governor, the governor-general in council may appoint an administrator to execute his office and functions.1

In the exercise of his functions, the lieutenant-governor of a province "should, of course, maintain that impartiality towards political parties, which is essential to the proper performance of the duties of his office, and for any action he may take he is, under the fifty-ninth section of the act, directly responsible to the governorgeneral." The only safe principle that he can adopt for his general guidance is that pointed out to him by the experience of the working of parliamentary institutions to give his confidence to his constitutional advisers while they enjoy the support of the majority of the legislature.

2

8

A question has been raised, how far a lieutenant-governor can now be considered to represent the Crown. It is beyond dispute, however, that he is fully authorized to exercise all the powers lawfully belonging to the sovereign in respect of assembling or proroguing, and of dissolving the legislative assemblies in the provinces.* A high judicial authority has expressed the opinion that "whilst it cannot for a moment be contended that the lieutenant-governors under confederation represent the Crown as the lieutenant-governors did before confedera

1 B. N. A. Act, ss. 63, 65, 66, 67.

2 Despatch of the colonial secretary, 1879; Can. Sess. P. 1880 No. 18, p. 8.

8 "They are officers of the dominion government-they are not her Majesty's representatives." Taschereau, J., in Lenoir vs. Ritchie. Can. Sup. Court R., vol. iii, p. 623. See also Пb., vol. v, Mercer vs. Att.-Gen. of O.

Todd, pp. 392-93.

tion, yet it must be conceded that these high officials, since confederation, do represent the Crown, though doubtless in a modified manner. They represent the Queen as lieutenant-governors did before confederation, in the performance of all executive or administrative acts now left to be performed by lieutenant-governors in the name of the Queen." 1

The forty-first resolution of the Quebec conference declared that "the local government and legislature of each province shall be constructed in such manner as the existing legislature of each such province shall provide." Accordingly, in the last session of the old legislature of Canada, an address was passed to the sovereign praying her "to cause a measure to be submitted to the imperial parliament to provide for the local government and legislature of Lower and Upper Canada respectively." " In accordance with this address the constitutions of Quebec and Ontario were formally incorporated in the British North America Act of 1867. The legislature of Ontario consists of only the lieutenant-governor and one house, named the legislative assembly, composed in the first instance of eighty-two members, elected for the same electoral districts which returned members to the House of Commons. After the census of 1871, there was a rearrangement of constituencies, and the number of representatives was increased to eighty-eight in all. In 1885

3

1 Ritchie, C. J., Mercer vs. Att.-Gen. of O., Can. Sup. Court R., vol. v, pp. 637, 643.

2 Leg. Ass. J. (1866), 362.

Leg. Ass. J. (1866) 363, resolution 12. B. N. A. Act, 1867, ss. 69, 70, 1st sch.

Chap. 8, Rev. Stat. of 1877, (38 Vict., c. 2, s. 1,) in which the electoral divisions are set forth.

REESE LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

CALIFO

the representation was again enlarged to ninety members, elected under a very liberal franchise.1

2

The legislature of Quebec consists of a lieutenantgovernor, a legislative council, and a legislative assembly. The legislative council comprises twenty-four members, appointed for life by the lieutenant-governor in the Queen's name, and representing the same electoral districts from which senators are chosen. The qualifications of the legislative councillors of Quebec are the same as those of the senators from the province.3 The legislative assembly is composed of sixty-five members, elected for the same electoral districts represented by the members of the House of Com mons for the province.' It is provided in the act that while it is always perfectly competent for the legislature of Quebec to alter these districts, it can only change the limits of certain constituencies, especially mentioned, with the concurrence of the majority of the members representing all those electoral divisions. The legislative assembly in each province is summoned by the lieutenant-governor in the

5

1 48 Vict., c. 2., Manhood suffrage qualified by residence. 2 Leg. Ass. J. (1866) 363; B. N. A. Act, 1867, s. 71, 72 and s. 22, subs. 3. Cons. Stat. of Canada, c. 1, Sch. A.

3 B. N. A. Act, ss. 73 and 23.

4 Ss. 80 and 40; Doutre, p. 85.

5 These districts are Pontiac, Ottawa, Argenteuil, Huntingdon, Missisquoi, Brome, Shefford, Stanstead, Compton, Wolfe and Richmond, Megantic, town of Sherbrooke. Second Sched. B. N. A. Act, 1867. In these districts there is a large English-speaking and Protestant population, and it was considered expedient to insert this proviso securing its rights; but the provision was opposed in the legislature, in 1866, as unnecessary. Turcotte, II., 590.

Queen's name. It has a constitutional existence of four years in Ontario,' and of five years in Quebec,2 subject to being dissolved at any time by the same authority that calls them together. A session must be held once at least in every year, "( so that twelve months shall not intervene between the last sitting of the legislature in each province in one session and its first sitting in the next session."3 The provisions in the act respecting election and duties of speaker, quorum, and mode of voting, in the House of Commons, also apply to the legislative assemblies of the provinces in question.

By

1 The Ont. Stat., 42 Vict., (1879), c. 4, s. 3, provides that every legislature of Ontario shall continue for four years from the 55th day after the date of the writs for the election and no longer; that in case a meeting of the legislature is necessary before the election for Algoma has taken place, the member elected for that district at the previous election shall represent the same until the new election therefor has been held and the return made in due form; that in such case the duration of the new assembly shall be for four years from the day for which the assembly shall be summoned to meet for the discharge of business and no longer, subject to being sooner dissolved by the lieutenantgovernor. This provision was made to meet a constitutional question that had arisen as to the exact duration of the legislature-whether it could not last for four years from the date of the return for Algoma, which is much later than for the rest of the province. See Canadian Monthly, April, 1879, and Parl. Deb. of Ontario, 1879, as the curious controversy that arose on this constitutional point. In 1885 this act was amended (Ont. Rev. Stat. c. 11,) by dividing Algoma into two electoral districts. * Extended from four to five years, in 1881, by the legislature of Quebec, in accordance with subs. 1, s. 92 of B. N. A. Act; 44– 45 Vict., c. 7.

3 Sec. 86. * Sec. 87.

REESE LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

CALIFORNIA

an act passed in 1882, the speaker of the legislative council of Quebec remains in office during the legislature to which he has been nominated by the lieutenantgovernor, and may not be a member of the executive council of the province.1

The Act of 1867 provides that the constitution of the executive authority as well as of the legislatures of the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick shall continue as it existed at the time of the union until altered under the authority of that act. These two colonies had, for very many years, enjoyed the advantages of representative institutions as liberal in all respects as those of the larger provinces of Canada. Under the French regime, and for some time after their conquest by the English, these provinces were comprised in the large, ill-defined territory known as Acadia. From 1713 to 1758 the provincial government consisted of a

1 Quebec Stat. 45 Vic., c. 3.

3

2 B.N.A. Act, ss. 64, 88. The power of amendment so conferred, has not been exercised in Nova Scotia-Gov. Archibald. Can. 1883, No. 70, p. 11.

3 Nova Scotia was formally ceded to England by the Treaty of Utrecht, 11 April, 1713; but Cape Breton still remained a possession of France until the conquest of Canada, and the subsequent Treaty of Paris, which gave to Great Britain all the French possessions in British North America except the islands of St. Pierre, Miquelon and Langley on the coast of Newfoundland, reserved for carrying on the fisheries. The Island of Cape Breton was under the government of Nova Scotia from 1766 to 1784, when it was given a separate government, consisting of a lieutenant-governor and council. This constitution remained in force until the re-annexation of the island to Nova Scotia in 1820. Can. Sess. P., 1883, No. 70, p. 10.