nap. 1] PRINCIPLES OF IMPERIAL CONTROL 1005 
them, but he gave a reply in favour of federation to an 
address from the Legislative Council without taking their 
advice. It is true that the act was not deliberate, but he 
sould have awaited their advice, and the Ministry in indigna- 
tion resigned on April 13, 1866, leaving the way open to 
a new Ministry which declared for federation—a piece of 
very bad parliamentary tactics. 
Lord Carnarvon was at the Colonial Office during the 
decision of the question of federation, and it was perhaps 
his connexion with the Canadian settlement which resulted 
in another curious case of proposed Imperial interference 
with matters of local concern which occurred in the case of 
the Cape in 1875. The Imperial Government were at that 
time extremely anxious to secure a federal union between the 
British Colonies in South Africa and the two Dutch Republics 
of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The Upper 
House of the Cape was in favour of the proposal, but on the 
other hand the Lower House was distinctly opposed to it, 
and the opinion in the Colony seemed to be in favour of the 
sentiments of the Upper House. The matter was compli- 
cated by the fact that the Upper House was elective, and 
therefore had some claim to be regarded as expressing the 
will of the people as well as the Lower House. It was 
accordingly suggested 2 by the Imperial Government that 
the Governor should take the step of dissolving the Lower 
House in the hope that a new set of elections would result in 
the return of a majority in the Lower House in favour of the 
proposal for negotiations for union. The Governor, however, 
reported against the proposal? He admitted that a majority 
in the Legislative Council, and an apparent majority in the 
country, might be deemed a ground for thinking that the 
dissolution of the Lower House would result in the return 
of a House favourable to the proposals. But he considered 
that this was really doubtful, that the opinion of the country 
See Pope, Sir John Macdonald, i. 296, 297 ; Hannay, New Brunswick, 
i, 248. 
¢ See Lord Carnarvon’s dispatch of October 22, 1875; Parl. Pap. 
C. 1399, p. 27. ? ‘See his dispatch of November 24, 1875; ibid., p. 52.