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to be done. But who shall direct us to honest and competent workers? They are at present establishing a new industry in Halifax, and they have sent two of their leading merchants to roam over the Great Republic to try and find some one fit to be entrusted with its management. I understand that it was difficult to find a person qualified to fill a situation in Montreal worth $25,000 a year. There are Professorships vacant in our Universities every year, and men competent to fill them are not easily found. When a lady applies to me for a governess, though I know of many out of work, I am thankful to find one whom I can recommend. Principals of Ladies' Colleges assure me that their difficulty is the same. We need not be alarmed at the spread and improvement of education. What the world needs, and greatly needs, is not less of it, but more and better. Depend upon it, the well-educated man and woman can always get work to do, and food and raiment, at least, as recompense. They ask for no more. In themselves they have a kingdom and an inexpugnable fortress into which they can at all times retreat, where no storms beat, and no famine threatens. 'Not by bread alone is the life of man sustained; not by raiment alone is he warmed,' writes a seer who did much for the higher life of England, in the first half of our century, but by the

genial and vernal inmate of the breast, which at once pushes forth and cherishes; by self support and self-sufficing endeavours; by anticipations, apprehensions, and active remembrances; by elasticity under insult, and firm resistance to injury; by joy and by love; by pride, which his imagination gathers in from afar; by patience, because life wants not promises; by admiration; by gratitude-which debasing him not when his fellow-being is its object-habitually expands itself for his elevation, in complacency towards his Creator.' Every word of this is as true of women as of men. And the substance of what I have written is this, throw no obstacle in the way of those women who seek to develope and cultivate to the utmost their higher nature, intellectual, emotional, and moral. Let them know that all the avenues, and all the pages of knowledge, are open to them; and that it is not unworthy of their sex to think and to hope. For a very long time, only a small minority will seek to obtain this good thing of full-orbed culture. Among that minority may be-probably will be-some fitted to bless mankind. In the name of justice, for man's sake as well as for woman's sake, let the few who seek, find; or if they fail, let them not have to blame any but themselves. Failure, both men and women must acquiesce in. Injustice, neither man nor woman can bear.

THE POWERS OF CANADIAN LEGISLATURES.

BY S. J. WATSON, TORONTO,

POLITICAL heresy has lately

attempted to sap the common faith in the powers of the Provincial Legislatures its present object is to dwarf and belittle them; its future object to sweep them out of existence.

This heresy, formulated in brief, would make the uninformed believe that these Legislatures are little better than deliberative bodies; that they possess, of right, few executive functions; that their usefulness is a debateable question, and that their existence may almost be said to depend upon sufferance. In speculative politics, the right of these Legislatures to live, is a fair subject for discussion, like the utility of the Federal Senate. It happens, however, that very little investigation will show that our Legislative Assemblies exist to perform the functions which render necessary the life of a Colonial Parliament.

Let us inquire by what titles our Canadian Legislatures have, in times past, designated themselves.

We find in an official document, issued by Sir Peregrine Maitland, dated York, 21st of October, 1826, the words:-'Whereas, by our Proclamation, bearing date the 25th day of September last, we thought fit to prorogue our 'Provincial Parliament,' etc.

The Legislature of the late Province of Canada was, throughout its history, styled, in official documents, 'The Provincial Parliament.' Taking up, at random, the Journals of the old House of Assembly, we find in those of 1854, a Proclamation of the Earl of Elgin dissolving the present Provincial Parliament of Our said Province.'

In the earlier years of Confederation, the Proclamations respecting the

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Resolution 6 There shall be a General Legislature or Parliament for the Federated Provinces, composed of the Legislative Council and the House of Commons.'

Resolution 49. 'The House of Commons, or House of Assembly shall not originate,' etc.

Resolution 79. 'The sanction of Imperial and Local Parliaments shall be sought for the Union of the Provinces,' etc.

It will not be hard to show that our Provincial Legislatures rank amongst the most important factors in our political system; that they are not the mere appendages of the Federal Parliament; that they have high duties to fulfil, and that, within their own sphere, they are independent of the Ottawa House, and are absolutely sovereign. Let us test the matter.

On the 17th of September, 1792, the first Parliament of Upper Canada met at Newark. Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe delivered to them an address, the opening paragraph of which

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in the last year, and which has established the British Constitution, and also the forms which secure and maintain it in this distant country.' Mr.John Macdonnell, one of the members for Glengarry, was elected Speaker. The Speaker, following the English precedent, presented himself for approval to Lieut.-Governor Simcoe, who represented the King of Great Britain. The approval was granted, and the King's Representative then promised that the members of the House should enjoy freedom of debate, access to his person, and freedom from arrest.' There are some who think that Simcoe had no authority to make this promise. But it must be remembered that he was a military man, and belonged to an order which, as a rule, refuses to act except on unquestionable authority. Is it not more than probable, therefore, that in the solemn ceremony of opening a new National Legislature in the wilderness, Simcoe left nothing to chance or the hazard of the moment, but that every act and every word were carefully studied beforehand, and authorized by the Governor-General in Quebec, acting for the King, or by the monarch himself, in a manner now unknown to us. No Royal Instructions can cover every eventuality that may arise in the administration of a Dependency; much is left to the discretion of the Governor, and much communicated to him which is never made public.

Would it not have degraded the solemnity of founding a new order of things to the level of a meaningless farce, if the Lieut. Governor had not promised tl at the members of the nascent Legislature should not enjoy 'freedom of debate and access to his

person?' The promise of freedom from arrest was in reality a very simple affair; little more than a matter of form. From 1792 until 1840, the year of the Union Act, a period of nearly half a century, there was only one case in which Privilege was pleaded against arrest.

The difficulty as to Simcoe's promise is, after all, a mere question of words. The great self-evident fact remains unassailed and unassailable, that the Legislature of the Province of Upper Canada, as long as it existed, continued to do all things pertaining to a Parliament. It raised money by taxes; made, enforced, and repealed laws; exercised the right to arrest and imprison. In a word, the Upper Canadian Legislature, in its local sphere, was as much a Parliament as, in its imperial sphere, was the House of Commons in Westminster.

We shall see, further on, whether, in the opinion of some of our ablest jurists, the rights and powers of the old Legislatures have not descended to the present Legislatures of Ontario and Quebec. In the meantime, we shall glance at some of the acts of the Legislature of Upper Canada; acts in which it exercised powers that were locally sovereign; which powers were never abrogated or questioned by the King's representative, or denied by the King's Courts.

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The Statute of 31st George the Third, cap. 31, known as the Constitutional Act,' authorized the division of the Province of Quebec into the separate Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and the establishment of their respective Legislatures. second section of this Act provides, amongst other things, 'That in each of the said Provinces, his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, shall have power during the Continuance of this Act, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of such Provinces, respectively, to make laws for the peace, welfare, and good government thereof, etc. The italics

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Legislative Council and Assembly of Canada;" and within the Province of Canada, Her Majesty shall have power, by and with Advice and Consent of the said Legislative Council and Assembly, to make laws for the peace, welfare, and good government of the Province of Canada,"' &c., &c.

It will be seen by the passages marked in italics, that the powers and functions of the old Legislatures of Upper and Lower Canada were neither abrogated nor changed by the Union Act; but, on the contrary, were transferred in full force to their Legislative heir-at-law and successor. Nay more, the same clear and emphatic language which, in the Imperial Act of 1791, defines the object of the creation of the old Legislatures, namely:-'To make laws for the peace, welfare and good government of each Province,' is repeated in respect to the creation of the Legislature of the United Provinces.

We shall proceed to show, in the language of official documents themselves, how the Legislatures of Upper Canada, and of United Canada, interpreted Lieut. Governor Simcoe's concession, and the words we have italicised. In the proceedings of the House of Assembly of Upper Canada, 1828, are found:

Motion, that Nathaniel Coffin, Esq., Adjutant-General of Militia, and James Givens, Esq., Superintendent of Indian Affairs, having been summoned by a Committee to appear before them, and not having complied therewith, they be apprehended and placed at the Bar, to answer for such contempt, forthwith. Amendment, for appointing a Committee to search into precedents, and ascertain in what cases the Executive Government should be addressed, in order to produce the attendance of any public officer, &c., negatived main motion agreed to. Sergeant-at-Arms reports his proceedings upon the Speaker's warrant, and the refusal of those gentlemen to allow themselves to be arrested; Report ordered to be

entered upon the Journals, nem con. They are placed at the Bar, and, being called upon for their defence, they severally explain the cause of their refusal; their statements to be taken down in writing, and entered on the Journals. Motion, that James Givens, Esq., has been guilty of contempt of the House, and a breach of its privileges, and that the Speaker do issue his warrant for committing him to the York Gaol for the remainder of the present Session: several amendments negatived, and motion agreed to. A like resolution, respecting Nathaniel Coffin, Esq. Speaker submits the form. of separate warrants of committal, which are approved by the House. Sergeant-at-Arms directed to carry the the same into execution.

The plea of Messrs. Coffin and Givens was, that both of them had applied to his Excellency for leave to attend the Committee, but that, in each case, he had refused permission. In the case of Mr. Givens, his answer was, That he is an officer of the Indian Department, and is now acting at the head of that Department in this Province.' In the case of Mr. Coffin, his Excellency's answer was, that he could not give him permission to attend the Committee, appointed to enquire and report upon the petition of William Forsyth, because he (the Lieut.-Governor), did not know what were the matters of which Forsyth complained, or what were the facts in regard to which the Committee desired to interrogate Mr. Cottin. (Journals, 1828).

In respect of these arrests, a Message was transmitted to the House of Assembly, by the Lieutenant Governor, Sir Peregrine Maitland. Mr. Speaker Willson, who, in his signature to the Address in reply to the Speech from the Throne, at the opering of the Session, styles himself, John Willson, Speaker, Commons House of Assembly,' read the Me: sage to the House:

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Governor, acquaints the House of Assembly that the Adjutant-General of Militia, and Colonel Givens, Superintendent of Indian affairs, acting as the head of that Department in this Province, have reported to him that they are in custody under a warrant of the Speaker of the House of Assembly for a contempt in disobeying the summons of a Select Committee appointed to report upon a petition of William Forsyth.

'The Lieutenant-Governor will always view with extreme regret any circumstance likely to produce misunderstanding between any of the branches of the Legislature; and, notwithstanding the protection which he justly owes to all officers serving under his Government, and acting, as he conceives, in the due discharge of their duty, he has forborne to interrupt the proceedings of the Session, by hastening the intended period of Prorogation*, indulging a hope that some measure useful to the country might be matured before the Legislature separated.

The departure of the Assembly from the usage prevailing in this Colony, and as far as he can learn, in other Governments, could not be acquiesced in by him without that conviction of its propriety which he does not now entertain. †

'For his future guidance, under similar circumstances, he will solicit the directions of His Majesty's Government--if the power claimed by the House of Assembly has been constitutionally assumed and exercised, the House has discharged its duty in asserting it. If, otherwise, the Lieutenant-Governor, in withholding his permission, had a duty to fulfil from which

* This expression is somewhat obscure: it may mean, however, that, although the prorogation of the House would, of necessity, have liberated the officials, the Lieut.Governor had forborne to hasten that event.

+Sir P. G. Maitland was unaware of the case of the Legislature of Jamaica, and MajorGeneral Carmichael, noticed further on.

To obey the summons of the Committee.

he could not properly recede-and of this the Assembly may be assured, that if the propriety of its proceedings shall be confirmed by His Majesty, no one will be more ready than himself to recognise the privilege in question on all future occasions, and to enforce its observance by all whom it is his duty to control.

'Government House,

'24th March, 1828.'

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This message from Sir Peregrine Maitland is nothing less than might be expected from one who cherished his peculiar views on what we now term Responsible Government. second paragraph ends with a sneer. It is to be observed, however, that the complaint is a personal one; the House had dared to imprison two officers whom the Lieutenant-Governor regarded as under his protection, 'acting as they conceived, in the due discharge of their duty.'

But the most important point yet remains to be noticed. There can be no doubt that Sir Peregrine fulfilled his promise to solicit the direction of His Majesty's Government.' There can be as little doubt, that no official answer to the 'solicitation' was ever made public. The Imperial Government, by its silence, must be taken to have acquiesced in the course of the Upper Canadian Legislature. The House took no action on the Message. Messrs. Givens and Coffin were committed on the 22nd of March; the House was prorogued on the 25th of March, when, of course, they would be liberated.

In the House, in 1829:

Motion, that Allan N. MacNab, Esq., having refused to answer certain questions put to him by the Committee on the Hamilton Outrage, and having otherwise misdemeaned himself, is guilty of a high contempt and breach of the Privileges of the House. Motion agreed to. Mr. Speaker to issue his warrant for apprehending him. He is placed at the Bar, and

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