Responsible government in the Dominions: Responsible government in the Dominions

Responsible government in the Dominions (Vol. 1)

Bibliographic data

Multivolume work

Identifikator:: 1896933912

Document type:: Multivolume work

Author:: Keith, Arthur Berriedale http://d-nb.info/gnd/119086794

Title:: Responsible government in the Dominions

Place of publication:: Oxford

Publisher:: Clarendon Press

Year of publication:: 1912-

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Volume

Identifikator:: 1896934455

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-236504

Document type:: Volume

Author:: Keith, Arthur Berriedale http://d-nb.info/gnd/119086794

Title:: Responsible government in the Dominions

Volume count:: Vol. 1

Place of publication:: Oxford

Publisher:: Clarendon Pr.

Year of publication:: 1912

Scope:: LI, 568 Seiten

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Chapter

Document type:: Multivolume work

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Part III. The Parliaments of the Dominions

Collection:: Economics Books

cHAP. 1] POWERS OF DOMINION PARLIAMENTS 365 seems very difficult indeed to maintain. The act of altering the post of Governor and its duties can hardly be said to be beyond the powers of a Colony to legislate for peace, order, and good government. Again, any misuse of legislative authority can be corrected, whether by the action of the Imperial Parliament or by disallowance of an Act. The Colonial Legislatures are constantly imposing new duties on the Governor; can it be said that an Act affecting his position so as to make it elective would be invalid ? In the old North American Colonies in some cases the proprietors could select the Governor, subject to royal assent In Tasmania it was proposed in 1853,in drafting the Constitution Act, to make the Governor removable by reason of a two- thirds majority of the two Houses of the Legislature ; could it have been held beyond the powers of the Crown to assent to such an Act, and for that Act then to be valid ? On the other hand, it is fair to say that a Colonial Legis- lature must remain within the bounds of colonial legislation. It might indeed allow enemy subjects to trade with Colonial British subjects, and the permission would be valid within the territory, assuming of course that the Crown sanctioned any Act for this purpose, since such trading is illegal at common law. It could resolve (as some politicians desired to do in the Cape during the Boer war and now do) to remain neutral in war to the extent that it would not assist the Mother Country 2; it is then for the Mother Country to say whether it will acquiesce in that decision ; if it does not it can of course apply force to compel participation : but no amount of declarations will create neutrality in international law if the other power concerned does not care to accept such neutrality, and Mr. Gavan Duffy’s attempt to obtain a reso- lution in 1870 from the people of Australia in favour of the neutralizing of the Colonies was properly laughed out of court by his colleagues as impracticable and utopian. Moreover, the legislatures are legislatures for a Colony, and 1 Chitty on the Prerogative, pp. 25, 26, 31, 33. $ Cf. Sir W. Laurier’s remarks on the Imperial Conference on June 1, 1911, Cd. 5745, pp. 116, 117; Ewart, Canadian Independence, pp. 17 seq; Times, July 21 and 22, 1911,

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: Responsible government in the Dominions (Vol. 1)

Multivolume work

Volume

Chapter

Table of contents

Download

Volume

Chapter

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation