IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 ''-? IIM IIIIM 
 
 *.^ 112 
 
 1140 
 
 Z2 
 
 12.0 
 
 1.8 
 
 
 1.25 
 
 
 
 1.4 
 
 1.6 
 
 
 6" — 
 
 
 ► 
 
 <? 
 
 %.^ 
 
 /2 
 
 
 // 
 
 "m 
 
 o 
 
 7 
 
 M 
 
 Photograpliic 
 
 Sciences 
 
 Corpordtion 
 
 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
CIHM/ICMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 Canadian Institute for Historical Microroproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductlons historiques 
 
 1980 
 
Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques 
 
 The Institute has attempted to obtain the best 
 original copy available for filming. Features of this 
 copy wiiich may be bibliographically unique, 
 which may alter any of the images in the 
 reproduction, or which may significantly change 
 the usual method of filming, are checked below. 
 
 L'institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire 
 qu'il lui a 6td possible de se procurer. Les details 
 de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du 
 point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier 
 une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une 
 modification dans la mdthode normale de filmage 
 
 
 sont 
 
 indiqu6s ci-dessous. 
 
 Coloured covers/ 
 Couverture de couleur 
 
 — 
 
 Coloured pages/ 
 Pages de couleur 
 
 Covers damaged/ 
 Couverture endommagde 
 
 
 Pages damaged/ 
 Pages endommagdes 
 
 Covers lestored and/or laminated/ 
 Couverture restaurde et/ou pellicul6e 
 
 / 
 
 Pages restored and/or laminated/ 
 Pages restaur^es et/ou pellicul^es 
 
 Cover title missing/ 
 
 Le titre de couverture manque 
 
 
 Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ 
 Pages d6color6es, tachetdes ou piqudes 
 
 Coloured maps/ 
 
 Cartes g^ographiques en couleur 
 
 
 Pages detached/ 
 Pages d^tacK^es 
 
 Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ 
 1 Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) 
 
 
 Showthrough/ 
 Transparence 
 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 y 
 
 Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ 
 Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur 
 
 Bound with other material/ 
 Rel;§ avec d'autres documents 
 
 Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion 
 along interior margin/ 
 
 La reliure serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la 
 distortion le long de la marge intdrieure 
 
 Blank leaves added during restoration may 
 appear within the text. Whenever possible, these 
 have been omitted from filming/ 
 II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes 
 lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, 
 mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont 
 pas 6t6 filmdes. 
 
 Additional comments:/ 
 Cofiimentaires supplimentaires; 
 
 D 
 
 Quality of print varies/ 
 Quality m6gale de I'impression' 
 
 □ Includes supplementary material/ 
 Comprend du materiel supplementaire 
 
 □ Only edition available/ 
 Seule Edition disponible 
 
 □ 
 
 Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata 
 slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to 
 ensure the best possible image/ 
 Les pages totalement ou partiellement 
 obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, 
 etc., ont 6t6 filmies d nouveau de fapon d 
 obtenir la meilleure image possible. 
 
 This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 
 Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqu4 ci-dessous. 
 
 10X 14X 18X 22X 
 
 26X 
 
 30X 
 
 
 
 12X 
 
 16X 
 
 20X 
 
 24X 
 
 28X 
 
 32X 
 
 1 
 s 
 
 ^ 
 
 d 
 e 
 b 
 ri 
 r« 
 nr 
 
lire 
 
 details 
 jes du 
 modifier 
 )er une 
 filmage 
 
 §es 
 
 The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanl<s 
 to the generosity of: 
 
 Library of the Public 
 Archives of Canada 
 
 The images appearing here are the best quality 
 possible considering the condition and legibility 
 of the original copy and in keeping with the 
 filming contract specifications. 
 
 Oriqinal copies in printed paper covers are filmed 
 beginning with the front cover and ending on 
 the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All 
 other original copies are filmed beginning on the 
 first page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, and ending on the last page with a printed 
 or illustrated impression. 
 
 The last recorded frame on each microfiche 
 shall contain the symbol — ♦- (meaning "COIM- 
 TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), 
 whichever applies. 
 
 Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at 
 different reduction ratios. Those too large to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 L'exemplaire film* fut reproduit grSce d la 
 g6n6rosit6 de: 
 
 La bibliothdque des Archives 
 publiques du Canada 
 
 Les images suivantes ont 6td reproduites avec le 
 plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et 
 de la nettetd de I'exempfaire film6. et en 
 conformitd avec les conditions du contrat de 
 filmage. 
 
 Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en 
 papier est imprim^e sont film6s en commenpant 
 par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la 
 dornidre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second 
 plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires 
 origiriaux sont film6s en commenpant par la 
 premidre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par 
 la dernidre page qui comporte une telle 
 empreinte. 
 
 Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la 
 dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le 
 cas: le symbole — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le 
 symbole V signifie "FIN". 
 
 Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre 
 film<V8 d des taux de reduction diffdrents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Stre 
 reproduit en un seul clich6, ii est film6 d partir 
 de I'angle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, 
 et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre 
 d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants 
 illustrent la m^thode. 
 
 errata 
 i to 
 
 e pelure, 
 ;on d 
 
 D 
 
 32X 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
Fl 
 
GOVERNMENT 
 
 IN 
 
 CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES 
 
 COMPARED. 
 
 BY 
 
 G^EORGE F. HOAR 
 
 From Prockrdings of thk American Autiquahian Society, at tiik 
 Semi-Annual Meeting, April 29, 1891. 
 
 Wotrcister, mm., n. ^, ^, 
 
 PRESS OF CHARLES HAMILTON, 
 
 811 MAIN STREET. 
 
 1801. 
 
G 
 
 T 
 I] 
 
 ei 
 tl 
 
 ^. 
 
 St 
 
 th 
 
 k 
 b( 
 
 S( 
 
 C 
 
 d. 
 tl 
 
 t€ 
 
 h) 
 U 
 C 
 1)1 
 
 P< 
 fo 
 
 m 
 
 ci 
 
 it 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 ai 
 
GOVERNMENT IN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES 
 
 COMPARED. 
 
 The history of the relation between Canada and the 
 United States, from a time preceding the War of Independ- 
 ence until to-day, affords a remarkable instance how little 
 the relations of communities with each other are determined 
 by their interests or by mere reason. The desire of our 
 statesmen at the time of the Revolution that Canada should 
 join with us in throwing off the yoke of Great Britain, and 
 that she should become a part of our confederacy, is well 
 known. Undoubtedly a like desire has possessed the great 
 body of the American people ever since. It would have 
 seemed that everything in the condition and interest of 
 Canada would have promoted the accomplishment of this 
 desire. Along her whole border, now extending for more 
 than 4,000 miles, the physical conditions are such as 
 tend to union rather than to separation. Nature seems to 
 have designed her several provinces for union with the 
 United States, if not for separation from each other. 
 Canada had been brought under the authority of England 
 but twelve years before our Revolution, by conquest. Her 
 people were descended from England's hereditary rival and 
 foe. Language, interest, religion, history, tradition, the 
 memories of wars going back to the earliest days of the 
 civilization of the two countries, would seem to have made 
 it impossible that the French Catholics of England's North 
 American provinces would ever abide content under the 
 British yoke. Yet England never had a colony so obedient 
 and so tranquil. 
 
The question of our relations with Canada is now pressing 
 upon the American people as never before. Every Cana- 
 dian engaged in productive or profitable industry, whether 
 a tanner, miner, manufacturer, lumberman, or fisherman 
 is either a customer, a source of supply, or a competitor of 
 some American. The Canadian lines of railroads, which 
 now cross the continent, which have been constructed at a 
 cost of more than £120,000,000 sterling, originally intended 
 to be competitors with the railroads of America as well 
 as military roads, have become largely tributary to the 
 United States, are building up American cities at the ex- 
 pense of those of Canada, and enable New England and the 
 Northwest to hold their own in the rivalry between them 
 and the communities of the Middle States and the South 
 Out of the present condition of things there has come such 
 large advantage to us that the stream of emigration from 
 Canada to the United States is probably at this time lar<rer 
 than from any other country in the world in proportion'' to 
 the capacity of the fountain. More than one million Cana- 
 dians are now upon American soil. They are amoncr the* 
 most energetic and valuable of that people. There are 
 regions in Canada which have been abandoned by all their 
 young men, who have sought occupation here. I was told 
 of a single township where, on a voting-list made up two 
 years ago, there were two hundred and eighty-six names 
 sixty-six of whom within that time have come to this coun- 
 try. The historical scholars of the United States may 
 therefore, well deem it as much within their province to 
 make their countrymen tamiliar with the history, traditions 
 and institutions of Canada, as if it were already embraced 
 within the Union itself. 
 
 It is the purpose of this essay to give a brief outline of 
 the Constitution of Canada, to show what portion of it has 
 been derived from the United States, and what portion of it 
 18 of Briti.-h origin. This will be done without an attempt 
 to bring to light any historical fact not generally known, or 
 
to add anything new to information now readily accessible, 
 but only in the hope that it will tend to stimulate the inter- 
 est which American scholars already feel in the engaging 
 subject of Canadian history and institutions, around which 
 the genius of Parkman has already thrown so resplendent 
 a light. 
 
 The tefm Canada throughout this essay will be applied to 
 all the territory of North America lying north of the United 
 States (of course not reckoning Alaska), together with the 
 adjacent islands which are subject to Great Britsiin, although 
 Nevvfoundlantl and Labrador are not included in the politi- 
 cal organization known as the Dominion of Canada. 
 
 This domain, as L s been said, borders upon our own for 
 more than 4,000 miles. It contains 3,610,000 square miles, 
 or, excluding water surface, 3,470,257 square miles. It is 
 connected politically with the power which is our principal 
 manufacturing and commercial rival in peace, and which 
 would be most formidable to us as an antagonist in war. 
 Its institutions are largely model<!d upon our own, and, 
 where they tlifter from our own, afford a Held of interesting 
 and profitable study. The two countries have in *eneral 
 the same language, similar laws and a common literature. 
 
 Canada, though in theory and in fact, dependent on the 
 Parliament of Great Britain for her constitutional and legal 
 rights, is, in a large degree, a self-governing people. ITcr 
 system of government is copied, in many of its features, 
 from that of tlio United States. In others, she follows the 
 methods of Great Britain. Since the conquest of Canada 
 from the French, which was followed by the Convention 
 signed September 8, I7()0, her dependence on Great Britain 
 has been unquestioned. Various powers and {)rivi leges of 
 sclf-ffovernment have been conferred on her from time to 
 time. But those came from the bounty and grace of the 
 power to which she was subject, and were not asserted as 
 birthrights, as was the case with the United States. 
 
 The Act of Parliament of March 29, 1867, known and 
 
6 
 
 cited as the British North America Act, united the Prov- 
 inces of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick under 
 the name of the Dominion of Canada, provided constitutions 
 of government for the Dominion and the several Provinces, 
 and prescribed the conditions under which Newfoundland, 
 Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Rupert's Land 
 and the Northwest Territory might thereafter be admitted 
 to the confederacy or union so created. 
 
 Since 1867, all the British possessions on the continent 
 of North America to the north of the United States, and all 
 the islands adjacent to such possessions, except Newfound- 
 land and Labrador, have been included within the Dominion 
 of Canada. 
 
 The Constitution of the Dominion has taken from the 
 United States her modification of the federative principle 
 Like the United States, Canada has local government in 
 the different provinces, and a general federal government 
 with authority over the entire Dominion, whose jurisdiction 
 depends upon the subject-matter, and not upon local bound- 
 aries, and whose legislative, executive and judicial powers 
 operatie directly upon the citizen. As in the United States, 
 the central and the local powers are kept each within its 
 own domain by the authox-ity of a supreme judiciary. 
 
 While many things which we think essential to self-gov- 
 ernment and to the due security of personal and individual 
 rights are not enjoyed by the people of Canada, in one most 
 important respect the will of her people takes effect in legis- 
 lation more directly and eflfectively than does that of the peo- 
 ple of the United States. The British North America Act 
 was passed after our Civil War. Its authors conceived that 
 they had so thoroughly studied our system as to be able to 
 avoid its defects. The theory of the Constitution of Canada, 
 if that term may properly be applied to an act of legislation 
 which may be at any time revoked or altered at the jjleasure 
 of the Legislature which enacted it, is that the power of the 
 Queen and Parliament of Great Britain over Canada is sov- 
 
ereign and unlimited. The people of the United States, or 
 of the colonies which now form part of the United States, 
 never recognized such authority in Great Britain, and do 
 not admit the existence of unlimited powers of government 
 over them to be vested anywhere. The British North 
 America Act of 1867 is not strictly a constitution amenda- 
 ble only by the people, or even a charter, operating as a 
 grant of political power which can only be forfeited by judi- 
 cial decision, or surrendered by the people whom it affects. 
 It has no higher authority than any other act of ordinary 
 legislation. It is probable that the desire of Great Britain 
 to retain the allegiance of her dependencies, and the lesson 
 that power has learnt from her conflict with the people of 
 the territories now composing a large part of the United 
 States, render the liberty of Canada practically secure 
 against any domination of Parliamentary authority or im- 
 perial encroachment of any kind. But, legally and theoreti- 
 cally, Canada, in respect of her liberties, is but a tenant at 
 the will of Great Britain. In the United States, all powers 
 not granted to Congress are reserved to the States or the 
 people. In Canada, al! powers granted to the Provinces 
 are subject to the Dominion or to Great Britain. She has, 
 moreover, no Bill of Rights. The doctrine which lies at 
 the foundation of every American system of government, 
 state or national, that there are domains upon which nc 
 human authority can be permitted to enter, and acts which 
 no human power shall be permitted to do, is unknown to her. 
 In her foreign relations, Canada is wholly under British 
 control. She has no voice in the treaty-making power, or 
 in making war or peace. Any wise administration in Great 
 Britain would doubtless consult Canadian statesmen in mak- 
 ing a treaty, and would give her, when convenient, a repre- 
 sentation in the negotiation, where Canadian interests were 
 specially affected. In several very important cases recently 
 she has been so consulted. But the final authority is that of 
 Great Britain. She may plunge Canada in war against her 
 
8 
 
 interest, her wishes, even her honor ; or may seriously 
 injure her by treaties with other nations in peace. Great 
 Britain has just rejocicd an arrangement which Newfound- 
 land desired with the United States in consequence of the 
 remonstrance of the Dominion. 
 
 The veto power, if kept in force in practice according to 
 the letter of the provisions of the British North America 
 Act, not only leaves little of the local self-government to 
 the Provinces, but is a most serious restraint upon the pop- 
 ular will in federal or general legislation. This power 
 whenever exerted is absolute. No legislative body, how- 
 ever large the majority or entire the unanimity, can pass a 
 bill over the veto. The pardoning power for the Provinces, 
 as well as for the Dominion, is vested in the Governcw- 
 General. 
 
 In each Province the chief executive power is vested in a 
 Lieutenant-Governor, who is appointed by the Governor- 
 General in Council, and whose salary is fixed and provided 
 by the Parliament of Canada. Every bill passed by the 
 legislature of a Province must be presented to the Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor, who may either assent to it, withhold assent 
 to it, or reserve it for the consideration of the Governor- 
 General. If he withhold assent, the ))ill fails to become a 
 law. If he assent, it may be disallowed by the Governor- 
 General at any time within one year. If he reserve it, it 
 does not become a law unless the Governor-General assent 
 within one year. 
 
 In the same way all acts passed by the Parliament of the 
 Dominion may be assented to by the Governor-General in 
 the Queen's name, may be reserved for the royal pleasure, 
 or the Governor-General may declare that he withholds the 
 royal assent. In the first case the act becomes law. In the 
 second, it fails to become law, unless assented to by the 
 (^ueen within one year. In the last case, it is defeated. 
 
 Further, bills for appropriating any part of the public 
 revenue, or for imposing any tax or impost, must, if in the 
 
 wmm 
 

 i 
 
 Dominion Parliament, originate in the House of Commons, 
 and if in the legislature of a Province, in the popular 
 branch. No such measure can be adopted or passed in 
 cither, unless it has first been recommended by the Gov- 
 ernor-General or Lieutenant-Governor in the session at 
 which it has passed. 
 
 The Senate of the Dominion Parliament is composed of 
 Senators, originally not exceeding seventy-eight in number, 
 now limited to eighty-two, who are required to have a 
 property qualification, and who are appointed by the Gov- 
 ernor-General for life. The Speaker of the Senate is ap- 
 l)ointed by the Govei'nor-General, jmd is removable by him. 
 The Constitution of the legislative bodies of the Provinces 
 is not uniform. In Ontario, the L,egislature consists of the 
 Lieutenant-Governor and one House. In Quebec, there 
 are two Houses. The Senate is composed of twenty-four 
 I)ersons, who arc appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor for 
 life, until the Legislature shall otherwise provide. In Nova 
 Scotia and New Brunswick, there are two Houses, the 
 members of one of which are appointed for life by the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor. In Prince Edward Island, there are two 
 Houses, both elected. In Mauitcba and British Columbia, 
 there is but one House. 
 
 The judges of the principal courts of the several Piov- 
 inces, as well as of the Dominicn, are appointed l)y the 
 Governor-General. Their salaries:, are fixed and maintained 
 by the Parliament of the Dominion, and are entirely subject 
 to its control. 
 
 The Queen is declared to be a part of the Dominion 
 Parliament. 
 
 The executive power of the E'ominion is vested in the 
 (^ueen, who exercises it through the Governor-General, 
 whom she appoints and removes at pleasure. His salary, 
 now fixed at £10,000, cannot be reduced without his con*- 
 sent. He appoints the principal executive oflScers for the 
 Dominion. In the Provinces these oflacers are appointed 
 by the Lieutenant-Governor. 
 
10 
 
 It will be seen that, according to the scheme of the Cana- 
 dian Government, the authority of the Dominion controls 
 and restricts that of the Proyince at every point. The au- 
 thority of the Queen controls and restricts that of the Domin- 
 ion at every point. No law involving raising or expending 
 money can be introduced except on the recommendation of 
 the Governor-General appointed by the Queen, or passed 
 without the concurrence of the Senate, appointed by her 
 representative, or go into eftect until approved by her repre- 
 sentative, or by herself in Council. Canada can neither 
 raise a penny nor spend a penny unless the Government 
 propose the tax or the expenditure. No people claiming to 
 be self-governed were ever placed in so tight a constitu- 
 tional straight-jacket before. But in practice the popular 
 control over legislation is secured in another way resem- 
 blinff that of Great Britain. Canada has avoided the re- 
 striints which exist in the Constitution of the United States, 
 which tetter the initnediate action of the popular will, and 
 make a change of legislative policy <..> difficult here. In 
 the United States the executive power can change but once 
 in four years. The veto power is vested in the President, 
 which can be overcome only by a two-thirds vote in each 
 legislative chamber. The legislative power can be trans- 
 ferrcid from one party to another only when the majority in 
 each House has been changed. It frequently happens, us 
 was the case during the whole period from 1875 to 1889, 
 that the United States is without the possil)ility of national 
 legislation, except in the case where the two political parties 
 'nto which the nation is divided are agreed. So with re- 
 gard to foreign relations. Treaties can be made only with 
 the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senate. Ordinarily, 
 therefore, no treaty can ever be made without the concur- 
 rence of two parties into v;hich the country is divided. 
 
 On the dther hand, the Government of Canada is carried 
 on by a Ministry, api)ointed indeed by the Governor-(}en- 
 eral, but responsible to the House of Connnons, and chang- 
 
:hani!:es. 
 
 In this 
 
 ing when the majority in that House 
 respect the English system prevails here. 
 
 It is sometimes claimed that the veto power of the Queen 
 over the Acts of the Dominion Parliament, like that of the 
 Queen in Great Britain, which has been ol)solete since 
 1704, is a power never again to be used. Mr. Bourinot 
 expressed this view in his paper read before the American 
 Historical Association. But it is difficult to believe that 
 Great Britain would treat a great constitutional power as 
 obsolete, which was expressly reserved in a echerae of gpv- 
 ernment enacted in 1867, and which has been exercised 
 since that time. 
 
 Both parties in Canada have laid it down in their plat- 
 forms that the veto power should not be exercised l)y the 
 Dominion authority over Provincial legislation " in case of 
 acts clearly and unequivocally within the legal and consti- 
 tutional powers of the Province." Mr. Bourinot admits 
 that there is a latent peril in this power, even so restrained, 
 in times of excitement, and that it would have been letter 
 to leave it, as we do, to the Courts 
 
 We suppose the veto power reserved to the Queen in 
 Council would be exercised only where such veto seemed 
 to her advisei'S in England necessary for the preservation of 
 the royal authority, or the existing constitutional relation 
 of Canada to the Empire. The veto power reserved to the 
 Governor-General or to the Lieutenant-Governors in the 
 Provinces, is, we suppose, a living and real power. There 
 were forty-five cases of disallowances of Provincial acts be- 
 tween 1867 and 1887. The {)ower seems so far to have 
 been exercised with great caution and discretion. 
 
 Another practice, also, has grown up under which Provin- 
 cial acts are commented on, that is, the Minister of Justice, 
 acting for the Governor-in-Council, has pointed out to the 
 Provincial Government the particulars wherein certain 
 measures are objectionable. In such eases, they have been 
 amended or abandoned. 
 
 m 
 
 wmM 
 
' 
 
 12 
 
 Provincial Acts are disallowed on three grounds, viz. : — 
 
 As not within the power of the Provincial legislatures ; 
 
 As in conflict with Federal legislation ; 
 
 As prejudicial to the advantage of the Dominion as a 
 whole. 
 
 « The latter ground would include the objection that the 
 act was in violation of common right. 
 
 As the Governor-General in exercising this power is gov- 
 erned by the advice of the Ministry, who are the jmlitical 
 leaders of the majority in the Dominion House of Com- 
 mons, these vetoes are likely, in many cases, to be regarded 
 by the opposition as political, especially if the vetoed meas- 
 ure were introduced by the governing party in the Province, 
 being opposed to that of the Dominion. 
 
 The power vested in the Governor-General to reserve 
 acts of the Dominion Parliament has been exercised in a 
 few instances. An example is the Copyright Act of 1872, 
 where the Royal assent was refused. 
 
 The Governor-General is instructed so to reserve meas- 
 ures which in his judgment are inconsistent with (ircit 
 Britain's treaty obligations, which prejudice the rights of 
 British subjects outside Canada, or which strike at the 
 (Queen's supremacy, and, perhaps, others where like objec- 
 tions exist. 
 
 The preamble to the British North America Act recites 
 that "the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New 
 lirunswick have expressed their desire to l»e federally united 
 wit h the Dominion under the crown of the United Kingdoni 
 of Great Britain and Ireland, with a constitution similar in 
 principle to that of the United Kingdom." The essential 
 resemblance of the Canadian constitution to that of (freat 
 Britain, and its essential difference from that of the United 
 States, is shown by the fact that the administration is re- 
 sponsible to the House of Commons, and the Ministry must 
 resign if they cease to be in accord witli that uuijority. 
 The appointment of all judges and senators, and of the 
 
' 
 
 18 
 
 Speaker of the Senate and all executive officers, the allow- 
 ance or disallowance of the acts of Provincial legislature s 
 the introduction of bills for raising and expending money, 
 in <'cneral all executive administration and the institution 
 and conduct of all important legislation, depends upon the 
 will <;f a majority of the House of Commons. The num- 
 ber of Senators is limited. So that the resistance of the 
 Senate to the desire of the House of Commons, cannot be 
 overcome by the appointment of new Senators, as that of 
 the House of Lords to the will of the Commons by a creation 
 of Peers. 
 
 While, therefore, changes in the executive government 
 and in the administration of that government respond to the 
 popular will as represented by a majority of the House of 
 Commons, in a manner unknown to the United States or to 
 any of our Stales, if it were desired to declare the inde- 
 pendence of Canada or to unite her to any other country, 
 or to make for her a commercial union with any other coun- 
 try, which should give that country large advantages which 
 were denied to Great Britain, the promoters of the plan 
 must not only be able to overcome all the influences of 
 ■pah-onage, of attachment to England, of jealousy of other 
 countries, of conservatism, of the interests which bind in- 
 fluential men and strong parties to existing conditions, but 
 they must encounter the legislative power of a Senate 
 whose members are appointed by the crown and hold office 
 for life, and the veto powers expressly reserved by the Act 
 of 18(i7 to the royal Governor-General and to the Queen in 
 Council. It may bo that some method may be devised of 
 forming such political or commercial union other than an 
 act of the British Parliament or a revolution. But it is not 
 
 yet apparent. 
 
 The Queen is commander-in-chief of all the forces, and 
 has the riffht to determine the seat of government for the 
 Dominion. 
 
The seats of the several Provincial governments are de- 
 termined by the exec .tive authority of each. 
 
 The Dominion Parliament has also unrestricted authority 
 to make provision for the uniformity of all or any laws 
 relative to civil rights and property, and the procedure in 
 the courts of the various Provinces. But these laws do not 
 go into effect in any Province until adopted by the Legisla- 
 ture thereof. 
 
 As originally established in 1867, Canada consisted of 
 Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswici<, who 
 were to elect a House of Commons, consisting originally of 
 181 members, 82 for Ontario, 65 for Quebec, 19 for Nova 
 Scotia, and 15 for New Brunswick, to be enlarged there- 
 after at the will of the Parliament of Canada, preserving, 
 however, the proportion among those colonies according to 
 population. The members of the House of Commons must 
 possess the same qualifications as would entitle them to sit 
 and vote in a Provincial assembly. The qualifications of 
 voters may be prescribed from tifne to time by Parliament. 
 The other House of Parliament of Canada consists of 
 a Senate, originally of 72 members, each of whom must 
 dwell in the Province from which he is appointed, must bo 
 a natural born subject of the Queen of Great Britain, or 
 naturalized by either of the Provinces of the Union, or by 
 the Parliament after the Union, and must be seized of a 
 freehold worth four thousand dollars over all incumbrances, 
 and must also be worth four thousand dollars above all debt. 
 The person ceasing to have either of these qualifications 
 ceases to be a Senator. The Senate originally consistcil of 
 72 members, 24 each for Ontario and Quebec, and 24 for 
 the maritime Provinces. The Queen may on recommenda- 
 tion of the Governor-General increase the number of Sena- 
 tors, three at a time, the total number not to exceed 78. 
 Since the admission of the new Provinces the number of 
 Senators has been increased to 80. 
 
 Sections 91, 92, and 93 of the British North America Act 
 
 I 
 
15 
 
 are inserted here. They provide generally for the distri- 
 bution of legislative power between the Dominion and the 
 Provinces, and with what has already been said exhibit the 
 general character of the Constitution of Canada : — 
 
 91. It shall be lawful for the Queen, by and with the 
 Advice and Consent of the Senate and House of Commons, 
 to make Laws for the Peace, Order and Good Government 
 of Canada in relation to all Matters not coming within the 
 Classes of Subjects by this Act assigned exclusively to the 
 Legislatures of the Provinces; and for gieater certainty, 
 but not so as to restrict the "Generality of the foregoing 
 Terms of this Section, it is hereby declared that (notwith- 
 standing anything in this Act) the exclusive Legislative 
 Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends to all Mat- 
 ters coming within the Classes of Subjects next hereinafter 
 enumerated, that is to say 
 
 1. 
 2. 
 3. 
 
 4. 
 5, 
 6. 
 
 7. 
 8. 
 
 9. 
 10. 
 11. 
 
 12. 
 
 13. 
 
 14. 
 15. 
 
 16. 
 17. 
 18. 
 19. 
 20. 
 
 The Public Debt and Property. 
 
 The Regulation of Trade and Commerce. 
 
 The Raising of Money by any Mode or System of 
 Taxation. 
 
 The borrowing of Money on the Public Credit. 
 
 Postal Service. 
 
 The Census and Statistics. 
 
 Militia, Military and Naval Service and Defence. 
 
 The fixing of and providing for the Salaries and Allow- 
 ances of Civil and other Officers of the Govern- 
 ment of Canada. 
 
 Beacons, Buoys, Lighthouses and Sable Island. 
 
 Navigation and Shipping. 
 
 Quarantine and the Establishment and Maintenance of 
 Marine Hospitals. 
 
 Sea Coast and Inland Fisheries. 
 
 Ferries between a Province and any British or For- 
 eign Country, or between Two Provinces. 
 
 Currency and Coinage. 
 
 Banking, Incorporation of Banks and the Issue of 
 Paper Money. 
 
 Savings Banks. 
 
 Weights and Measures. 
 
 Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes. 
 
 Interest. 
 
 Legal Tender. 
 
i ! 
 
 16 
 
 21. 
 22. 
 23. 
 24. 
 25. 
 26. 
 27. 
 
 28. 
 
 29. 
 
 Bankruptcy and Insolvency. 
 Patents of Invention and Discovery. 
 Copyrights. 
 
 Indians and Lands reserved for the Indians. 
 Naturalization and Aliens. 
 Marriage and Divorce. 
 
 The Criminal Law, except the Constitution of the 
 Courts of Criminal Jurisdiction, hut including the 
 Procedure in Criminal Matters. 
 The Establishment, Maintenance and Management of 
 
 Penitentiaries. 
 Such Classes of Subjects as are expressly excepted in 
 the Enumeration of the Classes of Subjects by this 
 Act assigned exclusively to the Legislatures of 
 the Provinces. 
 And any Matter coming within any of the Classes of 
 Subjects enumerated in this Section shall not be deemed to 
 come within the Class of Matters of a local or private Na- 
 ture comprised in the Enumeration of the Classes of Sub- 
 jects by this Act assigned exclusively to the Legislatures of 
 the Provinces, 
 
 92. In each Province the Legislature may exclusively 
 make Laws in relation to Matters coming within the Classes 
 of Subjects next hereinafter enumerated ; that is to say : 
 
 1. The Amendment from Time to Time, notwithstanding 
 
 anything in this Act, of the Const iilion of the 
 Province, except as regards the Office of Lieutenant- 
 Governor. 
 
 2. Direct Taxation within the Province in order to the 
 
 raising of a Revenue for Provincial Purposes. 
 
 3. The borrowing of Money on the sole Credit of the 
 
 Province. 
 
 4. The Establishment and Tenure of Provincial Offices, 
 
 and the Appointment and Payment of vProvincial 
 Officers. 
 
 5. The Management and Sale of the Public Lands belong- 
 
 ing to the Province, and of the Timber and Wood 
 thereon. 
 ^Tho Establishment, Maintenance, and Management of 
 Public and Reformatory Prisons in and for the 
 Province. 
 7. The 'Establishment, Maintenance, and Mnnngement of 
 Hospitals, Asylums, Charities and Eleemosynary 
 
17 
 
 10 
 
 a 
 
 Institutions in and for the Province, other than Ma- 
 rine Hospitals. 
 
 8. Municipal Institutions in the Province. 
 
 9. Shop, Saloon, Tavern, A actioneer, and other Licenses, 
 in order to the raising of a Revenue for Provincial, 
 Local or Municipal Purposes. 
 
 Local Works and Undertakings, other than such as are 
 of the following Classes, — 
 
 Lines of Steam or other Ships, Railways, Canals, 
 Telegraphs, and other Works and Undertakings, con- 
 necting the Province, with any other or others of the 
 Provinces, or extending beyond the Limits of the 
 Province : 
 
 Lines of Steamships between the Province and any 
 British or Foreign Country : 
 
 Such Works as, although wholly situate- within the 
 Province, are before or after their Execution de- 
 clared by the Parliament of Canada to be for the 
 
 c. 
 
 general Advantage of Canada or for the Advantage 
 of two or more of the Provinces. 
 
 11 
 
 The Incorporation of Companies with Provincial Ob- 
 jects. 
 
 12. Solenmizaticm of Marriage in the Province. 
 
 13. Property and Civil Rights in the Province. 
 
 14. The Admi"^stration of Justice in the Province, includ- 
 
 ing the Constitution, Maintenance, and Organization 
 of Provincial Courts, both of Civil and of Crimi- 
 nal Jurisdiction, and including Procedure in Civil 
 Matters in those Courts. 
 
 The Imposition of Punishment by Fine, Penalty, or 
 Imprisonment for enforcing any law of the Province 
 made in relation to any Matter coming within any of 
 the Classes of subjects enumerated in this Section. 
 
 Generally all matters of a merely local or private na- 
 ture in the Province. 
 
 93. In and for each Province the Legislature may ex- 
 clusively make Laws in relation to Education, subject and 
 according to the following Provisions : — 
 (I.) Nothing in any such Law shall prejudicially af- 
 fect any Right or Privilege with respect to Denom- 
 inational Schools which any Class (if Persona have 
 by Law in the Province at the Union ; 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 
T-rr 
 
 18 
 
 
 i\ 
 
 (2.) All the Powers, Privileges, and Duties at the Union 
 by Law conferred and imposed in Upper Canada on 
 the Separate Schools and School Trustees of the 
 Queen's Roman Catholic Subjects, shall be and the 
 same arc hereby extended to the Dissentient Schools 
 of the Queen's Protestant and Roman Catholic Sub- 
 jects in Quebec ; 
 
 (3.) Where in anj'^ Province a System of Separate or Dis- 
 sentient Schools exists by Law at the Union or is 
 thereafter established by the Legislature of the 
 Province, an Appeal shall lie to the Governor-Gen- 
 eral in Council from any Act or decision of any Pro- 
 vincial Authority affecting any Right or Privilege of 
 the Protestant or Roman Catholic Minority of the 
 Queen's Subjects in relation to Education ; 
 
 (4.) In case any such Provincial Law as from Time to Time 
 seems to the Governor-Genera! in Council requisite 
 for the due Execution of the Provisions of this Sec- 
 tion is not made, or in case any Decision of the Gov- 
 ernor-General in Council on any Appeal under this 
 Section is not duly executed by the proper Provin- 
 cial Authority in that behalf, then and in every such 
 case, and as far only as the circumstances of each 
 case recjuire, the Parliament of Canada may make 
 I'emedial Laws for the due Execution of the Pro- 
 visions of this Section, and of any Decision of the 
 Governor-General in Council under this Section. 
 
 The important particulars, then, in which the institutions 
 of Canada differ from our own — and they are important as 
 showinjij what things in a constitution established in 1787 
 have seemed wise to the statesmen of 1867 — are these : — 
 
 Their system of changing the executive with the changing 
 majority of the House of Commons. Of this a few words 
 will be said presently. 
 
 The presence of their Executive in Parliament. 
 
 The Government's initiation and control of legislation. 
 
 The permanent tenure of their civil service, which does 
 not change with the changes of political power. 
 
 The reservation of the power over divorce to the central 
 government. The Senate of the Donainion is the tribunal 
 
19 
 
 of such trials, except in the inaritiine provinces. In Que- 
 bec divorce is not allowed l)y the Church to Catholics. So 
 from 1869 to 1886 there were but 116 divorces sn Canada, 
 to 328,613 in the United States. 
 
 The life tenure of the Senate. 
 
 The appointment of its members by the Government. 
 
 Their property qualification. 
 
 The real absence of any considerable weight in lowisla- 
 tion from the upper house. This house is always reluctant 
 to make any substantial modification in Govei'nment meas- 
 ures. 
 
 The general prevalence of the Australian ballot system. 
 
 The property qualification for voting and for seats in Par- 
 liament. 
 
 A Judiciary appointed by the Crown and holding oflSce 
 during good behavior, Ijut dependent upon the Legislature 
 for their salaries. 
 
 The jurisdiction in the courts of all cases of contested 
 elections. 
 
 The right of impeachment and of trial by the legislature, 
 which .Tames Monroe said is the mainspring of the great 
 machine of government, is inknown to Canada. 
 
 Canada has no bill of ri"iits. 
 
 No constitution was ever submitted to the people there, 
 except in a single instance in New Brunswick. 
 
 Her whole polity is controlled by the one pervading fact 
 that in the last resort the power which governs her is from 
 above and from without, and not from below and from 
 within. The Queen apj)oint8 her Governor-General, the 
 Governor-General appoints the Ministry and the Senate. 
 The Ministry initiatesall legislation. An appeal lies from 
 her highest court to the Privy Council in England. The 
 British Parliament can at any time overthrow her Constitu- 
 tion at a stroke. All her treaties are made by a power 
 foreign to her. All' her legislation is subject to the triple 
 veto power of her Majesty. 
 
20 
 
 It 18 doubtful, jilso, whether, under the great control 
 exercised by the central power over the Province, State 
 affection, State pride. State sovereignty, local public spirit, 
 which have had so strong an influence upon us, and to 
 which we owe what is greatest in our history, can ever be 
 engendered there. The executive head of the Province is 
 appointed by the executive of the Dominion. His salary is 
 fixed and provided by the Dominion Parliament. In those 
 Provinces where there arc two legislative houses, the mem- 
 bers of the upper branch are appointed by the Lieutenant- 
 Governor for life. The Governor-General has an absolute 
 veto over all Provincial legislation. The pardoning power 
 for the Provinces is vested in the Governor-General. It 
 will be seen by the sections of the Act of 18<)7 which we 
 have cited, how large a share of the legislative power which 
 we leave to the States, especially in the matter of crimes, 
 is exercised in Canada by the Dominion. 
 
 But the distinction which Canadian students like specially 
 to insist on between their parliament and ours is that which 
 wo have already briefly spoken of — the change in the exec- 
 utive with the changing majority in the House of Commons. 
 Canada has adopted the modern English system, which never 
 has obtained here in the national government or in any State. 
 Indeed, it was not fairly established in England very long 
 before our Constitution was framed. To establish it here 
 would require the complete abrogation of the authority of 
 the President, except so far as he should determine what 
 members of the popular legislative branch were the persons 
 who were entitled to be itrusted with power as best repre- 
 senting its will. It would require, also, the abolition of the 
 legislative function of the President. It would require that 
 the authority of the Senate, both in ordinary legislation and 
 in the treaty-making power (which is but another form of 
 legislation), should l)e nominal only, or at most should be 
 only sutficicnt for unimportant amendments to measures 
 prpposed by the other House, or to require the other House 
 
81 
 
 occasionally to reconsider its purposes. It would also re- 
 (|uirc elections of members of the House for a long term, 
 and the vesting in the governnnent the power of dissolution 
 and appeal to the people. 
 
 A discussion of the comparative advantages of this system 
 and our own is a tempting subject, to which a larger space 
 than can be given to this Report might profitably be de- 
 voted. We do not believe that such a form of government 
 would have been practicable during the early period of our 
 history. Nor do we believe that it would be practicable 
 now. It would certainly be rendered very difficult by the 
 great number of important questions which present them- 
 selves for solution almost at the same time in the United 
 States, and which will increase with us with the increase of 
 our population and wealth and the variety of our interests. 
 Suppose one party to-day could carry a majority of the 
 House of Representatives on the question of control of 
 national elections, or on the tariff, or the national banking 
 system, or subsidies for foreign commerce, or the question 
 of silver coinage, or the exi)enditures for rivers and har- 
 bors, or reciprocity with Canada, or with South America, 
 and the other party could carry a majority on the rest of 
 these questions or some of them. The Congress which has 
 just adjourned was the first for sixteen years where the Exec- 
 utive and both Houses of Congress were in the power of the 
 same party. It dealt with more than twent}'^ great subjects, 
 the fate of any one of which would have overthrown or es- 
 tablished an administration in England. Must we have a new 
 national election every three weeks, whenever one or the 
 other of them had l)een brought to a vote ? We should 
 have, also, if this were attempted, to change the constitu- 
 tional term of office of the Representative. With all the 
 power and greatness of England, she has as compact a pop- 
 ulation as one of our great States. Canada has but five 
 millions of inhabitants. Although her territory is nearly as 
 large as ours, her population is much less widely scattered. 
 
22 
 
 
 Her present system will, it is believed, be found impracti- 
 cable long before her population equals that of the United 
 States. 
 
 Her present system of government has not so far been 
 found wholly satisfactory in its operation. Within twenty 
 years, in spite of the vast aids she has received from 
 England, she has contracted a debt of more than six hun- 
 dred million dollars. Meantime our mighty magnet has 
 attracted the best of her population to us. Halifax, Quebec 
 and Montreal are but ports of entry for an immigration to 
 the United States. There are probably 1,250,000 Cana- 
 dians now dwelling in this country. 
 
 But we shall have dealt with but half this subject, until 
 the very peculiar relation to Canada of the Province of 
 Quebec, and of the French Catholic population who con- 
 trol that Province, and are spreading into some districts of 
 Ontario and into Northwest Canada, is fully understood. 
 The space in the Proceedings of the Society which may 
 fairly be allotted to this Report forbids us from even enter- 
 ing upon this most attractive topic. Quebec has an area 
 of 258,634 square miles. Deducting 69,946 covered by 
 the inland waters and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, there are 
 still left 188,688 square miles — a territory exceeding that 
 of France by 54,000 square miles — with a population of 
 about 1,500,000, of whom 88 per cent, are Catholics. 
 This population makes up 30 per cent, of all Canada, and 
 sends seventy French members to the Dominion House of 
 Commons. The political control of this body of men is 
 ecclesiastical to'an extent far greater than that exercised i)y 
 the Catholic Church or any other in any country of Europe. 
 What is the aspiration of the churchmen who control 
 Quebec as to its ultimate destiny, it is impossible to say. 
 La V^riUf an influential paper in the Province of Quebec, 
 declares that it is the aspiration of the French Canadian peo- 
 ple to establish a nation which shall perform on this conti- 
 nent the part France has played so long in Europe, and 
 
28 
 
 shall profess the Cutholic faith and spoak the French lan- 
 guage, and that they never will lose si^ht of thic national 
 destiny. M. Mercier, the premier of (^'uebec, and in every 
 way the foremost of her public men, is understood to favor 
 annexation to the United States. Meantime the Church 
 keeps her own counsel and maintains uiimpaired! the influ- 
 ence which she has exerted under all forms of government 
 since the days when Cotton Mather said, "Sir William 
 Phipps had Canada as much written upon his heart as 
 Calais was upon Queen Mary's. He needed not one," con- 
 tinues Mather, "to have been his duly monitor about 
 Canada : it lay down with him, it rose up with him, it en- 
 grossed almost all his thoughts." 
 
 We must leave a sketch of what may be called the con- 
 stitutional history of Quebec and a consideration of its 
 relation to the rest of Canada to another paper, if we are to 
 discuss the subject at all. 
 
 By the terms of capitulation, signed September 8, 1760, 
 by which Canada passed under British control, Great Brit- 
 ain bound herself to allow the French Canadians the free 
 exercise of their religion. Certain relii^ous fraternities and 
 all communities of religieux were guara nteed the possession 
 of their goods, constitutions, and privileges. A similar 
 favbv, however, was denied to the Jesuits, until the King 
 should be consulted. A like reservation was made with re- 
 spect to the tithes of the parochial clergy. By the Treiity 
 of Paris, September 10, 1763, (Ireat Britain bound herself 
 to allow the Canadians the free exercise of their religion. 
 In 1774 the Quebec Act was passed. 
 
 This statute is to the French Canadian of Quebec what 
 Magna Charta is to England — a sacred and irrepealable 
 bill of rights. There was bitter hostility to it in Great 
 Britain on the part of the Opposition. It was earnestly 
 denounced as the surrender of the rights of Protestants. 
 With this hostility our ancestors in America deeply sympa- 
 thized. Undoubtedly the knowledge of this sympathy had 
 
24 
 
 much to do with inducing the Church to give its great influ- 
 ence toward preserving the loyalty of Ct^nada and in de- 
 feating the alliance which the insurgent colonies so eagerly 
 desired. Under the Quebec Act the choice of bishops has 
 been left to t>e Church without interference by the secular 
 power — a lil)erty which it has never enjoyed in France or in 
 England. The clergy have maintained with great skill 
 their power over Quebec from that day to this. The influ- 
 ence of the parish system of Quebec, its extension into the 
 other provinces of Canada which lie to the westward, its 
 control over the legislation of the Dominion, the ettect of 
 its claim for tithes, which constitute the first lien on all the 
 real estate owned by Catholics, the discontent with the rule 
 of the Churcu introduced by the French Canadians who 
 settle in the United States or go back after a brief sojourn 
 here, the rapid increase of the race under the encourage- 
 ment given by the Church authorities to early marriages 
 and great families, the docile and thrifty character of the 
 habitant — aftbrd a most interesting and profitable field of 
 study, which we cannot enter now. 
 
 It is idle to speculate as to the destiny of Canada. The 
 writer has never been one of those who believe that material 
 interest will in the near future bring the people of Canada 
 into a political union with the United States. While the 
 strength of the interests which so incline her is very groat, 
 yet they do not seem to be greater in proportion to the 
 resisting power than they have been always in the past. 
 Under her (Constitution, as has already been shown, annex- 
 ation to this country can hardly be accomplished* without 
 the consent of Great Britain or without a violent revolution. 
 A conquest of Canada by the United States would be as 
 repugnant to us as to her. She already feels stirring in her 
 veins the spirit of her rising nationality. Her people are 
 coming to feel proud of the extent of her domain, of hor 
 vast material resources. They are forgetting the langmigo 
 
25 
 
 of the province, and are learning to speak the language of 
 the empire. She already 
 
 "Rises like tlie issue of a king; 
 ^ And wears upon her baby brow the round 
 And top of sovereignty." 
 
 We will not undertake to foretell whether the destiny of 
 Canada is to remain, as now, the most important dependency 
 of the British Empire, self-governing in everything but 
 name ; or whether she is to form a part of a great confeder- 
 ation of all the English-speaking peoples on the globe ; or 
 whether she is to declare her independence, and repeat, 
 with such changes as experience fihall suggest to her, our 
 own history ; or whether she is to come to us, and share tlie 
 advantages of our Constitution, and develop the resources 
 of the North American continent in a great partnership with 
 us ; or whether, after some fashion that the imagination 
 cannot now suggest, there are to rise on her soil in the future 
 
 " Phantoms of other forms of rule, 
 New ni^esties of mighty states." 
 
 But whatever may be her fate, it will be one to which the 
 people of the United States cannot be Indifferent.