1122 ADMINISTRATION AND LEGISLATION [PART V 
In 1911 the Canadian Government were ready to accept 
a trade preference on various articles from the United States, 
but on the whole mainly in articles in regard to which there 
was no serious competition with British interests; even that 
action excited much comment in Canada and in England? 
and told against the Government in the election of 1911. 
§ 4. TREATIES AS AFFECTING FEDERATION 
In the case of the two federations of Canada and the 
Commonwealth, treaty matters are complicated by the fact 
that the powers of legislation and government are shared 
somewhat differently between the central and the Provincial 
or State Governments. 
In the case of Canada, s. 132 of the British North America 
Act provides that the Parliament and Government of Canada 
shall have all powers necessary and proper for performing the 
obligations of Canada, or of any province thereof as part of 
the British Empire, towards foreign countries arising under 
treaties between the Empire and such foreign countries. 
The clause appears to be interpreted to mean, and must 
apparently have meant, at least as regards treaties concluded 
before 1867, that the existence of a treaty, whatever the 
subject-matter, conferred full powers upon the Dominion 
Parliament. Under constitutional practice, however, the 
Canadian Government does not adhere to new treaties where 
the matter concerned is one which is within the exclusive 
legislative competence of the provincial legislatures unless 
the Provincial Governments consent to such -adherence. 
Thus the Dominion Government has not adhered to the 
Convention between the United Kingdom and the United 
States of America, relative to the disposal of real and 
personal property, though the topic might have been held 
to fall under the power to legislate as to aliens under s. 91 
of the British North America Act, 1867, or to the Convention 
for the prohibition of the night-work of women, or to the 
Convention with France as to automobiles, as all the Pro- 
vincial Governments were not prepared to adhere. 
t See Imperial House of Commons Debates, xxi. 842, 493 seq.