21. The laws enacted for the preservation of the independence of Parliament and the prevention of corrupt practices at elections are contained in chapters 10 and 11, Revised Statutes of Canada, and provide for the appointment of a commission of inquiry in cases where the judges report corrupt practices. The statute provides severe penalties on persons who are disqualified sitting as members.

Since 1874 the House of Commons has given up its jurisdiction over the trial of controverted elections. Instead of special committees, the courts in the several provinces are now the tribunals for the trial of all contested elections. The election expenses of candidates must be published by their agents after the election. A candidate may be disqualified from sitting in the Commons or voting or holding any office in the gift of the Crown for seven years on conviction of personal bribery.

22. The administration of the several subjects set apart by the Confederation Act for the Federal authorities to deal with is carried on by means of departments, presided over by members of the Privy Council, whose functions are regulated by statute. At present there are twelve heads of departments. These are (1) the President of the Privy Council, (2) the Minister of Public Works, (3) Minister of Railways and Canals, (4) Minister of Trade and Commerce, (5) Minister of Militia and Defence, (6) Minister of Agriculture, (7) Secretary of State, (8) Minister of Justice, (9) Minister of Finance, (10) Minister of Marine and Fisheries, (11) Postmaster General, (12) Minister of the Interior. Customs and Inland Revenue, which are under the general control of the Minister of Trade and Commerce, have at the head of each a Controller who is a member of Parliament, but is not in either case a member of the Privy Council. The Solicitor General, who is attached to the Department of Justice, is also a member of Parliament without a seat in the Cabinet. The Secretary of State is head of the Department of Public Printing. The Minister of the Interior has under his charge the Departments of the Geological Survey and of Indian Affairs, and the President of the Privy Council is head of the Mounted Police.

23. The fullest discussion is allowed in the Parliament of Canada, and the Houses have never been compelled, through obstruction, to resort to closure of debate.

24. The Standing Committees of the Commons include (1) the Committee on Public Accounts, (2) the Committee on Agriculture

and Colonization, (3) the Committee on Privileges and Elections, and (4) Committees to which are referred all private Bills respecting banking and commerce, navigation and shipping, railways and canals, telephone and telegraph lines, bridges, insurance and the incorporation of companies for other purposes.

There are also two committees on which members from the two Houses sit, to consider the printing of documents and the management of the Library.

The publication of the Debates of the House of Commons is under the control of a special committee of the House. The Debates have been published daily during the session since 1875, when, on motion of Sir Charles Tupper, Bart., now High Commissioner for Canada in England, the Canadian "Hansard" was first adopted.

The committees are appointed by a committee of selection, on which the Government has a majority, and both sides of the House are fully represented.

25. At the general elections for the House of Commons held in March, 1891, the total number of electors on the voters' lists (excluding the North-west Territories, where there are no lists) was 1,132,201, an increase of 13.9 per cent over the number in 1887.

In the general elections of 1887 the total number on the lists. amounted to 993,914, an increase of 23 62 per cent over the number in 1882.

In 1887, the proportion of persons voting to the total number on the lists was 72.9 per cent, and in 1891 the proportion was 64.5 per cent.

26. The number of inhabitants to each member, according to the census of 1891, in the following countries was :

27. The constitutions of the four provinces, viz., Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, which composed the Dominion in 1867 (when the Act of Confederation was passed),

are the same in principle and details, excepting that Ontario and New Brunswick have only one chamber, a Legislative Assembly. With respect to the provinces admitted since 1867, it may be said that the provisions of the Act of Confederation that applied to the original provinces were, as far as possible, made applicable to them. Manitoba was given a constitution similar to the other provinces, and it was expressly provided in the terms of the union with British Columbia that the Government of Canada would consent to the introduction of responsible government into that province, and that the constitution of the Legislature should be amended by making a majority of its members elective.

Immediately after the union with Canada these reforms were carried out, and the province was placed on the same footing as all the other provinces.

The North-west Territories were governed at first as explained in paragraph 4. The powers conferred on the Legislative Assembly are the same as those conferred upon the other provinces by the 92nd section of the Union Act of 1867, excepting the borrowing of money on the sole credit of the Territories.

28. All the local or provincial constitutions are now, therefore, practically on an equality so far as the executive, legislative and all essential powers of self-government are concerned, and all of them have authority under the organic law to amend their constitutions, except as regards the office of Lieutenant-Governor. British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick and the North-west Territories have only one House, which is elected by the people. In Prince Edward Island, which had two Houses until 1893, the two were in January, 1894, merged into one, but in that one certain members sit as Councillors, being elected by one set of electors, and certain other members sit as Assembly men, being elected by two sets of electors. The arrangement being peculiar, the following explanation is offered :—

Under the old law there were two Houses, one called the Legislative Council, and the other the House of Assembly. The Legislative Council consisted of thirteen members elected from certain large constituencies. The House of Assembly consisted of thirty members elected from smaller constituencies. The Legislative Councillors were elected by voters who owned freehold or leasehold property to the value of $324. The members of the House of Assembly were elected practically by manhood suffrage, that is to say, there were a number of qualifications for

*The Legislative Council of New Brunswick ceased to exist on the 28th September, 1892, having been abolished by Act of the Provincial Legislature.

the electors, such as property, occupation of land, and performance of statute labour, and taken altogether they practically amounted to manhood suffrage.

The change made by the statute passed in 1893 was to amalgamate these two Houses, and there is now one House, called the Legislative Assembly, consisting of thirty members. These thirty members were returned for fifteen constituencies, each constituency returning two members. One of these members, who is called a Councillor, is returned by the votes of men who own property, freehold or leasehold, to the value of $324, which is the same qualification as that for a member of the old Legislative Council. The other member, called an Assemblyman, is elected by the general vote, the same men being able to vote for him, as under the old law could vote for a member of the House of Assembly. After they are elected, both Councillor and Assemblyman stand in the same position. They have the same voting power, and the effect of this is to make simply an amalgamation of the two Houses. The protection supposed to be given to property holders by the Legislative Council still exists.

29. In all the provinces at the present time there is a very complete system of local self-government administered under the authority of the Confederation Act, and by means of the following machinery :

(1st.) A Lieutenant-Governor appointed by the Governor General in Council, holding office during pleasure, but not removable in any of the provinces (not including the Territories) within. five years from the date of his appointment, except for cause assigned, which, under the constitution must be communicated to Parliament. He is, therefore, an officer of the Dominion as well as the head of the provincial or local executive. He acts in accordance with the rules governing the relations between the Governor General and his advisers. He appoints His Executive Council, and is guided by their advice, so long as they retain the confidence of the Legislature. The salaries of the LieutenantGovernors, which are paid from the Dominion Treasury, vary from $7,000, given in the smaller provinces, to $10,000, paid in the great central provinces of Ontario and Quebec. These officers are appointed by Commission under the Great Seal, and on appointment must take the oath of allegiance.

(2nd.) An Executive or Advisory Council, responsible to the Legislature, which Council varies in the number of its members. in the several provinces: Ontario and Quebec having at present eight each, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick seven each, Mani

toba and British Columbia five each, while Prince Edward Island has six (three without portfolio), and the North-west Territories, four.

All the members of the Executive Council holding departmental and salaried offices must vacate their seats if in the Legislative Assembly, and be re-elected on accepting office, as in the case of the Dominion Ministry. The principle of ministerial responsibility to the Lieutenant-Governor and to the Legislature is observed in the fullest sense.

(3rd.) A Legislature consisting of an elective House in all cases, with the addition of an Upper Chamber appointed by the Crown in two provinces, Quebec and Nova Scotia. The Legislatures have a duration of four years (in Quebec five), unless sooner dissolved by the Lieutenant-Governor. They are governed by the constitutional principles which obtain in the general Government at Ottawa. The Lieutenant-Governor opens and prorogues the Legislative Council and Assembly in Quebec and Nova Scotia, or the Assembly, as in the other provinces, with the usual formality of a speech. A Speaker is elected by the majority in each Assembly or is appointed by the Crown in the Upper Chamber. The rules and usages do not differ in any material respect from the procedure in the Dominion Parliament. The rules respecting private Bill legislation are equally restrictive. The same provisions of law apply to the Speakership of the Assemblies as obtain respecting the Speakership of the House of Commons. The Legislatures of Ontario and Quebec, like the Dominion Parliament, must sit once every twelve months, the Act of Confederation containing the proviso for an annual session, apart from the usage of voting supplies for one year only. Members of the Legislative Council, where such exist, have property qualifications, but the members of the Assemblies need only be citizens of Canada of full age. They are elected in Ontario on a franchise which is manhood suffrage, qualified only by residence and citizenship. The conditions are practically the same in the other provinces, excepting in Quebec, where the restrictions are somewhat greater.

Members are paid an indemnity which varies from $800 in Quebec to $160 in Prince Edward Island, with a mileage rate in some provinces, or actual travelling expenses in others.

The laws providing for the independence of the Legislatures and for the prevention of bribery and corruption are fully as strict as those which are in force for Dominion elections. In all cases the courts are the tribunals for the trial of controverted elections. Dual representation is illegal, except in the case of