AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA-A CON- 
 STITUTIONAL AND HISTORICAL STUDY. 
 
 BY 
 
 J. G. BOUEIXOT, C.M.G., LL.D., D.O.L., 
 
 Of Ottawa, Canada. 
 
 iVrom the Annual Report of f e American Historical Association for 1891, pages 309-407.) 
 
 WASHINGTON : 
 CO\?iaiNMENT PRINTI^a OFFICE. 
 
 1892. 
 

AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMEiNT IN CANADA-A CON- 
 STITUTIONAL AND HISTORICAL STUDY. 
 
 BY 
 
 J. G. BOURINOT, C.M.G., LL.D., D.O.L., 
 
 Of Ottawa, Canada. 
 
 (From the Annual Report of the American Historical Association for 1891, pages 30S-407.) 
 
 WASHINGTON : 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 1892. 
 
XL A2 
 
 12 1 3i 
 
 15 
 
 r* c 
 
XVIL-PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA-A CON- 
 STITUTIONAL AND HISTORICAL STUDY. 
 
 3Y J. G. BOURINOT, C.M.G,, LLD., D.C.L, OF OTTAWA, 
 
 Canada, 
 
 I.— ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERN- 
 MENT IN CANADA. 
 XL— CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF RESPON- 
 SIBLE GOVERNMENT IN CANADA. 
 IIL—PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT COMPARED WITH CON- 
 GRESSIONAL GOVERNMENT. 
 APPENDIX.— BIBLIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL NOTES. 
 
 309 
 
PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 In this series of three pnpers the writer lias attempted to 
 give, first, a historieal review of the evohition and effect of 
 responsible or parliamentary government in the I^ominion of 
 Canada; next a summary of the constitutional methods and 
 principles of that government; and thirdly, a comparison be- 
 tween the leading features of the Canadian and the United 
 States systems. He has not pretended — for it does not fall 
 within the legitimate scope of the monograph — to discuss the 
 federal system of Canada. That has been already attempted by 
 the author in one of the Historical and Political Studies of the 
 Johns Hopkins University, to- which the j^resent essays may 
 be considered in a measure supplementary. 
 
 House of Commons, Ottawa, 
 
 December 27, 1891. 
 
 310 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA. A CONSTITU- 
 TIONAL AND HISTORICAL STUDY. 
 
 By John Geougk Boitkinot, C.M.G., LL.D., D.C.L., of Ottawa, Canada. 
 
 I. — ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERN- 
 MENT IN CANADA. 
 
 The eonstitutioii of Canada is not a purely artiticial scheme 
 of government, but, like that of England, is a systematical 
 " balance of social and political forces which is a natural out- 
 come of its history and development."* Responsible govern- 
 ment is but another phrase for parliamentary government. It 
 has happened in the history of Canada, as in that of the i)arent 
 state, the principles which lie at the basis of the system were 
 not formulated and adopted in a day or a week, but were 
 slowly evolved as the natural sequence of representative 
 institutions. We do not lind in any of the statutes which 
 liave emanated from the Imperial Parliament, as the central 
 legislature of the whole Empire, any express or authoritative 
 enunciation of the principle, or any enactment of rules of law 
 which should govern the formation of a cabinet. It is true the 
 British North America act of 18G7,t which is the fundamental 
 law^ of the Dominion as a federation, contains a vague state- 
 ment in the preamble that the provinces " expressed their 
 desire to be federally united into one Dominion with a constitu- 
 tion similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom." Else- 
 where in the act there are provisions for vesting the executive 
 authority and government in the Queen, and for the appoint- 
 ment of a privy council to aid and advise the governor-general 
 
 * See Greeu, " History of the English People," vol. iv, p. 232. 
 t Imp. Stat., 30-31 Vict., chap. 3. 
 
 311 
 
312 AMKUICAX HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 i>l' Canada, and idso lor the nppointnu'iit of a Ii<'utonant gov 
 ernor and an executive council in the several proviiu-es; hut 
 as respects tlieii- resj»ective powers an<l tii!U'tii>ns, there is 
 nothing" authoritative in our written constitution to confer upon 
 a cabinet tlie great responsibilities^ which it possesses as the 
 chief executive and administrative body <>f the Dtuninion and 
 of each province by virtue of it possessing tiie conlideiu'e of 
 the respective legislatures. In Canada that great body of 
 mr.ritten (Muiventions, usages, and understandings which have 
 in the course of tinu? grown n\) in the practical working of the 
 English constitution form as important a part of the political 
 system of Canada as the fundamental law itself which governs 
 the federation. I>y ignoring this fact, as I have attempted to 
 show on a previcms occasion,* an eminent English i)ublicist, 
 Mr. A. V. Dicey, Viiieriaii professor of English law in the 
 University of Oxford, has fallen into the error of describing 
 the preand)le of the British North America act of 18G7 as a 
 piece of " otticial niendacity.""'t This systeni of responsible 
 government preceded the establishment of the Dominion by a 
 (juarter of a century, and was adojjted or rather continued 
 asindisj)ensable tothe efficient administration and harmonious 
 oi^eration of the government, not only of the confederation as a 
 whole but of its provincial entities respectively. Its history 
 must be traced through the various dispatches of the secre 
 taries of state, the instructions to the governors general and 
 lieutenant governors, and in the journals and debates of the 
 legislative bodies of the ])rovinces for half a century past. 
 
 Parliamentary institutions in any shape were unknown to 
 Canada under the French regime, w^hich lasted from 1608 to 
 1759. Its government during that period was in the hands of 
 a governor, an intendant or minister of finance and police, and 
 a council which possessed executive and judicial powers. Its 
 functions and authority were carefully defined and restrained 
 by the decrees and instructions of the French king, in con 
 formity with the principle of centralization and absolutism that 
 was the dominant feature of French government until the revo 
 lution. It was a paternal government, which regulated all the 
 political, social, and even religious affairs of the country, for 
 the Eoman Catholic bishop made himself all-influential in coun 
 
 * "Canadian Studies in Comparative Politics," p. 20. 
 t " The Law of the Constitution '' (3d ed.), p. 155. 
 
PARIJAMKNTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA — BOITRINOT. 313 
 
 <'il and the people were practically mere automattms to be di- 
 reet«Ml and moved a«*e(>rdin.i; to tlu' kinji'a s<»verei;;ri will. When 
 New France beeanie a possession of l'n;;land and the (juestiou 
 arose how it was to be governed, provision was made in j;eu- 
 eral terms for the establishnuMit of repres<'ntative institutions 
 as in the old English colonies. The proclamation of (Jeorgo 
 III, which was issued in 17<>;» — a severely criticist'd document 
 on a<M'ount of its want of clearness* — cpiite naturally gave ex- 
 pression to the English idea that a representative system in 
 some form oi' other was a natural consequence of British rule. 
 ♦• lu the old fcolonialj system," says Prof. Seeley,t "assemblies 
 were not formally instituted, but grew up of themselves be- 
 cause it wns the nature of F^nglishmen to assemble. Thus the 
 old historian of the colonies, Hutchinson, writes under the 
 year UJIO [twelve years after the fcmndation of Jamestown 
 and eleven years later than Champlain's arrival at (^ucbecj : 
 ' This year a house of burgesses broke ont in Virginia.' '' But 
 the Frenchmen of Canada knew nothing of those institutions, 
 so familiar and natural to Englishmen from the earliest days of 
 their history, and even if they had been disposed to elect a repre 
 sentative house, the fact that all were Koman Catholics and 
 still subject to certain political disabilities, f stood in the way of 
 such a result. Then a few years later followed the Quebec act 
 which removed these disabilities and established a system of 
 government which restored the civil lawof Fren:;h Canada — if, 
 indeed, ithad ever been legally taken away — and gave the people 
 a legislative council nominated by the Crown. In accordance 
 with his instructions the governor also appointed a privy coun- 
 cil to assist him in the administration of public affairs. Whilst 
 the English settlers of Canada, then enlarged in area so as to 
 include the present northwest of the United States, received 
 with dismay and dissatisfaction a form of government Mhich 
 made French law prevail in civil matters and prevented th»; 
 meeting of a legislative assembly, the French Canadians were 
 naturally satisfied with the guarantees given them for the per- 
 petuation of their old institutions, and, ignorant of an English 
 representative system, accepted gratefully one which was far 
 more liberal than that under which they had been so long gov- 
 erned. Fourteen years later the Imperial Parliament again in- 
 
 *Bouriuot, "Manual of Constitutional History of Canada," p. 9, note. 
 
 t '* Expansion of England," p. 67. 
 
 t The proclamation obliged tbem to take a test oath. — — 
 
314 AMERICAN HISTUKICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 torfeied in Canadian matters and passed the "■ constitutional 
 act" of 1791, which c(»nstituted the two provinces oi" Upper 
 Canada and Lower Canada and, by separatinjif the English 
 from the French Canadians, gave French Canada remarkable 
 oi)portanities for establishing her language, civil law, and other 
 institutions on a permanent basis. By the beginning of the 
 present century, there were representative institutions in the 
 live i»rovinces of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, JS'ew Bruns- 
 wick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. It was asserted 
 authoritatively that the object of the imperial government was 
 to give the colonial peo])les a system as like as possible to that 
 of England. One lieutenaiit-goveruor* called it '' an image 
 and transcript of the British constitution." So far as having 
 a permanent head of the executive and a council to advise the 
 governors and a legislature composed of two houses, there was 
 a similarity between the English and Canadian constitutions. 
 The essential ditferences, however, lay in the absence of any 
 lesponsibilit}'^ on the part of the executive councils to the iieo- 
 ple's assemblies and to tlie little or no control allowed to the 
 latter over the revenues, exi)enditures, and taxation of the 
 country. It would have been more correct to state that the 
 Canadian system of those early times bore a likeness to the 
 old colonial system in its latest phases when the crown-ap- 
 pointed governcus wee constantly in collision with tiie reiire- 
 sentative bodies.t As a rule, in all the old colonies there had 
 been a legislature of a bicameral character and certain coun- 
 cillors who were practically advisers of the governors. ITp to 
 1838, when the constitution of Lower Canada was suspended 
 on account of political difficulties, the government of the prov- 
 inces was administered by the following authorities, their power 
 being, generally speaking, in the order I have given them : 
 
 A secretary of state in England, who had the supervision of 
 the colonial governments. 
 
 A governor-general of Canada, and lieuteimnt- governors in 
 the other provinces, the latter being practically independent of 
 
 * Lientenant-Goveriior Simcoe, in closing the iirst session of the legis- 
 lature of Upper Canada. See Bonrinot, " Manual of Constitutional His- 
 tory," p. 25, note. 
 
 t Writing of the perpetual antagonism between the legislative bodies 
 and the royal governors, Fiske says ("Civil (Jovemment in the United 
 States," p. (>6) that it " was an excellent schooling in political liberty," a 
 remark quite applicable to Canada. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA liOURINOT. 315 
 
 llie former, and acting directly under inii)crial instructions and 
 conimissions. 
 
 An executive council, ai)i).)intcd by the foregoing officials 
 and owing responsibility to them alone. 
 
 A legislative council, composed for the most part of execu- 
 tive councillors appointed for life by the crown, that is to say, 
 juactically by the governors. 
 
 A legislative assembly, elected by the people on a restricted 
 franchise, claiming but exeicising little or no control over the 
 government and finances of the provinces. 
 
 In the i)rovinces by the sea there was no formal di\nsion be- 
 tween the executive and legislative councils as in the uj)per 
 l^rovinces, but the legislative council exercised at once legisla- 
 tive and executive functions. The governing body in all the 
 provinces was the legislative council which was entirely out 
 of sympathy with the great body of the people, and with their 
 immediate representatives in the assembly, since it held its 
 position by the exercise of the prerogative of the crown, and 
 Ijossessed a controlling influence with the governors, not only 
 by virtue of its mode of appointment, but from the fa(;t that its 
 most influential members were also executive councillors.* in 
 the contest that eventually arose in the working out of this 
 political system between the governors and the; assemblies for 
 the control of the revenues and expenditures, and tlu^ inde- 
 jjendence of the judiciary, and other questions vitally aflectiug 
 the freedom and efliciency of government, the legislative coun- 
 cil in every province was arrayed as a unit on the side of j)re- 
 rogative, and at one time or other opposed every measure and 
 principle in the direction of wider political liberty. It is easy, 
 then, to understand that in all the provinces, and especially in 
 Lower Canada to the very day of I'apineau's outbreak, the 
 efforts of the poi)ular leaders were chiefly directed to break 
 down the power of the legislative ccmncil and obtain a change 
 in its constitution from the imperial authorities. The famous 
 
 * This system was modeled on that of a number of the ohl colonies. ' ' The 
 governor always had a council to advise with him and assist him in his 
 executive duties, in imitation of the king's privy council in Enghuul, but 
 in nearly all the colonies this council took part in the work of legislation, 
 and thus sat as an upper house, with more or less power of reviewin,;;, and 
 amending the acts of the assembly." Fiske, "Civil Government in the 
 United States," p. 155. The systen. was in operation in the royal pr<»vin- 
 cial cohmies, to which class Nova Scotia also belonged. See Scott, " De- 
 velopment of Constitutional Liberty," j-p. 35, 36. 
 
316 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 ninety-two resolutions of 1834, which embodied in enipliatic 
 phrases the grievances of the poi)ulai' majority of French Can- 
 ada, do not directly or indirectly refer to the P]nglish system 
 of having in parliament a set of ministers responsible to and 
 dependent on the majority of the i)opular house, but make a 
 lierce onslaught on the upper chamber. Even in the provinces 
 of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick the opinion of the leaders of 
 the popular body appears to have hesitated for a while between 
 a change in the constitution of the legislative council and the 
 creation of a responsible ministry. A set of resolutions which 
 were passed as late as 18.37 by the assembly of Nova Scotia on 
 the motion of Mr. Howe, confessedly the ablest and most elo- 
 quent exjiouent of responsible government in British North 
 America, were aimed against the legislative council " combin- 
 ing legislative, judicial, and executive powers, holding their 
 seats for life, and treating with contempt or indifference the 
 wishes of the people and the representations of the Com- 
 mons," and concluded with the proposition that, "as a rem- 
 edy for the grievances his Majesty be implored to take such 
 steps either by granting an elective legislative council or 
 by such other reconstruction of the local government as will 
 insure responsibility to the Commons.* No doubt none of 
 the x>ublic men of Canada in those days comprehended more 
 clearly than Mr. Howe, as the discussion on the political sys 
 tem then in v »gue proceeded, the true scope and meaning of 
 responsible government and that no mere compromise w^ould 
 meet the crucial ditiiculty. He like others eventuall}' recog- 
 nized the fact it was only by the adoption of the English sys- 
 tem in its entirety that the i^ublic grievances could be redressed 
 and the constant strain on the public mind removed. In Upper 
 Canada, also settled by Englishmen imbued with the spirit of 
 F]nglish institutions, public men gradually found that, unless 
 the executive and legislative branches were brought into har 
 mony by the adoption of such principles as had been broadly 
 laid down after the revolution of 1()<S8, and had been developing 
 themselves in England ever since, no mere change in one branch 
 of the legislature would suffice. Even as early as 1829, Mr. 
 Stanley, afterwards the Earl of Derby, and father of the present 
 governor-general of Canada, presented a petition from several 
 thousand inhabitants of Toronto, praying that the judges might 
 
 ■^ Howe, " Speeches aud Public Letters" (Bostou aud Halifax, N. S., 1858), 
 Vol. I, pp. 93-96. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA BOURINOT. 317 
 
 be placed on the same indepondent tenure that they occupied 
 in England, and expressing the hope " that they might have a 
 stable and responsible administration."* 
 
 Of course, when we look back nt the history of this question 
 we should bear in mind that responsible government, as Canu- 
 dians now i)ossess it, was necessarily a consequence of the 
 I)olitical development of the peoi>le. In 171>2 the i^eople of 
 French Canada were certainly not ripe for such a system, and 
 the British Government might well hesitate before intrusting 
 so large a measure of freedom to a French Canadian mn^ority 
 without experience of parliamentary government. But it could 
 not have been a question at all under consideration in those 
 days. Canadian writers entirely ignore the fact that the svs- 
 tem had been only working itself out under many difficulties 
 since 1688, and was not yet perfectly well understood even in 
 the parent state, and certainly not by the i)eople at large. 
 Even writers like De Lolme and Blackstone, whose works were 
 published a few years before 1702, never devoted even a foot- 
 note to a responsible cabinet or ministry; and no constitutional 
 writers, until the last half of this century, attempted to for- 
 mulate the rules and conventions which regulate this syistem of 
 unwritten law.t The framers of the American constitution 
 in 1787 never discussed it simply because they did not under- 
 stand it.| The system of government established in the prov- 
 inces was intended to be an improvement from the imperial 
 l)oint of view on the old colonial system, and to give as great 
 a strength as possible to the executive authority. Sir James 
 Craig, and many of his successors, until the arrival of Loid 
 Gosford, were fitting representatives of an autocratic sovereign 
 like George III, who attempted for years to govern through 
 advisers perfectly willing to be mere ciphers in his hands and 
 ackriowledged their real responsibility was to him and not to i>ar- 
 liament. It was not until the close of the eighteenth century, a 
 
 ^MacMuUen, "History of Canada" (IJrockville, Ontario, 1868), p. 370. 
 
 t It is a fact of which Crnadians shouhl 1»»5 proud that the late Dr. Todd, 
 librarian of the parliament of Canada, wrote the fullest and ablest expo- 
 sition of the principle? and workings of parliamentary government that 
 has yet appeared in any country. 
 
 t "In 1787," says Prof. Bryce, "when the constitutional convention met 
 at Philadelphia, the cabinet system of government was in Englan<l still 
 immature. It was so immatiire that its true nature had not been per- 
 ceived." Bryce, "The American Commonwealth," Vol. i, p. 273. See 
 also Vol. I. pp. 35, 36. 
 
SIS AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 short time before the passage of the constitutional act of 1791, 
 when the younger Pitt became the head of the administration, 
 that the authorityof the king diminished in the councils of the 
 country, an«l resi)onsible government was established on its 
 proper basis. Public men in the United States, as well as in 
 the colonies of Canada, might well believe that the Idng and 
 the parliament were the su]»reme authorities, and that the min- 
 istry ^Taa an entirely subordinate body, ai)par*Mitly under the 
 inliuence of the sovereign. As n matter <»f fact, parliamentary 
 government in England its«'lf was in those days virtually on 
 its trial, and statesmen were from their experience year by 
 year formulating for us in these later times those principles 
 and rules which would bring the executive into entire harmony 
 with the legislative authority.* According as the power of 
 the house of commons increased ministers were less responsi- 
 ble to the king, and personal government, like that of the 
 Stuarts and of George III, became an impossibility. The king 
 gained in dignity according as his ministers assumed that full 
 measure of responsibility for all affairs of state which is in 
 accordance with the fundamental principles of the English con- 
 stitution, and the permanency of the British system of govern- 
 ment was more assured by the agreement between the three 
 branches of the legislature. In the same way in Canada, the 
 X)eoi)le had to work the system for themselves out of their own 
 exi)eriences. Until, however, the necessity of ai^plying the sys- 
 tem to the colonies became obvious even to the eyes of Eng- 
 lish statesmen, the governors of the provinces were from the 
 very nature of things so many autocrats, constantly in collision 
 with the popular element of the country. Sir James Craig be- 
 rated the assemblage in no mincing language,t and although 
 none of his successors ever attempted to go as far as he did, 
 several of them more than once expressed their disapproval ot 
 the action of the popular house indirectly by praising without 
 stint the council, which was, after all, the creature of their own 
 will and pleasure. In some respects the governors of those 
 days were to be pitied. Little versed, as many of them were, 
 
 * See Tofkl, '' Parliamoiitary GoveniiiK'nt in Enpjlaud," Vol. ii, pp. 
 163-171. And more particularly the first chapter in May's •' Constitutional 
 History " ( Vol. i, pp. 15-104), where the influence of George III i)ver his min- 
 istry and m the government of England is clearly stated. 
 
 t See Bourinot, " Canadian Studies in Comparative Politics," p. 17. 
 
PARIJAMEXTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA liOUKINOT. 3H.> 
 
 ill political science, and more learned as they were in military 
 than in constitutional law, they might ({uite naturally at times 
 give expression lo a little impatience under the working' of a 
 system which made them responsible to the imperial authori 
 ties who were ever vacillating in their policy, sometimes ill 
 disposed to sift grievances to the bottom, and too often dilatory 
 in meeting urgent ditticulties with prompt and effective reme- 
 dial measures. The secretaries charged with coh)nial adminis- 
 tration Mere constantly changing in those days, and little fame 
 was to be won in England by the study and consideration of 
 colonial questions. It is quite certain that until the time of 
 Lord Durham, no governor general or lieutenant-governor 
 ever thoroughly appreciated the exact position of affairs in 
 Canada, or even suggested in a dispatch a remedy that would 
 meet the root of the evil and satisfy the pu))lic mind. 
 
 The necessary change was brought about with surprising 
 rapidity when the diihculties of the hmg strained situation in 
 the provinces culminated in uprisings of malcontents in two 
 provinces only. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick had always 
 pursued a constitutional agitation, and by the time of the 
 arrival of Lord Durham in Canada Mr. Howe and his friends 
 had succeeded in obtaining the redress of not a few grievances. 
 That nobleman, and his chief adviser Charles Buller, immedi- 
 ately understood that an elective legislative council w as not 
 the true panacea that would cure the body politic of its grie\- 
 ous sores, and the result of their inquiries was a report which, 
 in its clear and impartial statement of the political difficulties 
 of the country, and in its far-reaching consequences, must take 
 a place among the great charters and state documents that 
 have molded the f'nglish constitution. If the authors* had 
 written no other sentence than the one which I here quote they 
 would have deserved the gratitude of the people of this coun- 
 try: 
 
 "I know iiot how it is possible to secure harmony in any otlier way than 
 by administering the govennneiit tin those principles which have been found 
 perfectly eflicacious in Great Ihitain. I would not impair a single prerog- 
 ative of the crown; on the contrary, I believe that the interests of the 
 
 'No doubt Charles linller must share the credit in all resj>ects with Lord 
 Durham for the authorship of the report, and indeed it is claimed that he 
 wrote it in its entirety. Read Mr. Howe's just eulogy of Mr. Buller, an 
 able writer and statesman, too soon lost to English public life. Howe, 
 ^'Speeches and Public Letters," Vol. i, pp. 566-567. 
 
320 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 people of these provinces require tlie protection of prerogatives wLich 
 have not hitherto been exercised. But the crown must, on the other hand, 
 submit to the necessary consequences of representative institutions; and 
 if it has to carry on the government in union with a representative body, 
 it must consent to carry it on by means of those in whom that representa- 
 tive body has confidence."* 
 
 The history of the concession of responsible government has 
 its perplexities for the historical writer on account of the hesi- 
 tation that marked the action of the imperial government and 
 of the governors of some of the provinces when it was gener 
 ally admitted that the time had come for adopting a new and 
 liberal colonial policy. Before the appearance of Lord Dur- 
 ham's report, there is little doubt that the imperial government 
 had no intention to introduce immediately the English systeui 
 in its completeness into the provinces. Even in the provinces 
 themselves there was much indecision in coming to a definite 
 conclusion on the subject. Joseph Howe himself, with all his 
 sagacity and knowledge, had not hesitated to say, in moving 
 the resolutions before mentioned : 
 
 "You are aware, sir, that in Upper Canada an attempt was made to con- 
 vert the executive council into the semblance of au English ministry, 
 having its members in both branches of the legislature, and holding their 
 positions while they retained the confidence of the country. I am afraid 
 that these colonies, at all events this i)rovincc, is scarcely prepared for the 
 erection of such machinery. 1 doubt whether it would work well here ; 
 and the only other remedy that presents itself is to endeavor to make both 
 branches of the legislature elective. ''t 
 
 But as I have already stated, ^Ir. Howe, like other public men 
 in Canada, was gradually brought to demand responsible gov- 
 ernment in the full sense of the term. In fact, it is to him and 
 to the adv^ocates of responsible government in Upi)er Canada 
 that the chief credit must be given for the eventual establish- 
 ment of the syvstem as Ave now possess it. In Lord John Kussel's 
 dispatches of 1839, — the sequence of Lord Durham's report — 
 we can clearly seethe doubt in the minds of the imperial authori- 
 ties whether it was possible to work the system on the basis of 
 a governor directly responsible to the parent state, and at the 
 same time acting under the advice of ministers who would be 
 responsible to a colonial legislature. I But the colonial secre- 
 
 * Page 106 of the Report. 
 
 t " Speeches and Public Letters," Vol. i, p. 108. 
 
 tSee his dispatches of 1839 in the Journals of Leg. Ass. of Canada, 1841, 
 App. BB. 
 
PARLIAMENTAKY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA iJOUUlXOT. C-l 
 
 tary had obviously come to the ojn'iiion thni it was necessary to 
 make a lailical ( liaii.ue M'hich would iiisiiie greater harmony be- 
 tween tlic executive and tlie i>oi)ulMr bodies of the lu'ovinces. In 
 these same dispatches, whicli were forwarded to all the gover- 
 nors, he laid down theinineiple that thereafter "the tenure of 
 colonii!^ offices held during lier Majesty's pleasure will not be 
 regarded as a tenure during good behivior," but that '' such 
 otticeis will be called upon to retire from the i)ublic service as 
 often as any sufticient motives of public policy may suggest the 
 exjK'diency of that measure.''' Her Majesty, he stated eni])hat- 
 ically, ha<l '' no desire to maintain any system of policy anu)ng. 
 her Xorth American subjects which opinion condemns " and 
 there was " no surer way of learning the approbation of the 
 queen than by maintaining the harmony of the executive witli 
 the legislative authorities." Mr. Poulett Thomson was the 
 governor-general expressly appointed to carry out this new 
 policy. If he was extremely vain,* at all events he was also 
 astute, i)raetical, and well able to gauge the jmblic sentiment 
 by which he should be guided at so critical a period of Cana- 
 dian history. The evidence is clear that he was not individually 
 in favor of responsible government as it was understood by 
 men like Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Howe when he arrived in Canada. 
 He believed that the council should be one "^ for the governor 
 to consult and no more," and voicing the doubts that existed 
 in the minds of imperial statesmen he added, the governor 
 " can not be responsible to the government at home " and also 
 to the legislature of the province; if it were so, ''then all colo- 
 nial government becomes impossible." " The governor," in his 
 opinicm, •• must therefore be the minister, in which case he can 
 not be under control of men in the colony." Sir Francis Hincks, 
 whose opinion in these matters is worthy of consideration, has 
 expressed his belief that Lord Sydenham at the outset had 
 hopes of " being able to find subordinates who would undertake 
 to defend his policy in the house of assembly," and that his ob- 
 ject was " to crush party connection."! Be that as it may. 
 Lord Sydenham probably soon found after he had been for a 
 while in the country, and had frequent opportunities of consult- 
 
 * This wasGreville's opinion of him. See his Journals, under date of Jan- 
 nary 30, 1836. It is only necessary to read Scrope's Life of Lord Syden- 
 ham to find in every line the evidence of his intense egotism, 
 
 t See Hincks, " Keuiiniscences of hia Public Life," pp. 41 et seq. 
 
 S. Mis 173 21. 
 
322 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASS(-)CIATION. 
 
 iuy: with the leaders of the popular party v.iio well knew the 
 temper of the country at large, that liis [)oliey was not work ible 
 at that Juncture, and tliat if he wished to 'icconi])lish the unio!i 
 succef" sfully, the priucijuil object ( his ambition, ]ie would 
 have to temporize, and dis«i'uise his own conception of the best 
 way of carrying' on the government oi'the c )untry. This hrst 
 council was a mere makeshift, comi)osed of heterogeneous ele- 
 meuts, and it is not sur]>ri.sing that Mr. Baldwin should have 
 seized the earliest opportunity of leaving it. When the as- 
 sembly uu't it was soon evideut that the reformers iu the body 
 were determined to have a detinite umlerstanding ou the all 
 im[)ortant question of resi)onsible government, ami the result 
 was that the governor-general, a keen politician, immediately 
 recognized the fact that, unless lie yielded to the feeling of the 
 majority, he would lose all his intiueuce, and there is every rea- 
 son to believe that the resolutions which were eventually passed 
 iu favor of responsible government in amendment to those 
 moved by Mr. Baldwin had his approval before their introduc- 
 tion. The two sets of resolutions practically differed little from 
 each other, and the inference to be drawn from the political situ- 
 ation of those times is that the governor's friends in the council 
 thought it advisable to gain all the credit i)ossible with the 
 public for the passage of resolutions on the all absorbing rpies- 
 tions of the day, since it was obvious that it had to be settled 
 in some satisfactory and detinite form.* The purport of the 
 resolutions which form the first authoritative expression of the 
 almost unanimous opinion of a colonial legislature on the ques- 
 tion must be familiar to all Canadians, but then their impor- 
 tance is such that the material portions of the text should be 
 quoted in full in a paper of this character : 
 
 (1) "That the head of the executive government of the province being 
 within the limits of his government the representative of the sovereign 
 is responsible to the imperial authority alone, but that, nevertheless, the 
 management of onr local affairs can only be conducted by him by and with 
 the assistance, counsel, and information of subordinate officers in the 
 province. 
 
 (2) ' ' That in order to preserve between the different branches of the pro- 
 vinoial parliament that harmonj which is essential to the peace, welfare 
 and good government of the province, the chief advisers of the representa- 
 tive of the sovereign, constituting a provincial administration under him, 
 
 *See Scrope's ''Life of Lord Sydenham," 2nd. ed. Also Sir Francis 
 . Hincks's opinion on the same subject, " Reminiscences of his public life," 
 p. 42. 
 
PAKLIAMENTAliY GOVEKNMENT IN CANADA BOUKINOT. 323 
 
 ought tu be men possessed of the .'onfidenro of the rei)re8entative.s of the 
 peopk-; thus aft'ordiufj a j^narantee that tlie well-niiderstood wishes and 
 interests of the ])eople, whieh our gi'aeious sovereign has dt'< laredshall he 
 the rule of the provincial governineut, will on all occasions lie faithfully 
 rei)reseuted and advoc.ited. 
 
 {'S) "That the people i)f this jtrovmee have, moreover, the right to exj»ect 
 from such provincial administration, the exertion of their hest endeavors 
 that the imperial authority, within its consitutiDual lindts, shall bt exer- 
 cised in the manner most consistent with their well-understood wishet. 
 and interests."" 
 
 Mr. Baldwin also wished to obtain from the assembly a 
 definite expression of opinion as to the ccnistitntional ri<;lit of 
 the le*j;islature to hold the provincial administration respon- 
 sible for using* their best exertions to ■)rocnre from the impe- 
 rial authorities, that thei' rightful a«ti(m in mattei's affecting- 
 Canadian interests should be exercised with a similar regard 
 to the wishes and interests of the Canadian people. No doubt, 
 looking at the past political history of the ])rovince, and the 
 language of Lord John Eussell in his disjtatches, and the c<m- 
 (•ealed opinions of the governor himself, of which Mr. Baldwin 
 had in all probability an inkling, he was quite justified in pro- 
 posing the resolution in question; but it is also obvious that 
 no such pro])osition could have any i)ractical effect on the ad- 
 justment of those nice questions that miglit arise in the course 
 of the relations between Canada and the parent state.t As 
 set forth in later days by an able statesman of the Liberid party 
 of Canada, " Imperial interests are, under our present system 
 of government, to be secured in matters of Canadian executive 
 policy, not by any clause in a governor's instructions (which 
 would be practically inox)erative, and if it can be supposed to 
 be operative would be mischievous), but by nmtual good feel- 
 ing and by proper consideration for imperial interests on the 
 l^art of her Majesty's Canadian advisers, the crown neces- 
 sarily retaining all its constitutional rights and powers which 
 would be exer(iisable in any emergency in which the indicated 
 securities might be found to fail."f 
 
 * That my readers may see that there is little or no difference between 
 Mr. Baldwin's and Mr. Harrison's resolutions, I refer them to Can. Leg. 
 Ass. Journals of 1841, J?ept. 3. 
 
 f See Todd, " Parliamentary Government iu the Colonies," p. 57. 
 
 t Hon. Edward Blake in a dispatch to the Secretary of State, Can. Sess, 
 Papers, 1887, No. 13. See Bourinot, "Federal Government iu Canada," 
 Johns Hopkins University Studies, Vol. 7, pp. 537, 538. 
 
324 AMERICAN IIIS'l'ORlCAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 The (')o.se of the first session of tlie first h'jiishitiue of ( 'anad.b 
 after the union of 1841 saw resi)onsil)le ^(»V( ininent virtuall>^ 
 julopted as the fundamental basis of our political system, al- 
 though for a IVw years its development was in a measure 
 retard<*d by the ill advised efforts of Loid Metcalfe (wlio came 
 fresh from India, wheic En<;lisli ofiicials were so many mild 
 despots in their respective vspheres), to assert the prei'ojjfativcs 
 <»f the head of the executive in the spirit of times which had 
 passed away, and to govern iiccordinj;" to the ideas wliicii it 
 appears Lord Sydenham himself privately entertained when 
 he first eame to Canada. The critical i)eriod of iesi)onsible 
 government in Canada, as well as in the maritime provinces, 
 extended from 183{> to 1848. In New Brunswick, Sir .lohn 
 ITarvey, the lieutenant-governor, at «)nce recognized in Lord 
 John liusseirs dispatches '"a new and imi)roved constitution;" 
 and by a circular memorandum informed the heads of depart- 
 ments that thenceforward their offices would be held by the 
 tenure of public c«mfidence. Unfortunately for Xova Scotia, 
 there was at that time at the head of the government, a brave 
 but obstinate old soldier, Sir Colin Campl)ell, who had petri- 
 fied ideas on the sanctity of the prerogatives of the crown, and 
 honestly believed that responsible government was fraught 
 with peril to imperial interests. He steadily ignored the dis- 
 patches which had so much influence on the situation of affairs 
 in the other provinces, until at last such a clamor was raised 
 about his ears that the imperial government ([uietly removed 
 him from a country where he was creating dangerous compli- 
 cations. Nova Scotia, from the time Mr. Howe moved his res- 
 olutions in the assembly,* had been making steady headway 
 toward responsible government, as a result of the changes that 
 were made by Lord Glenelg (truly described "as one of the most 
 amiable and well disposed statesmen who ever jiresided over the 
 colonial department " ) t in the position of the legislative council, 
 which was at last separated from the executive authority. But 
 the executive council was very far from being in accord with 
 public opinion, and its members had no political sympathy with 
 
 * See Howe, " Speeches and Public Letters," Vol. i, p. 220. 
 
 f This is a qnotatiou from Howe's '* Speeches and Public Letters," ^"ol. 
 1, p. 144, a work having on the title page the name of W. Armaud, M. P. P., 
 as editor, but well understood to have been written word for word by Mr. 
 Howe himself. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA — BOURINOT. 325 
 
 each other. The <;<>verD(nV lri«*ii(ls piedoiiiiiiiitrd and acknowl 
 e(lj;e(l in> res]M)nsiliility to the assembly. When fionl Falk- 
 land was apjiointed li('uteuant-*i()veiin)r there was every exi»ee- 
 tation that the politieal ajzitation that had so ]()i\}x distnrbed 
 the province woiihl disai»i)ear, at least as far as it conld in a 
 country where every man is a born politician: and indeed for 
 awhile it seemed as if the new {governor would exhiltit that 
 tact and judj;iuent which were so essential at a time when a 
 new system of government was in c(nirse of <levelopment, and 
 it was necessary to resi)ect the asjiiiationsof the popular jutrty 
 without unduly woundinj^' the feelings of the men who had for 
 so lony: controlled the aflairs of government, and acted as if 
 they had a moiioi)oly of them for all time. 
 
 But the choice of Lord Falkland was in uiany respects un- 
 fortunate. In the provinces, uudtn- the old reqiine, there were 
 two classes of jiovernors who di<l nnuh harm in tlu'ir waj*. 
 First of all, there were the military governors, like Sii- flames 
 Craig and !Sir Colin Campbell, well-meaning and honest men, 
 but holding extreme ideas of the imitortauce of the jneroga- 
 tives of the Crown, and too ready to a])i>ly tlu' rules of the camp 
 to the administration of public allairs; and then there were 
 the gentlemen who wished to recruit narrow fortunes, had no 
 very high opinion of "those fellows in the colonies,"* and in 
 most cases obtained the position not from any high merit of 
 their own, but as a result of family inliuence. Lord Falkland 
 appears to have Itelouged to the latter class, and it did not 
 retlect much on the sagacity of the government who chose at a 
 critical period of provincial history a man who clearly had no 
 very correct id^a of the principles of the new system he had to 
 administer. He (piarreled with the leaders of the Liberal party 
 in a most oftensive way, and even descended into the field of 
 political controversy. He used every possible eflort to oppose 
 the develoi)ment of responsible government, and in doing so 
 tlirew himself into the arms of the party that had so long ruled 
 in social and political life in >*'ova Scotia. It is certainly a 
 curious coincidence that at a time when res})onsible govern- 
 ment was understood to be imictically conceded. Lord Falkland 
 and Lord Metcalfe should have been simultaneously api)ointed 
 to preside over the provinces of Canada and Nova Scotia; but 
 
 * Lord Sydenham in one of his letters applies this contemptuous expres- 
 sion to the members of the legislature. (See Scrope's Life, p. 234.) 
 
320 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 it is not at all jnobable that they were sent with any sinister 
 instructions to impede the (levelopment of the new system.* 
 They hai»[)ene(l to be tlie two men whom the colonial oiticc 
 found most conveniently at hand, and like other apixiintmcnts 
 of the kind in those days they were disi>atched without any 
 special inquiry into theii- «iualitications for the important re- 
 sponsibilities they had to discdiar^e. The ditliculties that oc- 
 curred after their arrival were of their own making. One of 
 them was uuable by nature and the other by his education in 
 India to understand the way in which their res[ie(tive i>r(»v- 
 inces should be j^overnc'd since the adoption of the new colonial 
 policy, which Lord dohn Russell was the tirst to inaugurate in 
 general terms. Like Sir Francis liond Head, the new lieuten- 
 ant-governor of Nova Scotia was an examph; of a man wlio 
 had greatness thrust upon him, for there were some x)eople cruel 
 enough to say at the time of tlu^ former's appointnu'ut that 1m5 
 received a position which was really intended for his certainly 
 more able relative, Sir Ednumd Head, who became in later 
 times governor- general of Canada — another apt illustration, if 
 it were true, of the blunders which colonial secjretaries in those 
 days were wont to make.t The history of the contest in Nova 
 Scotia was much more interesting in some respects than that 
 of Canada as soon as the governors began to develop their 
 reactionary ])olicy. Mr. Howe was a poet as well as an oratcu", 
 and it is curious to note that Nova Scotia has given birtli to 
 the few humorists that Canada can claim. " Sam Slick " (Judge 
 Halliburton) was a Nova Scotiau, and Mr. Howe, who printed 
 his books in the first place, had also a deep sense of humor 
 which was constantly brightening up his speeches and writings. 
 It must be admitted that his humor was rather that of Field- 
 ing and Smollett than of Hood and Lamb, and was not always 
 suited to these more self-restrained times. Some of the most 
 Xiatriotic and soul-stirring verses ever written by a Canadian 
 
 *Mr. Howe in his collection of ''Letters and Public Speeches" (Vol. i, 
 p. 393), traces '' a mysterious counection " between the two governors ; but 
 he quotes in a subseiiueut page an extract from a speech in parliament of 
 Lord Stanley, then secretarj' of state for the colonies, in which he stated 
 that the " principle of responsible government had been fully and frankly 
 conceded on the part of the government." {Ibid. ,Yol. i, p. 427.) 
 
 f See Sir Francis Hincks's "Keminiscences," p. 15. But Mr. Goldwin 
 Smith ("The Canadian Question," p. 115, note) believes that this story of 
 Sir Francis having been mistaken for Sir Edmund Head " ^ai\ not be worthy 
 of credence." 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVKRN^fENT IN CANADA — BOTTRINOT. 327 
 
 tail be foiiiid in hiscoIUM'tioii of poems; but relatively very few 
 persons nowadays recollect those on<'e famous satirical attacks 
 ujjon Lord Falkland, uliich };ave jfreat anuisement to the peo- 
 ple throu^h«>nt tin' piovince, and made the life of that noble- 
 man almost unbearable.* 
 
 In this way the political fij-hters of the maritime i>r(»vi!iceR 
 diversitied the furious contest that they fought with the lieu- 
 
 ' Those vorsj'H an' too loiijj, iiiid roiitiiiii too many local reftTcncos to he, 
 i(ji|>re('iate(l by those who .irt' not tlioronj^hly coiivrrsaiit with the history 
 of tho.se times, anil I shall content myselt" with a <|Uotatioii from "The 
 Lord of the Hedehamher," an allusion to oiu' of the positions previously 
 liehl by the lienteirint-j><)vernor. The verses are snpjiosed to show his 
 opinion of the tronhlesome house of;issomhly, and his way of coneiliating 
 souie of its unruly elements. The lieutenant-y;overnor is supposed to be 
 waitiuj; for a reply to a messatje to the Commons: 
 
 "No answer! I'lu! .scoiiiiilrfls, liow dare they delay! 
 Do they tliiiik Iliat a man wlio's a peer, 
 Can tlius he kept feverish, rtay after day, 
 
 III the hope that their Speaker Ml ajipear? 
 
 " How iliire they ihlay, wlien a Peer of tlie Healm, 
 And a Lord of tlio JJeilchaiiiher, loo, 
 To govern them all has been placed at the helm 
 And to order tlieiii just what to do? 
 
 " Go 1)— dy, iio l)_dy, and tell them from me, 
 That like Oliver Crom. I'll eonie down, 
 Mj- orderly sergeant mace-hearer shall be, 
 And kick them all out of the te.vn." 
 
 These remarks are supposed to )>e .uldressed in thesecrecy of his chamber 
 to one of his pliant friends who ventured to hint that it might not, for hini^ 
 be quite safe to repeat what was said: 
 
 " They've got some odd notions, the obstinate crew, 
 That wo are their servants— and they 
 A sergeant havi' got, and a stout fellow, too. 
 Who th.eir orders will strictly obey. 
 
 " Besides, though the leader and I have averred, 
 That justice they soon shall receive, 
 'Tis rather unlucky that never a word 
 That we say will the fellows believe. 
 
 " How now, cries his Lordship, deserted by yon 
 I hope you don't mean ■ to retire,' 
 Sit down, sir, and tell nie at once what to do. 
 For my blood and my brain are on fire." 
 
 Then the governor's friend suggests a method of settling matters qnita 
 common in those old times: 
 
 "Suppose! " and his voice half recovered ita tone, 
 
 "You ask them to dinner," he cried, 
 "And when you can get them aloof and alone, 
 
 Let threats and persuasion be tried. 
 
328 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASS(K'IATION. 
 
 tenaut-goveinors, aud it was certainly ))etter that the people 
 should be made to laugh than be hurried into sueh unfortunate 
 and ill-timed aprising.s as occurred in the other provinces. 
 Happily such a style of controxersy hns also passed away with 
 the (pauses of irritation, and no Lord Falkland could be found 
 nowadays to step down into the arena of party strife, aud 
 make a i)ersoual issue of political controversies. 
 
 Lord Metcalfe left the country a disai)point('d and dying 
 man, and Lord Falkland was stowed away in the East, in 
 Bombay, where he could do little harm; and, with the appoint- 
 ment of Lord Elgin to Canada and t>f Sir John Harvey to Nova 
 Scotia and with a clear enunciation on the part of Earl Grey 
 of the rules that should govern the conduct of governors in the 
 administration of c<»lonial affairs, tlie political atmosphere 
 cleared at last and responsible government became an accom- 
 
 " If you swear you'll dissolvt*. you niiiilit frij;bteu a few, 
 You may whtciUo and ooux a few more, 
 If the, old ones look kno\viii;Lr. stick close to tho new, 
 And we yet oppositioi! may tloor." 
 
 This advice was jialatable to his lortlshi]t : 
 
 " ril do it, my I)— dy ; I'll do it this iiiKlit, 
 Party government still I eschew ; 
 Butif a few jiarties will set you all right, 
 I'll give them, and you may come, too." 
 
 " The Romans of old, when to battle they press'd, 
 Consulted the entrails, 'tis said ; 
 And arguments, if to the stomac'n addressed, 
 May do more than when aimed at the head." 
 
 The writer has often th(»u<^ht that a very interesting chapter might be 
 written on the influence r)f dinners in the ]i()lit!r,s of Canada. Cabinets, 
 no doubt, have been sonietinu-s moulded and changed as a result of a din- 
 ner or two at the house of some astute statesman. I remember well the 
 frequency of dinners about the time it was necessary to bring obstinate 
 Nova Scotia into c()nfe<lerati()n, and Gen. Williams, of Kars was sent to Hal- 
 ifax for the express purpose of acconii)lisliing that object so much desired 
 by the English and Canadian governments. I am quite sure that around 
 that warrior's table, over the nuts and Avine, nmre than one doubting mem- 
 ber from the country felt his opposition to unicm waver, and the genei*al 
 was able to add a fresh chaplet to that lu^ had won at the eastern fortress 
 amid the thunder of cannon and the misery of famine. I often think that 
 not a few Canadian members of parliament a<custoined to early dinners, 
 domestic habits, an<l early retirement attribute to the "bad ventilation of 
 the Commons Chamber," what is probably tbe eftect of the very elaborate 
 euisine which is now a well-establi8he<l adjunct of our system of parliament- 
 ary government. In the course of time some of our high functionaries of 
 state, like the famous Brillat-Savarin, may be best renunnbcred, not for 
 their knowledge of political economy, but for their skill in gastronomy. 
 
PARLIAMLNTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA — BOURINOT. 329 
 
 plislit'd fiK't. Since those days Cauada has had a succession 
 of goveiuors who have endeavored to carry out honestly and 
 discreetly the wise colonial policy wliich Avas inaugurated at 
 the union of 1841, and the difficulties which Lord John Kussell 
 anticii)ated have disai>peare(l or rather have never actually 
 occurred in the practical operation of a system of government 
 which has ])roved itself the best safeguard of imperial inter- 
 ests, since it brings the colony and the parent state more into 
 sympathy with each other by establishing a feeling of mutual 
 confidence and mutual resi)ect, the absence of which marred 
 the history of the old times and seemed more than once likely 
 to weaken the ties that happily have always bound Canada U^ 
 the parent state. 
 
 In the history of the x)ast there is much to deplore: the 
 blun<lers of English ministers, the want of Judgment on the 
 part of governors, the selfishness of *' family compacts," and the 
 recklessness of some Canadian i)oliticians; l)ut the very trials 
 of the crisis tlirough which Canada passed brought out the fact 
 that, if English statesmen had mistaken the spirit of the Cana 
 dian peoph^ and had not always taken the best methods of 
 removing grievances, it was n(^>t from any studied disposition 
 to do these ccmntries an injustice,^! >ut rather because thev 
 were unable to see until the very last moment that even in a 
 colony a representative system must be worked in accordance 
 with those principles that obtained in England, and that it 
 was impossible to direct the internal affairs of dependencies 
 many thousand miles divStant through a colonial office gener 
 ally managed by a few clerks. These very trials showed that 
 the great body of the people had confidence in England, giving 
 4it last due heed to their complaints, and that the sound seidi 
 ment of the country was rei)resented mtt \yy Mackenzie nor 
 Pai)ineau, who proved at the last that they were not of heroii; 
 mold, but rather by the men of cool judgment and rational 
 policy, who, tiiroughout the critical period of (uir history, be 
 lieved that constitutional agitation would best bring about a 
 solution of the difficulties which had so long agitated the 
 l^rovinces. 
 
 Of all the conspicuous figures of those memorable times, which 
 ulready seem so far away from us who possess so many polit 
 ical rights, there are three who stand out more prondnently 
 tlian all others and represent the distinct types of politicians 
 who intiuenced the public mind during the first part of this 
 
330 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 century. These are Papiiieaii ,Bakhviii, and IJowe. Aiouiid tlie 
 tjgure of the first there lias always been a sort of glamor Avliich 
 has hel[)ed to conceal his vanity, his rashness, and his want 
 of political sagacity, which would, under any circumstances, 
 have [)revented his sm.'cess as a safe statesman, cai)able of 
 guidiijg a people through a trying ordeal. His eloquence Avas 
 fervid and had much inliuence over his impulsive countrymen, 
 his sincerity was undoubted, and in all likelihood his very in- 
 discretions made more palpable the defects of the political sys- 
 tem against which he so persistently and so often justly de- 
 claimed. He lived to see his countrymen enjoy })ower and in- 
 fluence under the very union which they resented and to find 
 himself no longer a leader aniong men, but ivSolated fr(mi the 
 great majority of his own i^eo^jlc and rei)reseutiug a past whose 
 methods were antagonistic to the new regime that had grt»wn 
 up since 1837. The days of reckless agitation had passed an<l 
 the time for astute statesmanship had come. Lafontaine and 
 Morin were now safer political guides for their countrymen. 
 He soon disappeared entirely from jniblic view, and in the soli- 
 tude of his picturesque chateau amid the gToves that over- 
 hang the Ottawa Eiver, only visited from time to time by some 
 stanch friends or by a few curious tcmrists who found their 
 way to that quiet spot, he passed the remainder of his days 
 with a tran«iuillity in wondr(ms contrast to the stormy and 
 eventful drama of his earlier life. Tlie Mriter often, a few years 
 ago, recognized his noble, dignified figure, erect even in age, 
 ])assing unnoticed on the streets of Ottawa, when, perhaps, at 
 the same time there were strangers walking through the lob- 
 bies of the rarliament house asking to see his portrait. 
 
 One of the most admirable figures in the jjolitical history of 
 Canada was undoubfcdly Robert Baldwin. Compared with 
 other poi)ular leaders of his generatiim, he was calm in coun- 
 sel, unselfish in motive, and moderate in opinion. If there is 
 significance in the political phrase "Liberal Conservative," it 
 could be applied with justice to him. He, too, lived for years 
 after his retirement from political life almost forgotten by the 
 peojde for whom he worked so fearlessly and sincerely. 
 
 Joseph Howe, too, died about the same time as Papineau, 
 after the establishment of the federal union; but, unlike the 
 majority of his com})eers who struggled for popular rights, he 
 was a prominent figure in i)ublic life until the very close of his 
 career. All his days, even when his spirit was sorely tried by 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVEKNMEXT IX CANADA BOURINUT. 331 
 
 tbe obstinacy and dullness of Englisli niinistei-s, he loved I'ng- 
 laud, for Le knew, after all, it was in her institutions his 
 country could best find prosperity and hapi»iness, and it is an 
 interesting fact that, among the many able essays and addresses 
 which the question of imperial fedeiatiim has diawn forth, 
 not one in its eloquence, breadth, and fervor can equal his great 
 speech on the consolidation of the empire. The printer, poet, 
 and politician died at last, at Halitax, the lieutenant-governor 
 of his native province, in tlie fam<ms old (Tovernment lumse, 
 admittance to which had been denied him in the stormy times 
 of Lord Falkland; a logical ending assuredly to the life of a 
 statesman who, with eloquent pen and voice, in the days when 
 the opinions he held were unpopular in the homes of governors 
 and social leaders, ever urged the claims of his <ountrymeu 
 to exercise that direct contr(tl over the government of their 
 country which should be theirs by birth, interest, and merit. 
 
 In the working out of responsible government for the last 
 half century there stand out, clear and well defined, certain 
 facts and principles which are at once a guarantee of eflQcient 
 home government and of a harmonious cooi)eration between 
 the dependency and the central authority of the empire. 
 
 1. The misunderstandings that so (X)nstantlv occurred be- 
 tween the legislative bodies and the imperial authorities, and 
 caused so much discontent throughout the provinces on account 
 of the constant interference of the latter in matters which 
 should have been left exclusively to the control of the peo])le 
 directly interested, have been entirely removed in conformity 
 with the wise policy of making Canada a self-governed coun- 
 try in the full sense of the phrase. These provinces are as a 
 consequence no longer a source of irritation and danger to the 
 parent state, but, possessing full independence in all matters 
 of local concern, are now among the chief glories of England 
 and sources of her pride and greatness. 
 
 2. The governor- general, instead of being constantly brought 
 into conflict with the political parties of the country and made 
 immediately responsible for the continuance of public griev- 
 ances, has gained in dignity and influence since he has been 
 removed from the arena of public controversy. He now occu- 
 pies a position in harmony with the princii)les that have given 
 additional strength and prestige to the throne itself. As the 
 legally accredited representative of the sovereign, as the rec- 
 ognized head of society, he rei)resents what Bagehot has aptly 
 
332 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOX. 
 
 styled the dignifiod part of our constitution, wliicli has much 
 value in a country like ours, where we fortunately retain tlie 
 permanent form of monarch}^ in harmony with the democratic 
 machinery of our jiovernment. It would be a <ireat mistakr 
 to suppose tlijtt the <»'overnor-;4eneral is a mere roi faineant, a 
 meiely ornauK'ntal i)(>rtion of our political system, to be set to 
 work and kei)t in motion by the i>remicr and liis c<mncil. His 
 influence, however, as Lord Elj^in has sliown, is wholly moral, 
 an intiuence of suasion, sympathy, and moderation, which 
 softens the temper while it elevates the aims of local politics. 
 If the governor-general is a man of parliamentary experience 
 and constitutional knowledge, possessing tact and judgment, 
 and imbued w ith the true si)irit of his high vocation — and these 
 functionaries have beenuotablj^ so since the commencement of 
 confederation — they can sensibly intiuence the course of admin 
 istration and benelit the country at critical i)eriods of its his- 
 tory. Standing above all party, liaving the unity of the em 
 pire at heart, a governor-general at times can soothe tlie 
 public mind and give additional confidence to the countrj^ 
 when it is threatened with some national calamity or there is 
 distrust abroad as to the future. As an imperial ofticer he has 
 large responsibilities, of which the general public have natu- 
 rally no very clear idea, and if it were possible to obtain access 
 to the contideutial and secret disi)atches which seldom see the 
 light in the colonial office, certainly not in the lifetime of the 
 men who wrote them, it would be seen how much for a ([uar- 
 ter of a century past the colonial department has gained by 
 having had in the Dominion men no longer acting under the 
 influence of personal feeling through being made personally 
 responsible for the conduct of public affiiirs, but actuated sim- 
 ply by a desire to benefit the country over which they preside 
 and to bring Canadian interests into unison with those of the 
 empire itself. 
 
 The success of self-government in Canada can be seen by 
 comparing the present condition of things with what existed 
 fifty years ago, when the provinces that now constitute the Do 
 minion were so many small, struggling communities, isolated 
 from one another, having no direct interest in each other's in- 
 dustrial and political developement, animated by no common 
 aims and aspirations, and having no tie to l)ind them excei)t 
 that purely sentimental bond which unites communities of the 
 same empire. The total population of all the British North 
 American countries did not exceed 1,000,000 of souls, of whom 
 
TAKLIAMENTAKY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA BOUKINOT. 
 
 333 
 
 the majority were French Canadians, then sullen and discou- 
 tented, believing that the union was a part of a sinister scheme 
 to destroy tlieir national institutions and place them in a posi- 
 tion of inferiority to the English speaking people. A feeling 
 of unrest was still abroad and no one was ready to speak con- 
 iidently of the future. If there was ever in this country a 
 small number of men inclined to tavor annexation to the United 
 States, they might have been found at that time, when they 
 compared the prosperity and enterj)rise of the neighboring 
 Republic; and its large measure of self-government with the 
 condition of matters in the struggling communities of British 
 North America. I>ut then, as always, the great body of the 
 people were true to themselves and to Britisli connection, and 
 the same spirit of devotion that had carried them through 
 the miseries of war and dangerous political agitation gained 
 strength when they saw that England at last recognized the 
 errors of procrastination and negligence, which had too long 
 been the features of colonial administration, and was ready 
 to concede to the provinces those rights and privileges which 
 they had every reason toexiiectas free, self-respecting commu- 
 nities animated by the spirit of English institutions. With a 
 recognition of the right of Canada to self-government came a 
 sense of large responsibility. Canadians had to prove them- 
 selves worthy of the trust at last reposed in them, and they did 
 so in a manner which has frequently in later times evoked the 
 praise of the wisest English statesmen and publicists. The 
 quarter of a century that elapsed trom 1842 to 1S67 was the 
 crucial period of Canadian political development; for then the 
 principles of our present system of self-government were firmly 
 established and a new, industtious population flowed steadily 
 into the country, the original population became more self- 
 reliant and xuirsued their vocations with renewed energy, and 
 confidence increased on all sides in our ability to hold our own 
 against the competition of a wonderfully enterprising neigh- 
 bor. Cities, towns, and villages were built up with a rapidity 
 not exceeded even on the other side of the border, and tlie 
 ambition of our statesmen, even years before confederation, 
 began to see in the northwest an opportunity for still greater 
 expansion for the energy and enterprise of the i)eople. The 
 French Canadian learned that he was treated in a spirit of 
 justice, and, instead of his influence diminishing under tlie re- 
 gime of responsible government, he had become the potent 
 factor in political affairs. 
 
334 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Then lollowt'd another change in the political ]»osition of the 
 jnovinces. The political (lill^.ciilties between the antagonistic 
 elements in the i)ailianient cfold Canada certainly showed its 
 statesmen that the union of 1841 had done its work; but, look- 
 ing «leeper into tJM' causes of the movement that led to the 
 fe<ieral union, we can see that the etfect of resi)onsible govern- 
 ment had been to i>re]»are the public mind for a wider sphere 
 of i)olitical action. The time had come for placing the long- 
 isolated provinces on a broad basis which would give greater 
 expansion to their energies and industries, and afford them 
 that security for self i)reservation ou this continent which it 
 was too evident was absolutely necessary in the presence of an 
 aggressive and seldom generous neighbor. The result of this 
 statesmanship was the establishnu'ut of a confederation pos- 
 sessing eventually a territory almost equal to that of the United 
 States, and not inferior to them in those resources which form 
 the substantial basis of a nation's greatness, and enjoying 
 rights of self-government which, lialf a century ago, would 
 have seemed a mere dream to those Avho were fighting to give 
 Canada the coi^trol of her own local affairs, free from the in- 
 terference of governors and ofticials in London. This measure 
 gave to Canada many of the attributes of a sovereign inde})end- 
 eut state. England now has only the right to disallow such 
 acts of the Canadian parliament as may interfere with matters 
 of exclusively imi)erial Jurisdiction. Canada can not directly 
 enter into and perfect treaties with foreign jjowers — that being 
 an act of national sovereignty — but her right to be consulted 
 and represented in the negotiation of treaties immediately 
 affecting her interests is now practically almost as much a part 
 of our unw^ritten c«mstitution as responsible government itself 
 The days of the weak diplomacy which lost Oregon and Maine 
 to Canada have passed away. The public men of the United 
 States must henceforth — as Mr. Blaine has learned to his sur- 
 prise — consider the Dominion as an all-important factor in all 
 negotiations affecting its territorial or other interests. 
 
 The government of Canada is sujjreme in all other mat- 
 ters of i)urely Dominion import, including the ai)pointment 
 of lieutenant-governors and the administration of territories 
 out of which a great empire could be formed. Five mil- 
 lions of people now inhabit the old i»rovinces of Canada 
 alone, against the million of fifty years ago, and there is a 
 cordon of cities, towns, and villages, surrounded by wheat 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA — BOUKINOT. 335 
 
 fields, stretcliing to the mountains of British Cohnnbia, across 
 those immense territories whose great capabilities for feeding 
 the world were long steadily concealed by tbe studied j^olicy 
 of a gigantic corporation which valued the profits of the fur 
 trade more than the blessings of colonization, and which itself 
 was a relic of the old times when kings parceled out large 
 regions with the same lavishness with which they gave jewels 
 to their mistresses. It is in this great Northwest, with its 
 enormous possibilities, that the future of Canada lies. The 
 next two decades of j^ears must see a remarkable change in 
 the conditicm of Canada, if the hopes of her peojile now cen- 
 tered in that vast region are realized.* 
 
 The difticulties which the Dominion has to surmount in the 
 working out of its political system are many, and are compli- 
 cated at times by the conflict of sectional jealousies and rival- 
 ries, but these are the inevitable sequence of the government 
 of a country possessing diverse interests, and having a people 
 with a remarkable ajititude for political controversy. If we 
 
 " Mr. Barlow Cwmberland, president of the Toronto National Club, in an 
 introduction to a series of papers read before that institution, entitled 
 "Maple leaves" (Toronto, 1891), writes with much force and kuowIedi;e: 
 '• In mid America nature has clearly nuirked three zones of growth. Far to 
 the south, the torrid Cotton Zone; next to it the tepid Corn Zone, wherein 
 the bulky maize or Indian corn attains to its maturity, both of these en- 
 tirely within the coutines of the United States; next to the north the 
 temperate Wheat Zone, iu which alternate winter cold and suunuer heat 
 are needed to bring *he wheat staple to its full perfection. Of this, the 
 wheat zone of America, the United i^tates themselves admit that but one- 
 third is within their territories and two-thirds is within Canada. Seeing 
 then that men eat wheat and do not live on maize or cotton, it is to this 
 Canada of the future that Great Britain and Europe must look for food, 
 and not to the United States, These facts of the isothermal warmth and 
 wheat bearing capacity of the North are so novel to the stranger that the 
 wonder then is, not that our poj»ulatiou has developed with comjiarative 
 slowness, but that it has increased so fast. * * * As we ourselves 
 have only so lately discovered this fertile belt, locked up for centuries by 
 the great fur company whose interest it was that it should be kept an 
 undeveloped waste, why wonder it takes the people of foreign lands some 
 time to believe in its existence? This wealth of Canadian wheat fields 
 we have so far but barely touched, and only in chief by the migration of 
 our own Canadian farmers and lishermen from their eastern homes, yet 
 already in this land, where the length of sunny summer daylight gives 
 eight days to each week, 'mid the rolling hills of Manitoba and by the in- 
 terweaving waters of Saskatchewan, 
 
 " ' The valleys st.iiiil so thick with com 
 That they laugh and sing.' ' 
 
33G AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 compare our condition with that of tlif United States — for we 
 naturally turn to our ^reat competitor for such comparison — 
 we will see that we have no jj^reater difticulties to contend with 
 than they had during the tirst century of their existence. For 
 many years after the a<h)]»tion of the constitution of 1787 
 there were men who doubted the stability of the union, and 
 had no faith in the development of the West. It was imi)ossi- 
 ble, in their opinion, to connect the East and West, while there 
 was an immense desert between the Pacilic and the old settled 
 states. One speaker in the senate, depreciating the value of 
 beautiful Oregon, said that "• for 700 miles this side of the Kocky 
 Mountains is uninhabitable," and "the mountains totally im- 
 passable." He ridiculed the idea of a railway through such a 
 territory, "for which he would not give a pinch of snuft'."* 
 Yet in this country, once described as the desert, there are now 
 the states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Coh>rado, and 
 Dakota. The "impassable" Rocky Mountains have been 
 crossed by great lines of railway, and the East and West 
 united by continuous communities of energetic people. 
 
 The Canadian people are only repeating in their Dominion 
 under more favorable circumstances the history of their neigh- 
 bors. The rocky country to the north of lake Superior is no 
 more a barrier to Canadian continuity of development than the 
 once fabulous Sahara of the United States, but will by its min- 
 eral wealth add largely to the i)rosperity of the Dominion, 
 The evidences of national unity — of confidence in a Canadian 
 federation from the Atlantic to the Pacific — are more encour- 
 aging than any alforded by the United States at any time in 
 her history from 1787 to 1865, when the civil war closed, slavery 
 and secession received a deathblow, and the cause of na- 
 tional unity triumphed. The people of French Canada and 
 of all the provinces have gained steadily by the adoption of the 
 federal constitution, and under no other system would it be 
 possible to give due scoi)e to the aims and aspirations of the 
 respective nationalities and interests that compose the Domin- 
 ion. It is a system which, having at its base respect for local 
 and provincial rights, creates at tlie same time a spirit of com- 
 mon or national interest which binds diverse and otherwise 
 isolated communities together in a union necessary to give 
 them strength against the attacks of foes within and foes with- 
 
 * See "Oregon,'' American Commonwealth series, by W. Barrows, pp, 
 194-201. 
 
PARLIAMEXTAKY GOVERNMENT !> (AN ADA iJOLRINOT. 337 
 
 out. In coimtiies jit'opled and govcMiu'd like Canada, all his 
 tory t<'lls us, there are tiir(»(^ j^reat dangers always to be avoided. 
 F'^irst of all, that Sectionalism which is narrow and seltish in 
 its aspirations and is evei- nnderratinji' the vital imprn'tanee ot 
 national aims; secondly, that Sectarianism which represent.^ 
 the bigotry of old ages of religious fends, and would Jndge all 
 other faiths by its own canons and beliefs; thirdly, that Nation- 
 alism which Papineau represented, which wiser men in later 
 times have repudiated, and which may be as dangerous in the 
 English west as in the French east, shoidd it ever again come 
 to mean a •• war of races" — English Canadian against Fren<-h 
 Canadian. 
 
 As long as the respective members of the federation observe 
 faithfully the x>rinciples on which it necessarily rests — i)erfect 
 equality among all its sections, a due consideration for local 
 rights, a deep Canadian sentiment whenever the interests of 
 the whole federation are at stake — the people of this Domini<m 
 need not fear failure in their eflorts to accomplish the great 
 work in which they have been so long engaged. Full of that 
 confidence that the history of the past should give them, and 
 of that energy and courage which are their natural heritage,, 
 and which have already achieved the most satisfactory results 
 in the face of difticulties which, fifty 3^ears ago, would have 
 seemed insurmountable; stimulated by their close neighbor- 
 hood to a nation with whom they have always shown a desire 
 to cultivate such relations as arecompatible with their dignity, 
 their security, and their self-interest as a separate and distinct 
 community ; adhering closely to those jirinciples of government 
 which are best calculated to give r.ioral as well as political 
 strength; determined to put down corruption in whatever form 
 it may show itself, and fo cultivate a sound public opinion. 
 Canadians may trauiiuilly, patiently, and determinedly face the 
 l>robi<^m which that destiny that " shapes the ends " of coni- 
 munities, " rough hew them how we will," must eventually 
 solve for a Dominion with such great i>ossibilities before it, if 
 the people are but true to themselves, and are not disumyed by 
 the ill-timed utterances of gloomy thinkers. 
 
 When we review the trials and struggles of the past, that 
 we may gain from them lessons of confidence for the future, 
 let us not forget to pay a tribute to the men who have laid the 
 foundations of these comnnmities, still on the threshold of 
 their development, and on whom the great burden fell; to the 
 S. Mis. 173 22 
 
338 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 French Canadians who, amid toil and privation, amid war and 
 famine, built up a province which they have made their own 
 by their patieuc^e and industry, and who .should, diftcr as we 
 may from them, evoke our respect for their fidelity to the in- 
 stitutions of their orij;in, and for their apju^eciation of the 
 advantages of English self-government, and for their coopera- 
 tion in all great measures essential to the unity of the federa- 
 tion ; to the Loyalists of last century who left their homes for 
 the sake of "king and country" and laid the foundations of 
 prosperous and loyal English communities by the sea and by 
 the great lakers, and whose descendants have ever stood true 
 to the principles of the institutions which have made England 
 free and great; to the unknown body of Pioneers, some of 
 whose names, perhax)s, still linger on a headland or river or on 
 a neglect Tf *;ravestone, who brought the sunlight year by year 
 to the dense forests, and built up by their industry the large 
 and thriving i)rovinces of the Dominion ; above all, to the men 
 who laid deep and firm, beneath the political structure of this 
 federation, those principles of self-government which give har- 
 mony to the constitutional system and bring out the best 
 finalities of an intelligent people. To all these workers in the 
 past, whether pioneers or statesmen, no more noble tribute 
 was paid than the following verses by Josejdi Howe: 
 
 •Not here? Oh ! yes, our hearts their jiresence feel. 
 
 Viewless, not voiceless, from the deepest shells 
 On memory's shore harmonious echoes steal. 
 
 And names Avhich in the days gone by Avere spells 
 Are blent with that soft music. If there dwells 
 
 The spirit here our country's fame to spread, 
 While every breast with joy and triumph swells, 
 
 And earth reverberates to our measured tread, 
 Banner and wreath will own our reverence for the dead. 
 
 '^ The Roman gathered in a stately urn 
 
 The dust he honor'd — while the sacred fire, 
 Nourish'd by vestal hands, was made to burn 
 
 From age to age. If fitly you'd aspire. 
 Honor the dead; and let the sounding lyre 
 
 Recount their virtues in your festal hours ; 
 Gather their ashes — higher still, and higher 
 
 Nourish the patriot flame that history dow'rs; 
 And o'er the Old Men's graves, go strew your choicest flowers. '"* 
 
 * From a poem, "Our Fathers," written and recited by the Hon. Joseph 
 Howe at the first industrial exhibition held at Halifax, N. S., 1853. 
 
PAKUAMENTARY GOVEKNMENT IN CANADA BOURIXoT. 339 
 
 11. — THE 0ON8TITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF 
 PARLIAMENTARY (rOVERNMENT IN CANADA. 
 
 While Caiuula lias been able to attain so large a iiieasiiie <»f 
 lejiislative indepen(len<'e in all matters of internal concern, 
 there still ne(;essarily exist betw«'eii her and the parent state 
 those lej^al and coustitntional relations which are <'on»}>atible 
 with the n'spectivc! positions of the sovereij;n anthority of the 
 emi)ire and of a dejuMidency. If we come to recapitulate the 
 various constitutional authorities which now govern the Do- 
 minion in its <'xternal and internal relations as a dependency 
 of the crown, we tiiid that tlu'y may be divided for general 
 purposes as foUows: (1) The (^ueen. (2) The Parliament of 
 Great Britain. (3) The Judicial Committee of the Privy Coun- 
 cil of England. (4) The (iov^eninient of the Dominion. (5) The 
 Governments of the Provinces. (H) The ('ourts of Canada.* 
 
 Before proceeding to ex})lain the nature of the relations be- 
 tween the parent state and the dependency, it is necessary to 
 refer to the various authorities under which the government 
 of the Dominion itself is cariied on. These may be briefly 
 detiued as foHows :f 
 
 (1) The queen, in whom is legally vested the executive au- 
 thority; in whose name all commissions to office are made 
 out; by whose authority parliament is called together and dis- 
 solved; and in whose name bills are assented to or reserved. 
 The sovereign is reiiresented for all puri)oses of government 
 by a governor- general, appointed by her majesty in council, 
 and holding office during pleasure; responsible to the imperial 
 government as an imperial officer; having the right of pardon 
 for all offenses, but exercising this and all executive powers 
 under the advice and consent of a responsible ministry. | 
 
 (2) A ministry <'omposed of thirteen or more members of a 
 privy council ; having seats in the two houses of parliament ; 
 holding office only whilst in a majority in the popular branch; 
 acting as a council of advice to the governor-general ; respon- 
 sible to parliament for all legislation and administration.§ 
 
 (3) A senate composed of seventy-eight members appointed 
 
 ^ See Juridical Review (Ediuburgh), Ajjiil, 1890. 
 
 t See Juridical Review, April, 1890; Annals of the American Academy of 
 Political Science (Philadelphia), July, 1890. 
 t B. N. A. Act, 1867, sees. 9, 10-12, 13, 14, 15. 
 ^B. N. A. Act, 1867, sec. 11. 
 
340 AMKRTCAN ITTSTDRICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 by the crown for lilV. tlioiijili nMiioNahlc hy the senate itsflt 
 tor ])ankiii|>t«'y or crime; liaviiij; coiJnlinate powers at' \v'^i> 
 latioii with th<' house of«'oimuons, exee[>t in the case of nionc.\ 
 or tax l»ills,wlii(*h it can neither initiate nor amend; liavinj; uo 
 power to try inipeaelinients; having- tlie same i)rivilej4es, im 
 munities, and ]>owers as tlie Hnglisli honse of 4'ommons when 
 defined by Dominion law.* 
 
 (4) A iionsc of commons of two iinndrcd an<l fifteen mem- 
 bers, <dect<'d for five years on a very Ubcral Dominion francliise 
 in eleetoial districts fixe<l by a Dominion hiw in each province; 
 liable! to be i»rt»ro^ncd and dissolved at any time by the gov- 
 ernor-general on the advice of the council; having alone the 
 right to initiate money or tax l)ills; having the same privileges, 
 imnninities, and ])owers as the English lumse of commons 
 Avhen defined by D<>mini(m law.t 
 
 (5) A Dominion judi<'iary, comitoseci of a suineme court of 
 live Judges, acting as a court of appeal for all the piovincial 
 ccmrts; sid)Ject t<> have its decisions reviewe<l on ajtpeal by the 
 judicial committee of the Queen's privy council in England ; its 
 judges being ai>i)ointed by the Dominion government, but 
 irremovable except for cause (m the address of the two houses 
 to the governor-general.l 
 
 The several authorities of government in the provinces of 
 the Federal Fnion may be briefly defined as follows: 
 
 (1) A lieutenant-governor, ai)i)ointed by the governor-gen- 
 eral in council practically for five years; removable by the 
 same authority for cause; exercising all the i)Owers and re- 
 si)onsibilities of the liead (»f an executive, under a system of 
 parliamentary government ; having no right to reprieve or par- 
 don criminals.§ 
 
 (2) An executive council in each province, composed of cer- 
 tain heads of departments, varying from five to twelve in 
 number in a ])rovince, called to ofti(;e by the lieutenant-gover- 
 nor; having seats in either branch of the local legislature; 
 holding their positions as long as the}' retain the confidence of 
 the majority of the people's rei)resentatives; responsible for 
 and directing legislation; conducting generally the adminis- 
 
 *Ihid, sees. 21-36. 
 
 t IhUl., sees. 37-39, 44-52. 
 
 U&J^.,8ees. 96-101; Can. Stat., 38 Viet., c. 11. 
 
 $ B. N. A. Act, 1867, sees. 58-62, 66, 67. 
 
TAKLIAMKNTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA — noUKINOT. 341 
 
 tiiitioii of |)iihli(' atfairs in iioordaiicc with the Iwa aii<l thr 
 ciuiveiitioiis (»tth«' loiistitutioii.* 
 
 (3) A Ic^ishituit* ('oiiiiH)s«>(l of t\vt» lionsj's — a le^^ishitiv*- 
 council and an elected assembly in four inovinces and of only 
 an elected house in the other three provinces. The legislative 
 <'ouncillois are appointed for life by the lientenant-ji'overnor in 
 council, and are removable for the same reasons as are sena- 
 ators; must have a property iiualilication, except in Prince 
 Kdward Island (when' the ui>i)er house is ch'ctiv<'); can not 
 initiate money or tax bills, but otiierwisc have all i»o\vers of 
 lej;islation within the limits of the British North Amcri<*a act 
 of 18()7; catinot sit as courts of impeachment. The leuislative 
 assemblies are elected for four years in all cases except in 
 (»|uebec, where the term is live; dissolved at any time by the 
 lieutenant- ji'overnor, acting; under the advice of his council; 
 4'lected on manhood suffrajj;e in Ontario and Prince Edwar<l 
 Island and a very liberal franchise in the other provinces.! 
 
 (4) A Judiciary in each of the provinces, apjtointed by tlie 
 j;()vern()r-g('neral in council, only removable on the address of 
 the two houses of the Dominion ])arliameiit.|: 
 
 As regards the Territories of the Northwest, they are divided 
 into districts for purposes of general and h>cal government. 
 These distri<-ts are represented in the senate Jind liouse of 
 commons by two and four uu^nd>ers respectively. The Xorth- 
 west has a lieutenant governor ai)pointed by the governor- 
 general in council, and an assembly for local purposes elected 
 by the pe(»ple; but responsible government, in the complete 
 sense of the term, does not yet exist in the Territories.§ 
 
 Coming now to review the general features of the govern- 
 ment of Oanada,|| we see that at the head of the executive 
 power of the Dominion is the Queen of England, guided an<l 
 advised by Ler privy council, whose history is coexistent with 
 that of the regal authority itself. Through this privy coun- 
 cil, of which the cabinet is only a committee, the sovereign 
 exercises that control over Canada and every other colonial 
 dependency which is necessary for the preservation of the 
 
 'I bid., sees. 63-66. 
 
 f B. N. A. Act, 1867, sees. 69-90. 
 • I Ibid., sees. 9&-100. 
 
 liRev. Stat, of Caa., chap. 50; Can. Stat. (1887), chap8. 3,4. 
 
 ii The remainder of this chapter is largely an abridgment of a part of 
 Bourinot's "Parliamentary Procedure in Canada," 2d ed. 
 
342 AMERK^AN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 unity of and the observance of the obligations that rest upon 
 it as a whole. Every act of the pail lament of Canada is sub 
 Ject to the review of the (pieen in council and may be carried 
 from the Cana<lian courts under certain legal limitations to the 
 judicial committee of the privy council, one of the committees 
 which still represent the judicial powers of the ancient ]»rivy 
 c<mncil of England. The parliament of Great Britian — a 
 sovereign body limited by none of the constitutional or Ic.ual 
 checks Avhich restrict the legislative power of tlie United 
 States congress — can still, and does actually, legislate from 
 time to time for Canada and the other colonies of the emitire. 
 From a purely legal standpoint, the legislative authority oi 
 this great sissembly has no limitation and might be carried so 
 far as not merely to restrain any of the legal powers of the 
 Dominion as set forth in the chaiter of its constitutional ac- 
 tion, known as the British Nortli America act of 18G7, but 
 even to repeal the ])rovisions of tliat imperial statute in whole 
 
 or in part. 
 
 But while the sovereign of Great Britain, acting with the 
 
 advice of the privy council and of the great legislative council 
 
 of the realm, is legally the paramount authority in Canada as 
 
 in all other portions of the Empire, her prerogatives are 
 
 practically restrained within certain well understood limits, so 
 
 far as concerns those countries to which have been extended 
 
 legislative institutions and a very liberal system of local s<'lf- 
 
 government.* In any review of the legislative acts of the 
 
 Dominion, the government of England h s for man}' years ]»ast 
 
 fully recognized those princix)les of self-government which 
 
 form the basis of the political freedcun of Canada. Ko act of 
 
 the parliament of the Dominion can now be disallowed except 
 
 it is in direc't conflict with imi)erial treaties to which the pledge 
 
 of England has been solemnly given, or with a statute of the 
 
 imperial legislature which applies directly to the dependency. 
 
 The imperial parliament may legislate in matters immediately 
 
 affecting Canada,t but it is understood that it only does so as 
 
 * " It is tlierotbrc a tundamental maxim of parliamentary law that it is 
 unconstitutional for the imperial parliament to legislate for the domestic 
 aifa,irs of a colony which has a legislature of its owu." Hearu, Govern- 
 ment of England, p. 598, Appendix, art. on " The Colonics and the Mother 
 Country." 
 
 t" The general rule is that no act of the imperial parliament binds the 
 lolonies unless an intention so to bind them appears either by express^ 
 Avords or necessary implication." Hearu, p. 596. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA BOURINOT. 343 
 
 a rule in res])onse to addresses of her people through their 
 own parliauieut, in order to give validity to the aets of the 
 hitter in cases where the Jiritish North America act of 1807 
 is silent, or has to be snpi)lemented by additional imperial 
 legislation. 
 
 That act itself was not a voluntary eftbrt of imperial author- 
 ity, but owes its origia to the solemn expression of the desire 
 of the several legislatures of the jnoviuces, as shown by ad- 
 dresses to the <rown, asking for an extension of their political 
 ])rivileges.* Within the defined territorial limits of those 
 ]»owers Avhich have been granted by the imperial parliauient to 
 the Dominion and the provinces, each legislative authority can 
 exercise powers as plenary and ami)le as those of the imperial 
 parliament itself acting within the sphere of its extended legis- 
 lative authority.t Between the parent state and its Canadian 
 dependency there is even now a loose system of federation 
 under which each governmental authority exercises certain 
 administrative and legislative functions within its own consti- 
 tutional limits, while the central authority controls all the 
 members of the federation so as to give that measure of unity 
 and strength, without which the empire could not keep together. 
 Each government acts within the limits of its defined legisla- 
 tive authority with respect to those matters which are of 
 purely local concern, and it is only when the interests of the 
 Empire are in direct antagonism with the privileges extended 
 to the colonial dependency, the sovereign authority should pr<'- 
 vail. This sovereign authority can never be exercised arbi- 
 trarily, but should be the result of discussion and deliberation, 
 so that the interests of the parent state and the dependency 
 may be brought as far as possible into harmony with one 
 another. The written and unwritten law provides methods for 
 agreement or compnmiise between the authorities of the parent 
 
 * See argument of Hon. Edward Blake before the judicial coiuuiittee in 
 <ase of St. Catharine's Millhig and Lumber Co. is. The Queen, published at 
 Toronto in 1888. 
 
 t See Hodge ra. The Queen, liourinot. j». 112. Also, rorrespondence on 
 copyright act (Rev, Stat, of Canada, chap. 62), Can. Sess. P. ISJIO, No. 35, p. 10. 
 For respective powers of Imperial and Canadian Governments, see report 
 of committee of privy council of Canada relating to appeals in criminal 
 oases to the judicial committee of the privy conncil of England, Can. Sess. 
 P. 1889, No. 77; Federal Government in Canada, Johns Hopkins University 
 Studies, pp. 38-34; Speech of Sir John Thompson, ministerof justice, Can. 
 Hans., March 27, 1889. 
 
344 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 state and its dopendencies. In matters of law the privy coun- 
 cil is guided by various rules which wisely restrict appeals 
 from the dependency within certain definite limits. In mat- 
 ters of legislation and administration, on which there maybe 
 a A^ariance of opinion between the Canadian and the Englisli 
 gcvernment, the means of communication is the governor- 
 general and the secretary of state for the colonies. The former 
 as an imperial otiHcer resp(msible to the crown for the perform- 
 ance of his high functions, as the re])resentative of the sov- 
 ereign in the dependency, will lay before the imperial govern- 
 ment the opinions and suggestions of his advisers on every 
 question wliich att'ects the interests of Canada, and requires 
 much deliberation in order to arrive at a fair and satisfa<'tory 
 adjustment.* 
 
 It may be contended thnt there is no absolute written law 
 to govern these relations — to restrain the imperial govern- 
 ment in its consideration of Canadian (piestions — to give a pos- 
 itive legal indej)endence to the Canadian government in any 
 respect whatever; but in answer to this ]»urely arbiti ^^v coii- 
 tention it nuiy be argued with obvious truth that when the 
 imi)erial parliament gave the Canadians a complete system of 
 local government and the right to legislate on certain subjects 
 set forth in the fundamental law of the dei)endency (the Brit- 
 ish North America act), it gave them full jurisdiction over all 
 such matters and constitutionally withdrew from all interference 
 in the local concerns of the colony. More than that, in addi- 
 tion to the obvious intent and jjurpose of the written consti- 
 tution of the Dominion, there are certain conventions and under 
 standings which apjiear in the instnu'tions laid down by tht' 
 imperial authorities themselves from time to time for the self 
 government of these cc'onial connnunities since the concession 
 of responsible government — conventions and understandings 
 which have as much force as any written statute, and which 
 ])ractically control the relations betAveen England and Canad;», 
 so as to give the latter the unrestricted direction of every local 
 matter and the right of legislating on every (piestion sane 
 tioned by the terms of the constitutional law. 
 
 The British North America act then recognizes in a }>racti- 
 cally unrestricted sense the right of Canada to govern herseU', 
 subject oidy to the general control of the sovereign authority 
 
 *"Tlu': matter is ibngbt out between the colouial govermuent ami t]i<> 
 colonial office." Hearn, p. 602. 
 
1 
 
 PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA I501RIN0T. 345 
 
 of tlie Empiie. This act establishes a federal system which 
 gives control over dominion objects to the central executive 
 and legislative authority, and permits the governments of the 
 provinces to exercise certain defined municipal and local pow- 
 ers wit i a ])rovincial limits, compatible with the existence of 
 the wide national authority entrusted to the Federal Govern- 
 ment. Within its local statutory sphere each provincial entity 
 can exercise powers as i^lenary and absolute as the Dominion 
 itself within the wide area of its legislative jurisdiction. For 
 tlie settlement of questions of doubtful jurisdiction the con- 
 stitution provides a remedy in a reference to the courts on whose 
 I decision must always largely rest the security of a federal sys- 
 
 1 1 tem,* and to a minor degree in the jiower possessed bytheDo- 
 
 I minion government of disallowing provincial acts — a power, 
 
 I however, as it is shown elsewhere, only to be exercised in cases 
 
 I of grave emergency or of positive conilict with the law and the 
 
 I constitution.t 
 
 I If we study the constitution of Canada we find that its prin- 
 
 I ciples rest both 'in tlie written and the unwritten law. In the 
 
 British North America act we have the w itteu law which 
 must direct and limit the legislative functions of the parlia 
 ment and the legislatures of the Dominion. While this act 
 provides for executive authority and for a division of legisla- 
 tive powers between the Dominion and the Provinces — as we 
 have seen in the first chapter of this work — it does not attempt 
 to give legal effect or definition to the iiexible system of pre- 
 cedents, conventions, an<l understandings which so largely 
 direct that system of administration and government which 
 I has grown up in the course of two centuries in England, and 
 
 which has been gradually introduced into Canada during the 
 past forty years, and now forms the gniiding principles of par- 
 liamentary government in the two countries.^: 
 
 Xo doubt, strictly speaking, these conventions are not law 
 in a technical sense, and a distinction must be drawn between 
 the law of the constitution, that is the British North America 
 act, and the understandings of the constitution. If these are 
 of force it is mainly because they have in the course of time 
 
 I 
 
 * See Dicey, ''The Law of the Constitution," pp. 163-168. 
 
 f See Bourinot. "Federal Goveruiiient iu Canada," pp. 58-65. 
 
 t ''With reference to these conventions and understanding, see Freeman, 
 Growth of the English Constitution," pp. 114, 115. Dicey, "Law of the 
 Constitution." Bourinot. "Federal Government iu Canada," pp. 33. 
 
346 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 received the sanction of custom — of an iinderstandinfi' on the 
 })art of the i>eople that they are necessary to the s;itisfactory 
 operation of i)ailiamentaiy government and to the security of 
 the political privileges Avhich Canada now possesses as a self- 
 governing country. If a conrt ^v(n•e called up(m to-morrow to 
 consider the legality of an act of the Dominion Parliament, 
 granting large sums of ]>nl)lic money for certain public pur- 
 poses, on the ground that it had not received the recommenda- 
 tion of the Crown at its initiation, in pursuance of a provision 
 of the fundamental law, the judge could properly take cogni- 
 zance of the objection and adjudicate thereon. If parliament 
 were to exercise its legislative authority beyond the legal term 
 of five years to which it is limited in express terms, its acts 
 after the expiratkm of its legal existence might be called into 
 question in the courts of Canada. On the other hand, if a 
 }iiinistry should refuse to resign when it is clearly shown that 
 it has no majority in the popular body of the legislature, and 
 can no longer direct and control the legislation of the country, 
 the courts could not be called upon to take cognizance of the 
 fact by any legal act of theirs, however excited public opinion 
 might be on account of so flagrant a violation of a generally 
 admitted convention of the constitution. Parliament, how- 
 ever, in the practical operation of the constitution, would have 
 a remedy' in its own hands — it <onld refuse supply to the min- 
 istry, which would eventually liud itself unable to meet pul>lic 
 expenditures except in the few instances where there would 
 be statutory authority for permanent grants. The courts 
 might be called ujoon, soon or late, to stop the levy of illegal 
 taxes or otherwise refuse legal sanction to certain acts arising 
 from a violation of those rules aiul maxims which govern the 
 operation of parliamentary institutions.* But it Avould be only 
 under such extraordinary circumstances — circumstances prac- 
 tically of a revolutionary character — that the courts could be 
 
 *See Dicey, Chap, xv, on the conventions of the constitution, in -which 
 be shows that ''tlie l»reuch of a itnrely conventional rule, of a maxim 
 utterly unknown and indceil opposed to +he theory of English law, ulti- 
 mately entails up»m those who break it direct conflict with the uudoxibted 
 law of the land. We have therefore a right to assert that the force which 
 in the last resort coni]>els oltcdieiice to constitutional morality is notbing 
 else than the power of the law itself. The conventions of the constitution 
 are not law, but in so far as they really possess binding force they derive 
 their sanction from the fact that whoever breaks them must liually break 
 the law and incur the penalties of a law-breaker." 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA — BOURINOT. 347 
 
 (tailed upon to iutorposo in the woikiuju- of the constitution. 
 Jt is mainly in the |i,ood sense and the jKditical iustinets of the 
 ]>eople at large that these conventions find that sanction which 
 gives them a force akin to that given to the principles of the 
 common law. A ministry that violates these rules and con- 
 ventions, Avhich have b<'en long approved by the test of expe 
 rience as necessary for good and eftective government, must 
 soon or late find itself subject to tlie verdict of the people 
 under the written law which dissolves ])arliament every five 
 years, and gives the legally qualified electors an opportunity 
 of condemning or approving the acts of the men who have 
 controlled the work of administration and legislation in the 
 country. The strength of the Canadian system of government 
 is the fact that it not only rests on the writteti law of the con- 
 stitution, but possesses that flexibility whicli accompanies 
 conventions and understandings. 
 
 In arranging the details of the federal system of Canada 
 the framers of the British North America act had before them 
 the experience of that great instrument of Federal Govern- 
 ment — the Constitution of the United States — and endeavored 
 to perfect their own system by avoiding what they considered 
 to be inherent defects in the institutions of their neighbors. 
 But wiiile of necessity thej'^ were forced to turn to the political 
 system of the United States for guidance in the construction 
 of a federal system, they adhered steadily to those principles 
 which give strength to that system of English parliamentary 
 government, and whicli their own ex])erience for forty years 
 had shown them to be best adai)ted to the conditions of the 
 confederation. But while the resolutions of the Quebec <'on- 
 ference gave exi)ression emi)hatically to the desire of the Cana- 
 dian people " to follow the model of the r>ritish constitution so 
 far as our circumstances will permit,'' the written law or 
 British North America act sets forth only in general terms in 
 its enacting clauses the constitution of the executive authority 
 and of the legislative bodies, where are reproduced essential 
 features of the English system. While in the character of the 
 executive and in the bicameral form of the general legislature 
 we see an imitation of English institutions,* we detect actually 
 a tendency to depart from the English model in the provinces 
 
 * '^ The true merit of the Iticameial system is that hy dividiiij; a power 
 that would otherwise have heeu beyond control it stuuies an essential 
 guarantee for freedom." Hearn, p. 553. See Guizot, History of Represent- 
 ative Government, p. 443; Mill, Representative Government, p. 233. 
 
348 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 where tlie ii[)i)er cluiinbei' in several instances has already Ijeen 
 abolished. In lliis respect the Dominion is less English than 
 the United States, where the congress of the federal nnion 
 and all th<; state legislatnres have rigidly adhered to two 
 houses. When we come to consider the constitution of the 
 executive authority in the Dominion and in the provinces we 
 see that conventions and understandings mainly govern the 
 methods of governnuMit throughout Canada. Nowhere do we 
 find formally set forth in the fundamental law of Canada the 
 rules and maxims Miiicrh govern the cabinet or ministry or 
 government, as the advisers of the governor-general or of the 
 lieutenant-governors are indifferently called, in accordance 
 with the old usage which Canadians have of reproducing old 
 English phrases. We tind simply stated in the British North 
 America act that there shall be a council "to aid and advise 
 the government of (Canada," and the persons who form that 
 council are " chosen and summoned by the governor-general 
 and sworn in as prixy councilors and members thereof." An 
 executive council or ministry in Quebec and Ontario is com- 
 posed of " such persons as the lieutenant-governor from time 
 to time thinks fit." The constitution of the executive author 
 ity in the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick 
 " continues as it existed at the time of the union until altered 
 under the authority of this act."* 
 
 When the other i)rovinces were added to the union their ex- 
 ecutive authority was defined in equally general terms, t Noth- 
 ing is said of the principles Lfy which ministers come into, retahi, 
 and retire from oflice. All those priiiciples can be found ordy in 
 the dispatches of secretaries of state, in the speeches of leading- 
 statesmen in England and Canada — especially of those in the 
 former country who have done so much to mold the system in 
 the past — in the rules and usages which have generally re- 
 <;eived i)ublic sanction as essential to the satisfactory operation 
 of responsible government. At present tliis system of gov- 
 ernment exists in all its force in the dominion, and in the 
 provinces as well. Canada consequently presents the first in 
 stance of a federation of provinces w^orking out in harmony 
 with a written system of federal law that great code of char- 
 ters, usages, and understandings known as the English con- 
 stitution. In the Dondnion, however, the only advisory body 
 known to the constitutional law is "the queen's privy council 
 
 * B. N. A. Act, 1867, sees. ; 1. 12, 13, 64, 65. 66. 
 
 t Bonrinot, "Parliaiuentary I'roct'diire in Canada'" (2(1 ed.). 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA — BOURINOT. 341) 
 
 for Canada," which has its origin in the desire of the Canadian 
 peojde to adapt as far as possible to their own circumstancCN 
 the ancient institutions of the parent state.* But all privy 
 councilors in Canada are not the advisers of the governor- 
 general for the time being. At the present time there are in 
 Canada over fifty gentlemen called privy councilors,^ but of 
 these only a small proportion, Irom twelve to iitteen, Ibrm the 
 f actual government of Canada. Following English precedent 
 
 the governor-general has also conferred the distinction of privy 
 councilor upon several distinguished gentlemen who have been 
 speakers of the senate and house of commons. CNrntinuing 
 ; English analogy it maybe argued that the fact that these gen- 
 
 tlemen have been sworn to the privy council gives them a cer- 
 ■: tain limited right to be consulted by the lepresentative of the 
 
 I sovereign in cases of political emergency, but this is a privi- 
 
 5 lege only to be exercised under exceptional circumstances while 
 
 \ Canada enjoys responsible government. % l^oi" instance, on tlie 
 
 ! resignation or dissolution of a ministry the crown has a right 
 
 J to consult any privy councilor with respect to the formation of 
 
 I a new administration. As a rule of strict constitutional prac- 
 
 j tice, the sovereign should be guided only by the advice of merj 
 
 I immediately responsible to parliament and to the crown fur 
 
 1 the advice they tender. The members of the cabinet or minis- 
 
 i try which advises the governor-general must be sworn of the 
 
 I privy council, and then called upon to hold certain depart- 
 
 I mental ofdces of state. They are a committee of the privy 
 
 I iouncil, chosen by the governor-general to conduct the admin- 
 
 I istration of public affairs. They are strictly a political com- 
 
 I mittee, since it is necessary that they should be members of 
 
 I the legislature. The political head of this cabinet or ministry 
 
 ! *In Ireland there is also a privy council. In the i)r<)po8etl federal con- 
 
 I stitution for Australia, the name suggested is •' Federal executive council." 
 
 I t See Col. Office List, 1891, pp. 70, 71. 
 
 1 \ ''The king, moreover, is at liberty to summon whom he will to his privy 
 
 I council; and every privy councilor has in the eye of tlielaw a right to confer 
 
 I with the sovereign ujion matters of public policy. The position and priv- 
 
 I ileges of cabinet ministers are in fact derived from their being sworn mem- 
 
 I bers of the pri\y council. It is true that by the usages of the constitution 
 
 I cabinet ministers are alone empowered to advise upon aflairs of state, and 
 
 I that they alone are ordinarily held responsible to their sovereign and to 
 
 parliament for the government of the country. Yet it is quite conceivable 
 that circumstances might arise which would render it expedient for the 
 king, in the interests of the constitution itself, to seek for aid and counsel 
 apart from his cabinet." Todd, Vol. i, p. 116. Also Ibid., p. 334. 
 
 I 
 1 
 
1350 AiMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 is knowii as the prime minister or premier — a title totally un- 
 known to the written law, and only recognized by the eonven 
 tions of the constitution.* It is he who is first called u])on by 
 the governor-general to form the advisory body known as the 
 ministry. His death, dismissal, or resignation dissolves ipso 
 facto the ministry,t and it is necessary that the representative 
 of the sovereign should choose another public man to fill his 
 place and form a new administration. The premier is essen- 
 tially the choice of the governor-general — a choice described 
 by a great English statesman as "the personal act of the 
 sovereign," since it is for her alone " to determine in whom 
 her confidence shall be placed." J A retiring premier may, 
 in his capacity of privy councilor, suggest some statesman to 
 take his place, but such advice can not be giA'en unsolicited, 
 ])ut only at the request of the crown itself.§ 
 
 But this personal clioice of the representative of the sover- 
 eign has its limitations, since the governor-general must be 
 guided by existing political conditions. He must choose a man 
 who is able to form a ministry likely to possess the confidence 
 of parliament. If a ministry is defeated in parliament, it would 
 be his duty to call upon the most prominent member of the 
 party which has defeated the administration to form a new 
 government. It is quite competent for the governor- general to 
 consult with some influential member of the dominant pohtical 
 party, or with a privy councilor, || with the object of eventually 
 
 *Hearn, "Government of England," p. 223. See Gladstone, "Glean- 
 ings," Vol. I, p. 244. 
 
 t Gladstone, "Gleanings," Vol. i, p. 243. 
 
 tSir Robert Peel, p. 83 Eng. Hans. (3), 1004. Also Lord Derby, p. 123; 
 Ibid., p. 11701; Disraeli, p. 214; Ibid., p. 1943. 
 
 § Todd, Vol. I, pp. 116, 328. 
 
 II It is not essential that the person selected to bring about the construction 
 of a new cabinet should be the intended prime minister. See case of Lord 
 Moira in 1812; 17 E. Hans. (3), p. 464; Wellington Desp., 3d ser., Vol. ill, 
 pp., 636-642; ifejd., VoL iv, pp. 3, 17,22. In 1851, after the resignation of the 
 Russell administration, the Duke of Wellington was consulted, 114 E. Hans. 
 (3), 1033, 1075. In 1855, after the resignation of Lord Aberdeen, among 
 those consulted with respect to the formation of a new administration was 
 the Marquis of Lansdowne, 123 E. Hans. (3), p. 1702; Greville's Memoirs, 
 Reign of Queen Victoria, Vol. in, pp. 203, 207. In 1891, on the death of 
 Sir John Macdonald, Sir John Thompson, minister of justice in the admin- 
 istration then dissolved, was called upon by Lord Stanley, governor-general 
 of Canada, " for his advice with respect to the steps which should be taken 
 for the formation of a new government." Can. Hans., June 16. It appears 
 he was asked to form an administration, but he declined the responsi- 
 bility. Ibid., June 23. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVKKNMKXT IN TANADA nOlRINOT. 351 
 
 I milking such a choice of prime iniiiister as will insure what the 
 
 I crowu must always keep in view — a stron*-- and durable ad 
 
 i ministration capable of carryinji <»n the queen's uovernment 
 
 with efficiency and a due regard to those princijjles which the 
 I sovereign's representative thinks absolutely esseutinl to the 
 
 I interests of the dependency and the integrity of the Empire. 
 
 I Once the statesman called upon by the Crown has accepted 
 
 I the responsibility of premier, it is for him to select the mem- 
 
 I bers of his cabinet and submit their names to the governor 
 
 i general. The premier, in short, is the choice of the governor- 
 
 1 general; the members of the cabinet are practically the choice 
 
 I of the prime minister.* The governor-general may constitu- 
 
 I tioually intimate lii« desire that one or more of the members of 
 
 i the previous administration, in case of a reconstnu'ted ministry, 
 
 I or of the political party in power in case of an entirely new 
 
 I cabinet, should remain in or enter the government, but while 
 
 i that may be a matter of conversation between himself and the 
 
 I premier, the crown sliouM never so press its views as to ham- 
 
 I per the chief minister in his effort to form a strong administra- 
 
 tiou.t As the leader of the government in parliament, and a 
 chief of the dominant political party for the time being, he is in 
 the best position to select the materials out of which to con- 
 struct a strong administration, and his freedom of choice should 
 not be unduly restrained by the representative of the sover- 
 eign, except in cases where it is dear that imperial interests 
 or the dignity or the honor of the crown might be impaired, 
 conditions almost impossible to arise in the formation of a 
 ministry. The premier is the constitutional medium of com- 
 munication betw^een the governor-general and the cabinet; it 
 is for him to inform his excellency of the policy of the govern- 
 ment on every imijortaut public question, to acquaint him with 
 all proposed changes or resignations in the administration. It 
 is always allowable for a minister to communicate directly with 
 the governor-general on matters of purely administrative or de- 
 partmental concern; every minister is a privy councilor, and as 
 such is an advisor of the crown, whom the governor-general 
 
 * When Sir Robert P«el took office in 1834, the principle was for the first 
 time established that the premier should have the free choice of his col- 
 leagues. Peel, Mem., "Vol. ii, pp. 17, 27, 3.5. 
 
 t See Torrens, ''Life of Lord Melbourne," Vol. i. p. 233. Colchester's 
 Diary, Vol. in, p. 501. 
 
,1.„,„^„^. 
 
 352 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 may consult ifln* thinks proper; but all nnitters of ministerial 
 action, all conclusions on questions of ministerial policy, can 
 only be constitutionally connnunicated tn liini by his prime 
 minister. It is for the latter to keep the crown informed on 
 every matter of executive action.* It is not necessary that he 
 should hv told of the discussions and arguments that may take 
 phu'e in the cabinet while a question of policy is under its con- 
 sideration, but the moment a conclusi(tn is reached the <;o\ - 
 ernor-general must be made aware of the fact and his api)roval 
 formally asked. All minutes and orders in (M)uncil must be 
 submitted for his a])proval or signature, and the fullest infor- 
 mation given him on every question in which tin' crown is in- 
 terested and which may sooner or later demand his oflBcial rec- 
 ognition as the constituti«nnil head of the executive. 
 
 AVhen a new administration is formed — whether it is a mere 
 reconstruction of an old cabinet under a new premier, or an 
 entirely new government — there must be a thorough under- 
 standing between the prime minister and his colleagues on all 
 questions of ])ublic policy which at the time are demanding 
 executive and legislative action. The cabinet must be pre- 
 X)ared to act as a unit on all (luestions that may arise in the 
 legislature or in connection with the administration of public 
 aii'airs, and if there be a difference of opinion between the 
 premier and any of his colleagues, which is not susceptible of 
 compromise, the latter must resign and give place to another 
 minister who will act in harmony with the headof thecabinet.T 
 While each minister is charged with the administration of the 
 ordinary affairs of his own department, he must lay all ques- 
 tions involving i»rinciple or policy liefore the whole cabinet, 
 and obtain its sanction before submitting it to the legislature. 
 Once agreed to in this way, the measure of one department 
 becomes the measure of the whole ministry, to be supported 
 with its whole influence in parliament. The ministry is respon - 
 sible for the action of every one of its members on every question 
 of policy, and the moment a minister brings up a measure and 
 [daces it on the government orders it is no longer his, but their 
 own act, which they must use every effort to pass, or make u]> 
 their minds to drop in case it does not meet with the approval 
 
 * Hearn, ]>. 223. 
 Ubid., p. 218. 
 
PAKLTAMKNTARY CiOVERNMENT IN CANADA HOrRINOT. O'),! 
 
 <>i' the lej^jishituie.* The respDiisibility of the cabinot for each 
 of its members must eease when a particular member of the 
 cabinet assumes to himself the blame of any .acts and (|uits 
 the government in consequence; and while by remaining;- in 
 office and actinf>" toji'ether, all the members take n\)(m them- 
 selves a retrosjx'ctix e resjionsibility for what any collea;jfue has 
 done, it ceases if they disavow and disapjn'ove of the ]»articn- 
 lar act upon the lirst occasion tliat it is jtublicly called in (pies 
 tion.t If a j>()vernment feels that it is comjjromised by the 
 misconduct of a colleague, he must be immediately removed.l 
 
 A government once formed is inunediately resi)onsible for 
 the work of administration and legislation. As a rule, parlia- 
 ment should be reluctant to interfere with those details of ad 
 ministration which ])roperly and conveniently ai)pertain to a 
 department, and it is only in cases where there is believed to 
 be some infraction of the law or of the constitution or some 
 violation of a public trust, that the house will interfeie and 
 inquire closely into administrative matters.§ It nnist always 
 be remembered that parliament is the court of the people, their 
 grand in(|uest, to which all matters relating to tha public con- 
 duct of a ministry or of any of its members as heads of de])ait- 
 ments, must be submitted for review under the rules of con- 
 stitutional xirocednre that govern such cases. By means of its 
 committees parliament has all the machinery necessary for 
 making complete inquiry, when necessary, into the nianaae- 
 ment of a public department. Especially in relation to the 
 public expenditures has the house of C(mimons the responsi- 
 bility devolved upon it to see that every payment is made in 
 accor<lance with law and economy, and that no suspicion of 
 wrongdoing rests on the department having the disposition 
 of any public funds. !| 
 
 * "The essence of responsible government i8 that mutual bond of respon- 
 sibility one for another, wherein a government, acting by party, go together 
 and frame their measures in concert." Earl of Derby, 134 E. Hans. (3), p. 
 834. See also remarks of Lord Pahnerstou, Mirror of P., 1838, p. 2429. Also 
 of Mr. Disraeli, 111 E. Hans. (3), p. 1332. 
 
 t Lord Derby, 150 E. Hans., pp. 579-070. A new ministry can not be held 
 responsible for the misconduct of one of their members under a previous 
 administration. Todd, Vol. ii, p. 481. Also Ibid., Vol. I, pp. 540-543. 
 
 t Hearn, p. 198. 
 
 ^ May, Const. Hist., Vol. ii, p. 85. Todd, Vol. i, pp. 418, 465-468. 
 
 II See the reports of the committee of public accounts in the Canadian 
 Commons Journals from 1867 to 1891 — especially in the latter year — which 
 
 S. Mis. 173 23 
 
354 AMEUICAN HISTOiaCAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Every act done by a resi)ousil)U' minister of the crown, 
 haviiij^ any ixilitical sif^iiificjiuce, is a fitting subject for com 
 iiient, and, if necessary, for censure in either house.* Jiut it 
 is ail admitted priii(ii>le of sound constitutional government 
 thiit the fiuntioiis <»(■ parliament arc, strictly speaking, those 
 of contr<»l and not of administration, iind undue interference 
 with executive authority ism<»st inexpedient, and an infraction 
 of the Crown's prerogative.! Ministers are primarily and 
 always responsible for the administration of their respective 
 departments, and it is for them to stand between the perma 
 nent mm-political oflQcials and the censure of the houses when 
 the latter are acting strictly within their functions as advisers 
 an<l assistants of their political heads immediately answerable 
 to the parliament and the country for the efficient administra 
 tion of jtublic aifairs.| 
 
 A government, however, will itself agree to submit to special 
 parliamentary committees the investigation of certain questions 
 of administration on which it may itself desire to elicit a full 
 expression of opinion, and all the facts possible, but it is not 
 the constitutional duty of such committee to lay down a public 
 policy on any question of gravity. That is a duty of the re- 
 sponsible ministry itself, which should not be shifted on another 
 body. The legislative and executive authorities should act as 
 far as possible within their respective spheres. It is true the 
 house acts, in a measure, in an executive capacity; it does so, 
 not as a whole, but only through the agency of a committee of 
 its own meml)ers — the government or ministry — and while it 
 may properly exercise control and supervision over the acts of 
 its own servants, it should not usurp their functions and im- 
 pede unnecessarily the executive action of the men to whom 
 
 illustrate the importaut functious assumed by this committee in Canada 
 since its formation in 1867. Also Can. Hans., August 19, 1891. Also in the 
 same session, proceedings and reports of the committee of privileges and 
 elections, called upon to inquire iuto various allegations relating to certain 
 tenders and contracts for public works in Canada. 
 
 * Earls Derby and Russell, 171 E. Hans. (3), 1720, 1728. Grey, Pari. 
 Govt., p. 20. 
 
 t 11 May, Constitutional History, Vol. ii, pp. 85, 86. See also Macaulay, 
 History of England, Vol. ii, p. 436. 
 
 t Todd, Vol. I, pp. 628, 629. Also Ibid., Vol. ii, p. 217 ; 174 E. Han8.(3), p. 
 416, 184 /6id., p. 2164; 217 Ibid., p. 1229; 219 i&id., p. 623 ; Grey, Pari. Govt, 
 new ed., p. 300. 
 
rAKLIAMKNTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA — IJOrUINOT. 35') 
 
 it has, (rom the necessity of* thiiijjs, ('(nistitutioiially intrusted 
 tlio niiina«;<'inciit of adininistiatixe niattns.* 
 
 Such (|ursti(»ns can only l>c etlcctively administered \>\ -i 
 body chos«'ii expressly t'oi- that ])uri)ose. If it is clear tliat the 
 ministry or any of its mend)ers are incompetent t() discharjj^e 
 their functions, parliament then must evince its desire to recall 
 the aulhoiity it had delegated to them, and the crown, reeo{jf- 
 jiizinj? the ri<iht of that body to c(mtroI its own comnnttee, will 
 sele<t from the two houses another set of iiu'u who appear to 
 luxve its confidence and to whom it is willinj^ to intrust the 
 administration of public affairs. 
 
 Besides availinji itself of tlie assistance of select ]>arliamen- 
 tary committees in s]»ecial cases rerpiiriufr the collection of 
 evidence bearinjjf on a question, the jiovernment may also, by 
 the exercise of the prerojiativet or in pursuance of statutory 
 atitliority,! ap]K)int a royal commission to make incpiiry into 
 matters on which the crown or the country rcipiires accurate 
 and full information. In this way a j;reat number of valuable 
 facts ])relinHnary i<t executive and le.<>islative action may be 
 elicited with res])ect to ([uestions which are ajjfitatin^ the ])ub- 
 lic mind. Questions affectinji' the relations of capital aiul 
 labor, § the improvi'ment aiul enlarjicment of the canal or rail- 
 way system, i| the employment of Chinese labor,^] the collection 
 of facts as to the practicability of a prohibitory liquor law,** 
 are anion<r the matters that can legitimately be referred to such 
 royal commissions with the view of assisting the government 
 and parliament in coming to a sound decision before agreeing 
 to the passage of legislation on such subjects. Questions even 
 affecting the honor of the government itself have been referred 
 
 " See remarks of Lord Paliuerstoii. 150 E. Hans. (3), p. 1357; 164 Ibid., 
 p. 99. ALso Austin. " Plea for the Constitution," p. 24. 
 
 t Todd, Vol. IX, p. 432. See Pacific Kailway Committee of 1873, 2d Bess., 
 Can. Com. Jour. 
 
 I See Rev. Stat, of Can., chap. 10. By chap. 114, Rev. Stat, of Canada, 
 whenever the <;overuor-in-counoil deems it expedient to cause an inquiry 
 to be made into and concerning any matter connected with the good gov- 
 ment of Canada, or the conduct of any part of the public business thereof, 
 the commission may summon and enforce attendance of witnesses, who may 
 be examined under oath. 
 
 $ Can. Sess. P., 1889, No. A. 
 
 Wlbid., 1871, No. 54. 
 
 f Ibid., 1885, No. 54. 
 
 ** See resolution passed in Canadian Commons, June 24, 1891. _^^ 
 
356 AMERICAN HI8T0KICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 to a roynl commission in the interest of o'ood government wlien 
 a parliamentary <'omniittee hfis been unable to attain the object 
 desired by the h(;use of commons.* While it may be some- 
 times decidedly tor the public advantage that the crown should 
 itself appoint a commission to make full and impartial incpiiry 
 into such questions, it should in no wise interfere with the 
 privileges and duties of i)arliament as the great political court 
 of the country. 
 
 In the evolution of parliamentary government ministers have 
 >)ecome responsible not only for the legislation which they 
 themselves initiate, but for the control and supervision of all 
 legislation which is introduced by private members in either 
 house. In the speech with which i)arliament is opened there 
 is gAierally a reference to the leading measures which the 
 government propose to present during the session. This^ 
 speech, however, does not do more than indicate in almost 
 abstract terms — terms intended to make the document unob- 
 jectionable from a political point of view — the intended legis- 
 lation on matters of public interest. It is generally expected 
 that the measures outlined in the speech will be introduced 
 during the session; but it is admitted by authorities that 
 " ministers are not absolutely bound to introduce particular 
 measures commended to the consideration of parliament in the 
 royal speech at the opening of the session. Sometimes the 
 press of ])ublic business will necessitate the postponement of 
 intended legislation to a future session," For instance, in 1S70, 
 the queen's speech to the English parliament promised a licens- 
 ing bill, a trade union bill, and a legal taxation bill, none of 
 which measures were brought down that session. 
 
 It is the duty of the government to initiate or promote legis- 
 lation on every question of public x)oliey which requires atten- 
 tion at the hands of the legislature. 
 
 No feature of the English system of parliamentary govern- 
 men.t stands out in such nmrked contrast with the irresponsible 
 
 * Charges in connection witli the contemplated Canadian Pacific Rail- 
 road. See dispatches of Lord Dufferiu, Can. Com. J., 1873 (2d sess.). Ex- 
 ception was, however, taken to the ap]>oiutment of the commission as au 
 interference with the right of the Commons to inquire into high political 
 offenses, pp. 226, 227. The commissioners in this trying case simply re- 
 ported the evidence they had tak»;ii, and stated no conclusion, on the 
 ground that the execution of their functions should not in any way *• preju- 
 dice whatever proceedings parliament might desire to take." 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA — BOURINOT. 357 
 
 system that prevails in the congress of the United States as 
 that which re([uires that there shall be a body ot" men specially 
 chosen from the majority to lead parliament, and made imme- 
 diately responsible, not only for the initiation and supervision 
 of public legislation,* but for the control of private measures 
 so far as they may concern the public at large. 
 
 While private members have a perft^ct right to present bills 
 on every subject except for the imi)Osition of taxes and the 
 expenditure of jjublic money, they do not act under that sense 
 of respo]isi])ility which naturally influences ministers who are 
 the leaders of the liouse and amenable to parliament and the 
 crown for their policy on all matters of public legislation. Min- 
 isters alone can initiate measures of public taxation and ex- 
 penditure under the constitutional law, which gives control of 
 such matters to the crown and its a<lvisers, while the conven- 
 tions and understandings of the constituti(m have gradually 
 intrusted them also with the direction and supeivision of every 
 matter which demands legislative enactment. In the ordinary 
 nature of things no measure introduced by a private member 
 can become law unless the ministry gives facilities for its pas- 
 sage. If the house should i)ress on their attention a particuhu" 
 measure they must be i)repared to give it consideration and 
 assume full ministerial responsibility for its passage or rejec 
 tion. They must on all occasions have a policy on every ques- 
 tion of public interest, and can not evade it if they wish to 
 retain the confidence of parliament and of the c<mntry. As a 
 rule private members perform a u;-ieful public duty in bringing 
 up measures which illustrate ))ublic sentiment in various direc- 
 tions. Parliament is essentially a deliberative body, and its 
 not least important function is to prepare the public mind for 
 useful legislation and to give it effect at the earliest possible 
 
 * Todd, Vol. II, p. 394. Hearu. p. 536. Mr. Gladstone, p. 192. E. Hau.^ 
 (3), pp. 1190-1194. A select coininittee on the pnblic business of the Eng- 
 lish Commons has set forth that " although it is expedient to preserve for 
 iudivid'.ial members ample o]»]>(trtuiiity lor the introduction and passage of 
 legislative measures, yet it is the prinuiry duty of the advisers of the <rowii 
 to lay before jiarliament such changes in the law as in their judgment are 
 necessary ; and while they possess the confidence of the house of commons 
 and remain responsible for good government and for tliesatVty of the state, 
 it would seem reasonable that a preference should be yielded to them, not 
 only in the introduction of their bills, but in the ojiportunity of pressing 
 them on the consideration of the house." E. Corns. Pap., 1861, Vol, xi, p. 
 436. 
 
358 am?:ricax historical association. 
 
 iiioiiient. Private members consequently can materially assist 
 the government by their suggestions for the amendment of the 
 law. It would, however, be an evasion of the sound prin«iple 
 of ministerial responsibility if a government should attempt, 
 by means of purely abstract resolnti(ms or by the agency of 
 select committees, to obtain fiiom jjarliament the enunciation 
 of the principles that shouhl guide them in maturing a measure 
 which imperatively demands legislation at their hands.* It is 
 their duty to gauge public opinion on every subject from tlie 
 utterances of x)ublic men and of the ])ublic press, and lay down 
 the main features of the policy that should be adopted. Hav- 
 ing submitted a measure to the consideration of parliament, 
 they should be ready to perfect it by the assistance of the 
 houses. 
 
 The rules of jtarliament are framed for the sj^ecial purpose 
 of giving every opi)ortunity to the house itself to consider a 
 measure and amend it at various stages. Ministers should 
 always be ready to adoi)t such amendments as are compatible 
 with the general principles of the measure, and should they feel 
 compelled to recede from any position which they have taken, 
 it is a proper concession to the sujierior wisdom of a deliberate 
 body, and no admission necessarily that they have lost the 
 confidence of the legislature. It is for them to "press, as far as 
 reason and consistency dictate, their own views as to details 
 and endeavor as a rule to ariive at a compromise rather than 
 ultimately lose a measure. 
 
 A distinguished English statesman, whose judicial fairness in 
 matters of coustitutiona! procedure is admitted by all students 
 of political science, has well said that he "did not think it 
 would be for the public advantage if a government should con- 
 sider itself bound to carry every measure in the house exactly 
 in the shape they had proposed it, but he hoped that, with re- 
 sj)ect to questions of legislation affecting the whole body of 
 the peoi)le, of whose feelings so many members must be cog- 
 nizant, the house wcmld retain some of its legislative author- 
 ity." t Another eminent statesman has admitted that " with 
 
 *See remarks of Mr. Lowe on a proposition of Mr. Disraeli to go into 
 committee of the whole to consider the (^nestion of a reform act; IBo E. 
 Hans. (3), p. 960. Also Earl Grey , pp. 1294, 1288. Mr. Ciladstone's proposed 
 motion; rfejrf., pp. 1021, 1022. See, also. 233 /6jrf., pp, 1753, 1825. 
 
 t Lord John Russell, 73 E. Hans. (3). p. 1638. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA BOURINOT. 359 
 
 respect to many great measures, the sense of the legiskiture 
 ought to i)re vail ; and that if no <>Teat principle be involved 
 and very dangerous consequences ar(^ not exjiected to result, 
 the government ought not to declare to parliament that they 
 stake their existence as a government on any particular meas- 
 ure, but are bound on certain occasions to pay proper defer- 
 ence to the expressed opinions of their supporters/'* But it 
 must be a(hled, if the measure under consideration embodies a 
 policy to which the p(»litical faith of the ministeis is pledged, 
 vhich they consider indissolubly coiuiected with their own 
 existence as a government, chosen from a particular i)arty, 
 and from which they can not recede without a sacrifice of 
 principle and dignity, they must at once assume the ground 
 that its defeat or material amendment means their resigna- 
 tion or an appeal to the i)eople in case they believe the liouse 
 does not represent the sentiment of the country on the ques- 
 tion at issue. 
 
 Isolated defeats of a government possessing the confidence 
 of parliament do not necessarily demand a resignation, but 
 when the people's house continues to refuse its confidence to 
 them, it is impossible for them to remain in ofiice.t 
 
 Although it is not usual for a minister of the crown to take 
 charge of a private bill, it is the special duty of the govern- 
 ment, as the resi)onsible leaders of legislation, and the chosen 
 guardians of the public interests in parliament, to watch care- 
 fully the progress of private legislation in the house and its 
 committees, and see that it does not in any way interfere with 
 the policy of the ministry or the statutory law in reference to 
 the public lands, railways, canals, public works, and such 
 other interests as are intrusted to the Dominion authorities. 
 It is in the standing committees of the house that the super- 
 vision of i)rivate bill legislation is chiefly exercised. One of 
 the most important committees of the commons, that of rail- 
 ways, canals, and telegraph lines, has fre(iuently for its chair- 
 man one of the ministers of the crown, and the minister in 
 charge of railways is also one of its members, whose special 
 duty it is to watch closely all legislation that may al!ect the 
 policy of the government. 
 
 In a country like Canada, stretching over such a wide area 
 
 * Sir R. Peel, Ihid., pp. 1639, 1640. 
 
 t LordJohu Russell, Mirror of P., 1841, pp. 2119, 2120. 
 
3G0 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 of territory, haviiij; so many di vorsitied interests and resources, 
 requiring to be developed by puTdic and private legislation, 
 the committees of this class Lave j;reat responsibilities resting 
 upon them. The federal system divides jurisdiction over a 
 great variety of subjects between the Dominion and the Prov 
 inces, and it is therefore the special duty of each government 
 to see that (piestiims of conflict aie avoided and each legisla- 
 tive authority acts within the fundamental law. 
 
 When a ministry is defeated in parliament its members must 
 resign their respective otYices of state unless the jxditical 
 conditions are such as to justify the governor general to giant 
 them an appeal to the peoi)le. When, however, they are pre- 
 pared to give way to a new government, they only remain in 
 office until their successors are appointed. Up to that time 
 they should carry on the work of their departments. If the 
 ])olitical body, known as tlie cabinet or minititry is dissolved 
 ipso facto by the death, resignaticm, or dismissal of the chief 
 minister, the heads of dei)artments continue to hold ofiice until 
 they are asked to retiie or contiiuie in otlice by the new 
 l)remier.* It is always understood that in such an event it is 
 
 for the premier to intimate his wishes in the matter. In thi> 
 case, however, it is the understandings and conventions of the 
 constitution that control the formation of the ministry. 
 
 From a legal point of view the heads of departments, such 
 as the minister of railways, the minister of linance, or the 
 minister of public works, hold their ofUce by statutory enact 
 ment regulating tlieir respective departments. Their offices 
 are iield ''during pleasure" and they must either formally 
 resign or be formally dismissed when the cabinet is dissolved 
 in accordance with constitutional understanding. The premier, 
 in the case of dismissal or resignation, is the usual medium of 
 communication by whom the representative of the sovereign 
 expresses the wishes of the crown, t In case an entirely new 
 ministry is formed by the premici-, and all the members of the 
 former administration have resigned, those members of the 
 
 * It) Pari. Dob., p. 735; 195 E. Hans. (3), p. 734. Mirror of P. 1830, pp. 
 273, 53fi, 541; fhid., 1834, p. 2720. Todd. Vol. il, p. 513. 
 
 t205 E. Hans. (3), p. 1290; Wellinjrton Dispatches, 3<l8er.,yol. iv, p]). 
 210, 213, 215. It is competent, however, for a minister to resign his office 
 at a formal interview with the sovereign or her representative. Lewis, 
 Administrations, j). 1 18. iiott\ Wa]])ole, Life of Perceval, Vol. ii, p. 234. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA BOURINOT. 361 
 
 privy council who accept a departmental otlice iu the goveru- 
 luent must seek reelection in conformity with the statute 
 regulating the independence of parliament. The fact that a 
 man is sworn to the privy council, and is a member of the 
 political body, known as the cabinet or ministry for the time 
 being, does not vacate a seat in parliament and demand a 
 1 eelection by the people, but the fact that a i)rivy councilor 
 is appointed to a certain salaried oflice mentioned in the statute 
 iu (question. When there is a reconstruction ctf a cabinet, on 
 the death ov resignation of a premier, no recUection is neces- 
 sary iu the case of those departmental heads who continue to 
 hold office in the government, though it may be a new govern - 
 iuent in a i)olitical sense.* Even if a miaister shouhl resign 
 his former ofdce and take another in the new administration 
 no reelection is necessary in his case. It is not necessary 
 either under the English or the Canadian law for a minister to 
 \ ii'-ate his seat in case he is reappointed to an office he had 
 resigned upon a change of ministry unless some one else had 
 been ap])oi iited and held the oftice in the interim. As stated by 
 high authority '' ministerial offices are not vacated by a mere 
 resignation, but only on the appointment of a successor."! 
 The Canadian law, as shown elsewhere, provides only for a 
 a reelection in the case of a minister resuming office after he 
 has resigned and a successor in a new administration has 
 occupied the same office.! ]\Iend)ers of a government are sworn 
 in as privy councilors, and consequently when a new cabinet 
 is formed those men who have been previous to that event 
 sworn in as members of the queen's privy council for Canada 
 
 ' For instance, on tlio death of Sir E. Tachft in 1865, Sir Naroisso Belleu!! 
 ^vas made premier. The former members of the cabinet remained in ofhc-e. 
 See Turcotte, Canada, Sous I'Union, Vol. li, pp. 565, 566. On the deatli 
 of Sir John Macdcmald, in 1891, Mr. Abbott, a member of the privy council 
 and leader of the senate, was appointed premier, and all members of the 
 former administration retained th«'ir oftices. See Can. Hans, commence- 
 ment of volumes for 1890 and 1891 . where there are lists of ministers of each 
 <abinet. For J^n.iilish cases: Liverpocd administration on assassiTiationoi" 
 Mr. Perceval in 1812; Twiss. Life of Lord Eldon, Vol. i, pp. 493,497; 
 Russell administratiim on death of Viscount Palmerston in 1865; Ann. 
 Rejr. (1865) p. 159; Disraeli administration on retirement of Earl of Derby 
 in 1868; Todd, Vol. i, p. 240. 
 
 t See 2 Hatsell, 4.0 note, p. 894. 
 
 4 Bouriuot's "Procedure and Practice," p. 177. 
 
362 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 need not aji'ain take the outli of office wliicli binds them to 
 secrecy,* while acting in that ca])acity. Once privy couuciHois, 
 they remain vso until formally dismissed for good and sufficient 
 
 * "Tho obligation of keeping the king's oonnsel inviolably secret, is one 
 that rests upon all <abiiiet inliiisters and other responsible advisers of the 
 erowri, by virtue of the oath which they take ^vhen they are made nieui- 
 bers of the privy lonueil." Todd, Vol.n, p. 84. See Ihxd, p]». 83, 84. The 
 oaths taken in Canada by a privy councillor, and a member of a cabinet 
 on acceptance of a departmental office, are .•»s follows: 
 
 lUK OATH OK TlIK MKMnEIJS OF THK I'lUVY COl'XCIL. 
 
 You, , do soleiiiidy })romise and swear that yon will serve 
 
 Her Majesty truly ami faithfully in the ])lace of her council in this Her 
 Majesty's Dominion of Canada; yon will keep close and secret all such 
 matters as shall he treated, deflated, and resolved on in i>rivy council, with- 
 out ])ublishing or disclosinf; the same or any part thereof, by word, writ- 
 ing, or any otherwise to any person out of the same council, but to such 
 only as he of the council, and yet if any matter so propounded, treated, and 
 debated in any such privy council, shall touch any particular person, sworn 
 of the same council, upon any such matter as shall in anywise concern his 
 loyalty and fidelity to the Queen's Majesty, you will in nowise open the 
 same to him, but keep it secret, as you would from any person, until the 
 Queen's Majesty's pleasure be known in that behiilf. You will in all 
 things to be moved, treated, and debated in any such privy council, faith- 
 fully, honestly, and truly declare your mind and opinitiu to the honor and 
 benefit of the Queen's Majesty, and the good of her subjects without par- 
 tiality or exception of pcrscms, in nowise forbearing so to do from any 
 manner of respect, favor, love, meed, displeasure, or dread of any person 
 or persons vv'hatsoever. In general you will Ite vigilant, diligent, and cir- 
 cumspect in all your doings touching the Queen's Majesty's affairs; all 
 which matters and things you will faithfully observe and keep, as a good 
 councilor ought to do, to the utmost of your power, will, and discretion. 
 So help me God. 
 
 OATH OF ALLEGIANCE. 
 
 I, , do sincerely promise and swear that I will be faithful 
 
 and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, as lawful sovereign 
 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of this Dominion 
 of Canada, dependent on and belonging to the said kingdom, and that I 
 will defend her to the utmost of my j)ow er against all traitorous conspiracies 
 or attempts whatever, which shall be made against her person, crown, and 
 dignity, and that I will do my utmost endeavor to disclose and make known 
 to Her Majesty, her heirs, and successors, all treasons or traitorous con- 
 spiracies and attemjits which I shall know to be against her or any of 
 them; and all this I do swear without any equivocation, mental evasion or 
 secret reBervatiou. So help me God. 
 
FARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA — liOUKINOT. 303 
 
 f-ause by the crown. If reiiisrated then they must again be 
 swoiii in lis ])iivy councillors.* 
 
 It will be seen from th<' forej^oini:' brief review how largely 
 the precedents a:i<l conventions of the political constitution of 
 England mould and direct the parliamentary government of 
 Canada. The written or fundamental law lays down only a 
 few distinct rules with relerence to the executive and legisla- 
 tive authority in the Dominion and the provinces, and leaves 
 sufficient opi)oi'tnnityfor the play and oj)eration of those flexi- 
 ble xirincii)le-^ which have made the parliamentary government 
 of England and of her depcniL'ncies so admirably suited to the 
 development of the best energies and abilities of a people. 
 
 Like the common law of England itself the system of par- 
 liamentary government which Canadians now i)ossess — to ap- 
 ply the language of an eminent American publicist with respect 
 to the common law — " is the outgrowth of the habits of thought 
 and action of the peojile. Its maxims are those of a sturdy 
 and independent race, accustomed in an unusual degree to 
 freedom of thought and acti<m, and to a share in the adminis- 
 tration of public affairs; and arbitrary power and uncontrolled 
 authority are not recognized in its principles." t 
 
 III. — PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT COMPARED WITH CON- 
 GRESSIONAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 We see both in the political and legal systems of the United 
 States and of the Canadian Dtmiinion the fundamental prin- 
 ciples of the parliamentary goveinment and the common law 
 of England; but necessarily ,, in the course of time, very im- 
 portant divergencies have grown up in the two countries in 
 
 OATH OF MIXISTKUS OX TAKIXG POKTFOLIO. 
 MIXISTKK OF . 
 
 I, , do solomuly promise aud swear that I will duly and faith- 
 fully do to the best of my skill and knowledge execute the powers and 
 trusts reposed in me as minister of . So help me God. 
 
 The foregoing oath was taken and suhsrribed by , the 
 
 as minister of before me, being duly empowered under a 
 
 commission from his excellency the governor-general to administer the said 
 oath at Ottawa, this day of . 
 
 * Case of Mr. Fox, dismissed in 1798, and reinstated in 1866, Jesse, Geo, 
 III, Vol. ni, pp. 361, 472, Also of Lord Melville, resworn of the council, 
 after his dismissal for alleged malfeasance in oflQce. Haydn, "Book of 
 Dignitaries," p. 135. 
 
 tCooley, '* Constitutional Limitations," pp. 32, 33, 
 
364 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 the opeiatioii of those i>iincii>Ies. Cauada, (!h)sely adhering 
 to the example and practice of the parent state, has followed 
 in their integiity all those princii)les of parliamentary govern- 
 jnent whi(di makes the cahinet or ministry responsible for 
 every act of administrjition :ind legislation. The <^)ueeu or her 
 representative acts nnder the advice of a responsible ministry, 
 wliich holds its position as long as it retains the contidence of 
 the crown, and the majority of the ])e()ple's representatives in 
 the legislature. In the United States ti»e President and 
 his cabinet have no direct responsibility to congress. Par- 
 liamentary government, in a few words, is a system of respon 
 sibility to the crown or its rei)resentative, and to the legisla- 
 ture, which is i)ractically sui)reme during its legal existence, 
 only cimtiolled by the prerogative right of the crown to dis- 
 miss its advisers and dissolve the i)arliament on occasions 
 of grave jmblic necessity. C<mgressional government is a sys- 
 tem under which congress controls legislation, and the work 
 oi' administration in all essential respects, by means of its 
 numerous conmiittees, without the enormous advantage of 
 having advisers of the executive present to direct legislation 
 and otherwise control the i)ractical operation of government. 
 
 In the United States a discussion has (piite recently grown 
 up among thoughtful men — aiinuig those men who are always in 
 advance of the purely practical politician and ambitious states- 
 man too ready to meet only the political exigency of the mo- 
 ment and the mere demands of party — whether the English 
 or Canadian system has not many decided advantages over the 
 system that ])revails in the United States — a system Avhich 
 divides all the jKjwers of government among so many authori- 
 ties, and i)Iaces so many checks on each that responsibility 
 is weakened, and the unity aiul effective operation of govern 
 ment seriously impaired. On the other hand, perhaps .among 
 Canadians themselves, at times when the political difliculties 
 of Canada are intensified by the rivalry of parties and the un- 
 scrupulous methods of party managers, men Avill be found to 
 question the advantages of responsible government itself. It 
 may be asked whether as the country grows older we shall 
 continue to adhere to those principles of parliamentary or re- 
 sponsible government which notably distinguish Canada from 
 her neighlxus, or whether there is any appearance of a gravi- 
 tation towards the political institutions of the Federal Re- 
 pul)lic. In the opinion of the writer there is no tendency 
 
PAKLIAMENTAKY GOVEKNMKNT IN CANADA BOUKINOT. 365 
 
 whatever in Caiuula to clian^^e the .system of lesixmsible j?«»v- 
 erimu'iit foi' the relatively inrsponsihle system whieh exists 
 in the Uiiiti'd States at Washington as well as in every stat«' 
 of the union; and, indeed, if there was any sueh tendency, I 
 think a little retlection will show that any such chan<j;e would 
 not be in the direction of j»(>i)ular liberty, of i)oi)iilar sover- 
 eignty, of political morality, or of efficient government. 
 
 Althouj;h some Canadians may, according to tlieir political 
 proclivities, doubt if theii- country is always well governed, 
 none of them can raise the issue that it is not governed enough. 
 If there is safety in a nudtitmh' of counsellors, then (-anada 
 need assuredly have no fears of the futui-c. One most im 
 l)ortant result so fai- of the contest for a complete system of 
 parliamentary government that was fought ])y the people of 
 the British Xorth American provinces during the (century now 
 at its close, and that reached its logical and successful conclu- 
 sion with the establishment of the federal system that unites 
 all the provinces, has been the formation of a strong central 
 government to deal with the national or general affairs of the 
 Dominion, and of seven sei)arate governments having distinct 
 authority to deal with the local and nmnii-ipal affairs of the 
 several provinces that constitute the federation.* So it hap- 
 pens that the Dominion, with a po]»ulation of about r),0(M),(HM) 
 souls, finds presiding over the administration of its public 
 affairs a body of men, constitutionally known as the queen's 
 privy council of Canada, but commonly called a ministry, or 
 cabinet, or government, consisting at the present time of fifteen 
 ministers, of whom one has a seat in the council without office. 
 Coining now to the provinces and commencing with the east, 
 we find that Prince Edward Island, with a population of 1 10,(100 
 l^eople, has an executive council, a name generally given to the 
 local cabinets or ministries, of nine members, of whom six are 
 without office. If ova Scotia, with a population of less than half 
 a million, the province, too, where representative institutions 
 were first established in the Dominion, has an executive council 
 of seven members, of whom four are without office.t New 
 
 *The territories of Canada have also a system of representative govern- 
 ment, and the right to manage their purely local aifairs. hut they have not 
 yet been organized into provinces with responsible government. See 
 Bouriuot's "Parliamentary Practice," etc. (Montreal, 1892), pp. 76,77. 
 
 t A legislative ass'-mbly met at Halifax in October, 1758, or one year be- 
 fore the fall of Quebec. See Bourinot, "Manual of the Constitutional 
 History of Canada," pp. 96, 97. 
 
306 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 iJniuswick, whit'li was sepHvated from Nova Scotia in IST-'J, with 
 a populatioi! now of 32(),()0(> souls, has an exocutive council of 
 seven niciiibcis. of whom only two are without ottice. In the 
 French-Canadian province of (Quebec, witli a i>o[»ulation of 
 l,r>0(),()0(), of whom the En;i;lish Canadians form a small minor 
 ity, the ministry consists of nine <'ouncillors, of whom only one 
 is without i)ortlolio. The province of Ontario, with a popida 
 lion of over 2,(M)0.0()0 souls, a province always ably and 
 economically governed, had until quite recently an executive 
 council of only seven mend)ers, all of whom had cliarge of some 
 department, but now it has been decided to adopt the luxury 
 in vogue in the other provinces and bring in an executive coun- 
 cilor without oflfi<^e. The new jirovince of Manitoba, with a 
 population of ir>0,(K)(> souls, has an executive council of five 
 niend)ers, all of wlnmi hold some ofllice of state. Passing by 
 the great territories of the Northwest, Avith a whole i)opulation 
 of 70,000 soids, still without resi)onsible governun^nt, although 
 the lieutenant-governor possesses a small advisory body with 
 limited powers, composed of members of the legislative as- 
 sembly, we come to the mountain province of British Columbia, 
 with a poi)ulation of less than 100,000 i)eople, and an executive 
 council of live members, of whom one is called the president. 
 So we see that the Canadian peoi)le in their wide countrj^ 
 have altogether eight cabinets, composed in the aggregate 
 of sixty-five councillors, with the power in the res})ective ex 
 ecutive heads, that is to say, in the governor-general and the 
 lieutenant-governors, to increase the number ad libitum. Of 
 course any political student on reading these figures will be 
 naturally inclined to make comparisons with tlie great country 
 on the borders of Canada, which is also a federation of dif- 
 ferent communities with separate governments. At Washing- 
 ton there is a body of eight men, commonly called a cabinet, 
 appointed by the President to preside over certain jjublic De- 
 l>artments. In all the states* there are governors, who in cer- 
 tain respects may be considered equivalent to the lieutenant- 
 governors of the i)rovinces; in the majority, there are lieu- 
 tenant-governors who do not exist in Canada; in all, there are 
 secretaries of state; in almost all, attorneys-general; in some 
 comptrollers; in many, auditors. The executive oificials of 
 Ohio, for instance, consist of a governor, a lieutenant-governor, 
 a secretai'y of state, a state auditor, a state treasurer, a state 
 
 * See Woodrow Wilson, " The State," sec. 965. 
 
PARLIAMEXTARY GOVERNMKNT IN CANADA J?OUiiIXOT. 3C7 
 
 :r.r«>iiiey-geiu'nil.a state C(»minissioiierofc«»iMimni s(•ll«)ul^<, tbiet' 
 iiit'iiibfivs ot'ti board ot* ])iiblic Avorks, or iiiin' executive otlieers 
 ill all, who may In- compare<l with the nine iiiembers of the 
 executive governiiient of Ontario. 
 
 2So doubt Canada could be /;overned witii a smaller number 
 of councillors at Ottawa, but it is ob\ ions to those who follow 
 chjsely the constitutional and ixditical history of the Dominion, 
 that in forming a cabinet, party or sectional considerations 
 must necessarily often prevail, and no on«' can fairly take any 
 exception to the princiide that the crown should have full lib- 
 erty in the choice of its councillors, and that men nniybe i»rop- 
 erly api)ointed to seats in the <>'ov<'rnment without oihee, when 
 they can give additional strength to the body and rei)resent 
 therein special interests. liut, as a matter of fact, compari- 
 sons in this particular with the central government at Wash- 
 ington,* or with the governments in the several states of the 
 union, whether large or small, are somewhat fallacious since 
 the political system in the two countries is based oji diametri- 
 cally opposite principles, which naturally affect the i)ositions, 
 functions, and number of the executive oi- administrative heads 
 in both countries. The United States has a federal govern- 
 ment which makes the i)resident the chief executive oflicer, 
 and an active funetionary in the working of the administra- 
 tion; which even confers on the Senate certain executive func- 
 tions in the ratitication of treaties and appointments made by 
 the chief magistrate. Although the president has the benetit 
 of the advice and assistance of eight heads of departments, 
 there is no cabinet in the English or Canadian sense, and 
 while the term is used iu the United States with reference to 
 tlie chief officers of state at Washington, it has no place in the 
 fundamental law or in the statutes of the country. Congress, 
 with the aid of its numerous committees, exercises the sover- 
 eign power of legislation within the limits of the constitution, 
 and is the real governing body of the union; aud the presi- 
 dent himself, to whom the constitution gives the right of veto- 
 ing its enactments, is powerless in the face of a two-thirds 
 majority in the senate and house of representatives. In each 
 stat« of the union the governor is an active officer, having 
 considerable resiionsibilities which aftbrd him constant occupa- 
 tion. In none of the states is there an execnitive council bear- 
 ing an exact analogy to the ministers of the provinces, but 
 
 - — - * See Bryce, " The American Commonwealth," ii. 108, 109. 
 
308 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 there are siTni>ly so many (lo]>!irtm('ntal ofticers, mIio have not 
 ifi Jiiiy state even those responsibilities which have in tlie 
 eourse of time (levolv»'«l upon the so called cabinet at Wasli 
 injjton in ctnisequciice of having; become an advisory or con 
 snitative Imard, summoned at the mere will or motion of the 
 president, luit without the iio\v«'r of controlhuj;' legislation in 
 conj^ress. " Under our system of state law," says a careful 
 critic of institutions, "the executive ofticers of a state jjovern 
 njeut are neither the servants of tlie h'ftislature, as in Switzer- 
 land, nor the resjjonsible j,niides of the lej^islature, as in En;; 
 land, nor the real controllinj^- authority in the execution of thf 
 laws, as under our federal system. The executive of a state 
 lias an important representative place, as a type of the state's 
 legal unity, but it can not be said to have any place or function 
 of guiding power.* On the otlier hand, th(^ privy council and 
 executive councils govern a donunion of seven provinces and 
 immense territories, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
 and covering an area of territory not inferior to that of the Fed 
 eral l^epublic. They exercise functicms of large resi)onsibility, 
 political as well as administrative, as the chosen committees of 
 the different legislatures of the union, in whose hands rests 
 the fate of the ministries, and, practically, of the government 
 of the whole country. These comndttees pei form all the du- 
 ties which devolve, in the TTnited States, on the president, the 
 governors, and the respective departmental ofticers ; and in ad- 
 dition, initiate and direct all important legislation, or in other 
 words practically perform the fuiu'tions of the chairmen of 
 congressional committees. 
 
 The adv^antages of the system of responsible government can 
 be best understoo(^ by stating a few facts and arguments which 
 naturally suggest tl emselves when we compare it with the sys- 
 tem of divided resi)jnsibility that exists in the United States. 
 
 It is especially Important to Canadians to study the develop- 
 ment of the institutions of the United States, with the view of 
 taking advantage of their useful experiences, and avoiding the 
 tlefects that have grown up under their system. All institu- 
 tions are more or less on trial in a country like Canada, which 
 is working out great problems of political science under decided 
 advantages, since the ground is relatively new, and the people 
 have before them all the experiences of the world, especially 
 of England and the United States, in whose systems Canadi- 
 
 " ~*See Woodrow Wilson, ''The State/' sec. 964. -^ . 
 
?arliami:ntary oovi:h>'mi:nt in canada — iioi\{iNOT. 300 
 
 aiis have iiatnnilly tlir <lt'ep«st iiiteivst. Tin* history of rospoii- 
 Hiblo goveinineiit allonls aimthtT ilhistiatioii of u truth \vliirh 
 t'tjiiuls out ch'iir iu tlie history of nations, that those constitu- 
 tions which are of a tlexible cijaractt-r, and tiu' natural i,n(>\vth 
 of the experiences of centuries, and which have been created 
 by the necessities and tiuulitions of the times, possess the ele- 
 ments of real stability, aiul best insoire the prosjK'rity of a 
 people. The great scuirce of the strength of the institutions of 
 the United States lies in the fact that they have worked out 
 their government in accordance with certain princii)les, which 
 are essentially Knglish in their origin, and have been natu 
 rally developed siiu-e their fcmndation as colonial settlements,, 
 and what weaknesses their system shows have chietly arisen 
 from new methods, and from the rigidity of their constitutional 
 rules of law, which separate too closely the executive and the 
 legislative branches of government. Like their neighbors, the 
 Canadian people have based their system on l']nglish princi- 
 I)les, but they have at the same time been able to keej) pace 
 with the progress of the unwritten constitution of England, to 
 adapt it to their own political conditions, and bring the exec- 
 utive and legislative authorities so as to assist and harmonizes 
 with one another. Each country has its ^' cabinet council," 
 but the one is essentially diti'erent from the other iu its char- 
 acter and functions. 
 
 This term, the historical student will remember, was tirst 
 used in the days of the Stuarts as one of derision and obloquy. 
 It w^as frequently called "junto" or "cabal," and during the 
 days of conflict between the commons and the king it was 
 regarded with great disfavor by the parlianu^nt of England. 
 Its unpopularity arose from the fact that it did not consist of 
 men iu whom parlianuMit had contidence, and its i>roceedings 
 were conducted with such secrecy that it was impossible to 
 decide upon whom to fix responsibility for any obnoxious 
 measure. When the constitution of England was brought 
 back to its original x^rinciples, and harmony was restored be- 
 tween the crown and the parliament, the cabinet became no 
 longer a term of reproach, but a position therein was regarded 
 as the highest honor in the country, and was associated with 
 the efficient administration of public affairs, since it meant a 
 body of men responsible to i)arliament for every act of govern- 
 ment.* The old executive councils of Canada were obnoxious 
 
 * See Todd, ii, p. 101. 
 S. Mis. 173 24 
 
 
370 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 to the i)eox)le for the same reason that the councils of the Stu- 
 arts and even of George III, with the exception of the regime 
 of the two Pitts, became unpopular. Xot only do we in Canada, 
 in acordancc with our desire to perpetuate the names of Eng- 
 lish institutions, use the name ''Cabinet,'' which was applied 
 to an institution that gradually grew out of the old privy 
 council of England, but we have even incorporated in our 
 fundamental law the older name of ^' juivy council,"* which 
 itself sprung from the original "i^crmanent" or "continual" 
 <'Ouncil of the Xorman kings.t Following English jnecedent 
 the Canadian cabinet or ministry is formed out of the privy 
 councillors, chosen under the law by the governor-general, and 
 when they retire from office they still retain the purely honor- 
 ary distinction. In the United States the use of the term 
 "Cabinet" has none of the significance it has with us, and if 
 it can be compared at all to any English institutions it might 
 be to the old cabinets who acknowledged responsibility to the 
 king, and were only so many heads of department in the king's 
 government. As a matter of fact, the comparison would be 
 closer if we said that the administration resembles the cabi- 
 nets of the old French kings, or to quote Prof. IJryce, " the 
 group of ministers who surround the Czar or the Sultan, or who 
 executed the bidding of a Koman emperor like Constantine or 
 Justinian." Such ministers, like the old executive councils of 
 Canada, " are severally responsible to their master, and are 
 severally called in to counsel him, but they have not necessa- 
 rily any relations with one another, nor any duty or collective 
 action."! Kot only is the administration constructed on the 
 
 * The name of ''privy conncil" was applied to the council formed, under 
 the Quel>ec act in 1776 (Bonriuot's Manual, p. 16). Delaware was the only 
 one of the old colonies which used the title in its original constitution. 
 (See Bryce, I. 124, note.) In the debates of the constitutional convention 
 of 1787 it was suggested that the president be provided with a privy coun- 
 cil, but none of the propositions to that eftect obtained any favor with the 
 majority. (See Jamieson, " Essays on the Constitutional History of the 
 United States," pp. 173, 174.) The title still exists in the little colonies of 
 Bernnula and Jamaica, where there is no responsible government. 
 
 + " Tlie nobles assembled on special occasions, by special writs, formed, 
 in combination with the officers of the conrt, the 'past council' or ' com- 
 mon council' of the realm. The chief advisers of the crown, who were per- 
 manently about the king, constituted the 'permanent' or 'continual' coun- 
 cil thence, in later times, rose the i)rivy council." (See the Privy Council, 
 by A. V. Dicey, pp. 5, 6. 
 
 Bryce, 1, p. 123. 
 
PAHLIAMEXTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA BOUKIXUT. 371 
 
 l)iiiicii)le of responsibility to the presideut aloue, in this 
 respect the English king in old irresponsible days, but the 
 legishitive department is itself '' constTiicted after tln^ English 
 model as it existed a century ago,"* and a general system of 
 government is established, lacking in that unity and that elas- 
 ticity whi(;h are essential to its effective working. Oii the other 
 hand the Oanadian cabinet is the cabinet of the English sys- 
 tem of this century, and is formed so as to work in harmony 
 with the legislative department, which is a copy, so far as pos- 
 sible, of the English legislature of these modern times. 
 
 The special advantages of the Canadian or English system 
 of parliamentary government, com})ared with Congressional 
 government, may be briefly summed up as follows :t 
 
 («) The governor-general, his cabinet, and the popular 
 branch of the legislatui-e are governed in Canada as in England 
 by a system of rtiles, conventions, and understandings which 
 enable them to work in liarmony with one a nother. The crown, 
 the cabinet, the legislature, and the people have respectively 
 certain rights and i)Owers which, when properly and constitu- 
 tiouall}' brought into operati(m, give strengtli and elasticity to 
 our system of government. Dismissal of a ministry by the 
 crown under conditions of gravity, or resignation of a ministry 
 defeated in the popular house, bring into play the prerogatives 
 of the crown. In all cases there must be a ministry to advise 
 the crown, assume responsibility for its acts, and obtain the. 
 support of the people and their representativos in parliament. 
 As a last resort to bring into harmony the people, the legisla- 
 ture, and the crown, there is the exercise of the supreme pre- 
 rogative 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 imblic mind. In short the fundamental principle of 
 popular sovereignty lies at the very basis of the Canadian 
 system. 
 
 On the other hand, in the United States the i)residejt and 
 
 * Hannis Taylor, Atlantic Monthly for June, 1890. p. 769, " The National 
 House of Representatives." 
 
 t These and following remarks relating to the rules and conventions of 
 responsible government, of course apply with the same force to a lieu- 
 tenant-governor in a province that they do to a governor-general. 
 
372 -AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 his cabinet may bo in constant conflict with the two houses of 
 ••ongress during the four years of his term of office. His cabi- 
 net has no direct influence with the legishitive bodies, inas- 
 much as tlieyhave no seats therein. The political coniiflexion 
 of congress does not affect their tenure of oflice, since they 
 depend only on the favor and approval of the executive; dis- 
 solution, Avhich is the safety valve of the English or Canadian 
 system — "in its essence an appeal from the legal to the politi- 
 cal sovereign" — is not practicable under the United States con- 
 stitution. In a political crisis the Constitution provides no 
 adequate solution of the difficult}' during the i)residential term. 
 In thisrespect the people in the United States are not sovereign 
 as they are in Canada under the conditions just briefly stated.* 
 (h) The governor-general is not personally brought into col- 
 lision with the legislature by the direct exercise of a veto of its 
 legislative acts, since the ministry are responsible for all legis- 
 lation and must stand or fall by their important measures. 
 The passage of a measure of which they disapproved as a 
 
 * In these times the right of the crown to dismiss its advisers and to dis- 
 solve the legislature is a prerogative Avhich, constitutionally exercised, is 
 in the interests of the people themselves. On the dismissal of a ministry 
 the crown must at oncii obtain the aid of a new bodj- of advisers, who must 
 assume full responsibility for its action before the legislature and before 
 the people as the ultimate resort. Dissolution inmiediately l)rings all the 
 issues whicli have to be settled for the time being under the purview of 
 the sovereign peojjle for tlieir final verdict. Prof. Dicey ("The Law of the 
 Constitution," 3d ed., p. 356) says with respect to the dismissal of the min- 
 istry and dissoluticm "that there are certainly combinations of circum- 
 stances under w^hich the crown has a right to dismiss a miuistry who com- 
 mand a parliamentary majority and to dissolve the pailiament by which 
 the ministry are supported. The prerogative, in short, of dissolution may 
 constitutionally be so employed as to override the will of the representative 
 body, or, as it is po])ularly called, ' The People's House of Parliament.' 
 This looks at first sight like saying that in certain cases the i)rerogative 
 can be so used as to set at nought the will of the nation ; but in reality it is 
 far otherwise. Tlie discretionary power of the crown occasionally may bo 
 and according to constitutional precedents sometimes ought to be used to 
 strip an existing house of commons of its authority. But the reason why 
 the house can in accordance with the Constitution be deprived of power 
 and of existence is that an occasion has arisen on which there is fair reason 
 to suppose that the opinion of the house is not the opinion of the electors. 
 A dissolution is in its essence an appeal from the legal to the political 
 sovereign. A dissolution is allowable or necessary Avhenever the wishes 
 of the legislattire are or may fairly be jnesumed to be ditferent from the 
 wi.shes of the nation. (See, on the same subject of dismissal, Todd, "Par- 
 liamentary GovernmenC in the Colonies," pi». 584-590.) 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA BOURINOT. 373 
 
 ministry would menu in the miijority of cases their resigna- 
 tion, and it is not possible to suppose that they would ask the 
 governor to exercise a prerogative ot the crown which has been 
 in disuse since the establishment of responsible government 
 and would now be a revolutionaiy measure even in Canada.* 
 
 In the United States there is danger of frecpient collision 
 between the president and the two legislative branches, should 
 a very critical exercise of the veto, as in President Johnson's 
 time, occur when the pul)lic mind would be deeply agitated. 
 The chief magistrate loses in dignity and influence whenever 
 the legislature overrides the veto, and congress becomes a 
 desi>otic master for the time being. 
 
 (c) The Canadian ministry, having control of the finances and 
 taxes and of all matters of administration, are directly respon- 
 sible to i)arliameiit and sooner or later to the i^eople for the 
 manner in which they have discharged their public functions. 
 All important measures are initiated by them, and on every <j[ues- 
 tion of public interest they are bound to have a definite policy 
 if they wish to retain the confidence of the legislature. Even in 
 the case of private legislation they are also the guardians of 
 the public interests and are responsible to parliament and the 
 ])eople for any neglect in this particular. 
 
 On the other hand, in the Ignited States the financial and 
 general legislation of congress is left to the control of com- 
 mittees, over which the president and his cabinet have no 
 direct influence, and the chairman of which may have ambi- 
 tious objects in direct antagonism to the men in ofiice. 
 
 (d) In the Canadian system the speaker is a functionary 
 who certainly has his party proclivities, but it is felt as long- 
 as he occu])ies the chair all political parties can depend on his 
 Justic*^' and impartiality. Kes})onsible government makes the 
 premier and his ministers responsible for the constitution of 
 the committees and for the opinions and decisions that may 
 emanate from them. A government that would constantly 
 endeavor to shift its responsibilities on committees, even of 
 
 * In matters affecting Imperial interests the governor-general does not 
 directly exercise the veto he has under the R. N. A. act of 1867 — only a con- 
 tinuation of a veto always given to governors-general since 1792 — but the 
 general power of disallowance possessed by the imperial government is 
 considered adequate to meet all such cases. A bill may be reserved under 
 exceptional circumstances, but as a rule the i)ower just mentioned is used. 
 (See Bourinot's "Parliamentary Procedure in Canada," 2d ed.) ^^ 
 
374 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 their own selection, would soon disappear from the treasury 
 l)enches. Responsibility in legislation is accordingly insured, 
 financial measures prevented tVoin being made the footballs 
 of ambitious and irresponsible i)oliticians, and the impartiality 
 and dignity of the si)eakers]nx) guaranteed by the presence in 
 parliament of a cabinet having the direction and supervision 
 of business. 
 
 On the other hand, in the United States, the speaker of the 
 house of representatives bec(mies, from the very force of cir- 
 cumstances, a political leader, and the specta<'le is iiresented — 
 in fact from tlie time of Henry Clay — so strange to us familiar 
 with English methods, of decisions given by him with clearly 
 party objects, and of committees formed by him with purely 
 l)olitical aims, as likely as not with a view to thwart the ambi 
 tion either of a president who is looking to a second term or of 
 some prominent member of the cabiiiet who has j)residential 
 aspirations. And all this lowering of the dignity of the chair 
 is due to the absence of a responsible minister to lead the 
 house. The very i)osition which the speaker is forced to take 
 from time to time — notably in the case of last congress — is 
 clearly the result of the defects of the constitutional system 
 of the United States and is so much evidence that a responsi- 
 ble party leader is an absolute necessity in congress. A legis- 
 lature must be led, and congress has been attempting to get 
 out of a crucial difficulty by all sorts of questionable shifts 
 which only show the inherent weakness of the existing system. 
 
 In the absence of any ])rovision for unity of policy between 
 the executive and the h'gislative authorities of the United 
 States, it is impossible for any nation to have a positive guar 
 antee that a treaty it may negotiate with the former can be 
 ratified. The sovereign of Great Britain enters into treaties 
 with foreign powers with the advice and assistance of her con- 
 stitutional advisers, Avho are immediately responsible to par 
 liament for their counsel in such matters. In theory it is the 
 prerogative of the crown to make a treaty; in practice it is 
 the ministry. Tt is not constitutionally imperative to refer 
 such treaties to parliament for its ai)proval — the consent of 
 the crown is sufficient; but it is sometimes done under excej) 
 tioual circumstances, as in the case of the cession of Heligo- 
 land. In any event, the action of the ministry m the matter 
 is invariably open to the review of parliament, and they may 
 be censured by an adverse vote for the advice they gave the 
 sovereign and forced to letire from office. In the Ignited 
 
PARLIAMEXTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA BOl'RINOT, 375 
 
 Stati's t)'" Senate must ratify all treaties by a two-tliirds vote, 
 )>ut unless there is a majority in that house of the same polit- 
 ical complexion as the president the treaty may be refused. 
 No cabinet minister is present, leads the house, as in Eiij,^- 
 land, and assumes all the responsibility of the president's 
 a<3tion. It is almost impossible to suppose that an Enjiilish 
 ministry would consent to a treaty that would be unpopular 
 in parliament and in the country. Their existence as a gov- 
 ernment would dei)end on their action. In the United States 
 both president and senate have divided resx)onsibilities. The 
 constitution makes no provision for unity in such important 
 matters of national obligation. 
 
 A thoughtful writer,* not long since, contributed a some- 
 what elaborate defense of the present irresi)onsible system of 
 tlie United States, whose defects have been so clearly pointed 
 out for some years past by a number of acute students of insti- 
 tutions, of whom Professors Bryce and Woodrow Wilson are 
 generally admitted to stand at the head. Several of Dr. Free- 
 man Snow's arguments have been already met in the course of 
 the comparisons 1 have drawn between the respective systems 
 of the two countries, but there are some points to which I may 
 make special reference, since he appears to attach much im- 
 portance to them. 
 
 Dr. Snow , like Mr. Lawrence Lowell,t api)ears to think that 
 
 responsible government is not adapted to a federal system, 
 
 governed by a written constitution or fundamental law, for he 
 
 commences his paper with the following remark: 
 
 " In the English system the goveniinent of the state, in all its breadth 
 and details froni foundation up. is intrusted to the majority of the people, 
 to be changed or modified at pleasure. In the American [he means, of 
 lourse, the United States] system, on the other hand, a limit is set to the 
 power of the majority by establishing certain fundamental laws, which 
 can be changed only by a more general assent of the people and after a 
 most mature deliberation." 
 
 Dr. Snow ignores throughout his paper the example of 
 Canada, which (;om])letely refutes the argument he bases on 
 the foregoing proposition, and Mr. Lowell i)ractically does the 
 sar.ie thing, for after devoting a number of pages to the con- 
 tention that a federal system can not be effectively worked 
 
 * Dr. Freeman Snow, in the Pajters of the American Historical Associa- 
 tion, July, 1890. I 
 
 f See, in his '' Essays on Government," his remarks on "Cabinet Respon- ^ 
 sibility," pp. 20-59. 
 
376 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 under English respousiblo governmout, the latter suddenly 
 remembers that Canada has a fedeial eonstitntion or ftuula- 
 meutal law, not changeable by the eapriee of a majority in the 
 Dominion legislatures, and condescends to devote a short foot- 
 note to the mention ol" the fact at the close of the chai)ter, 
 which is simply remarkable for its absence of any argument 
 bearing on the i)oint at issue. The parliament of Canada can 
 not change the fundamental basis of the federal constitution, 
 which can be amended or revoked only by the same authority 
 that gave it existence, the imi)erial parliament. The legis- 
 latures of the i)rovin('es <*an anu^nd their own constitutions, 
 but only within certain limitations. Neither the general par- 
 liament nor the provincial legislatures can touch the division 
 of powers between the central and i)roviiuial governments or 
 other fundamental parts of the federal scheme. 
 
 Only three relatively unimportant amendments, to relieve 
 doubts respecting the establishment of provin(;es in the terri- 
 tories and to define the privileges and i)owers of Parliament, 
 have been made in the British North America act sint^c 18G7, 
 when it was passed.* If a change is at any time necessary in 
 the constitution it must be brought forward in the shape of 
 an address and agreed to by the two branches of the parlia- 
 ment of Canada, under the direction of a responsible ministry. 
 This address would then have to pass through the ordeal of 
 the imi)erial parliament, which in this important particular is 
 not likely to act hastily. Consequently there are checks im- 
 Ijosed upon the will of the majority in the Canadian parlia- 
 ment, not only in the case of a jiroposed amendment of the 
 constitution, but in all matters of legislation affecting the 
 federation. The courts can at any moment pass upon the 
 constitutionality of any act of the several legislative bodies of 
 the Dominion. In the provinces, as well as in the Dominion 
 itself, there are ministries responsible for every act of legisla- 
 tion and administration, and consequently in the w orking of 
 the various i)arts of the federal government there is provision 
 
 * Imp. Stat., 34-35 Vict., chap. 28: "An act respecting the establishment 
 of provinces in the Dominion of Canada;'' and 38-39 Vict., chap. 38: ''An 
 act to remove certain doubts with respect to the powers of the Parliament 
 of Canada under section 18 of the B. N. A. act, 1867.'' Also 49-50 Vict.. 
 chap. 35: "An act respecting the representatiini in the Parliament of C«n- 
 ada of territories which for the time being form part of the Dominion of 
 Canada, but are not included in auy province." 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GUN'ERNMEXT IN CANADA — BOUKINOT. 377 
 
 made for unity and harmony. Each ministry is responsible 
 to the people of its own province, and it is quite possible that 
 the men directing proviiuial affairs, as in the majority of the 
 provinces at i)resent, hold views on Dominion affairs antaj^o- 
 nistic to those of the neneial j^overument. Hut exx)erience 
 has shown that, as one of the results of responsible govern- 
 ment, Domini«m and provinces can safely administer i)ublir. 
 affairs within their respective political spheres without having 
 any immediate party connection with one another. While 
 every province has its distinct party issues, there is overshad- 
 owing each and all a Dominion or I^ational sentiment, or, in 
 other words, Dominion or National issues which govern the 
 tenure in oftice of the general government. The people, hav- 
 ing in their hands at certain intervals the fate of each of these 
 eight ministries, necessarily feel they have to discharge im- 
 poitant obligations and responsibilities which do not devolve 
 upon the people of the Cnited States. 
 
 "But souietbiug more tiiau more clieiks upon tlie ])o\ver of the majority 
 [continues Dr. Snow] is essential to the successful working of popular 
 government; there must be in the people a capacity for self government. 
 Anil perhaps the most important (lifterence between the two systems under 
 consideration is the ditfereut degrees in wliich the people take part in the 
 conduct of their respective governments. This question involves the rel- 
 ative merits of so-called congressional and cabinet or parliamentary gov- 
 ernment." 
 
 Every authority wh(j has studied the effects of the two sys- 
 tems and given his opinion on tiie subject is at direct variance 
 with these remarks of Dr. Snow, and indeed no one at all 
 conversant with the practical working of institutions woidd 
 deny that the great advantages of the English or Canadian 
 system lie in the interest created among all classes of the people 
 by the discussions of the different legislative bodies. Parlia- 
 mentary debate involves the late of cabinets, and the i^ublie 
 mind is consequently led to study all issues of importance. 
 The people know and feel that they nuist be called upon sooner 
 or later to decide between the ])arties contending on the floors 
 of the legislatures, and consequently are obliged to give an 
 intelligent consideration of public affairs. Let us see what 
 Bagehot,* ablest of critics, says on this point: 
 
 "At present there is business in their attention [that is to say, of the 
 English or Canadian people]. They assist at the determining crisis; they 
 
 * "The English Constitution," pp. 89, 90. 
 
378 amp:rican histokical association. 
 
 Uissist or hell) i^- Whether the governmeut will y(» out or reinain is lieter- 
 miiied by the dehute and l).v the division iu parliament. And the opiuion 
 out of doors, the secret-pervading diHi>osition of society, Las a great inllu- 
 tnee on that division. The nation feels that its Jutl^inient is important, 
 and it strives to judge. It succeeds in deciding because the deltates and 
 the discussions give it the facts aud the arguments. Hut under the presi- 
 dential government a nation has, except at the electing moment, no indu- 
 eiice; it has not the ballot box before it; its virtue is gone and it must 
 wait till its instant of despotism again returns. There are dou})tless de- 
 bates in the legislature, but they are prologues without a play. Tlie prize 
 of power is not in the gilt of the legislature. No presidential country 
 needs to form daily delicate oidnious, or is helped in forming them." 
 
 Then when tho people do go to the ballot box, they can 
 not intelligently inliuenee the ])oliey of the government. If 
 they vote for a president, then congress may have a poliey 
 quite ditferent frotn liis; if they vote for members of Congress 
 they can not change the opinions of the president. If the 
 president changes his cabinet at any time they have nothing 
 to say abont it, for its members are not important as wheels 
 in the legislative machinery. Congress may pass a bill, of 
 which the people express their disfipproval ;it the first oppor- 
 tnnity when they choose a new congiess, bnt still it may re- 
 main on the statute book because the senate holds vie>vs dif- 
 ferent from the newly elected house, aud can not be politically 
 changed until after a long series of legislative elections. As 
 Prof. Woodrow Wilson well puts it:* 
 
 " Public opinion has no easy vehicle for its judgments, no qnick channels 
 for its action. Nothing about the system is direct and simple. Authority 
 is perplexingly subdivided <ind distribttted, and res})onsib;'< y has to be 
 hunted down in out-of-the-way corners. So that the s v of the whole 
 matter is that the means of working for the fruits of good government are 
 not readily to be found. The average citizen may be excused for esteem- 
 ing government at best but a haphazard affair upon which his vote and 
 all his influence can have but little effect. How is his choice of represent- 
 ative in congress to affect the policy of the country as regards the ques- 
 tions in which he is most interested if the man for whom he votes has no 
 1 hance of getting on the standing committee which has virtual charge of 
 those questions? How is it io make any difference who is chosen presi- 
 dent? Has the president any great authority in matters of vital policy? 
 It seems a thing of despair to get any assurance that any vote he may cast 
 will even in an infinitesimal degree affect the essential courses of admin- 
 istration. There are so many cooks mixing their ingredients in the na- 
 tional broth that it seems hopeless, this thing of changing one cook at a 
 time." 
 
 * Congressional Government, pp. 301, 332, 
 
PAELIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA — BOURINOT. 3 Iff 
 
 Under sncli a system it can not be exi)ecte(l that the people 
 will take the same deep interest in (»k'Ctions and feel as directly 
 responsible for the eharaeter of the government as when they 
 can at one election and by one verdict decide the fate of a 
 government, whose policy on great issnes must be thoroughly 
 explained to them at the polls. This method of ])opular gov- 
 ernment is more real and substantial than a system which does 
 not allow the jieople to intluenee congressional legislation and 
 administrative action through a set of men, sitting in congress 
 and having a common p(»licy. 
 
 Then we ar;' told by Dr. Snow: That the system of govern- 
 ment by resp<msible leaders *' fails to call out, indeed it seeks to 
 repress, that mental activity, in political nmtters, of the great 
 body of legislators which is found in the system of congres- 
 sional governmeut." That the peoples' representati\ es '^ take 
 a more active i)art in the atfairs of government and retain to a 
 greater degree the feeling and the reality of j)olitieal responsi- 
 bility." That cabinet government ''develops leaders at the 
 expense of the real strength of democracy;" that "the greater 
 harmony and greater efficiency in legislation " which he admits 
 are the results of the Canadian or English system, are "bought 
 at the expense of the real strength of democracy — the inde- 
 pendence and general political training of the many." 
 
 I think it does not require any very elaborate argument to 
 show that when men feel and know that the ability tMey show 
 in parliament may be sooner or later rewarded by a seat on the 
 treasury benches, and that they will then have a determining 
 voice in the government of the country, be it dominion or 
 province, they must be stimulated by a keener aptitude for 
 public life, a closer watchfulness over legislation and adminis- 
 tration, a great readiness for discussing all public questions, 
 and a more studied appreciation of public opinion outside the 
 legislative halls. Every man in parliament is a i)remier in 
 posse. While asking my hearers to recall what I have already 
 said as to the effect of responsible goveriunent on the public 
 men and people of Canada, I shall also here refer them to some 
 authorities, worthy of all respect, who have expressed oinnions 
 directly contrary to those of Dr. Snow with reference to the 
 points in question. 
 
380 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Bageliot sjiys with his usual clcnriicss :* 
 
 "To l)elon<^ to a tlcbatin^ society adhcrinj; to an oxecntive (and this is no 
 aapt (lfS('ii]»tioii of a coiiyrcss under a ]>i'csid»'utiil fonstitntional) is not 
 an object to stir a uol»lt' ambition, and is a position to encoura^'O idlcni-ss. 
 Tlie members of a parliament excluded from ofticc; eaii never be compara- 
 ble, much less equal, to those of a pailiament not excluded from office. 
 The presidential <rovernment, by its nature, divides jiiditical life into two 
 halves, an executive half and a lej^islative half, and, by so dividing it, 
 makes neither half worth a uum's hiiving — \v(»rth his makiii{<r it a con- 
 tinuous career — worthy to absorb, as cabinet government absorbs, hi» 
 whole soul. The statesnu'u from whom a nation cliooses under a presi- 
 tiential system are much inferior to those from whom it chooses under a 
 cabinet system, while the selecting apparatus is also far less discerning.'' 
 
 Another writer, Prof. Douslow, t does not hesitate to ex- 
 X)ress the opinion very emphatically that "as it is, in no 
 country do the people feel such an overwhelming sense of the 
 littleness of the men in charge of public affairs " as in the fJnited 
 States. And in another place he dwells on the fact that 
 *' responsible government educates officeholders into a high 
 and honorable sense of their accountability to the people,'' antl 
 makes "statesmanship a j)ermanent piu-suit followed by a 
 .skilled cla.ss of men." 
 
 Prof. Woodrow Wilson says so far from men being trained 
 to legislation by congressional government, " independence 
 and ability are repressed under the tyranny of the rules, and 
 practically the favor of the popular branch of congress is con 
 centrated in the speaker and a few — very few — expert parlia 
 mentarians.'"' Elsewhere he shows that " responsibility is 
 si)read thin, and no vote or debate can gather it." As a mat- 
 ter of fact and experience, he comes to tlie conclusion" | the 
 more power is divided the more irresponsible it becomes and 
 the petty character of the leadership of each committee con- 
 tributes towards making its despotism sme by making its 
 duties interesting." 
 
 Prof. Bryce, it will be admitted, is one of the fairest of 
 critics in his review of the institutions of the "American Com 
 mon wealth ;" but he, too, comes to the conclusion § that the sys- 
 tem of congressional government — 
 
 Destroys the unity of the house [of representatives] as a legislative 
 body. 
 
 ' The English Constitution, pp. 95, 96. 
 t In the International Review, March, 1877. 
 t "Congressional Government," p. 94. 
 : , , i^ _ § "The American Commonwealth," i. 210, et seq. 
 
?arliamp:ntaky government in Canada — bourinot. 381 
 
 Prevents th«^ oaiuicity nf the l)t;st mi'mbers from being biougbt to bear 
 npon any one ])ieco of legislation, bowever important. 
 Ciiimps debate. 
 
 LessenH tbe cobesion and barmony of legislation. 
 
 (iives facilities fortbe exercise of underbaml and even corrupt inflnence. 
 Reduces responsibility. 
 Lowers tbe interest of tbe nation in tbe proceedings of congress. 
 
 lu another place,* after considering the rehitions between the 
 executive and the le^ishiture, he expresses his opinion that the 
 framers of the constitution have "so narrowed tlie sphere of 
 the executive as to prevent it from leading the country, or even 
 its own party in the country." They endeavored "to make 
 members of congress independent, but in doing so they de- 
 prived them of some of the means which Kuropean legislators 
 «'njoy of learning how to administer, of learning even how to 
 legislate in administrative topics. They condemned them to l)e 
 architects without science, critics without experience, censors 
 without responsibility." 
 
 And further on, when discussing the faults of democratic 
 government in the United States — and Prof. JJryce, we must 
 remember, is on the whole most hoi)eful of its future — he de- 
 tects as amongst its characteristics "a certain commonness of 
 juind and tone, a want of digidty and elevation in and about 
 the conduct of public affairs, and insensibility to the nobler 
 aspects and tiner responsibilities of national life." Then he 
 goes on to sayt that a representative and i)arliamentary sys- 
 tem "provides the means of mitigating the evils to be feared 
 from ignorance or haste, for it vests the actual conduct of af 
 fairs in a body of specially chosen and presumably qualiiicd 
 men, who may themselves intrust such of their functions as 
 need i^eculiar knowledge or skill to a smaller governing body 
 or bodies selected in respect of their more eminent fitness. By 
 this method the defects of democracy are remedied while its 
 strengtli is retained." The members of American legislatures, 
 being disjoined from the administrative offices, "are not chosen 
 for their ability or experience; they are not much resi)ected or 
 trusted, and finding nothing (exceptional expected from them, 
 they behave as ordinary men." 
 
 I give these short citations, so diiferent in their conclusions 
 from those of Dr. Snow, in preference to any opinions of my 
 own, because they are the criticisms of men who have given 
 
 ' Tbid., 304, 305. 
 
 t Ibid,, Chap. 95, Vol. ill. 
 
382 AMERICAN mSTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 the closost study to the practical working of the institutions 
 <>f <»ur ii('ighl)(»rs, and who can have no p<>Hti<al bias or prtgu- 
 dicc in tlie mutter. But Dr. Snow ])ractically gives away his 
 whole case when, at the close of his ably argued paper, he 
 admits that "• i)arty government, as carried on in the Ignited 
 States during the last sixty years, has undoubtedly tended to 
 the corru]>ti<)n of the political morality of the people."' And 
 this unfortunate condition of things was predicted, and its 
 cause stated, more than lifty years ago by the ablest constitu- 
 tional writer that the United States has produced — one of those 
 eminent men who, by their great learning and remarkable 
 judgment, have done so much to elucidate and strengthen the 
 <'onstitution. 
 
 ''If corruption," wrote Judge Story, *'ever silently eats its 
 way into the vitals of this Kepublic, it wdl be because the 
 people are unable to bring responsibility home to the execu- 
 tive through his chosen ministers.''* 
 
 But Dr. Snow looks hopefully to the future of his countrj-, 
 because there has been going on for some time past a steady 
 movement "for reform in the civil servile and the ballot," but 
 at the same time he refuses to see that in all probability these 
 much-needed reforms would have been brought about long ere 
 this had there been responsible leaders to guide congress and 
 the legislatures of the states.t 
 
 At all events, in Canada the permanency of the tenure of 
 j>ublic officials and the introduction of the secret ballot have 
 been among the results of responsible government. Through 
 
 * "Commentaries," sec. 869. 
 
 t A writer in the Annals of the American Academy of Political anil Social 
 Science well observes on this point : " It is beyond question that precisely 
 this public and personal responsibility has converted both parliament and 
 ministers from the corrupt condition of Walpole's time, and half a century 
 later gradually aiul steadily to the purified condition of the present day, 
 has extinguished bribery at elections, and to that end has led the house of 
 commons to surrender its control, in the case of disputed elections, into 
 the hands of the courts. It is this personal responsibility which has been 
 the instrument of carrying into eftect more extensive and at the same time 
 peaceful reforms in the interest of the masses of the people at large than 
 have been achieved in the same time by any other nation in the world." 
 On the other hand, the same writer says of the irresponsible United States 
 system of congressional committees that " this is an arrangement so fruit- 
 ful of corruption and jobbery that it would drag down and coiTupt the 
 purest and ablest body of men in the world." (See article on " Congress 
 and the Cabinet," November, 1891.) 
 
PARLI AM ENT ARY G ()\'ERNM ENT IN CANADA— BOURINOT. 5^ 
 
 the iiitliu'iife and agency of the same system, valuable reforms 
 have been made in Canada in the eleetiou laws, and the trial 
 of eontroverted eleetious has been taken away from parti- 
 san eleetioii eommittecs and given to a Judiciary indejM'ndent 
 of political intlucnces. In these matters the irresponsible sys- 
 tem of the LTuited States has not been able to effect any need- 
 ful ii'forms. Such nu'asures can be best carried by ministers 
 having' the initiation and direction of legislation, and must 
 necessarily be letarded when power is divided among several 
 auth(>rities having no unity of policy on any cpiestion. 
 
 lu making these comparisons between the very diverse sys- 
 tems of Canada and the United States 1 have atteuipted sim- 
 ply to give, as far as possible within the limits of a single paper, 
 some of the leading arguments that can be adduced in favor 
 of responsible government. 1 must not be understood to say 
 that its principles can be fully and easily applied to the fed- 
 eral government of the United States; on the contrary, I 
 agree with Dr. Snow that it would rcinure a radical change in 
 the written constitution, and in the whole machinery of gov- 
 ernment, were the responsible government of Canada and 
 England applied in its entirety to the administration of the 
 affairs of the union of the states. In preference to such a 
 radical amendment of the whole constitutional system, various 
 methods are i)r«>posed from time to time to bring the executive 
 and legislative authorities into closer relation ;i, with the view 
 of insuring some unity of policy in administration and legis- 
 lation. The Swiss system, it is pointed out, would enable the 
 members of the cabinet to assist in the work of legislation, 
 and, no doubt, would have its advantages over the present 
 defective system, which leaves the administration practically 
 powerless in legish.tion. 
 
 The Swiss cabinet is not chosen on a party basis. Its mem- 
 bers are elected for a lixed term of three years by the federal 
 assembly; they can not vote, and do not go out of ofBce if the 
 legislation they support is rejected by the majority of the 
 house. The system works well in the Swiss Republic,* and 
 could be easily introduced into the United States. A thought- 
 ful writer, however,+ believes that "to vest in the cabinet the 
 right to appear in both houses, initiate legislation and then 
 
 *See Bourinot, " Canadian Studies in Comparative Politics." 
 tHaunJj Taylor, author of ''The Origin and Growth of the English 
 •Constitution," in the Atlantic Monthly for June, 1890. - , ^ ^ _ ^ -^ 
 
384 A3IERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 <lebate it, ttouIcI be simply to make of them a dumb show,'* 
 aud it is ueeessaiy '' the cabinet should represent, in its cor- 
 porate person, the political force which alone can make its 
 presence effective." He suggests that each of the great i j 
 litical parties by a resolution of its national convention should 
 "vest in its presidential candidate and his cabinet, in the 
 event of success, the official i)arty leadership, according to the 
 English practice." But this (cabinet would be in no sense an 
 English or Canadian ministry, for it would not be chosen from 
 a committee of the governing body, the essential feature of 
 responsible government. Such a body of men would have no 
 direct influence on congress, not as much as the Swiss offi 
 cials, who are at all events the nominees of the legislature. 
 Difficulties would constantly arise from the fluctuating char- 
 acter of ma-jorities in congress. During the presidential term 
 the complexion of congress might change, aud this cabinet 
 would find its useriilness practically gone. The fact is, the 
 whole constitutional system of the United States is, one of 
 checks and balances, so arranged as to prevent unity and har- 
 mony at some time or oiher in the various branches of govern- 
 ment, and the only practicable improvement that can be 
 adopted Avithout a revolution in the whole machinery of the 
 federal fabric seems to be the adoption of the Swiss system in 
 some form or other. It w^ould not by any means remove all 
 the dangers and difficulties inherent in the present system, 
 but it would probably aid congress, the real governing body 
 of the country, in legislation, and throw greater light upon 
 the administration of public aflairs. In the meantime, while 
 the United States are working out this difficult problem for 
 themselves, Canadians find satisfaction in knowing that re- 
 sponsible government provides all the machinery necessary to 
 give expansion to their national energies, mature efficient leg- 
 islation, and keep the administration of i)ublic aflairs in uni- 
 son with public opinion. 
 
 Party government undoubtedly has its dangers arising from 
 persona] ambition and unscrui)ulous i)artisanship, but as long 
 as men must range themselves in o])posing camps on every 
 subject there is no other system practicable by which great 
 questions can be carried and the working of representative 
 government efliciently conducted. The framers of the con- 
 stitution of the United States no doubt thought they had 
 succeeded in placing the president and his dejiartmental offi- 
 
PAKLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA — BOUKINOT. 385 
 
 cers above party vrheu they instituted the metliod of electing 
 tlie former by a body of select electors cli0>»en for that j)iir])ose 
 in each state, who were expected to act irrespective of all 
 pohtical considerations. A president so selected wouk! 
 probably choose his oificers also on the same basis. The practi- 
 cal results, however, have been to prove that in every country of 
 popular and rei)resentative institutions party government 
 must prevail. Party elects nun to the i)residency and to the 
 floor of the senate and houst^ of rei)resentatives, and the 
 election to those important positions is directed and controlled 
 by a political laachinery far exceeding' in its completeness any 
 party o'^ganization in England or in Canada. The party c-on 
 ventiou is now the all-imi)ortaut portion of the machinery for 
 the election of the president, and the safeguard jMovided by 
 the constitution for the choice of the best man is a mere nul- 
 lity. One thing is quite certain, that party government under 
 the direction of a responsible ministry, responsible to parlia- 
 ment aiul the people for every act of administration and h'gis- 
 lation, can have far less dangerous tendencies tiian a party 
 system which elects an executive not amenable to public 
 opinio' for four years, divides the responsibilities of govern- 
 ment among several authorities, prevents harmony among 
 party leaders, does not give the executive that contr<d over 
 legislation necessary to the eltlcient administration of j)ublic 
 affairs, and in short offers a direct piemium to conflict among 
 all the authorities of the state — a conflict, not so much avoided 
 by the checks and balances of the constitution as by the 
 patience, common sense, prudence, and res])ect for law which 
 presidents and their cabinets have as a rule shown at national 
 crises. But we can clearly see that, while the executive has 
 lost in influence, congress has gained steadily to an extent 
 never contemplated by the founders of the constitution, and 
 there are thoughtful men who say that the true interests of the 
 country have not always been ju'omoiedby the change. Party 
 government, in Canada, insures unity of policy, since the 
 premier of the cabinet becomes the controlling part of the 
 political machinery of the state; no such thing as unity of 
 policy is possible under a system which gives the president 
 neither the dignity of a governor-general, nor the strength of 
 a premier, and sjdits up political power among any number oi 
 would-be party leaders, who adopt or defeat measures by 
 S. Mis. 173 25 
 
386 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 private intrigues, make irresponsible recommendations, and 
 form political combinations for purely seltisli ends.* 
 
 It seems (piite clear then tliat the system of responsible 
 ministers makes the jieople more imn^ ^diately resx)onsible for 
 the efficient administration <»f luiblic affairs than is possible in 
 tlie United States. The tact of having the president and the 
 members of congress elected for different terms, and of divid 
 ing the responsibilities of government among these authori- 
 ties, does not allow the people to exercise that direct intiuence 
 which is insured, as the exi)erien e of Canada and of England 
 proves, by making one body of men immediately responsible 
 to the electors for the conduct of public affairs at frequently 
 recurring periods, arranged by well-understood rules, so as to 
 insure a correct expression of public ojunion on all important 
 issues. The conuuittees which govern this country are the 
 choice of the people's representatives assembled iu parlia- 
 ment, and every four or five years and sometimes even sooner 
 iii case of a ])olitical crisis, the people have to decide on the 
 wisdom of the choice. The system has assuredly its draw 
 backs like all systems of government that have been devised 
 and worked out by the brain of man. t In all frankness, I con- 
 fess that this review would be incomplete were I not to refer to 
 certain features of the Canadian system of government which 
 seem to me on the surface fraught with inherent danger at 
 some time or other to independent legislative jud^-'nient. Any 
 one who has closely watched the evolution of t' system for 
 years past must admit that there is a dangerous tendency in 
 the Dominion to give the executive — I mean the ministry as a 
 body — too superior a control over the legislative authority. 
 VVHicn a ministry has in its gift the appointment not onl> of 
 the heads of the executive government in the provinces, that is 
 to say, of the lieutenant-gov ernors, who can be dismissed bj' the 
 sanu^ power at any moment, but also of the members of the 
 upper house oi the i>arliament itself, besides the judiciary and 
 numerous collectorships and other valuable offices, it is quite 
 
 * See Story, " Commentaries " (Cooley's 3(1. ed. ), sei.-. 869. 
 
 t For a clear and practical exposition of the superiority of the Cana- 
 dian over the United States system of government the reader is referred 
 to an address issued to the Liberal Party of Canada by the Hon. Oliver 
 Mowat, premier of (Ontario, who is specially cjualiJied by his jjreat cou- 
 stittitional knowledfje and his strtesmanliko qualities to speak authorita- 
 tively on such questions. (See Toronto Globe, December 14, 1891.) 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA BOURINOT. 387 
 
 obvious tliat the element of Lumaii ambition and selfishness 
 has abundant room for (»])eration on the floor of tlie ley;'ishi- 
 ture, and a bohl and skillful cabinet is able to ^vield a ma- 
 chinery very potent under a system of party government. In 
 this re8j)ect the house of representatives may be k'ss liable 
 to insidious influences than a house of commons at critical 
 junctures when individual conscience or independent Judgment 
 appears on the i)oint of asserting itself The house of com- 
 mons may be made by skillful i)arty management a mere 
 recording or registering body of an able and determined cabi- 
 net. I see less liability to such silent though potent influences 
 in a system which makes the president and a house of repre- 
 sentat.ves to a large degree inde])endent of each other, and 
 leaves his important m)minations to oliice under the control of 
 the senate, a body which has no analogy whatever with the 
 relatively weak branch of the Canadian i»arliameut, essentially 
 Aveak while its membership depends on the government itself 
 1 admit at once that in the financial dependence of the prov- 
 inces on the central federal authoritv, in the tenure of the 
 office of the chief magistiates of the i^rovinces, in the control 
 exercised by the nunistry over the highest legislative body of 
 Canada, that is, highest in point of dignity and lu'ccedence, 
 there are elements of weakness, but at the same time it must 
 be remembered that, while the influence and power of the 
 Canadian government nuiv be largely increased bv the exer- 
 cise of its great patronage in the hypothetical cases 1 have 
 suggested, its action is always open to the approval or disap- 
 proval of parliament and it has to meet an Opposition face to 
 face. Its acts are open to legislative criticism, and it may at 
 any moment be forced to retire by jtublic opinion operating 
 upon the house of commons. 
 
 On the other hand, the executive in the United States for 
 four years may be dominant over congress by skillful manage- 
 ment. A strong executive by means of party wields a power 
 w^hich may be used for pur}>oses of mere personal ambiti»jn, 
 and may by clever management of the party machine and 
 with the aid of an unscrupuh)us majevity retain power for a 
 time even when it is not in accoid with the true sentiment of 
 the country, but under a system like that of Canada, where 
 every defect in the body politic is probed to the bottom in the 
 debates of parliament, which are given with a fullness by the 
 
388 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 press* that is not the practice in the neighboring lepiiblic, the 
 peoph' have a better opportunity of forming a correct jndg 
 ment on every matter and giving an immediate \'erdict when 
 the proper time comes for an appeal to tliem, tlie sovereign 
 power. Sometimes this Judgment is too often influenced by 
 ]>arty prejudices and tlie real issue is too often obscured by 
 skillful ])arty management, but this is inevitable undei- every 
 system of popular government; and happily, sh<juld it come to 
 the worst, there is always in the country that saving remnant 
 of intelligent, independent men of whom JMatthew Arnokl has 
 written, who can come forward and by their fearless and bold 
 criticism help the j)eople in any crisis when truth, honor, and 
 justice are at stake and the great mass of electors fail to appre- 
 ciate the true situation of affairs. But I have learned to have 
 confidence in the good sense and judgment of the people as a 
 whole ^>hen time is given them to consider the situation of 
 affairs. Should nuMi in i»ower be unfaithful to their public obli- 
 gations they will eventually be forced by the conditions of public 
 life to yield their positions to those who merit public conti 
 dence. If it should ever happen in Canada that public opinion 
 has become so low that public men feel that they can, when 
 ever thej^ choose, divert it to their own seliish ends l)y the un 
 scrupulous use of partisan agencies and corrupt methods, and 
 that the highest motives of jmblic life are forgotten in a mere 
 scramble for ofllce and power, then thoughtful Canadians 
 might well despair of the future of their country; Imt. what- 
 ever may be the blots at times on the surface of the body poli- 
 tic, there is yet no reason to believe that the public conscience 
 of Canada is weak or indifferent to character and integritv in 
 active politics. The instincts of an English i^eople are always 
 in the direction of the pure administration of justice and the 
 eflBcient and honest government of the country, and though it 
 may sometimes hap])en that unscrupulous politicians and dema- 
 gogues will for a while dominate in the party arena, the time 
 of ro^^ribution and purilicution nnist come sooner or later. Eng- 
 lish methods must prevail in countries governed l)y an English 
 people and English institutions. 
 
 *Tbe debates of the senate and house of commons are very fully reported 
 by an official staif ; but tlie newspapers in Toronto and Montreal give re- 
 markably long reports of all im])(»rtant discussions. The oiiieial debates 
 of the commons are given in French and English. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA BOURINOT. 389 
 
 It is sometiuies said that it is vain to expect a bigli ideal ii>. 
 juiblic lite, tliat the same principles that apply to social and 
 private life can not always be applied to the political arena if 
 party government is to succeed 5 but this is the doctrine of the 
 mere party manager, who is already too influential in ('anada 
 as in the Ignited States, and not of the true patriotic states- 
 man. For one 1 still believe that tlie nobU'r the object tlie 
 greater the inspiration, and, at all events, it is better to aim 
 high than to sink low. It is all iinpojtant, then, that the body 
 politic should be kept pure and that public life should be con 
 sidered a public trust. Canada is still young in its political de- 
 velopment, and the fact that her i>opulation has been as a rule 
 a steady, tixed population, free from those dangerous elements 
 which have come into the Iniited States with such ra])idity 
 of late years, has kei)t her relatively free from many serious 
 social and politii-al dangers which have afilicted her neigh- 
 bors, and to which I believe they themselves, having inherited 
 English institutions, and imliued witii 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 [)urest aiinmg them to serve the 
 country, and, sec<^'idly, ujxtn the men Arhom the legislature 
 chooses to discharge the trust of carrying on the goveniment. 
 ^o system of government or of laws can of itself make a people 
 virtuous and happy unless their rulers I'ecognize in the fullest 
 sense their obhgations to the state and exercise their powers 
 Avith prudence and unselfishness, and endeavor to elevate and 
 not degrade publi<* opinion by the insidicms acts and methods of 
 the lowest i)olitical ethics. A C(mstitution may be as perfect 
 as human agencies can make it, and yet be relatively worthless 
 Avhile the large responsibilities and jjowers intrusted to the 
 governing body — responsibilities and powers not embodied in 
 acts of parliament — are forgotten in view of ])arty triumph, per 
 sonal ambition, or pecuniary gain. '■• The laws,'" says Burke, 
 '■' reach but a very litth^ way. Constitute government how you 
 please, infinitely the greater part of it nmst depend up<m the 
 exercise of po rers 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 conimou- 
 v>'ealth is no better than a scheme upon paper, and not a living, 
 iicti^e, eftective organization." 
 
390 
 
 AMCKICAX HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 In Canada, to quote the words of a Canadian poet — 
 
 " As yet the waxen mould is soft, tin- u|itiiiii<x i'iigc is lair; 
 It's left for those who rule us now to have their impress there — 
 The stamp of true nohility, liigh houor. stainless truth; 
 The earnest quest of noble ends; the <j(>nenms heart of youth ; 
 The love of country, soarinj^ far ahove dull i»arty 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 («od — a nation's highest i)raise. 
 So in tlie long hereafter this Canada shall be — 
 The worthy heir of British power and British liberty." 
 
 APPENDIX.— BIBLTOGR J PHICJL AXD CRITICAL NOTES. 
 
 In the following bibliography the writer has attempted only 
 to note those special works and essays which relate to the evo- 
 lution of i^arlianieiitary government in the provinces of the 
 Dominion of Canada, explain the nature and operation of its 
 conventions, understandings, and rules, and enable the student 
 of political institutions tv. make comparisons between the 
 Canadian system of responsible government, as briefly set 
 forth in the foregoing pages, and the very divergent system 
 of congressional government that prevails in the United States. 
 With the view of making this review as complete as possible, 
 it has also been thought useful to give sii<;h references to lead- 
 ing Canadian authorities on the French regime as will enable 
 the reader to trai^e more clearly the evolution in the political 
 development of the Dominion from the beginning of the sev- 
 enteenth to the closing years of the nineteenth century. 
 
 I. — THK FUr.Ni H lU'LE. 
 
 Edits, Ordonnances Royaux, Declarations et Arrets du Conseil d'Etat du 
 Roi, Concernant le Canada. Im])rimcs sur une adresse de I'Assemblee 
 legislative du Canada. Revus et Corriges d'apres les Pieces originales 
 d^posees aux archives provinciales. Quebec: E. R. Frechette, 1854. 
 pp. 648. 
 
 In the foregoing and following collectioua of documents we .see clearly the na- 
 ture of the alisolute governiiifut j'stMblishcd in ( 'anaila during the days of French 
 rule, when tlio king and his .'JUim'nio or superior coimcil regulated all the affairsi 
 of the council, even the .siile and price of l)read. It wa.s a parental control, which 
 kept the people in the condition of cliildren. 
 
 Arrfits et R6glements du Conseil Sup^rieur de (Ju<'bec, et Ordonnances "t 
 Jugemeuts des Intendants du Canada. Quebec: E. R. Frechette,. 
 1855. 
 
PARLIAMf:XTAi;V GOVERNMENT IN CANADA IJOrRINOT. 301 
 
 Coiiipl(^nieut <l«'s Onloiiiiiinces et .Jiigements des Gonvemenrset Intemlante 
 (In CuiKHlii, pro(e(l<5 dcs CoinuiissioiiH iles dits Gonvenienrs et InteTi- 
 «laiits et «li's (litl['oi«'iitsi»tti('i<'rscivils ct dcjiistiro, avec une tiil)l«' ii1]i]ia- 
 bdtifjno de toiitcs Ics iiiatit'ies toTitciiuos taut dans <•♦» vdluiiie <[n<» dans 
 les deux voluiiieH proc^dents. Quebec: E. R. Frechette, 1856. 8vo, 
 pp. 77(5. 
 
 Jugements et Delibi'ratious du C'ouseil Souverain [Supoiieur] de la Nou- 
 velle France; l'ubli(^s sous les auspices de la legislature de Quebec, 
 Quebec: A. Cotd et Cie., 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888; Joseph Dussault, 1889, 
 1891. 6 vols, in Ito, pp. Ixi, 1084, 1U2, 1163, 1194, 1110, 1276. 
 
 Tlie iiitrnductioii (i-lxi) on the constitution of tlie suprfnie or-siipt'iior connril of 
 Quebec was written by one ot tlie iibh'st Freneh (Jauadiiui i>iiblicists and .scholarx, 
 thelate Uon. P. J. O. Chavean, F.K.S., Can. 
 
 Conra d'Histoire du Canada, j»;ir .J. B. A. Forland, Pretre, profess<3ur 
 d'histoire a ITuiversite Laval, 1534-1759. Quebec: Augnstin Cote, 
 1861, 1865. 2 vols., 8vo, pp. xi+.522; vi+6l8. 
 
 A scholarly work, in which an impartial iiaTrative of the French regime is pre- 
 sented; but its account of the system of a<lministration is not as full as that of 
 Garneaii. The Abbe Laverdiere revised the proofs of tlitjfrreatev part of the second 
 volume, as the author died before his manuscript was all in print. 
 
 Histoire du Canada, depuis sa dcScouvorte jnsfiu'a nos jonrs. Par F.-X. 
 Garueau. Quatricuie edition. 4 vols. Montreal: Beaiichemin et 
 Valois, 1882. 8vo, pi>. xxii+396, 467, 407, cccxcviii ; the fourth volume 
 containing a biographical notice by M. Chaveau, an analytical table ]>y 
 M. B. Suite, and a poem on French Canadian history by M. Louis 
 Frechette. 
 
 Th's is, in some respects, the ablest Canadian history of the French regime and 
 of the French province of Quebec from the discovery of Cansula until the union of 
 the provinces of Ui)per and Lower Canada in 1841. It is. however, largely influ- 
 enced by Fii'iich (^anadian ideas and is in no sense Canadian in the large sense of 
 the word, which should include all nationalities and interests. It gives a clear 
 account of the govarnment under the French regime and a very favorable review 
 of the eflbrt of Papineau and his friends to obtain a more popular system of gov- 
 ernment. Papineau is the hero of the book. 
 
 The Old Regime in Canada. By Francis Parknian. Boston ; Little, Brown 
 & Co., 1874. 8vo, pp. xvi+44«. 
 
 No work that luw yet been publislied gives a more accurate or interesting view 
 of the actual condition of atf'airs in Canada under the system of feudalism and 
 absolutism that governed the province during the days of French rule. Chapter 
 XVI describes the nature of the government and its defects and abuses. The con- 
 cluding chapter is a powerful summing up of the etfects of Canadian absolu- 
 tism on the formation of Canadian cliaracter and of the radical dill'erences between 
 the New England and the French colonists. 
 
 The History of Canada. By W. Kingsford, i.l.d., K.R.S.. Can. Toronto: 
 Roswell &, Hutchison, 1887-1890. 4 vols., 8vo, pp., xi4-488, xi+564, 
 xviii+580, xix-|-.584. 
 
 This latest contribution to the history of Canada — completed, so far, to 1763 — is 
 written from an English-Canadian point of view and is on the whole a dispassionate 
 narrative of the French regime; but the author does not artem])t like Garneau togive 
 an extended account of the fabric of government as it existed from the conquest. 
 
 The History of Canada tuxler French Regime, 1535-1763. By H. H. Miles, 
 LL.D., D.CL., Secretary of the Quebec Council of Public Instruction. 
 
392 AMKIilCAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Montrt-al : Dinvsoii r.roH.. 1881. 12iiu», pp. xvi+.521, witli maps, plans, 
 and illiistriitions. 
 
 Written from iui iiiip.irtial standpoint and jjiving an anthentic review of the kov- 
 eniKUtal institutions of rnncli Canada in the course of the narrative. 
 
 Xe Droit Civil Cauadion snivant ronlrc <^tal»li par Ics ((kU'S. I*r»'C('(16 iVune 
 liistoire grucrale du droit Canadien par Gonzalve Doutiv, h.c.l. : et 
 Edmond Lareau, LL.B. Montreal: Doiitre «&Cie.,1872. Large 8vo,i)p. 
 xvii-f-784. ,. 
 
 This work jrives a r'arefnlly prepared r^'^iunie of the political and Icjral institu- 
 tions of Canada fiom 1608-17',M. Tlie second vohinie, on tliei)eriod frfini 1791 to 
 18G7, nev^r appeared, as the iirincijial author. M. Doiitn-. died without complet- 
 ing it. 
 
 Histoire dn Droit Canadien depnis les Orifjjiiies <le la Colonie jusrju'.ano.s 
 jonrs. Par Kdmond Lareau, avocat. doot«^nr on droit, i>rofcss«Mir h la 
 facultd dc droit dc- runivcrsitc MrGill. Montreal: A. Periaril, 1888. 
 2 vols., 8vo, i»i). x-f-518. 511. 
 
 Tliis treatise gives an excellent exposition ol' the civil, legal, and political insti- 
 tution.s of Frencli Canada from its settlement until the i)re.sent time. The 
 .author was encaged with M. l>ontre in the preparation of the work just men- 
 tioned, whicli was never complered in aci-ordanee with its original design on ac- 
 count of the death of tlie latter. This l)Ook practically meets the w.ant which 
 Messrs. Lareau and Doutre intended to supply when they brought out the former 
 book conjointly. 
 
 II. ESTABLISHMENT OF RKPRESEXT.VTIVR IN.STITU TIOX.S — EVOLUTION OF 
 
 RKSPOXSIBLK GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Debates of the House of Commons in the year 1774 on the bill for mak- 
 ing more effectual provisioji for the g<jverninent of the province of 
 Quebec. Drawn up from the notes of the Rt. Hon. Sir H. Cavendish. 
 Bart. London: Ridgway, 1839. 8vo, pp. vii-f-303, with a copy of 
 Mitchell's map of Canada. 
 
 Invaluable to students of the d.awn of the legislative history of Canada. 
 
 The Quebec act, 1774. l>y (ierald E. Hart. Limited edition. Montreal: 
 1891. 8vo, pp. 44. Reprinted from Canailiana, Vol. ii. No. 10. 
 
 This is a paper read l.iefore the Society for Historical Tadies, Montreal, 1890, 
 and attempts to show that the Qttebec act was unpojjular among some French Can- 
 adians, for whose benefit it was specially framed. The api>endix contains extracts 
 from Cavendish's Debates. It has an illustration of the liust of tleorge ITT, which 
 was defaced in Montreal by some enemies of the Quebec act. 
 
 Nine Lectures on the Earlier Constitutional History of Canada, delivered 
 before the I'niversity of Toronto, in Easter term, 1889. By W. .}. Ash- 
 ley, M. A., professor of political economy and constitutional history. 
 Toronto: Rowsell & Hutchinson, 1889. 8vo, pp. 100. 
 
 Tliis series of lectures, whicli do not prolVss to throw any additional light on thf> 
 period of wliicli they treat, has an interesting sketch "of the beginnings of repre- 
 sentativ-e government in Nova Scotia." The author also dwells on the system of 
 goveriunent introduced in 1CG:{ in Canada, and concludes with a review of the 
 Quebec a<'t and its etl'ects. 
 
 Selections from the I'nblic Documents of the Province of Nova Scotia. 
 PMitedbyT. H. Akins, d.c.l., commissioner of ])ubi.j records. Hali- 
 fax, Nova Scotia: C. Aunatnl, 1869. 8vo, pp. 755. 
 
 This useful compilation contains a iminbei' of original doctiments relating to the 
 establishment of representative government in Nova Scotia. 
 
PARMAMKXTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA BOURIXOT, 3')3 
 
 Reports on Ciinadian Archives, 1X83-1891. By Douglas Brymurr, arcLivist, 
 
 Ottawa: Government printer. 
 
 Tlinm^liout tlifSi- iiHcfiil volumes rrfcronces aro given to valiiahlt^ state papp'-s 
 beaiiuji ou tin- civil govcnimt'ut ot' Canada. The volume lor 1890 has citations 
 from documents relatinjj to the eonstitutional act of 1791 and the establi:ihmuQt of 
 reiireseiitative institutions in Uiiper and Lower (^niada. 
 
 Tlie Life and Times of(i«nt'ral John Graves Siiucoe. By D. B. Read, Q. c. 
 Toronto: George Virtue. 18fH). 8vo, pp. xv-f-305, with a portrait of 
 of Simcoo, and other illustrations. 
 
 Tlii.s is a well-written life of the lirst governor of the province of Upper Canada 
 (Ontario), when it was established in 17'J2. It gives a brief narrative of the in 
 auffuration of rejtresentative government in that section. 
 
 A history of the latt^ province of Lower Canada, i)arliamentary and po- 
 litical, from the coisimencemeiit to the close of its existence as a 
 separate province, eiahraciiig a pt^riod of tifty years; that is to say, 
 from the erection of the province in 1791 to the extinguishment thereof 
 in 1841 and its reunion with I7ppcr Canada by act of the Iiiiperial 
 Parliiuiient, in conse([uence of the pretensions of the representativo 
 asst'inlily (if the proviucti, audits rei)udiation iti 1837 of the constitu- 
 tion as )»y law estalilished, an<l of the rebellions to which these gave 
 rise in that and the following year, with a variety of interesting no- 
 tices, tinancial, statistical, historical, et<'., availalde to the future his- 
 torian of Xcrth Anierira, including a prefatory sketch of the province 
 of Quebec, from the conquest to the passing of the Quebec act in 1771 
 and tlience to its division in 1791 int(» the provinces of Upper am! 
 Lower Canada; with details of the military and naval operatiotrs 
 therein during the late war wilh the United .States, fully exjilainiug 
 also the difticulties with respect to the civil list and other matters; 
 tracing from origin to outl»reak the disturbances which led to the re- 
 union of tlie two ]>rf>vinces. By Robert Christie. Quel>ec: T. Cary 
 & Co., 1848-1850; .John Lovell, 1853-1854. 5 vols., 12mo, pp. xiv 
 4-360; i-l-396; xi-f-564; iv-|-540; vi+424. 
 
 Interesting Public Documents and (^)tficial Correspondence, Illustra- 
 tive of and Su])plemcntary to the History of Lower Caiuida. Pub- 
 lished by Robert Christie. Montreal: John Lovell, 1855. 12mo, pp. 
 xii-f468. 
 
 The title pages of these six volumes sutliciently indicate the scope of a work 
 which is inval-uabU'to the student of representative and parliamentary government 
 in Canada. The author was for years a member of tlie Lower Canada legislature, 
 and has given us a review of public e\cnts reiuarkable for its fairness and ac- 
 curacy, and doubly valuable from the fact that he quotes very many official docti 
 meuts in whole or in part. Garneau's Historj-, mentioned above, must be read in 
 cornectioD with this work. 
 
 Histoire du Canada sous la Dominaiion Frau(;aise, Montreal (1837 et 1843). 
 Histoire du Canada et dos Canadiens sous la Domination Anglaise 
 (/&ir?., 1844 et 1878.) Par Michael Bibaiul. 12mo. 
 
 The.se works show industry, and are distinguished for impartiality on the whole 
 in the review of thejieriod from ITCIJ tc 18:i7, when the work closes. Its literary 
 merit, however, is inferior to that of Ferland or of Garneau. It is now practically 
 iorgotten. 
 
 The Life and Tinses of W. Lyon Mackcn/ie. with an account of the Cana- 
 dian Rebellion of 1837, and the subsequent frontier disturbances, chiefly 
 
304 AMEKICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 from mipnblished <locnment8. H.v Charles I.iiidsey. Tormito: Saiinu-? 
 _ Pike, IWJ. 2 voI^.., Svo., pp. Wl, 40U, witli portraits of W. L. MacKen- 
 zic and Sir Francis Head. 
 
 Tlu- antlK.r was a son-in-law of the eld Canadian 'patriot,- and has not Wen 
 .iblealwajHto j-ivea perfectly impartial ojdnion on the .■vtntsof tlit-txcitin" period 
 ..f whi.h he write... On the whole. h,.w.v. r. it is a valualde eoutribution to the 
 history of the momentous strugjilt' iw free government. 
 The story of the Cpjnr Canadian Kel.ellion. largely derived from original 
 HOiireeH and doiiiinent.s. By .)nhn Cliarh-s Dent, author of "The "bast 
 Forty Years." Toronto: C. Hlackett Koliinson, lh85. 2 vols., 4to, ]>,.. 
 viii-f:iS4; vii+382, with exeellent portraits of Dr.Koli)h and W. Lyon 
 MacKeu/.ie. 
 
 This work is written from a point of view very different from that of the 
 work.jnsteited. It is characterized by Mr. Denfs hieiditv of .style, and is in 
 many respects a severe arrain^ment of MacKenzie's re.klessne.ss a.s a public man, 
 while nu.kin-fnll allowance for the p.il)lie grievances under which the i)rovince 
 labored before ]8;J9. 
 
 A Narrative. Hy Sir Francis i;«».id Head, Bart. London: John Murray, 
 1889. 8vo., pp. viii4-.148, witli an ajtpendix. pp.38. 
 
 This ia a defense <if the injudicious a.lministratiou of Lieutenant-Governor Sir 
 B'lancis Head, duriu': the trying times in Upper Canada which culminated in the 
 futile etlorts of AF. Lyon Mackenzie and a few others to raise a rebellion in that 
 province. It contains the most important of his dispatches to the imperial gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 Report on the Affairs of British North America, from the Earl of Durham, 
 Her Majesty's high conmiissioncr for the adjustment of certain im- 
 portant «inesti(ms «h-pending in the provinces of rjtper and Lower 
 Canada, respecting the i'orm and future government of the said prov- 
 inces. Submitted to I'ariiament, 1839. 
 
 A remarkable exj.osition of the defects that until 1840 prevented the eflfective 
 operation of representative institutions in British North America. It laid the 
 foundation of respon.sible sovernment in Canada, and on that account must always 
 be cited as among the great state papers of the world influencing the destinies of 
 peoples. 
 
 The Last Forty Years: Canada since the Union of 1841. By John Charles 
 Dent. Toronto: George Virtue, virca 1880-1881. 2 vcds., 4to, pp. .S92 
 648. 
 
 This is the best history of the period when responsible government was being 
 finnly est.ablished in the two Canadas. It has iwrtiaits of Lord Durham, Lord 
 Sydenham, Louis Jo.seph Papineau, "\V Lyon Mackenzie, Kol)ert Baldwin, Sir H. 
 L. Laiontaiue. Sir Charles Bagot, Sir Francis llincks. Lord Metcalfe, and Lord 
 Elgin, whose names are indissolubly connected with the political history of Canada. 
 Strange to say, Mr. Howe's portrait is omitted, though we see the faces of other 
 ])ublic men nuich inferior to him in ability, reputation, and influence. 
 •'Les Quarante deruieres Annde.s, Le Canada depuis I'Union. Par J. C. 
 
 Dent." Etude critique, par PAbbe Casgrain. Trans, of Roy. Soc. of 
 
 Can., Sec. I, 1884. 
 
 The Abbe Casgrain, a well known French Canadian litterateur, here takes ex- 
 ception to some of Mr. Dent's comments on the history of the times of which he 
 treats. The Abbe is always ultra French Canadian. 
 
 LeCanadr sous PT'nion. 1841-1867. Par Louis Turcotte. Quebee: Des 
 Presses du Cana<lieu, 1871. 2 vols., 12mo, pp. 225, 613. 
 
 The author was, until his death, on(> of the officers of the legislative library of 
 
PARLLUIE-NTARY (JUVEKNMENT LNMJANADA I50URIN0T. 3'J5 
 
 (^iiebei", iUi<lciiii>ii)yf<l hislt'iaiiro in writing i\ nnrrativ*' of tliat iniiiorant inrioilor 
 tlio liistury <if Cjinuda wlii'ii rosiMinsililc fiovcriinKiit wa.-t flriiily cstaMislioil in ftiat 
 ju'dvinrt'. It is rcadiilile and at'curatf. 
 
 Dix Ans ail CuiiiKlii. do 1840 to 1S5(). Histoire de rotal»li8»fineut dii j^ou- 
 vernemeut respoiisalde. I'ar A. Gerin-Lajoie. Qiitibec: DeiniTs et 
 Frcre, 1888. Larg.' Svo, pj.. 618. 
 
 Tlii« vork w:!s left in nrinnsi ript 1)ya fomicr assistant liitrarian oftli<> jiarlia- 
 ment of Canada, a well-known Frcnch-t'anartian Utto.rateur, and was only 
 printt'd some years alter liis death, mainly owiiij; to the elForts of the Abbe Cas- 
 grain. It ;;ives a narn;tiv(> of t!n^ most iinjiorlant period in llie history of respon- 
 sible government in Caniida, from IStd to ]8,")0, froin Lord Sydenham to T.ord 
 Elgin. It i.s written from a strongly I''reneh-Canadi.in jtoint of view, and may bo 
 read in «'onMertion with Dent's valuable history, which is more Kngli.sh in spirit ; 
 in fact, more ra!i;Mlian in thelarire sense. This worl; tirst appeari'd in I^e Can.'ida 
 Fran9ais (18H8), a litiTury jierioilieal ]iul)lished at l^iiebec under the aiispi<'«>s of 
 Laval University. 
 
 Memoir of the life of tlie Rt. Hon. Cbarlcs I.,or(l Syilciiliam, c. c. b., witli a 
 iiarialivc of his ,i«lministiiitiou in Canada. Edited by his hroth^r. (J. 
 Ponlett 8fro]).'. M. V. London : John Murray. 1813. 8vo, xii+498, with 
 a portrait of Eord Sydonhana. 
 
 An impartial riccoiint of tlie life of an Engli.sh statesman who, during his short 
 administration in Canada, assisted in laying the foundation of the liberal system 
 of government the eonntry now enjoys. Tt contains all his speef'hes and letters 
 bearing on this interesting and imptirtiint epoch of Canadian political history. 
 
 The lifts and eorrcspondt'iu-tMif Charles Lord Metcalfe. Hy John W. Kayo. 
 A new and revised edition. London: Smith, Ehler «fc Co., 18.58. 2 
 vols., 12mo, pp. xxiv-|-453, viii+480. 
 
 Lord Met^^alfe's career in Canada w.is vcmarkable for its tenderu'v to impede the 
 progress of responsible gtivetnment, and this work, which is strongly jiartisan. en- 
 deavors to place the most favorable construction on his political action in this 
 trying period of Canada's political development. 
 
 Letters and Journals of James, eighth Earl of Elgiu, (iovt^riior of Jamaica, 
 Governor-C4eueral of Canada, etc. Edited hy T. Walrond. c. B., witli a 
 preface by Arthur Penryhn Stanley, i>. d., Dean of Westminster. Lon- 
 don : John Murray, 1872. 8vo, pp. xii-|-467. 
 
 Chapters III-\^, inclusive, are devoted to a review of Lord Elgin's remarkably 
 able administration oi public affairs in Canada, where with consummate tact he 
 established responsilile government on stable foundations. 
 
 The Colonial Policy of Lord .Tohn liusseH's Administration. IJy Earl f ircy. 
 2d ed.. with additions. London: Richard Bently, 1853. 2 vols., 8vo, 
 xxviii-f446. xii+.')08. 
 
 Lord Orey was co.onial secretary when responsible government was tin.'dly estab- 
 lished under the administration of Lord Elgin in Canada. In tliis work ho informs 
 US of the general tenor ot the instructions given to that able governor-general, and 
 of the successful result of his policy and conduct. 
 
 Review of the Colonial Policy of Lord J. Russell's Adniinistratiou. by F'.arl 
 Grey, 18r)3, and of subse(iuent colonial history, by Rt. lion. Sir C. B. 
 Adderley, k.o.m.g., m.p. Loudon: Edward Stanford, 1869. 8voviii 
 +423. 
 
 The author entertains a view of the theory of colonial government different from 
 that put forth in Lord Grey's work. The latti^r was an advocate of large; parental 
 control over depcndencieij by the sovereign, "as theconstitiUional head of t lie execu- 
 tive and final constituent of legislature;" but in the opinion of the former " such 
 control distance must. make more galling and of which the more benevolent and 
 
396 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 conscientious its exercise the more fatal must Ix' the effects npon the vi<;or and 
 prosperity of its sulyects, whicli not only <leprives them of the exercise of self- 
 administration, but exposes them to havin;;; their atl'airs treated as the materials of 
 party strujtyles iu Enjjland, with which they have no concfm.'' As in the case of 
 Canada, (ventually " a minister iiuist yield the freedotu wiiich will not wait to be 
 trained by him." The part of the work devoted to Canada is a judicious and cor- 
 rect r6aum6 of the political affairs of Canada and of the provinces of Nova Scotia, 
 New Brunswick, Prince Kdward Island, and British Columbia, until Confed 
 eration. ^Mr. Adderley, theti under-M-cietiiry for the colonics, had charge of the 
 union act in the commons, and was ouc of its most earnest and able advocates. 
 
 The Constitiitioual History of Eug]aii«l Since the Actfssion of George the 
 ThirJ, 17flO-lK>0. By Sir Thomjis Enskiiie May, K. <;. r.,, D. c. L., with a 
 new snpplenientary chapter, 1881-71. Sixth edition. 3 vols. London: 
 Longmans, Green & Co., 1878. 12nio, pp. xix+459, xi+420. xiv+499. 
 
 In the third volume of this well-known work by the late clerk of the English 
 Commons we h.ave a chapter (xvii) devoted to a historical review of colonial con- 
 stitutions !md the development of constitutional liberty iu Canada and other de- 
 pendencies of the empire. 
 
 How liritish Colonies got Responsible Government. By Sir Gavan Dnffy, 
 K.c.M.G. Contemjiorary Review for May and Jnne, 1890. 
 
 An important contribution to the history of responsible government by an able 
 ])ublic stiitcsman. who was a member of the first adniinistnition formed under that 
 system in the colony of Victoria. Australia. He does not exaggerate the abuses of 
 the old system in Canada or the value or Lord Durham's report. He is also cor- 
 rect when he says that "the birth and parentage of colonial rights are traceable to 
 the soil of Canada," for her success in obtaining free gov(>rnment led to its estab- 
 lishment among all the important dependencies of the Crown. 
 
 The Speeches and Public Letters of the Hon. Jose])li Howe. Edited by W. 
 Annand, m.p. Boston: J. V. .Tewett & Co., 1858. 2 vols., 8vo, pp. 
 ix+642, iv+5o8. 
 
 In this collection of the best speeches and letters of the ablest exponent of respou- 
 silde government we see clearly laid down its j)rinciples and docrines, as urged on 
 the public platform, in the legislative halls, and in the press iu the times ■when 
 Canadian statesmen and people were earnestly contending for an extension of 
 their political liberties. 
 
 Rem. iscences of His Public Life. By Sir Francis Hincks, K.c.M. c, c.B. 
 Montreal: W. Drysdale & Co., 1884. 8vo, pp. 450. 
 
 The author of this work was one f>f the most prominent public men of the old 
 province of Canada, and took j)art in the exciting decisive struggle that preceded 
 and followed the introduction ot responsible government. In Chapter iv he gives 
 Ilia version of the action of Lord Sydenham (Poulett Thoms.in), who assisted in 
 the ostii'iiiishment of the imion of 1841 and in the laying of the foundation of a 
 responsiole system. It is valiujble as a ])cr.sonal contribution to tae literature of 
 tiiose times by an actor who <!id much to mold the political constitution of Can- 
 ada. He was no admirer of Lord Sydenham. 
 
 Canada During the Victorian Era; A. Sh- ;■ listorical Review. By J. (J. 
 Bourinot, i,i..i>. Magazine <»f Aiiierican iustory (New York), May and 
 June, 1887. 
 
 Intended mainly to show the political developm ii < Canada since the conces- 
 sion of resp(insible government, which was iuaugu^aied during the first years of 
 the reign of the Queen. 
 
 Canada: Its Political Development. By . I. G. Bourinot, ll. d. The Scot- 
 tish Review (Paisley & Londnn) for July, 1885. 
 
 A brief review of the leading features of the constitntionnl progress of Canitdft 
 for a century. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA BOURINOT. 307 
 
 A History of Our Own Tinier? from the Accession of Qut'eu Victoria to tho 
 Berlin (*onfjress. I5y Justin McCarthy, m.p. New York: TTarjit-r 
 Bros., 1880. 2 vols.. 8vo, pp. .")(). (582. 
 
 Contains two chapters which are reatlablo acconnts of the political develop- 
 meiit of tlio Cuuiula.s and of the birtli of Uw Dominion, viz, thaptcr :t, on Canada 
 and Lord Durham, and chapttT 5,'>, on " Tlie example of The Xuvv Dominion." This 
 work is now jnatly con.'iidered as an etfort of a skillful and aupertieial Journalist 
 rather than of a deep ))iditieal thinker. Be that as it may. the writer forms a fair 
 estimate of tlio service Lord Durham performed for Cauaila. 
 
 The History of Canada from its First Discovery to the Present Time. By 
 John MacMullen. Second edition, revi.sed and improved. Brockville, 
 McMulleu vt Co., 18t;8. 8vo, p]). xviii+613. 
 
 A readable historical narrative, imbued with strong English Canadian icieas, and 
 not always ac -urate, probably on a<'count of the author not having access to many 
 original sources of infonnation. Tt gives <»n the wliole, however, an impartial 
 account of the development and establishment of responsible government in the 
 old provinces of Upper antl Lower Canada. 
 
 History of the Dominicm of Canada. By Rev. W. P. Greswell, m.a. 
 {Oxo».). Under the auspices of the Royal Colonial Institute. Oxford: 
 At the Clareudon Press, 1890. 12mo, i»p. xxxii+8;W. 
 
 This little scIio(d Iiisfory has a generally accurate sketch of the evolotion of 
 responsible government from I'apineau's Rebellion until Confederation, aii.i gives 
 also in the Appemlix a summary of the Quebec act of 1774, of the constitutional 
 act of lS91,of L(u-d Dnrliam's Keport of the Union act of 1840, and of the British 
 North America act of 1867. 
 
 A popular history of the Dominion of Canada from the discovery of Amer- 
 ica to the present time. Including a history of the provinces oi 
 Ontario, Quehec, New Brunswick, Nova .Scotia, Princci Edward Island, 
 British Columbia, and Manitoba ; of the Northwest Territory and of tlit; 
 Island of Newfoundland. Revised and extended edition brought 
 down to 1888. By W. A. Withrow, i>.n., k.k.s., Can. Torcmto: W. 
 Briggs, 1888. Largo 8vo, pp. 680, with mai)s and p<n'traits of the 
 Queen. Lord Duii'erin, etc. 
 
 This is the only Canadian work that gives a readable and generally accurate 
 history of the several countries comprising the Dominion from their settlement to 
 the present time. The author gives an account of tlie gi-owth of the i)riu(ipl(ss of 
 civil lilterty in the jirovinces and of the development of tlie present Canadian con- 
 stitution, with judicial imiiartiality, though there is no evidence in tlie work of 
 original research or any attempt made to throw new light out'ontroveried point.nof 
 Canadian constitutional history. The author has written a successful popular 
 history and has not promised or attempted more. 
 
 History of Prince Edward Island. By Duncan Camid)ell. Charlr»tt«!- 
 lown: Brenner Bros., 1875. 12mo, pp. 224. 
 
 A short history, accurately narrating the struggles for resjionsible government 
 in the little island. 
 
 In addition to the works cited above the writer may also refer to a chapter 
 on responsible government, sketchy but readable, inthesecondvolunie 
 ^chap. xii, pp. 3(59-391) "Exodus of the Western Natijns," ])y Lord 
 Bury (2 vols., 8vo., Loudon, 186.5). 
 
 Numerous references are made to the events that preceded and followed the 
 Upper Canadian rebellion of 1837, and to the support given by Rev. Dr. 
 Ryeison to Lord Metcalfe iuoi»}tosing political appointments, in "The 
 
398 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOX. 
 
 Story of My Life/' l»y Rev. Dr. Ryerson (Toronto, 8vo, 1883). The bid- 
 tories of the maritime provinces of Canada are defective, in so far as 
 they do not contain iiny coherent and valnal)le narrative of the strng- 
 gU's for ics]>onsildt^ government. Murdoch's History of Nova Scotia 
 (3 vols., Svo, Halifax, N. S., 1865-18()7) is brought down only to 1827, 
 and whilt^ it marks the establishment of repieseutative institutions in 
 Nova Scotia in I7r)8, and fcdlows tlie political development of the pro- 
 vince for seventyyears later, we have at the best only a meager chron- 
 icle of facts, without a single <omment on their infltience on the condi- 
 tiou of the people. In the second voluniooi Judge Haliburton's readable 
 History of Nova Scotia (2 vols., 8vo, Halifax, N. S., 1829) there is a 
 chapter on colonial government, but it is only "a brief outline," a^^ 
 the author himself admits. The later history of responsible govern- 
 ment in the provinces by the sea lias yet to be written for the student 
 and ])«-ople. Campbell's History of Nova Scotia (8vo, Halifax, N. S., 
 ami Montreal, 1873) is not much more than a dull narrative of material 
 development. Some valuable observations on the political i)rogres8 of 
 Cana<la under responsible government are made throug}iout the first 
 volume — tlie second was never pub]isl;ed — of "C(mfederation, or tlie 
 Political and Parliamentary History of Canada, from the C(mference 
 at Quebec in October, 1864, to the admission of Britisii Columbia in 
 July, 1871,"' by Hon. J. H. Gray, m. r., who was himself a member of 
 the conference. 
 
 III. — COXSTITrXIOX OF CAXADA SINCE CONCESSIOX OF RESPONSIHLE GOV- 
 
 EUXMENT. 
 
 Parliamentary Debates on the subject of the Confederation of the British 
 North American Provinces, third session, eighth Provincial Parlia- 
 ment of Canada. Printed by order of the legislature. Quebec: Hun- 
 ter, Rose &, Co., Parliamentary Printers, 1865. Large 8vo, pj). ix -f 
 1031. 
 
 This volume contains the official report of the debates in the old legislature of 
 Canada that pret'odcd the final adoption of the federal resolutions of the Quehec 
 Couierenoe of 1864. We have here tlie speeches of the leading men of tliat prov- 
 ince in relation to the scheme of union, and are ahle to gather their opinions as to 
 the ])ractical oiieratiou of tliat system of responsible government of which eon- 
 federation was the capstone. 
 
 C«mstitution of Canada: the British North America Act, 1867; its inter- 
 pretation, gathered from the decisions of courts, the dicta of Judges 
 and the opinions of Statesmen and others; to wliiidi are added the 
 Quebec Resolutiims of 18t>4 and the Constitution t>f the United States. 
 By Joseph Doutre, Q. C, of the Montreal Bar. Montreal, John Lovell 
 & Sou, 1880. 8vo + pp.414. 
 
 This worV: is now of little value; at the best it was a hasty collection of legal 
 decisions bearing on certain sections of the British Nortli America xlet. The 
 appearance of later works on the same line has necessarily made it out of date. 
 
 The Powers of Canadian Parliaments. By S. J. Watson, Librarian of the 
 Parliament of Or^ario. Tonmto: Carswell & Co., 1880. 12mo, pp. 
 xii-l-160. 
 
 This treatise is intendetl to show that tlie present legislatures of Ontario and 
 Quebec "are the political heirsat-law of the old historical parliaments of Upper 
 and Lower (.'anada, and of the late province of United Canada." 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA — BOURINOT. 399 
 
 Are Legislatures I'arliimicnts? A Study and Review. By Feiininf^s Tay- 
 lor, Deputy Clerk oftheSenateofCanada. Montreal : John Lovell. 1879. 
 12mo, It]}. 208. 
 
 This volume is ■written from a point ot' view quite dift'erent from that of the 
 foregoing book. It ia intended to minimize llie ]i<>\vers and functions of the loeal 
 legislatures in the Canadian federation. It is largely based on fallacious or jturely 
 theoretical premises. 
 
 Parliamentary Government in Canada. A lecture read before the Law 
 School of Bishop'.s College, Sherl)rooke. By C. C. CoHiy, M. F. Mon- 
 treal: Dawson Bro.s., 1886. 12nio, pp. 57. 
 
 This lecture i.s a lucid exposition, in small compass, of the leading principles 
 that g\iido the ojH'nition of resjiDnsiblc govcninnnt. The author w,as, for many 
 years, in the Canadian parliament, and was exceptionally qualified to write intel- 
 ligently on the subject. 
 
 Parliamentary procedure and i)ractice, with areviewof the origin, growth, 
 an<l operation of parliamentary institutions in theDouiinion of Canada, 
 and an appendix containing the British North America act of 1867. 
 and amending acts, governor-general's commis.sion and in.structions, 
 forra.s of proceedings in the Senate and Hou.se of Commons, etc. By 
 John George Bourinot, c. >!.<;., LI..D., D.c.r.., Clerk of the House of 
 Connnons in Canada. Second edition, revised and enlarged Montreal; 
 Dawson Bros., 1892. 8vo, pp. xx+929. 
 
 The title of this work sufficiently show.s it.s scope. Besides giving a short his- 
 torical review of <'oiistitutional government in Britisli Xorth America, it doses 
 with a chapter on the practical operation of the Canadian system which has been 
 for the most part reprwluced in the .second part of thismonograpli. 
 
 A manual of the ccmstitntional history of Canada from the earliest period 
 to the year 1888, including the British North America act, 1867, and ;i 
 digest of judicial decisions <m <piestions of legislative jurisdiction. By 
 John George Bourinot, i,i..i>., F.R.S., Can., Clerk of the House of 
 Commons of Canada. Montreal: Dawson Bros., 1888. 12mo. ]>p. xii 
 +238. 
 
 This little volume is an abridgment of the historical j)arts of the foregoing 
 volume and is used by students in Canadian universities. 
 
 Federal Government in Canada. By .John George Bourinot. LL.n., clerk 
 of the House of Commons of Canada. Johns Hopkins University 
 Studies iu Historical and Political Science. Seventh Series. Nos. x, 
 XI, XII. Baltimore, Md., 1889. 
 
 In the third paper ef this series there are comparisons madebetweenthediver.se 
 systems of legislation and government in vogue in Canada and the United States 
 from a practical point of view. 
 
 Parliamentarj' Government in the British Colonies. By Alpheus Todd, 
 Librarian of Parliament, Canada, author of Parliamentary Government 
 in England. Boston: Little, Brown &, Co., 1880. 8vo, pp. xii-|-607. 
 
 In this book the able author explains the opisration of " jiarliamentary govern- 
 ment iu furtherance of its application to colonial institutions." It is a valuable 
 supplement of his larger work on parliamentary goviTnmeiit in England mentioned 
 above. It directs particular attention to the political functions of tlio itowu. of 
 whose prerogatives, within the legitimate lines of the constitution, Dr. Todd was 
 a strong supporter. 
 
 The Constitution of Canada. By J. E. C. Munro, of the Middle Temple, 
 
 .. . i 
 
400 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOX. 
 
 barrister at law, professor of law, Owens College, Victoria University,. 
 Caiul»ridge. At the University Press, 1889. 8vo, xxxvi-f-y56. 
 
 This work, useful as it i.s for its analysis and abstracts of statutes and docu- 
 ments relatinj; to tlie Canadian constitution, lias tlie defects of a treatise written 
 by an Englishman wbo obtains all his knowledge of colonial institutions from 
 books and has had no opportunities of a i)ractical insight into tlifir actual oper- 
 ation. Had it been submitted to a Can.idian conversant with the subject, just as 
 Prof. James Bryce availed himself of the positive knowledge of eminent Ameri- 
 cans in the preparation of his great work on the American Commonwealth, this 
 book on Canada would be more accurate and intelligible. 
 
 Documents illustrative of the Canadian constitution, edited with note? 
 aud appendices. By William Houston, M. a., lihrarian to the Ontario 
 legislature. Toroiit<t: Carswell & Co., 1891. 8vo, pp. xxii+338. 
 
 By the aid of this collection of otHcial and legal documents the student will be 
 able to t-ace out authoritatively and positively the most ini]>ortant stages in the 
 evolution of parliamentary government in British Xorth America. The notes are 
 full and accurate. 
 
 Colonies and Dependencies. By J. S. Cotton and E. J. Payne. English 
 Citizen Series. London: McMillan & Co., 1883. 12rao, pp. 164. 
 
 This little work contains a historical sketch of the colonies, a review of the rela- 
 tions between them and the jiarent state, and a chapter on colonial government, 
 which is full of errors. For instance, the province of Quebec is given a legislature 
 witii two houses, both elective, the fact being that the upper house has always 
 been appointed by the crown. Manitoba is said to have no legislative assembly, 
 when the p:ovince has h:id one f<;r over twenty years. It is the legislative council, 
 or upper house, that has been abolished in that province. This book illustrates 
 the inaccuracy of the majority of English works professing to describe institu- 
 tions in Canada and other dependencies. 
 
 The Government Hauilbook. A record of the forms and methods of 
 government in Great Britain, her colonies, and foreign countries, 
 with an introduction on the diifusion of popular government over the 
 surface of the globe, aud on the nature and extent of international 
 jurisdiction. By Lewis S«'rgeaiit. Tiiird edition. London: T. Fislier 
 Unwin, 1890. 12mo, jip. viii-(-,544. 
 
 A work for jiopular reference, intended to exhibit '• in a summary manner the 
 principal foiTiis and nietliods of government in the various states of the world." 
 Like all Euglisli works of a similar character it is misleading in many ways 
 so far as Canada is concerned. The privy council does not necessarily include (p. 
 114) lieutenant-governors-- e.r officio,- the present lieutenant-governor of Manitoba 
 is not a privy couniilor. . -luio are privy councilors because called to tlui cabinet 
 before being appointed ',o a il-'utenant-governorsiiiii. To say that the house of 
 commons "is summoned every five years under the great seal," is a delusion. 
 The crown :uust dissolve it in five years, if not sooner, and the house is elected by 
 ihe people. Such works sliould be revised by persons who know something of the 
 constitution of each country. 
 
 The Colonial Year Book for 1890. By A.J. V. Trendell. c. M. G., of the Inner 
 Temple, with introduction by Prof. Seeley. m. a. London: Sampson,^ 
 Low, Marstoii, Scarle, and Rivington. 1890. 8vo, pp. xxix-f 7.53. 
 
 This is one of many English publications in these times going to show the in- 
 terest taken in tlie material and jiolitic al develop-nent of tlie colonial dependencies 
 ofEiigland. It gives a short sketch <>f tlie constitution of the Dominion and of 
 the ]>rovinces, wliicli calls for no pari iciilar comment. The statement, however, 
 that the governor- general is assisted by a privy council is somewhat misleading. 
 It woiild be more correct to say that he is assi.sted like the Queen, by a ministry or 
 cabinet, who must be members of the Queen's privy council. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GoVKKNMKNT INC\NADA — BOURINOT. 401 
 
 The Statesman'M Year Book Ibr 1891. Edited by .1. Scott Keltie, librarian 
 to tlie Royiil (M'OLrraphir'.il Society. Twciity-ei^jhth annual publica- 
 tion. London: ilacMillan iV Co., 1X91. V2mo, j>p. xxviii-fll32. 
 
 Contains in a ft-w pages an accurate 8iiniiu:iry of the political system of the Do- 
 minion of Canada. 
 
 An Essay on the (iovcrnnient of De]>endt'iicies. By Sir O. Cornev all Lewis, 
 K. c. B. Edited, witii an introduction, by ('. 1\ Lucis, of l?..liol (,'ol- 
 lege, Oxford, aud the C<donial Otlice. London : Clarendon Press, 1891. 
 8vo. 
 
 Thi.s work of a distiuguishcd English Htatesman and man of letters was first piil)- 
 lisht'd ill 1841, and ifi well dcs<ril>cd art "a systematic statement and diHciisHion of 
 the various relations in which (-olonies may stand towards the mother country." 
 Sir George Lewi.s ](0.sse.s,sed eminently that practical common sense and keen irit- 
 ical faculty wliicli make all his writings valuable to the political student, hut 
 times have changed since ho wrote. His work on Administrations of tireat 
 Britain (London, 18G4) and his Letters to Various Friends (London, 187(1) are 
 also of value to the student of the practical operation of parliam<'ntary institutions. 
 
 Chapters on the Law relating to the Colonies, to which is added a topical 
 index of cases decided in the privy council on a])peal I'roni the c(donies. 
 By C.J. Tarring, of the Inner Temple. Loudon: Stevens ct Haynes, 
 1882. 8vo, pp. xiv-f-204. 
 
 This book is here cited as showing the legal and constitutional relations of the 
 colonial dependencies to the parent state, the laws to which tliey are subject, the 
 nature of the office, powji-s, and duties of the governors, and the extent of le;.'isla- 
 tive power, all of which are subjects within the scope of this monograph. 
 
 The Colonial Office list for 1891 : Comprising hi.storical and statistic.il infor- 
 mation respecting the coloni;il dipendencies of tJreat Britain, an ac- 
 count of the services of the officers in the colonial service, a transcript 
 of the colonial regulations, the customs tarift" of each colony, and 
 other information. Compiled from official records, by the permission 
 of the secretary of state for tlie c(donics, by .John Anderson and Sid- 
 ney Webb, of the Colonial Office. London: Harrison & Sons, 1891. 
 With maps. 
 
 The title sufficiently indicates the imjtortance and value of a work necessarily 
 accurate in all particulars. The digest of the constitutional system of Canada is 
 excellent. 
 
 IV. — THE CABI.VKT SYSTEM. 
 
 The Crown and its advisers; or Queen, ministers, lords, aud commons. By 
 A. C. EAvald, F. s. A., of Her Majesty's Record Office. Edinburgh and 
 London: W^. Blackwood & Sons, 1870. 12mo, pp. 222. 
 
 This work contains a series of lectures prepared with the olyect of "extending 
 to my fellow-countrymen a knowledge of the leading fac.s and principles of our 
 constitution." It is well worthy of a careful perusal by all who are comnicjicing 
 the study of the English constitution. The elementary principles of responsible 
 government arc dearly laid down . 
 
 The Institutions of the English Government: being an account of the 
 constitution, pjwers, aud procedure of the legislative, judicial, and 
 administrative departments. By Homer.sham Cox, m. a., barrister at 
 law. London: H. Sweet, 1863. 8vo, pp. xcii+7.56. 
 
 In this work is given a "general account of the British Government, of the jxiw- 
 ers and practice of its .sever.al departments, and of the constitutional principles 
 atl'ecting them." It was practicallj^ the forerunner of Dr. Todd's and other works 
 
 S. Mis. 173 1*0 
 
402 AMERICAN IILSTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 that have sinee appeared <iii thn adinitiistrativt' iustitiitions of Englaiid. Chapter 
 X is on thf " Privy riMiucil iiiid Caliinct ('(iniipil."' For rpsoanli and insiuht into 
 (ht^ practical ojieratiou ot' iiailianuntary jioveruuient it in uiiuh iul'erior to Dr. 
 T<Mld's wfU-known treatint-. 
 
 History of the Kn<rUsii Institutions. By riiirn* Vernon Smith, m.a. 
 Cantab.). Kivinj^tou's: London, Oxford, and Ciimbridge, 1x73. 12uio, 
 pp. xiv-f-303. 
 
 An attempt to classify in a vi-ry fonilensed fonn thf various institutions of the 
 Enj^lish Constitution. Ciiaiiter ix. on the fxt-futive. isdiviilcd into several sub- 
 heads, anion<^ which arf- tin- '■ Caliinct < ■oiiiicil," 'Political Parties," 'The Min- 
 istry," " Control of Parlianu^nt." " Power and (Irowthof tlic f^xecutive," etc. It 
 is useful to youn;; students. 
 
 Fifty Years of the Enfj^lish Constitution, 1830-1880. By Shehlon Amos, 
 M.A. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1880. 12mo, pp. xxxii+'lOS. 
 
 The preface to this work very truly says th.it it is " no longer to lawyers and 
 law-Vtnoks alone that reference must he had for ascertaining wliat is the mode of 
 government under which the En;ilish jteople live," but rather "to the utter- 
 ances of statesmen, to critical acts of j(ul)lic policy, to the conduct of parliament- 
 ary mjyorities, and to tlie assumptions of the executive •rovernnK iit." This 
 treatise, consequently, treats the whole question from a political and ethical point 
 of view. The sections in Chapter ii (pp. 20(5-4"_'()) give considerable insight into 
 the relations between the crown and its ministers and between the ministers and 
 the parliament : but tlie style of the .author is far from being lucid and he has a 
 tendency to theorize which perplexes the student. 
 
 Central Government. By H. D. Traill, D. c. L. English Citizen Series. 
 London: McMillan & Co., 1881. 12 mo, pp. 162. 
 
 In a popular and sketchy style, we have a somewhat useful essay on the execu- 
 tive government and on the formaticm. functions, and responsibility of the cabinet 
 uudei the constitutional system of England. 
 
 The Growth of the p]iiglish Constitution from the Earliest Times. By 
 Ed'.vard A. Frefiuaii. m.a.. Hon. D. c. L., ll. D.. etc. Fourth edition. 
 London : McMilhm ^t Co., 1884. 12nio, pp. xvi+231. 
 
 In this suggestive and scholarly di.squisition. Prof. Freeman points out the dis- 
 tinctions between the law of the constitution and " that code of political maxims, 
 universally acknovvledged in theory, universally carried out in practice," which 
 directs the working of parliamentary government. .See Cliapter in. 
 
 A Short History of Parliament. By B. C. Skottov.e. m. a.(Oxo«.). London : 
 Swan Sonneuschein, Lowrey & Co., 1886. 12mo, pp. iv-f 339. 
 
 \ book for the general reader. The last chapter contains some judicious 
 remarks on cabinet government. 
 
 Das englische Verwaltnugsrecht der Gegenwart in Vergleichung mit deu 
 deutscheu Verwaltnngssystcmen. 3te. nacli deutschersystematik um- 
 gestaltete Anil. Rudolph Gneist. Berlin, 1881. 
 
 The History of the English C<m8titutiou. By Dr. Rudolph Gneist, profes- 
 sor of law at the University of Berlin. Translated by I'hilip A. Ash- 
 worth, of the Inner Temple. Second edition, revised and enlarged. 
 London : W. Clowes & Sons, 1889. 2 vols., 8vo, pp. xvi-j-437, vii— .512. 
 
 In this exhaustive work of an eminent (lermau scholar there are four chapters 
 (LUI, Liv, LV, LVI. VOL. u) which should be read on the subject of jiarlianu'nt- 
 ary government, since they deal with the following matters: The relations of the 
 Crown to Parliament. Tlie King in Council and the King in Parliament. Origin 
 of Party Govei-nment. Constitutional natui-e of the Cabinet. Transition to the 
 modern ministerial system. The formation of parliamentary parties. Theory 
 and practice of i>arliamentary jiiirty government. 
 
PAKLIAMKNIAHV G0VEKNMK:;T IN CANADA IJOUKINOT. 403 
 
 The Htndeiits' iri.st<n\v of the Knj^lish Piirlianu'iit in its transt'orinationx 
 tliroiiicli a tliniTsaiid yoars. Popular account of the jirowtli and ilcvtl- 
 opnifut (d'tlio Eiij;lis!i Constitution, fiom><(M) to IHH~. My Dr. liiidolpli 
 Gneist. Tliird Knglisli edition, l>y Prof. A. H. Keaiw. London: 11. 
 Grevel & Co., 1SS«). li'nio, pp. xxix+4fi2. 
 
 Thirt i.s till' licst tiaiml:iti(iii of a work (Dhs «'ni:IiHrhr Pjirlanicnt. lU'rlin. I88fii 
 showing all tlii> tliriinniilmtsH of ( :)'nii^iii scliularsiiip, even in a hI udciits' maniial. 
 From p. .'UO to p. :!"•> tlit-n' arc some ori};inal .iii;:>:i>stiv<' rrtlt-i'tions on the relation 
 of tlu^ govjirnment of tlio rfalm to parliament, the relation of the eahinet to i>ar- 
 liameiit, the eouslnictiou of iiarlianieniary partie.s, the evils of itarty jrovern- 
 ment. anil t lie realization in Knglaiid ot the coneeiition of iiolitnal liberty " iini)ly- 
 ing the capaeity of the people to lejiislale for itself, and to euforte of itself its own 
 laws through its own free self-government."' 
 
 Le Gouvernement et le Parlemmt Hritannifpics: I. — Lc Gonvernemrnt; 
 II. — Constitution du parleni'-nt. La I'rocoduro iiarlcuicntaire. Parle 
 etc. de Franciucvilk', ainien niaitn^ dcs Recpu'tes an Conseil d'Etat. 
 Paris: J. Kotliscluld, IHXl. Trois vols., Svo, xi+594, viii-f-5(i7, viii-j- 
 575. 
 
 This is the most exhaustive work written hy a Freneh jiolitieal student on the 
 administrative and the i>arlianieiitary system of Kniilaml. The first volume eon- 
 tains .111 elaborate and elear review of tlie relations between crown and parliament, 
 of the j)ositioii of the cabinet, and of tlie nature of ministerial responsibility. 
 
 The Government of Englau<l; its .strneture and its development. By the 
 honourable \V. E. Hearn, q.c, .m.l.c, Chancellor of the University 
 of Melbourne. Second E<lition. London: Lonjjmans. Greene & Co., 
 1887. 8vo, pp. xvi+636. 
 
 This work is not only valualile for its thoughtful review of the evolution and 
 operation of ]»arlianientarv government in England, but for tlie as.sistanie it gives 
 to students of the relations Iietween the pa/eut .state and the colonies since the 
 growth of responsible government. On this question, see Appendix n. "Lecture 
 on the Colonies and the mother Cotiutry. " 
 
 On Parliamentary Government in Enjilauil; its origin, developtnent, and 
 practical ojteration. By Alpheiis Tiuld, ll. d., c. .m.g.. Librarian of the 
 Parliament of Canada. Second edition l)v liis son. London: Lonjr- 
 mans, Green & Co., 1887. Two vtdnmes, 8vo, pp. xxx-}-844, xxvi+OfiL 
 
 The .'uithor of this elalxu'ate treatise, during the evolution of n'Sponsiblo govern- 
 ment in ('anada, after the union <(f 1S41, devoted himself (o researches into the 
 practical operation of the system in England, with the view of assisting colonial 
 statesmen, and the result of his labors for over a quarter of a century is here 
 presented. It is the most valuable contribution yet made to this branch of polit- 
 ical ience. The conventions and understandings that direct the workings of 
 responsible or pirUameutary govt^rnment are here set forth with fullness ami clear- 
 ness. 
 
 The Law and Cn.stom of the Constitntiou. By Sir W. R. Anson. Bart., d. 
 C. L., of the Inner Temple, Warden of All Sonls College. Oxford, at 
 the Clarendon Press, 188t)-1892. 2 vols., 8vo, pp. xx— 330; viii+494. 
 
 This work is most useful to all students oi' the Canadi.in parliamentary system, 
 closelj' modeled, as it i.s. on the parliamentary institutions of I^ngland. 
 
 How we are governed; a handbook of the Constitution, Government, 
 laws, and ])ower of the British Empire. By Albany do Fonblanque. 
 Sixteenth edition. I.,t»ndon aiul X<'\v York: Warne ct Co., 1889. 12- 
 mo, pp. xii4-20)S. 
 
 A useful treatise for busy people who have no time to give much study to con- 
 
404 AMERICAN IIFhTolilCAL AS.S(3CIATIOX. 
 
 RtitutioiiH. I.ctttT V is «lfvot(Ml to ii lirief but oh'ar cxjilaiinfidn of tin* responsi- 
 bility of ininist«'rs aud offlu' iiatiin- ot'thf cabinet systctii of Kii;^lan<l. 
 
 Introduction to the ►Study oftlie Law of tlu- Constitution. By A. V. I)ict'y, 
 
 B. c. I I' tlie Inuer Tcuiplf, Viuerian ]»roteH.sor of Euf^lisli law. etc. 
 
 Third edition. London; MiicMillan & Co., 18!S9. 8vo, pp. xiii+440. 
 
 This is llif most iiotablts work on the Knglish ((instiluiion that has apjieariil of 
 late years in En;;lan(l. Stress is biid "iii>oti the essential distinction between the 
 'law of the constitution,' whi(fli, consisting (as it does) of rules cnforce<l or recog- 
 nized by the courts, makes ii]> a body of 'laws' in tlie proper sense of that term, 
 and tlie 'conventions of tlie constitution,' Nvhicli, consisting; (as they do) of customs, 
 practices, in.'ixinis, or precepts whicii are not enforced or recojjinized by the courts, 
 make uj) a body not of laws, but of constitutional or political ethics." (See chap. 
 
 XIV.) 
 
 The Cabinet. Enoyclopa'dia Britanuica. Nintli edition. Ediul>ur<rli. 
 
 This cirefiiUy prepare<l article is t'rom the jx'ii of Mr. Henry lieeve, c. b.. rettistrar 
 of tht^ privy council of Kujiland, translator of De Tocqueville's Democracy in 
 America, and author of several works of value. 
 
 The Elements of Politics. By Henry Sidgwick. Loudon aud New York: 
 MacMillan ».^- Co., 1891. 8vo, j)]). xxxii+632. 
 
 In this thoughtful and suggestive work of a learned Englisli thinker, imbued 
 with the spirit and thoroughly conversant with the methods of parliamentary 
 government, the chapter fin the ''Relation of Legislatuie to Ksecutive" demands 
 the special attention oftlie stuili'nt of ministerial rcsiioiisibiiity. The whole work 
 must be carefully read as the re.sultant of the studies of a dose and safe observer 
 of institutions. 
 
 Political Science and Comi)arative Constitutional Law, By John W. 
 Biirge-ss, Pii. d., I'rofessor of History in Columbia College. Boston 
 and London : Ginn & Co., 1890. 2 vols., 8vo, pj). xx-f 337, xx-f-404. 
 
 In this elaborate essay on ])olitical science by an eminent American scholar, 
 there are some purely theoretical remarks on the crown and the cabinet (]>]). 209- 
 215). which even the writer believes are ''crude and novel." and conseijiiently 
 alford no assistance to tliosi^ who are anxious to understand the practical operation 
 of the English and American .systems of governnitnt. It is iki doubt interesting 
 from the jioint of view of s]>eculative ])olitical science to be told that a cabinet in 
 the English system "represents the majority (luornm in the legislature,'' and 
 this " majority quorum, chosen upon a ca1)inet issue, i.s the st.ate;" but it is hardly 
 a formulation that will bring about the reform in the irresponsible political sj-stem 
 of the United States which Woodrow, Wilson and others, who are at all events 
 intelligible, would bring about. 
 
 Gesetz und Beordnung. George Jelleuek Freiburg. I. C. B. Mohr.. 1887. 
 12mo, pp. 412. 
 
 This work is interesting to a student of English and Canadian institutions, 
 because it is an able disquisition on what the author believes--and justly in most 
 cases — to be encroachments of the administrative upon the legislative authority 
 in England and other countries. The tendency in Canada itself, nowadays, is to 
 give too much power and influence to the executive government. 
 
 In the foregoing bibliographical note.'* of this section the writer has 
 cited only those constitutional and historical works which show the 
 nature and operation of the cabinet system of England, l»y whose princi- 
 ples Canadian ministries have been regulated since the adoption of 
 res])onsible government. The important and erudite works of Hallam 
 and Stubbs, or the interesting treatise by Creasy, or similar authorities, 
 which treat of the constitutional history of England generally, Jtrenot 
 here taken into account, inasmuch as they have no special comments 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA BOURINOT. 405 
 
 on the motlern system of ministerial reHpousibility to parliamont 
 whicli will aid the student iti the study of the Canadian system. Hut 
 it is not necessary to add that no student can master the whole snh- 
 jeet of parliamentary government unless he has read these great books 
 time and again. 
 
 V. — PARLIAMKN'TARY (•(JMPAUED WITH CONGRESSIONAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The English Constitution and otlier I'olirieal Essays. Hy Walter Hage- 
 hot, editor of the Loudon Eeomimist, ete. Latest revised edition. New 
 York: D. Appleton A. Co., 18S«). iL'nio. pp. 468. 
 
 This is a rfniarkably liiri<l treatise on tlie practical operation of parliamentary 
 government, as it is now itnileistood in Englantl, and is esjiefially interesting to 
 students in Cana«la iiiid the United States fioin the fait that it was the first 
 attetnjjt to simw tlie (h-feets of tlie political system of the federal republic on 
 account of the absence of a responsible cabinet. It points out the ela.sticity of the 
 English system, and the nature and scope of the leading principles that govern its 
 practical worliing. 
 
 Congressiotuil Government. Hy Woodrow Wilson. Boston: Houghton, 
 Mifflin & Co., 188."). 12mo, pp. 333. 
 
 ITndoubtedly the cleare.st and ablest effort made by an American writer on politi- 
 lal science to show the weaknesses and defects of the political system of the 
 United States. Keplete with incisive ar};uHieut, it shows most effectively the 
 superiority of the Enniish or Canadian system, which makes a cabinet immedi- 
 ately responsible to parliament for legislation and administration. 
 
 The American C<minu>nwealth. By .lames Bryce, M. p., n. c. i.. I. — Na- 
 tional Government; II. — The State Governments — The Party System; 
 III. — Public Opinion — Illustrations and Redectious — Social Institu- 
 tions. Loudon: Maemillau &. Co., 1888. 3 vols., 8 vo., pp. xxvii -4- 
 551, is. + 683, ix + 699; with a map to illustrate the growth of the 
 United States. 
 
 This well-known work is the ablest, most thoughtful, and most comprehensive 
 that has yet appeared iu any language on American Institutions. The chapters 
 on the Ciibiuet (vol. i, chap. i.\), on the committees of congress (vol. I, chap. XV), 
 on congressional legislation (vol. i, chap. XVl). on congressional finance (vol. t, 
 chaj). xvii), and on tile legislature and executive (vol. I, chap. ,\XI), especially de- 
 mand the careful study of those who wish to compare the working of the English 
 or Canadian system with that of the United States. 
 
 Canadian Studies iu Comparative Politics: I. — Canada and England; II. — 
 Canada and the United States; III. — Canada and Switzerland. By 
 John George Bourinot. c. m. g.. ll. d., d. c. l.. Clerk of the House of 
 Commons of Canada. Trans, of the Roy. Soc. of Canada, vol. viii, 
 sec. 11 ; also Montreal: Dawson Bros., 1891. 4to., ])p. 92. 
 
 In these three papers the author bas attemjjted to show the origin, the develop- 
 opment, aiul the nature of the p<ditical constitution of Canada, and to compare if, 
 'not only with the political institutions of ICnglaud and of the United State.s — the 
 countries in which Canada has naturally the deepest interest— but also with those 
 of the little federal republic of Switzerland, wher'3 local government has existed 
 in some form for many centuries. 
 
 Canada and the United States ; A Study in Comparative Politics. By J. G. 
 Bourinot. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social 
 Science, vol. i. No. 1. .July, 1890, Philadelphia. 
 
 This essay is a condensation of the seciuid paper in the foregoing work. It 
 was also published in the Scottish Keview, July, 1890. 
 
406 AMERICAN lilSTOKICAL ASSOCIATKJN. 
 
 Tlie British versus tlu; American SyBtem of Nationjil (Joverninent. By A. 
 H. T. Lefroy, M. A. (Oxoii), Barrister-at-Iiiiw. Toronto: Willianisim 
 & Co, IKftl. 12 mo.. p]i. 12, jia])er. 
 
 A frciitisf slutwinj;, liricHy liiit clfarly. tin- (li«a<lvantagf'.sr»f tlip Unitctl Statt'S 
 Hvsteni iw cuiupartHl with tlu^ English or Caimdiau mi-tlioils of larliaiuentary j^ov- 
 t';nm«'iit. 
 
 Con/jress and tlio CaMiict. By (iamalid Bradford, in tlu' Annals of tlie 
 AitHTJcaTi Academy ni' rniitital and Social Science, vol. Il, November, 
 1891, Philadelphia. 
 
 Should h(> read in fonnt'ction with Woodrow Wilsnn'n work. It <;i^<*** a 
 Hiicciiict account of tlie I'utilc otl'ort niudi' in con;;rcHs in 1881 to give the 
 ]irincipal ofBccrs ol' tht- executive departments a seat on the floor of the two 
 houHes. 
 
 The Place of Party in the Political System. By Anson I). Morse. Ihiil. 
 
 Sliow.s that despite its inherent defect.s, the party system "constitutes an 
 informal but real and powerful primary organization in the political government 
 of a I'ountry." 
 
 'Essays on (Jovernment. By A. Lawrence Low»'ll. Boston and New York: 
 Honjrhton, Mifflin & Co., 1889. 12 mo, pp. 229. 
 
 The tirst essay is on " Cabinet IJespoiisihility and the Constitution." and ia 
 intended to eouibat I'rof. Woodrow AVilson"s arguments in the worli, just cited; 
 but the efl'ovt is not emiiii'iitly successful. 
 
 A Defense of Congressional Government. By Dr. Freeman Snow, of 
 
 Harvard University. Papers of the American Historical Association 
 
 for July, 1890. 
 
 This able paper is fully criticised in the third part of this monograph. 
 The National Honse of Rei>resentatives; Its Crowing Inefficiency .is a 
 
 Legislative Body. By Haunis Taylor. Atlantic Monthly (Boston), 
 
 June, 1890. 
 
 This is a thoughtful essay by the aiithor of an excellent eonstitntional history of 
 pjuglaiid. the first volunie of whicli only lias yet appeared. He recognizes f hi' neces- 
 sity of giving the cal)iin-t at Washington " the right to a place and voice in 
 each house, with the right to offer in each such schemes of legislation as it might 
 see fit to advocate." 
 
 The Speaker as Premier. By Prof. A. Bushnell Hart (Harvard). Atlan- 
 tic Monthly for March, 1891. 
 
 In this essay the writer attenijits to jirove that the speaker of the house of rep- 
 resentatives " is a recognized political chief, a formiilator of the policy of his 
 party, a legislative i)reniier," and even ventures the opinion that "he is likely 
 to become, and perhajys is already. Tuore powerful, both for good and for evil, than 
 the president of the United States." Dr. Hart also appears to believe in the 
 usefulness of the system of legislation by congressional committees. 
 
 Government in '^Janada; the Principles and Institutions of our Federal 
 and Provincial Constitutions. The B. N. A. Act, 1867, compared with 
 the United States Constitution, with a Sketcli of the Constitutional 
 History of Canada. By D. A. O. Sullivan, M. a., d. c. l. Second 
 edition, enlarged and improved. Toronto: Carswell «fe Co., 1887. 8vo, 
 pp. xx4- 344. 
 
 A carefully prepared treatise on the Canadian Constitution, written largely 
 from a purely legal standpoint. 
 
 Etudes de Droit Constitutioiuiel, France, Angleterre, Etats-Unis. Par E. 
 Boutmy, membre de I'Institut, directeur de I'Ecole libre des sciences 
 
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN CANADA BOUKINOT. 407 
 
 ]»oliti(iu»'H. Socoiid <^(liti<Mi. Paris: Lilmiiri*' rion. 1888. 12inn, pp, 
 
 iv4. 345. 
 
 In t)ils work of an astuto ]M)litical stiiilciit wp have retlt'ctioiis on the weak- 
 neHst'8 (if th« I'nittd States svHtfiii— csjifcially on the diHicnltirM that may ariHB 
 from tho aliH<'nce of iiicanH of acronl tx-fwi'eii tlit- ex«'<iitiv«'i ami the l»'pHlativ« 
 .lutlioriticM— and on tin- f<iiiii'riority of the iirinciplfM that jrovern the o|>«'ration of 
 Englis)) iiarlianientary yovfrnment and enable tht'crown and parliament to work 
 in harmony. 
 
 The Ministry. Hy John W. C'lanipitt, in the Cyclopa-dia of I'olitiial 
 Science, Political Economy, and United States History, Vol. ii, pp. 
 855-857. 
 
 A short papt*r on the distinctions between the Enirlish and the Fnited States 
 cabinet. 
 
 The State; Elements of Historical and Practical History and Administra- 
 tiou. By Woodrow Wilson, rn. d., m.. d., anth«»r of ••('oiif;r«'s«i(itial 
 Governiiient." Bo.ston : 1). C. Heath & Co., is8««. 12iiio. pp. xxxvi -f r.86. 
 
 Thi.swork i.s a useful contribution to the jiractical theory of com jiarative politics, 
 and is cited here as {jiving a gi'ncrally accurate skftch of the developuu'nt of the 
 cabinet and of ministerial respimsibility in Knglainl, and of tlie >rovernmtnt of the 
 colonies. Some slijjht inaccuracies are ucrted. for instance, when the author says 
 the governor-general's veto" i.-j almost neverused." No ease of the direct exercise 
 of the Veto in Canada has occurred, thouijh bills are reserved for the approval 
 of the queen in council, lie is also mistaken in saying that tlie otticers of the 
 English House of Commons t]>. rc'-t) are elected l)otli in Canada and England. The 
 clerk and sergeant-at-arms are api>pointed by the crown and not by the hou.ses 
 themselves. The sjieaker alone is elected by the commons, while in the upper 
 chamber he holds his office under the great seal. 
 
 Government and Administration of the United States. By W. W. »k W. F. 
 \Villonohl)y. ,I(diiis Hopkin.-s University Siudies in Hist. & P(d. Science, 
 No8. I and II, Ninth series. 1891. Baltimore: 8vo, pp. 143, 
 
 The section relating to the cabinet and executive departments of the United 
 States is useful to all students of institutions, and especially to Canadians who 
 wish to make comparisons between the English and Canadian methods of administra- 
 tion. 
 
 Kin beyond Sea. By the Right Honoralde W. E. Gladstone, M. P. North 
 American Review (New York) for September-October, 1878; also in 
 first volume of "Gleanings of Past Y'ears" (Londoii). pp. 203-248. 
 This fanciful title gives no idea whatever of the scope <if a paper deeply inter- 
 esting to the students of constitutional science. Mr. Gladstone not only shows 
 that English institutions are, in certain respects, more popular than those of 
 England's "Kin beyond Sea," and •' give more rapid effect than those of the Union 
 to any fonned oj)inion and resolved intention of the nation." The comments on 
 the posititm of the cabinet in the Engli><h system are very instructive. It is " the 
 three-fold hinge that connects together for action the British constitution cf king 
 or queen, lords, and commons." It is. perhaps, "the most curious formation in the 
 political world of modern times, not for its dignity, l)ut for its .subtilty, its elas- 
 ticity, and its m.iny-sided diversity of power. " It is •'the entire complement of 
 the entire [constitutional] system, which apjiears to want nothing but a thorough 
 loyalty in the persons composing its several parts, with a reasonable intelligence, 
 to insure its bearing, without fatal damage, the wear and tear of ages yet to 
 come." 
 
 La Crise du Regime Parlementaire. Par A. D. Decelles. Trans, of Roy. 
 Soc. of Can., Sec. i, 1887. 
 
 The author, one of the librarians of the Canadian Parliament, in a desultory- 
 manner, reviews the governmental sy.stem of Canada and shows its superiority ia 
 certain essential respects to that of the United States.