IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 ■-IIIM 
 
 '" ilM 
 
 ''■ m 
 
 ■■■ mo 
 
 M 
 M 
 
 1.8 
 
 
 1.25 
 
 1.4 
 
 1.6 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 6" - 
 
 
 
 ► 
 
 V] 
 
 <^ 
 
 /2 
 
 "<3 
 
 ''4 
 
 ^l 
 
 em, <*. '■;> 
 
 
 /A 
 
 *^'.<* - /^^ 
 
 % 
 
 r 
 
 o 
 
 / 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sdences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
 ,\ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 "% 
 
 v 
 
 ^ 
 
 :\ 
 
 \ 
 
 % 
 
 '<i' 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^> 
 
 
 ^^. 
 
J. ^J 
 
 
 '* x.%^ 
 
 ^o 
 
 f/^ 
 
 .^ 
 
 ' 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut canadien de microreproductions historiques 
 
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 which 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. 
 
 
 
 Coloured covers/ 
 Couverture de couleur 
 
 I I Covers damaged/ 
 
 Couverture endommagde 
 
 Covers restored and/or laminated/ 
 Couverture restaur6e et/ou pelliculde 
 
 Cover title missing/ 
 
 Le titre de couverture manque 
 
 Coloured maps/ 
 
 Cartes gdographiques en couleur 
 
 □ Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ 
 Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) 
 
 I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ 
 
 D 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur 
 
 Bound with other material/ 
 Reli6 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 int6rieure 
 
 Blank leaves added during restoration may 
 appear within the text. Whenever possible, these 
 have been omitted from filming/ 
 II se peut que certaines pages blanchcis aicutdes 
 lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, 
 rnais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont 
 pas dt6 fiim^es. 
 
 Additional comments:/ 
 Commentaires suppldmentaires; 
 
 L'institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire 
 qu'il lui a 6t6 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 m^thode normale de fllmage 
 sont indiquds ci-dessous. 
 
 I I Coloured pages/ 
 
 Pages de couleur 
 
 Pages damaged/ 
 Pages endommagdes 
 
 Pages restored and/oi 
 
 Pages restaurdes et/ou pelliculdes 
 
 Pages discoloured, stained or foxet 
 Pages ddcoiordes, tachetdes ou piqu6es 
 
 Pages detached/ 
 Pages d^tachdes 
 
 Showthroughy 
 Transparence 
 
 Quality of prir 
 
 Quality in^gale de I'impression 
 
 Includes supplementary materia 
 Comprend du materiel supplementaire 
 
 Only edition available/ 
 Seule Edition disponible 
 
 I I Pages damaged/ 
 
 rT- Pages restored and/or laminated/ 
 
 I I Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ 
 
 I j Pages detached/ 
 
 I I Showthrough/ 
 
 I I Quality of print varies/ 
 
 I I Includes supplementary material/ 
 
 I I Only edition available/ 
 
 □ 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 fiim^es d nouveau de fagon d 
 obtenir la meilleure image possible. 
 
 This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 
 Ce document est film6 au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 
 
 10X 14X 18X 22X 
 
 12X 
 
 16X 
 
 20X 
 
 26X 
 
 30X 
 
 24X 
 
 28X 
 
 D 
 
 32X 
 
The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks 
 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. 
 
 Original 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 —i^ (meaning "CON- 
 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'evemplaire film* fut reproduit grAce A la 
 g6nAronit6 de: 
 
 La bibliothdque des Archives 
 publiques du Canada 
 
 Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduite avec le 
 plus grand soin, compte tenu de la conaidon et 
 de la nettet* c'a I'exemplaire film*, et en 
 conformity avec les conditions du contrat de 
 filmage. 
 
 Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en 
 papier est imprimde sont film^s en commen^ant 
 par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la 
 dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second 
 plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires 
 originaux sont film6s en commenpant par la 
 premiere 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 
 film6s d des taux de reduction diffdrents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre 
 reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film6 A partir 
 de I'angle supdrieur gauche, de gauche A droite, 
 et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre 
 d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants 
 illustrent la m^thode. 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 

 I 
 
 ■MfMikn* 
 
 ■' " ' / *»'' 
 
 PRACTICAL POLITICS 
 
 IN CANADA 
 
 COMFAREIJ WITM 
 
 CONSTITUTIONAL THEORY 
 
 4^ ^^/^ ^'^' 
 
 MONTEEAL : 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION. 
 
 1888. • . 
 
 ■rf*^«'™w"t'"»W 
 
'><i'j)-i''r 
 
 :r 
 
 tK/"') 
 
 ,% 
 
 U<J 
 
 •\ ' t >. 
 
 ii •}■ 
 
 
 ■ '^ 
 
 «^K 
 
 m 
 
'T7i-!5(«CTf^W»S/oy.*t»^ITn?^'»7!?OiS«BpBl 
 
 PRACTICAL POLITIC-S 
 
 o. //*>„•?■ 
 
 IN CANADA 
 
 COMPARED WITH 
 
 CONSTITUTIONAL THEORY 
 
 MONTBEAL : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION. 
 
 1888. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 s 
 
 The writer of this essay wishes to state at the 
 
 outset that he has no wish to advocate Annexation, 
 
 Commercial Union or Independence. His object 
 
 is merely to draw attention to certain facts and 
 
 tendencies which are worthy of consideration at the 
 
 present juncture. 
 
 September, 1888, 
 
THE BRITISH-AMERICAN 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF CANADA 
 
 At !i timo when Commorciiil Union (whicli, in the 
 opinion of many, is tiinti'unoinit to unnoxutiun) la being 
 openly discussed by leading men in Civnada, it may not 
 
 inei])al points 
 
 rotitable to 
 
 of the 
 
 ixamme some 
 
 wherein the American system of government ditfers from 
 our own ; and this inquiry is all the more interesting inas- 
 much as the form of government in the mother country is 
 gradually ap])r()ximating more and more closidy to the 
 Canadian model, and the cliange in this direction is looked 
 upon with considerable alarm by some of the best authorities 
 who have recently given their attention to the subject. Dr. 
 Gnoist, for instance, in the final chapter of his exhaustive 
 history of the British constitution, does not hesitate to assert 
 that a time may recur when the King in Council may have 
 to tal:e the actual leadership ; in other words, that England 
 may have to revert to the times of George the Third. Sir H. 
 Maine is of the opinion that " we in England are drifting 
 towards a type of government associated with terrible events 
 — a single assembly, armed with full powers over the con- 
 stitution, whi(;li it may exercise at pleasure. It will he a 
 theoretically all-powerful convention, governed by a practi- 
 cally all-powerful secret Committee of Public Safety." Dr. 
 Alpheus Todd, whose knowledge of the working of the 
 British constitution in the Colonies is far more comprelien- 
 sive than that of any English or Continental writer, confirms 
 
 I 
 
 I <' 
 
Sir H. Maine's view in almost the sam« words. "Wl in 
 CiinafJa," says Dr. Todd, "aro fast drifting into tliat hateful 
 thinj^, a inini.Mt»!rial oligarchy, which will turn jiarliainciitary 
 govc'.rnnuM/ into aru})ublic of tho worst <le.scription ;" ami in 
 8o far as Canada is concerned it is hardly too much to say 
 that she has (toasud to drift and has como to an anchor where 
 Dr. Todd predicted that she would. Sucdi ojdnions as these 
 coming from suc)i eminent, and, at the same time, unprejud- 
 iced authorities, are not only unsatisfactory, hut ev(!n alarm- 
 in«T, and, if justified by facts, it must be admitted that tho 
 form wliich the British con.stitution has recently taken, both 
 in En<,dand and in Canada, is fraught with danger to the 
 community. While the British constitution is being thus 
 attacked on all sides, the American constitution not only 
 holds its own, but has been made the subject of constant 
 e.ilogy by distinguished critics. Mr. Woodrow Wilson in^ 
 his recent work, " Congressional Legislation," has, it is true, 
 pointed out many weak spots in its practical working ; but 
 nothing that he has to say can compare for a moment with 
 the cru.shing indictment brought by the English, German and 
 Canadian authorities previously quoted against the modern 
 development of the British system. That the sei^aration of 
 the executive from the legislative function, which is so 
 characteristic a feature of the American system, should lead 
 occasionally to considerable friction is what might be 
 expected, but it surely by no means follows that matters 
 would be improved by concentrating all political power in a 
 single chamber. This danger was at any rate foreseen and 
 avoided by the able men who framed the American consti- 
 tution. That it does not always work harmoniously may be 
 true enough, but it has stood the test of time, although fre- 
 quently strained to the utmost, and even Mr. Gladstone has 
 described it as the most wonderful work ever struck off at a 
 given time by the brain and purpose of man. Mr. Gladstone 
 was scarcely accurate, as it was not " struck ofif " in any sense 
 of the words, and was merely a development of the State 
 
constitution ; its nnalofy to the State constitutions lifing 
 one of the chutf ^r^'umonts ur^oil in it« favour by its 
 BUpporUTs.* Tlr\s, huwjjver, is only l>y tluf way luid it can 
 iiardly ho <l»^nijU that it has proved a jtractical muccchs. Tho 
 feasor), perhaps, is not far to seek. Tlie American constitu- 
 tion was canfully ami (k(hh<!rately wori<c(l out hy ahlo nuui 
 for the h(fnelit of a democratic repuhlic, whereas tho British 
 Constitution is essentially aristocratic, to a large extent 
 unwritten and trailitional, and, when pushed to extremes (as 
 it must he in a j)ure democracy for which it was never 
 intcndf^d), it develoj)8 into tho government of 8irll. Maine's 
 secret Committee of Public Safety or i>r 'I odd's ministerial 
 oligarchy. 
 
 It is a ftict worth noting, how«;v ■ tha'. tho A\. jricans 
 would seem to have very narrowly escaped f 'oni the govorn- 
 raout of a single chami)er. 'irmed with utibfu. id i)owers over 
 the constitution. The Anti-Federalists, u^d by Thomas 
 Jefferson, George Clinton aud other distingiiislicd men, were 
 strongly in favor of a French republic, with all political 
 power concentrated in the National Assenddy. They scoffed 
 dt tho president as a bad edition of a Polish king, and far 
 from advocating that solid union, which more thuu anything 
 else has conduced to the material success of tho United 
 States, they were anxious to make the bond which held 
 them together as weak as possible, with a view to the pre- 
 servation of their liberties. So powerful was their opposition 
 that the federalist constitution^ had to struggle into exist- 
 ence in the face of innLraerable difticulties, and the change of 
 2 out of ()U votes in New York, of 5 out of ltJ8 votes in 
 Virginia, and of 10 out of 355 votes in Massachusetts, would 
 have proved fatal to its success. Well may Mr. Story 
 remark that the history of these times is fraught with 
 melancholy instruction, and had the Anti-Federalists carried 
 
 • This j)oiiit is wtill worked out by Alex. .Johnston, Princeton Review, 
 Vol. IV,-No. 2. 
 
8 
 
 the day the gi'eat republic migh: have proved a warning 
 instead of an example to mankind. Such a calamity was, 
 however, averted, and no sooner had the constitution got 
 into working order tlian the minority discovered it was not 
 the work of a party but a Bill of Eights for the nation, and 
 tliat the rights of the minority wore as much respected and 
 safe-gimrded as those of the majority. Its success was then 
 assured, and before many years elapsed we find Federalists 
 and Anti-F(^der;ilists alike kneeling ,down before this won- 
 derful bit of parchruLnt and joining in a common worsliip. 
 
 If we wish to get at the ideas of the men who framed 
 the American constitution we must take up the *' Federalist," 
 jind of this scries of letters it may be asserted that they, at 
 any rate, are the most remarkable series of j)olitical essays ever 
 struck off in a given time by the brain and purpose of man. 
 They exercised a wide-spread influence at the time, and in 
 view of the small majority by which the Federalists won the 
 day it seems evident that had these letters not been written, 
 the constitution would never have been carried. They are 
 replete with sound common sense, and the writers were 
 singularly free from those sentimental j)olitical " fads " so 
 fashionable among advanced Eadicals of the present day. 
 They were no believers in the ultimate perfectibility of man, 
 or if they were, they looked upon that desiral'^e consummation 
 as too far off to need notice from the practical politician. 
 Their first idea was to secure a solid union. " In all our de- 
 liberations," said Washington,* " we kept steadily in view that 
 
 * At a time when men like Mr. Parnell and Mr. Gladstone (who profess 
 the most iirofouml admiration for American institutions) are straining every 
 nerve to weaken the bonds which liold the British Emjiire together, these 
 words are surely full of import, and it se(^nis not a little strange in turning 
 over the pages of the Federalist to come across such arguments as the 
 following: — ^"The history of Great Britain," says .lay, "is the one with 
 which we are in general best acquainted, and it gives us many useful lessons. 
 We nniy jn'oiit by their experience without paying the price that it cost tlicni. 
 Although it seems obvious to common sense that the people of such an island 
 should be but one nation, yet we find that they were for ages divided into 
 three, and that those three were almost constantly embroiled in quarrels and 
 wnrs with one another." " If foreign nations," he adds, "find us destitute 
 cf an efficient government, or split into three or four independent and pro- 
 bably discordant republics, what a poor pitiful figure will America make in 
 

 
 which appears the greatest interest of every true American — 
 the consolidation of our union, in which is involved our 
 prosperity, felicity, safety — ])erhai»s our national existence." 
 Next to securing a solid union the Federalists were quite 
 determined that their government should be a government 
 of limited powers, and that nothing should induce them to 
 entrust their liberties to the tender mercies of a single 
 chamber armed with unlimited power. " Why," asks 
 Hamilton, " was government instituted at all ? Because 
 the passions of nuni will not conform to reason and 
 justice without restraint. Has it been found that bodies of 
 men act with more rectitude or greater disinterestedness 
 than individuals ? The contrary of this has been inferred 
 by all accurate observers of the condu(!t of mankind." 
 Acting upon this view they were careful that the ])owers of 
 every governing body and every ofiicer from the j)resident 
 downwards should be strictly defined and limited ; and that 
 (following Montesquieu's idea, as develo])ed in the State 
 constitutions) the executive, legislative and judicial 
 functions should be separated and kept ilistinct one from the 
 other in so far as was practicable. The result is that, as 
 Mr. Nordhoff puts it, " Congress enacts the laws but cannot 
 execute or enforce them ; the President enforces the laws, but 
 he does not make them ; the Courts of the United States 
 
 
 tlioir 
 
 • eyes ! Haw Iial)li' woulil slu> lu'coiuc, not niily to tlieir (.■ontt'ii)|it, Imt 
 
 to tlieir outra|,'e, aiul liow soon would (leiir-l>uiit,'Iit exjierieiiee I'locliiim tliat 
 when a people or laniily so diviile, it never tails to be aj^ainst ihemselves." 
 "If novelties are to Ik- slniniied," says Madison, "believe nie, the most 
 alarming of all novelties, the most wild ol' all projects, the most rash of all 
 attempts, is that of reiidin;^' us in jiieees in order to preserve our liberticus, 
 and promote our haiijiiness." And Mr. .lay eoneludes his second letter by 
 expressing his earnest wish "that it may be clearly fori'seen Viy every j;ood 
 citizen, that whenever the dissohition of the Union arrives. Auieiiea may 
 have reason to exclaim : Farewell, a Iodl,' farewell to all my j^reatness ! 
 IJritish Separatists who are so fond of turninij their eyes westward in search 
 of political novelties ini,i,dit surtdy lay these words to heart and take a lesson 
 from the founders of the i^reat republic. Constitutions, however excellent, 
 i will not mak" a nation great, but this jittachment to the Union, which, w-ith 
 the modern American has become a )iart of Inmsclf, has proved one of tlie 
 most inijioriant fai'tors in the inar-\cllou> practical success of the ri'publie ; 
 ami the decline ol this feeling in (ire at I5iitaiiu is one of the surest .signs of 
 decay. 
 
10 
 
 construe the laws and apply them." This sharp line of 
 demarcation is perhaps the strongest point in the constitu- 
 tion. The tendency of the Legislative and Executive to 
 encroach upon each other's territory was well known to the 
 Federalist leaders, and they did all that was possible to make 
 each department self-protective as against the other. " All 
 the checks," says Mr. Story, referring to this clause, " which, 
 with reference to our habits, our institutions, and our diver- 
 sities of local interests seem practicable to give perfect 
 operation to the machiner} to adjust its movements, to 
 prevent its eccentricities and to balance its forces — all these 
 have been introduced with singular skill, ingenuity and 
 wisdom into the arrangements." That many of these checks 
 have failed, as Mr, Wilson points out, to realize the hopes of 
 'their projectors can hardly be denied, but they have at any 
 rate had the <iifect of saving the States from that complere 
 domination of a single Chamber which ruined France, which 
 is doing incalculable mischief in England, and which is 
 working much evil in Canada ; and of all of these checks 
 that which has proved most effective is, — not the division 
 of the Legislative Branch into the Senate and House of 
 liepr-^.sentatives, but the sharp line which divides both Houses 
 from the Executive. 
 
 The consolidation of the Union and the es1<p,blishraent of 
 government with strictly limited powers were then the first 
 objects of the Federalists ; but, having got their constitution, 
 the next thing was to preserve it. They knew that the 
 besetting sin of republics is a restlessness of temperament 
 and a spirit of discontent at slight evils, and that this rest- 
 lessness will constantly drive the people to seek for relief in 
 hasty and ill-advised constitutitnial changes. That this has 
 proved a weak sj)ot in the British constitution can hardly be 
 denied, a constitutional amendment having been the bait 
 dangled before the eyes of the electors at nearly every 
 election during the past half century. • This power of the 
 
 I . 
 
11 
 
 legislature to alter the constitution at will did not escape 
 the attention of the cautious men who framed the American 
 eonstitution. " Even iu Great Britain," says Madison, where 
 the principles of political and civil liberty have been most 
 discussed, and wliere we liear most of the rights of the 
 constitution, it is maintained that the authority of the 
 Parliament is transcendant and uncontrollable, as well with 
 regard to the constitution as the onlinary objects of legislative 
 provision. They have accordingly in scrveral instances 
 actually changed by legislative acts some of the most 
 fundamental articles of the govci-nment." In order to 
 provide therefore against sudden changes in the constitution 
 by the ill-considered vote of a mere majority of the Legis- 
 lature, Article V provides that no amendment to the con- 
 stitution can become valid unless canied by a majority of 
 two-thirds in both houses of Congress, or by a convention 
 called by two-thirds of the States, and in either case it must 
 be ratified by three-fourths of the States. That tliis jtroviso 
 was in no way too strict is proved by the fact that although sud- 
 den changes have been checked, many excellent amendments 
 have been carried, notably, the clause whicli provides that 
 private property cannot be taken for public use without 
 compensation. " One of the mndamental objects of every 
 good government," says Story, referring to this clause, 
 "must bo the due administration of justice; and how 
 vain it would be, to s])eak of sucli an administration 
 where all pro])erty is subject to the will or ca])rice of 
 the legislature and the rulers." Under this clause much 
 of Mr. Gladstone's extraordinary Irish legishition would 
 have been impossible and his ingenious system of se- 
 curing political sup})ort by confiscating the ]iroperty of 
 his political adversaries would have V)een impracticable. 
 Such legislation iu America w^ould certainly have been 
 tested before the Supreme Court ; and the right oi aU 
 courts, state as well as national, to declare unconstitutional 
 laws void has been settled beyond the reach of controversy. 
 
ii 
 
 12 
 
 It does seem strange that a free people like the English 
 should have granted to a single Chamber such unlimited — 
 it might almost be said despotic — power, not only over their 
 constitution, })ut over the private rights and property of the 
 citizen, and the only explanation possible is that the true 
 position has not yet been recognized. The power of the 
 Crown and of the House of Lords has faded away so gradually 
 that the change has been hardly noticeable. As time rolls on, 
 however, and the bitterness of faction increases, there can 1)e 
 little douljt tliat a thoroughly democratic House of Commons 
 will not liesitate to use its ful] powers without scruple when 
 the political exigencies of the minister require it and all the 
 evils attendant upon the domination of a single Chamber 
 will become apparent. The British people may then wake 
 up to the fact that their jealousy of the power of the Crown 
 has led them too far, and that a despotic minister, supported 
 by a docile majority in a Single Chamber, possessing full 
 powers over the constitution, is even more dangerous tlian 
 a constitutional monarch ; and tliat as Dr. Gneist suggests 
 it may become necessary to revert to the government of the 
 King-in-Council. . 
 
 The form which the British constitution has taken in 
 Canada, where an aristocracy is unknown, and where an 
 attempt has been made to rcluce it to writing, as in the British 
 North America Act, is very interesting, more especially as 
 it has here developed, beyond all doubt, into the government 
 of a single Chamber, ])ure and simjile. The Senate, nom- 
 inated l)y the Lower Hi)use upon which it is sup])Osed to act 
 as a check, has ceased to exercise any real influence, and the 
 representative of the Crown has been so completely shorn 
 of the nominal powei-s conferred upon him that he no longer 
 possesses any executive power, and his influence, excellent 
 as it undoul)tedly is, is puioly moral. All real power, 
 executive and legislative, is exercised by the Chamber 
 which directly represents tlie people, and the minister 
 
13 
 
 who can commund a majority in this Chambor i.s complete 
 master of the situation. It should be remembered, however, 
 that the constitution which has rendered this result 
 pcjssible, was in no way the work oi the Canadian people; 
 and the way in which this measure was carried through is in 
 itself a remarkable instance of the power of the Legislature 
 (under British forms) to alter the constitution without apjteal 
 to the people, and which would have been impossible 
 under the forms of the American constitution. The scheme 
 of confederation was never submitted to a national conven- 
 tion as would have been the case in the United States. It 
 originated with ministers, the details were worked out by 
 ministers, (assisted later on by British crown lawyers) 
 and it was finally carried by what might almost be described 
 as a ministerial coup d'etdt. " Leading statesmen on both 
 sides," said Sir J. Macdonald, " had come to the common 
 conclusion that some step must be taken to relieve the 
 country from the deadlock and impending anarchy that hangs 
 over it;" and there was certainly a general consensus of 
 opinion among politicians of all shades of opinion that after 
 so many drawn battles it had become necessary to select fresh 
 ground. With a view therefore to deciding what had to be 
 done leading statesmen from the various provinces met 
 together, and after " a full discussion of sixteen days," the 
 new constitution sprang into existence. The question of 
 eciiiederation had never been brought seriously before 
 the people at any previous election, and that the people 
 at large took very little interest in the matter is proved 
 by the fact that the measure was hurried through by 
 ministers on the ground that if not carried at once it never 
 would be carried. Even the representatives of the j)eople 
 were ignorant of all details till the resolutions were put 
 before them, and they were told that they must pass them 
 promptly and without amendment, on the ground that they 
 amounted to a treaty between the Provinces, and that to 
 alter a detail was to destroy the value of the whole. Members 
 
14 
 
 of the Legislative Council (which was then elective) who ven- 
 tured to criticize the scheme, did so with the sword suspended 
 over their heads, as the new Senate was to be nominated 
 by the Ministry of the new Dominion, and opposition 
 probably meant exclusion. As leaders of opposite parties in 
 the Lower House had combined, a majority was certain, and 
 in this way one of the most important constitutional changes 
 of modern times was carried through by ministers in a few 
 months without any appeal to the constituencies. As an 
 instance of the j)()wer of the Legislature to alter the consti- 
 tution at will it is perhaps without parallel, and recent events 
 would certainly seem to indicate that had the people of the 
 various Provinces been more thoroughly made to feel their 
 responsibility for confederation, much subsequent trouble 
 might have been avoided. 
 
 That a system of government thus brought into ex- 
 istence should show traces of its ministerial origin is only 
 what might be expected, but the extent to which this is the 
 case is remarkable. So great indeed are the powers reserved 
 to the minister, that the Crown in Canada has ceased to have 
 any real existence, and it has been proved on more than one 
 occasion that the sovereign is ({uite powerless in ar^y con- 
 troversy that may arise between her representative and a 
 strong minister who connnands a majority in the popular 
 Chamber. Dr. Todd's protests against this weakening of 
 the power of the Crown are almost pathetic. "To assume 
 that the sovereign has become a cipher in the State," says 
 Dr. Todd — "a dumb and senseless idol" — without any 
 measure of political power, is entirely inconsistent with the 
 continuance in England of a monarchical government. Such 
 an assumption would transform' the Queen!s cabinet ministers 
 into an oligarchy exercising an uncontrolled power over the 
 prerogatives of the Crown and the administration of public 
 affairs, upon the sole condition that they arc able to secure 
 and retain a majority in the popular branch of the Legislature." 
 
15 
 
 This, however, is ])rocisely what has happened in Canada, 
 and the CroWn has in truth become no more than "a dumb 
 and aenseless idol," behind which the ministerial high-prit*st 
 conceals his identity, and issues his edicts to a believ- 
 , ing people. And yet a glance at the British North America 
 Act would lead the reader t(j believe that the powers reserved 
 to the Crown were very large, and one of the principal authors 
 of confeileratiou did not hesitate to assert that " our whole 
 action shows that the conference, in every step they took, 
 were actuated by a desire to guard Jealously the prerogative 
 of the Crown !" The British North America Act, however, 
 is not easy to understand. Its authors assettin the preamble 
 that they wish to " follow the model of the British constitu- 
 tion in so far as circumstances will permit ;" but, on the 
 other hand, Sir J, A. Macdonald, in recommending its adopt- 
 ion, says that, " in this system, which we propose for the 
 people, of Canada, we have in a great measure avoided the 
 defects which time and events have shown to exist in the 
 American constitution." The Canadian constitution is, 
 indeed, a strange 'indlange of British and American precedent, 
 and it would not be easy to say which of the two predom- 
 inates. In one point, however, it differs materially from its 
 American half-sister; for, whereas the American written 
 constitution always means precisely what it says, neither 
 more nor less, the British North America Act rarely carries 
 its true meaning, and any one trying to understand it will 
 find himself wandering amid a labyrinth of myths. The old 
 forms and verbiage of British tradition are so used as to 
 obscure the real facts, and the true meaning is only arrived 
 at when we come to see that the prerogative of the Crown, 
 so jealously guarded by leading statesmen, is in reality the 
 prerogative of the minister. Wherever such words as 
 " the Sovereign of Great Britain," " the representative 
 of the sovereign," " the Crown," " the Governor-Gen- 
 eral in Council," occur, they should be erased, and 
 the word " Premiei " substituted. To do this is merely to 
 
 I'! 
 
 '1 
 
 1^ 
 
16 
 
 put fact in i)laco of fiction, and yet, had tin; Act been so 
 printed, it niu.st bo confessed that the Canadian constitution 
 Would read stniu</cly. The absence of all checks such as 
 we find in the American constitution, th(; want (jf some 
 ]:)roj)er line of denuircation between the executive and the 
 legislative functions, and the uncontrolled power of a 
 Cabinet which commands a majority in the ruling'Chamber, 
 then becomes apparent. Ministers must retain their majority 
 intact, it is true ; but, the entire patronage; of the Crown 
 having been absorbed by the minister, tiiis task is more easy 
 than might be su})posed. He controls all ajipointments to 
 the Senate (which is sui)posed to act as a check on the 
 Lower House), to the Supreme Court, the Bench throughout 
 the Dominion, the Civil Service and the Militia, and he can 
 appoint or remove at pleasure the Lieutenant-Governors of 
 the I'rovinces. These powei's, however (which, })erhaps, 
 have not been seriously al)used, althouj'h fitness counts for 
 little unless accompanied by political services rendered), form 
 but an insignificant item in the patronage at the disposal of 
 the minister. Mr. Howland jokingly remarkiid, during the 
 debates on confederation, that it was the first time he had 
 ever known Kailways made part of a constitution, and 
 although not strictly accurate, the remark was apposite. 
 Under the head of public works, the government (,sup- 
 ported, -of course, by the votes of its majority in the House) 
 can build or subsidize railways, (canals, har])our-works, river 
 and lake improvements, military roads and many other 
 minor undertakings ; and tli(! almost unlimited control over 
 the public purse thus conferred upon the minister of the 
 day has enormously increased the range of his patronage, 
 and has led to an expenditure which (considering the small 
 population of the Dominion) is truly alarming. It may 
 indeed be asserted that jt is only in the distribution of this 
 extensive patronage that the Canadian minister shows any 
 sense of economy, and not one drop is wasted with a view 
 to attaining the one object — that of keeping together a solid 
 
17 
 
 majority in the siii<,'lc Chamber, which lias hecome the .sdU; 
 depositary of })oliti('al jiower,* i 
 
 If we wish to oxnmine tlio arguments l»y Nvhiili the 
 autliors of confederation recomnicncU'd tiiis cnmiKjsite 
 constitution for adojition by tlie ('anadian peo])le, we must 
 turn to the debutes on confederation, but wo may search 
 through tliese debates in vain for tliat cahu reasoning and 
 struighlforward discussion which characterize the letters of 
 the "FederaHst." When British precedent is referred to, 
 the old forms of IJritisli tradition are constantly used in such 
 a way as to befog the reader, and " the Crown " is constantly 
 spoken of as if it were something still existing and exercising 
 executive power. In discussing the constitution of the 
 Senate, for instance. Sir J. A. Macdonald argued throughout 
 as if the nominations by the; Crown were a reality instead 
 of being a most transparent myth. Mr. Brown, however, 
 who did not ])ossess tlieyn<e.>*«c of his leader, })ut the case 
 plainly enough : " What we jtropose, says Mr. Brown, is that 
 the Upper House be a])pointed from the best men of the 
 country by those holding the confidence of the representa- 
 tives of the people in this chamber. It is proposed that the 
 government of the day, which only lives by the approval of 
 this Chamber, shall make the appointments and be res[>onsi- 
 ble to the people for the selections they shall make." This 
 is straightforward, at any rate, ^id jiorhaps it may be admitted 
 that it made very little dillerence whether the Senate was 
 elected or nominated, Tlic United vStates Senate works 
 admirably as a check upon the Lower House, for the reason 
 that both Houses possess legislative power only, and are 
 
 *An amusing exainple oftlio jiractical (Elects of this systfin ot jiov'tTu- 
 ment by jiatroiiago came iimlcr tli" iiotiiH- of the writiT at a recent elffctinii. 
 Some (toverumoiit works were lieiiigeaiiied on in tlie neiglilmrliootl, and tlie 
 electors were alarmed lest tlie work niiglit lie ]mt a sto)) to if tliey did not 
 vote the right way, and at tlie tinir ^it was very doiiljtful as to wln'tlier the 
 ministry then in ])ower would carry the day. Their re]iresentative, however, 
 was quite equal to the occasion. " (Jentlemen," he said, "'as you know, I 
 have al>vays voted with the government, and if you support me with your 
 
 n\\ 
 
 vay 
 
 suffrages, I shall continue to vote for the government, whichfver sid: wiiis." 
 He was elected. 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 ilistiiK't from the Exocutivo.* To HUi)p()He that any Upper 
 lIouHO, whtalier hereditary, eh-ctivo, or really nominated hy 
 the Crown, and poH.sea.sinj,' at most only a revisionary ]t(»W('r, 
 can act serion.sly as a check npon the Iloust! which directly 
 repre.scntH the people, and which wields not only the legis- 
 lative but the executive power also, seems out of the ques- 
 tion; but that this sinj^de Chanibi!?, which has already gathered 
 to itself all legislative and executive power, should then pro- 
 ceed to nominate its own Upj)er House, does seems to bo the 
 very redudio ad absurdwni, of constitution-making. The- 
 result in Cunada, at any rate, has been that the Senate has 
 almost drifted out of sight and become a mere debating club 
 for retired politicians, whose discussions, for all practical pur- 
 poses, might as well be held in London as at Ottawa. It is 
 true tiiat when Sir J. A. Macdonald was defeated and Mr. 
 Blake and his friends came into power, they were alarmed at 
 having to face a Senate, every member of which had been 
 appointed by their adversaries, and they at once endeavored 
 to get the constitution amended with a view to securing a 
 majority of their own in the Upper Chamber. They soon 
 discovered, however, that their fears were groundless, and 
 that the Senate understood its position far too well to inter- 
 fere in any matter of importance. 
 
 *lt is often aHserted that the Senate j)o.sse.saos executive power, inasmuch' 
 as it acts as a chuck on tho a|i[)oiiiting and treaty-making |po\ver of the 
 illxccutive ; hut it must be rememlicred tliat the Senati) acts as a check only, 
 and could not is.sup a single executive order. Tliat tho Senate has almost 
 invarialily abused its j)rivilege of revising treaties is unfortuuateiy too true, 
 and noteably in the case of the Fisheries Treaty ; but this nuvy snroly bo 
 attributed almost as nnich t( the nature of the case as to any Inherent defect 
 in the constitution. The position of Canada, practically independent of tho 
 mother country, granting no privileges to the mother country, which are not 
 enjoyed l.'y foreign nations, and yet dependent upon the mother country in 
 case of war, is so utterly anomalous, that no precedent can be based upon it. 
 Nor should we forgot, as the Abbe Mably puts it, that "neighbouring 
 States are naturally enemies of each other unless their common weakness leads 
 them to league in a confederate republic, and their constitution prevents the 
 • differences that neighbourhood occasions, extinguishing that secret jealousy 
 which disjwses all ulates to aggrandize tlicmselvcs at the expense of their 
 neighbours." Mr. Story in his "American Constitution," makes use of this 
 quolatiou from the Abbti Mabiy, and it may be said to cover the whole 
 Fishery dispute. 
 
19 
 
 In the constitution of the Scniitc, tlieii, the iuithors of 
 oonfedcnitirni foUowed ncithor British nor Ann ricjin prra;- 
 dcnt, but strufik f)Ut a lino of their own, which U-il to a coin- 
 lAaU: Jiamo ; and, indeed, it would not he easy t(» discover - 
 wherein tln^y had improved u])on the work of su(;h int-n as 
 Hamilton and Madison did they not themsclvijs eidij^diten 
 us. "The great want und(!r the American form," says Hir 
 Geo. Cartier. " the point which they all admitted was the 
 great defect — was the aljsenee of sonuf res])ectable executive 
 element. How was the luuid of the Un;t(id States govern- 
 mont chosen ? Candidates came forward, and, (if course, each 
 QUO was abused and vilified as corrujtt, i^^norant, incapable 
 and unworthy by the opposite party. Such a system could 
 not produce an executive head who would command rcs]»e(;t. 
 Under the British system, ministers might be abused and 
 assailed, but that alnise never reacluHl the sovereign." Sir 
 John A. Macdonald is still more explicit: " \>y adhering to 
 the monarchical principle we avoid oin; defect inherent in 
 the constitution of the United States. Jiy the election of a 
 president by a majority and for a short period, he is never 
 the sovereign and chief of the nation. He is at best but the 
 successful leader of a party. We avoid this by a'lhering to 
 the monarchical principle — the sovereign, whom we respect 
 and love. 1 believe that it is of the utmost imjtortance to 
 have that principle recognized, so that we shall have a 
 sovereign who is placed above the region of party — to whom 
 all parties look up — who ia not elevated by the action o( one 
 party, or depressed by the action of another, who is the com- 
 mon head aad sovereign of all. In this constitution we 
 propose to continue the system of responsible government 
 which has long obtained in the mother country. This is a 
 feature of our constitution as we have it now, and as we shall 
 have it in the federation, in which, 1 think, we avoid one of 
 the great defects in the constitution of the United States. 
 There, the president, during his term of office, is in a great 
 measure a despot, a one-man power, with the command of 
 
If 
 
 20 
 
 the imviil and iiiilitury Ioicoh — with an inunenHr anuuint ol 
 ])utr(inu)^'o us Ur.nd ol' tlui executive, ami with tlie veto |)()Wer 
 us u ltran{!h of the le<,MsliitMre, ]»er('e(;tly uncontrolled by 
 r<'H|M)n.sil»lo iidvi.ser.H, his cuhinet hein^ dcpuitinentul otlieer.s 
 ine ndy, whom ho is not ohlij^eil by the constitution lo mlvi.sH 
 witli, uides.s lio chooses to do so. With us, the soverei^^n 
 can act only on thd advise of his ministers, those ministers 
 being responsible to the j)C()i)lo through I'arliament." 
 
 Now it must bo admitted that all this reads remarkably 
 well, and it is im|tossible not to admire tin; loyalty of the 
 speakers; but a mere glance at tlu! facts i; sjinicient to show 
 that the entire eilitice is as mythical as one of (Jrimm's fairy 
 tales. The blessings promised to (Janadians, which are not 
 enjoyed by their less fortunate brethren in the States, are the 
 nu)nurchical jtrinciple, the avoidance of a j)re3idential desp(»t- 
 iam, a respectable executive and responsible government ; , 
 but of these, the monarchical j)rin(!ij)lo exists to-day only as 
 a tradition, and it was the distinguished minister who mu<le 
 this loyal sj»eech who himscdf obliterated the last trace of the 
 lioyal prerogative in Canada by insisting on the dismissal of 
 a Lieutenant-Governor (whose political usefulness was gone) 
 although the Governor-General ojiposed his action to the .last 
 as unconstitutional. " 1 have a majority " was the only 
 argument used, but it was enough. And where is the respect- 
 able Executive ? It seems difficult to believe that the 
 speakers can have been referring to themselves, and yet 
 (unless it was "the dumb and senseless idol") such was 
 actually the case, as they themselves subsequently became 
 the true executive. It is, however, when we find the presi- 
 dent referred to as a despot that the contrast becomes most 
 glaring, as the prerogative of the premier is in reality far 
 more extensive than that of the president. The president 
 can only act as head of the executive, and apart from the 
 veto power (which can be over-ruled by a two-thirds vote), 
 he possesses no power over the Legislature and could not 
 
21 
 
 f»A«H a si'n^'lf* Irtw. Tho funftfiiun pnnniiir in not only \wm\ 
 of tlit> KxciMitivo, Imt jiH It'iitU'i' of tilt' lltiu.sc of CoinmniiH lui 
 coiitiuls iIm> Lj'ginliitmtf ini<" 'an put ihrou^li lii.i own 
 ini'usunis, T!i«' presitlt'iit tunnot nmku iipiMiinlmciitH with- 
 out the udvicir lunl cunstMit of the Stuiiitr, but iImto is no 
 8U(li chM'.k on tln! niinist«!r, wIkwo putnmuj^o (witli public* 
 works in i»iirt of tlu! const'* ution) in fur iiirj^nr iin«l nioro 
 extensive. The president .. not iieoesHiirily the suceessful 
 lender of ii jtiirty ; the (J:inii(Uiiii prnuiev niust be. Tho 
 |»resident cim only holil power for a limited periixl, but tho 
 successful leader of >i ]iurty nuiy hold it a.s j»rinu! minister 
 for a life-tinu!. VVlu-re, then, does tho president have the 
 advantage ? Under responsible f^overnment, the minister, 
 it in ti" , must retire before a hostile vote in the Hcjuse of 
 CoinniDiiS ; but " rcs!"onsil>le government," t^'ain, is one of 
 those old English traditional forms, whieli, I11..0 "the Crown," 
 may mean a great deal or very little. In its original siguifi- 
 cation it ccrtaiidy referred to the responsibility of ministers 
 to Parliament lor the acts of the Crown; but in Canada, 
 where the (h'own is the mere shadow of a shadow, it might, 
 with almost eipial truth, be taken as referring to the resjton- 
 sil)ility of the Queen's rejtreseutative for the acts of his 
 ministers, whose mouth-piece (on slate occasionsj he is Ixjund 
 to be, although the sentiments expressed cannot always har- 
 monize with his own convictions, Tos])eak of the responsi- 
 bility of ministers to the peojtle (as is constantly tlone) is, at 
 any rate, inaccurate. The [jremier is not really responsible 
 either to the Crown or to the peojile directly, but to tho 
 representatives of the jx-riplc in {\u>. }Iouse of Commons; and 
 so long as he can stand ui» and say, " I have a lUiijority," his 
 power is far more despotic than that of the strongest man 
 that ever occupied the jiresidential chair. 
 
 It may be admitted, however, that if confederation was 
 a political niicessity, then .1 strong central government was 
 also a political necessity. The history of confeilerations is 
 
■IH 
 
 ifl 
 
 22 
 
 not re-assuiiiig. Wlieii we consider that even the little 
 United Provinces, although surrounded by enemies, found 
 time to imperil their very existence by squabbling over state 
 ri'dits, and when we have before us the bitter experience of 
 our neighbours across the border to the same effect, we must 
 admit that there was every reason for anticipating similar 
 trouble in the Dominion and for p.'oviding against it. Both 
 the United I'nn inces and the United States were homogen- 
 eous masses as compared with the Dominion. It was a 
 serious task to undertake to weld together a string of pro- 
 vinces, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific — separated 
 from each other by wide stretches of barren waste — differing 
 from each other in language, religion autl race — without even 
 a community of l)usincss interests, and touching at every 
 point upon the borders of a kindred but vastly more power- 
 ful nation.* It is not surprising, under the circumstances, 
 tliat so a}>lo and far-seeing u politician as Sir John A. Mac- 
 donald should have done all that was possible to strengthen 
 and fortify the central power so as to render it impregnable 
 against all assault. Nor can it be said that the experiment 
 has proved unsuccessful. Carefully nursed and stimidated 
 by a paternal government possessing such exbmsive powers 
 , that it might almost be described as a beneficent despotism, 
 the Dominion has progressed rajjidly. Trade has been fos- 
 tered, railways have been built, stretching from one coast 
 
 * It is thin wide extent of the Canadian territory wliich renders any 
 coni]iaris(Mi between Ctreat Britain and Canada illusive, and Englishmen who 
 look to Canada as a precedent for federation can only lie nusled It may be 
 remarked, however, that confederation has certainly not had tlie efi'ect of 
 increasing kindly feeling between liritish and French Canadians Init ''vther 
 there/erse. Twenty years ago the cvlcnlc corduth: between the two races 
 was far more marked than it is to-day. The French {iroviuee has undoubtedly 
 become nn^re national, more sectional &nA}iltifi bigi}t ilay by day, and thi're is no 
 reason wliy. federation in (ircat l>ritain should not produce the same Vesidt. 
 England and Scotland, Wales and Ireland, each hugging its own nationality, 
 would gradually become more and more estranged, and as Mr. Jay expressed 
 it, dear bought experience would soon pro; laim that when a nation or family 
 so ilivides it never fails to be against themselves. The fact is that, as vSir H. 
 Maine has pointed out, dtnnocracies are paralyseil by the plea of nationality, 
 and there is no help for it. 
 
23 
 
 to the other, larj^e public, works have been everywhere com- 
 menced and carried throu'^'h, and the peo]»le have displayed 
 a cai)acity for bearing taxtjtion which, a': one time, would 
 have been deemed incredible. This side of the picture is 
 sufficiently satisfactory, but is there no reverrtC ? Is it not 
 possible that this ra}tid rate of jjrogress has been dearly pur- 
 chased, and that material success has I'een secured by sacri- 
 ficing those first principles, without which no nation can in 
 the long run attain to strength and vigour ? That our 
 system of government has led the people to rely upon 
 the governnuiut for assistance in all their undertakings, 
 to an almost incredible extent, is beyond doubt, and 
 this spirit of dependence v.ws fostered from tlie start 
 by the way in which confederation was brought about. 
 Confederation was a tour dc force from the outset. 
 The various [)rovinces were neither argued into it, 
 nor persuaded into it — they were simply bought into it. 
 This was done b/ a skilful manii)ulation of the debt and by 
 granting a subvention of eighty cents a head of the popula- 
 tion to each of the provinces, which resulted in each province 
 being convinced that it had made an excellent bargain with 
 the central government. The evils of this system and its 
 probable ill-consequences were pointed out at the time, and 
 notably by Mr. Dunkin, whose ])ro}ihelic words have ])roved 
 only too true. 
 
 "Whether the provincial Executive savors at all ol 
 responsible government or not," says ^Ir. Dunkin, " be sure 
 it will not be anxious to bring itself more under the control 
 of the Legislature, or to make itself more odious than it can 
 help, and the easiest way for it to get money will be from 
 the general government. I am not sure either, but that 
 most members of the provincial Legislature will like that 
 way the best. It will ni.tt be at all unpojjular the getting 
 of money so. Quite the contrary. Gentlemen will go to 
 their constituents with an easy conscience telling them, 
 
I i 
 
 I' 
 
 1 
 
 j 
 
 i ' ' 
 
 i i 
 
 ■ 
 i 
 
 
 
 i t. 
 
 2^ 
 
 ' True, we had not much to do in the provincial Legislature, 
 and you need not ask very closely what we did ; but I tell 
 you wliat we did : we got the federal government to increase 
 the subvention to our province by five cents a head, and see 
 what this gives you— $500 to that road— $1,000 to that 
 (Jharity. So much here, so much there. That we have done, 
 and have we not done well V I am afraid, in many constitu- 
 encies, the answer would be, ' Yes, you have done well ; go 
 and do it again.' lam afraid the jprovincial constituencies, 
 Legislatures and Executives will all show a most calf-like 
 apj^etite for the milhing of this one most magnificent gov- 
 ernment cow." Here Mr. Dunkin hit off what has proved 
 the greatest blot on the Canadian system of government ; 
 and the truth of his remarks is proved by the fact that not 
 long ago, the ministers of the various provinces met together 
 and passed a series of resolutions, the gist of which was 
 that the time had arrived when the central government 
 must be called upon to increase its subvention to the Pro- 
 vinces. That the provincial goverimients, having once been 
 subsidized, should desire to be subsidized again is, perhaps, 
 not surj)rising ; bat the system, unfortunately, does not end 
 here. It extends throughout the length and breadth of the 
 Dominion, and the Tieople have beccme so accustomed to look 
 to the central government for assistance in one shape or 
 other, that no undertaking of any magnitude can' be com- 
 menced without it. The strong hand of the central gov- 
 ernment doling out subsidies here and grants there (in return, 
 of course, for political support at the polls) is felt every wherCj 
 and to such an extent has this been carried that the political 
 history of Canada since confederation might almost be 
 written under the heading of " The milking of the govern- 
 ment cow." The government cow, indeed, very much 
 resembles that golden calf before which the people fell down 
 and worshi])ped. That the revival of this ancient culte is 
 demoralizing to the last degree must be self-evident to all 
 who have followed the recent coarse of events in Canada, but 
 
25 
 
 it is the one bond of union between the scattered provinces 
 of the Dominion, and to throw it down would be a perilous 
 experiment. It is the price paid for Canadian nationality, 
 and it would be useless to haggle over it. 
 
 That annexation would improve matters seems very 
 doubtful. There are two theories of government. One is that 
 the Government should do as little as possible, leaving the 
 people to manage their own affairs ; the other is that the 
 Government should do as rauch as possible — interfering, 
 regulating and oiling every joint of the machinery day by 
 day. This latter is the system which has always been in 
 vogue in Canada from the time of the French rigime down- 
 wards ; whereas the former system was adopted in the States, 
 where the New England settlers managed their own affairs 
 from the first. It is, indeed, remarkable to find that immi- 
 grants from Vermont, who settled in Canada and who wished 
 to bring with them their own local institutions, finally gave 
 way and fell in with the paternal system.* Tradition counts 
 for much in these matters, and Canadians would not wil- 
 lingly depart from their traditions ; nor should it be forgotten 
 that our provincial governments are merely weak copies of 
 the central government.^ and no one who has watched their 
 
 *0n this point Bourinot's "Local lioveauiiu'iit in Canada" is most 
 instructive. 
 
 + Tlie following report (taken from the Star of August 24th, 1888,) of a 
 speech made by Mr. Mercier, wherein he describes tlie use to be made of the 
 surplus arising from the forced conversion of the ]irovincial debt is instructive 
 .as an illustration of the system pursued by the provincial government of the 
 Province of Quebec: — "Mr. Mercier, on Wednesday evening, took as his 
 subjects the principal political tojiics now agitatiat? the peo}ile of this jiro 
 vince, incliv'ir'^'^ the debt conversion scheme, wliicii he declared his intention 
 of carrying through, and dividing ilie .saving in interest to the ])rovi!ice each 
 year (some $250,000), one tliird in education and firo-f.hirds araoinjd the 
 farnwrs in colonization, making roads, etc. ; i:i grants to agricultural associa- 
 tions, in educating the farmers in better methods of farming, and in iiud-lng 
 improved butter !" It may seem incredible that a provincial premier should 
 deliberately wreck the credit of his juo vince in tlie money markets of the 
 world, in order that farmers naght learn to make Ijutter ; Imt it is in reality 
 no more than a reductio ad absurdum of the Ottawa sy.Ttem, and it is in- 
 teresting a;j showing the monstrous lengths to which that .system may be 
 carried when tlie jwwers conferred by our constitution fall into the hands of 
 inconi])etent and not over-scrupulous men. 
 
 1 
 
26 
 
 I 
 
 working (in Quebec, at any rate,) would care to see their 
 powers increased. On one point only would the present 
 writer venture to express an opinion : It is a dangerous 
 experiment for a democracy to concentrate all poiver in a 
 si^igle Chamber, and it is far safer to follow the American 
 system, which carefully separates the executive and legisla- 
 tive functions. If both our central and provincial govern- 
 ments could be remodelled on this basis it might be produc- 
 tive of much good, even at the cost of those jars in the 
 machinery and occasional dead-locks, which are so much 
 deplored by Mr. Woodrow Wilson. Mere smoothness of 
 working may be dearly purchased at the cost of entrusting 
 all political power to what Sir H. Maine has so a])tly 
 described as a Secret Committee of Public Safety. 
 
 • ; 
 
 — T^^^^fr^^ 
 
 1 
 
0"T 
 ^1 
 
 CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION. 
 
 Mr. Wilson, in his valuable work, "Congressional Legisla- 
 tion," frequently refers to the working of the British constitution 
 in the mother country for precedents ; but the fact is that the 
 British constitution to-day is almost as much in a transition state 
 as it was in 1787. When Mr, Bagehot pul)lished a second edition 
 of his well-known work, in 1872, he had to add a long chapter, 
 pointing out the changes which had occurred since the first edition 
 was issued, and another chapter might now be added. Under 
 the constitution of Solon, the Athenians were divided into classes, 
 and although all had votes, none but the higher classes were 
 eligible for the offices. In England a similar system has long 
 prevailed (custom supplying the place of law), and the wire-pullers 
 have been content to return to Parliament as their representatives 
 members of the upper classes selected from the aristocracy, the 
 landed gentry and wealthy merchants. It is only in Ireland, 
 so far, that the people have availed themselves of their voting 
 powers to return representatives from their own class, who have 
 to look to i)ohtirs as a means of subsistence. All this is gradually 
 changing,and the new Local (kwernment Bill will doubtless hasten 
 the change, but much of this aristocratic tradition still lingers in 
 the mother country, and not until it has been finally wiped out 
 can any comparison be instituted between the working of political 
 institutions in the two countries. It is in Canada, where the 
 British constitution has been adajitcd to the use of a thoroughly 
 democratic community, that the practical working of the system 
 recommended by Mr. Wilson can best be studied, and in Canada 
 it has certainly developed an alarming resemblance to that system 
 of government by patronage, which the Marquis of Bute recom- 
 mended to George the Third, and which that astute nobleman 
 certainly had in his mind's eye when he made the sinister sugges- 
 tion that " the forms of a free and the ends of an arbitrary gov- 
 ernment are things not altogether incompatible." And the materials 
 
n 
 
 28 
 
 1 .1 
 
 for the establishment of a similar system are all ready to hand in 
 the United States. " A very different and much larger side of 
 federal predominance," says Mr. Wilson, " is to be seen in the 
 history of the policy of internal improvements. Its practice is 
 plain and its persistence unquestionable. Its chief results have 
 been that expansion of national functions which was necessarily 
 involved in the application of national funds by national employers 
 to the clearing of inland water-courses and the improvement of 
 harbours, and the establishment of the very questionable precedent 
 of expending in favoured localities moneys raised by taxation, 
 which bears with ecjnal incidence upon the people of all sections 
 of the country ; but these chief results by no means constitute 
 the sum of its influence. Hardly less significant and real, for 
 instance, are its moral effects in rendering State administration 
 less self-reliant and eflicient, less prudent and thrii'ty, by accus- 
 toming them to accepting subsidies for internal improvements 
 from the State coffers ; to depending upon the national revenues, 
 rather than upon their own energy and enterprise for means of 
 developing those resources which it should be the special pro- 
 vince of State administration to make available and profitable. 
 Expecting to be helped, they will not helj> themselves. If the 
 federal government were more careful to keep apart from every 
 scheme of local improvement this culpable and demoralizing state 
 policy could hardly live. States would cease to wish, because 
 they would cease to hopeito be stipendiaries of the government 
 of the Union, and would address themselves with diligence to 
 their proper duties, with much benefit both to themselves and to 
 the federal system." Everybody in Canada knows how true this 
 is, and if Mr. Wilson is of opinion that by adopting our form of 
 government he would imi)rove matters he is sadly deceived. In 
 the States " this culpable and demoralizing state policy " is still 
 a mere feature of the system — with us it is the head-corner-stone 
 of the edifice. No portion of Mr. Wilson's book is more instruc- 
 tive than tiiat which deals with this policy of internal improve- 
 ;, vttd it is indeed almost startling to find that the Com- 
 '/.: ui, Commerce, which at one time controlled the patronage 
 ■' i with this policy, became so powerful that it had to be 
 i| .iL , iito two Conmiittees and the patronage divided. The 
 presidents also kept a sharp eye on the jobs perpetrated in these 
 
29 
 
 committees, and came clown on them unmercifully, and " schemes 
 of internal miprovement came altogether to a stand-still when 
 faced by I'resident Jackson's imijerious disfavour." Nothing will 
 give us a clearer idea of the difference between the American and 
 Canadian systems than the simple fact that, in Canada, all this 
 dangerous patronage is controlled by the one secret Committee, 
 which also possesses executive and legislative power, and which 
 has no veto to fear ! If Americans, instead of splitting up their 
 Committee of Commerce into two committees, had handed over 
 to it the entire government of the country, they would have hit 
 off a very close approximation to the Canadian system ! 
 
 Many readers of Mr. Wilson's able work, who start with a 
 conviction that the American constitution requires remodelling, 
 will be very apt to lay it down with a sensation very similar to 
 that of the gentleman who was a good Christian until he had the 
 misfortune to read " Paley's Evidences." They will see that, in 
 its practical working, it has not, after all, wandered so far away 
 from the " literary theory " — that it is still the tap-root, although 
 subject to modification. And this because it was from the first 
 a good, honest, solid piece of work, founded upon first principles, 
 whereas the British constitution is largely '* literary theory," 
 founded upon precedents through which the powerful demagogue 
 can run his pen. The whole question is really one of first princi- 
 ples, and if it is possible to lay down axioms in politics, it must 
 surely be true that the power which makes the laws should not 
 also be entrusted with their execution. That American politicians 
 should find the shackles placed upon them by the constitution 
 somewhat irksome, and that they should be anxious to shake 
 them off, is what might be expected ; but it by no means follows 
 that the public would be benefited by the change. 
 
 Mr. Wilson's views may be epitomized as follows : — The 
 constitution in its actual working is at variance with the " literary 
 theory." The Legislature has encroached on the Executive, and 
 Congress is really supreme. The government has become a 
 government by 48 '' little legislatures " — the Standing Committees. 
 The President delegates his power to the Secretaries, who consti- 
 tute the true Executive, but who are practically the servants of 
 the Standing Committees. And yet not altogether so. "The 
 
i ! 
 
 it' 
 
 30 
 
 committees may command, but they cannot superintend the 
 execution of their commands. There are ways and ways of 
 obeying ; and it' Congress be not pleased, why need they (the 
 Secretaries) care ? Congress did not give them their places, and 
 cannot easily take them away. Still it rtmams true that all the 
 big affairs of the departments are conducted in obedience to the 
 direction of the Standing Committees." These committees 
 debate in secret. There is no open discussion, as Congress in 
 oi)en session merely registers the decrees of the Committees. 
 The President possesses a certain amount of power, but the 
 Speaker of the House of Representatives (who appoints the 
 Committees) is even a greater man. The Secretaries are also 
 great men, and so are the Chairmen of Committees. This 
 division of power leads to divided responsibility, and it is impos- 
 sible to fix the blame for bad government on the ,^uilty parties. 
 " Power and strict accountability for its use are the essential con- 
 stituents of good government," and in order to secure the account- 
 ability, it is advisable to adopt the British system of responsible 
 government. 
 
 These views are supported by such able and lucid arguments 
 that they will carry conviction to many minds, although Mr. 
 . Wilson certainly appears to exaggerate somewhat the powers of 
 the Standing Committees over the Executive. If, however, it be 
 true that the American constitution has developed into govern- 
 ment by several Standing Committees, it is at least equally true 
 that the British constitution has given us, in Canada, the govern- 
 ment of one secret committee, whose deliberations it is almost 
 criminal to divulge, and whose powers are exhorbitant. If 
 Americans adopt this system, they will surely find that they 
 have substituted King Stork for King Log. 
 
 ' 'J 
 
 y _ p*) " 
 
 II 
 
of 
 
 e 
 
 o