720 THE FEDERATIONS AND THE UNION [PART 1v
health is felt to be local, inasmuch as a Bill for vaccination
was not in 1869 proceeded with in the Dominion Parliament.
(y) Municipal Institutions :
The extent of authority given to the provinces by this
subsection has now definitely been determined? as confined
only to the powers expressly given to the legislatures by
other headings. The power is one to constitute bodies, not
to give these bodies all the wide authority which might have
been granted before federation by the provinces.
Of the other powers of the Canadian Parliament, the most
disputed has been that of copyright, and that only because
of the question whether a Dominion Act, in virtue of the
Constitution Act, can repeal legislation on copyright existing
by Imperial Act before 1867, a question clearly decided in
the negative.
It seems now clear that legislation under the enumerated
powers of the Parliament can be made to apply to one
locality only, if thought by the Parliament to be necessary
there for the peace, order, and good government of Canada,
and indeed this is obvious, for as the provinces cannot legis-
late on the enumerated topics, there might else be a failure of
legislation.® In regard to the general power, it must clearly
be used as such, and must not intrude upon matter or sub-
* House of Commons Debates, 1869, p. 64; Lefroy, op. cit., Pp. 654-661.
Cf. Sir 0. Mowat’s withdrawal in 1897 of his Bill as to the employment of
children ; Biggar, ii. 660, 661.
* Attorney-General for Ontario v. Attorney-General for the Dominion, [1896]
A. C. 348, at pp. 363, 364. Cf. Cooey v. Municipality of County of Broome,
21 L. C. J. 182, at p. 186. This decision overrules many older dicta (e.g
Strong C.J. in 24 8. C. R. 150. 151): see Lefroy, op. cit., pp. 706. 398. note 1.
43-9, 54-61.
* See Part II, chap. iii; Provincial Legislation, 1867-95, pp. 30-584,
1281-1313 ; Quick and Garran, Constitution of Commonwealth, pp. 593-6.
* Lefroy, op. cit., pp. 567 seq. ; Quick and Garran, op. cit., pp. 513,514 ;
Harrison Moore, Commonwealth of Australia,® pp. 284, 285; Loranger,
Interpretation of the Federal Constitution (Quebec, 1884), maintained that
unless an Act affected all the provinces it was merely local and ultra vires
the Dominion,
