclama-
tion shall be made in the Journal of each House, and a
Duplicate thereof duly attested shall be delivered to the
proper Officer to be kept among the Records of Canada.

V.—PROVINCIAL CONSTITUTIONS.

Executive Power.

58. For each Province there shall be an Officer, styled
the lieutenant-governor, appointed by the governor-
general in Council by Instrument under the Great Seal of
Canada.

59. A lieutenant-governor shall hold Office during
the Pleasure of the governor-general; but any Lieutenant
Governor appointed after the Commencement of the First
Session of the Parliament of Canada shall not be remove-
able within Five Years from his Appointment, except for
Cause assigned, which shall be communicated to him in
Writing within One Month after the Order for his Removal
is made, and shall be communicated by Message to the
Senate and to the House of Commons within One Week
thereafter if the Parliament is then sitting, and if not
then within One Week after the Commencement of the
next Session of the Parliament.

60. The Salaries of the lieutenant-governor shall be
fixed and provided by the Parliament of Canada.

61. Every lieutenant-governor shall, before assuming
the Duties of his Office, make and subscribe before the
governor-general or some Person authorized by him Oaths
of Allegiance and Office similar to those taken by the
governor-general.

62. The Provisions of this Act referring to the lieu-
tenant-governor extend and apply to the lieutenant-gov-
ernor for the Time being of each Province, or other the
Chief Executive Officer or Administrator for the Time
being carrying on the Government of the Province, by
whatever Title he is designated.

63. The Executive Council of Ontario and of Quebec
shall be composed of such Persons as the Lieutenant
Governor from Time to Time thinks fit, and in the first
instance of the following Officers, namely: the Attorney
General, the Secretary and Registrar of the Province, the
Treasurer of the Province, the Commissioner of Crown
Lands, and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public
Works, with in Quebec the Speaker of the Legislative
Council and the Solicitor General.

64. The Constitution of the Executive Authority in
each of the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
shall, subject to the Provisions of this Act, continue as it
exists at the Union until altered under the Authority of
this Act.

65. All Powers, Authorities, and Functions which under
any Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, or of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, or of the Legislature of Upper Canada, Lower
Canada, or Canada, were or are before or at the Union
vested in or exeroiseable by the respective Governors or
Lieutenant Governors of those Provinces, with the Advice
or with the Advice and Consent of the respective Execu-
tive Councils thereof, or in conjunction with those Coun-
cils, or with any Number of Members thereof, or by those
Governors or Lieutenant Governors individually, shall,
as far as the same are capable of being exercised after the
Union in relation to the Government of Ontario and
Quebec respectively, be vested in and shall or may be
exercised by the lieutenant-governor of Ontario and
Quebec respectively, with the Advice or with the Advice
and Consent of or in conjunction with the respective
Executive Councils, or any Members thereof, or by the
lieutenant-governor individually, as the Case requires,
subject nevertheless (except with respect to such as exist
under Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain, or of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland,) to be abolished or altered by the respective
Legislatures of Ontario and Quebec.