AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION. 229 
the seat of government? nor alter the constitution of the 
Senate, except by providing for the representation of new 
provinces ®, nor alter the constitution of a new province ® 
nor impose protective duties as between provinces, nor in- 
crease its own powers; all these matters are within the 
exclusive jurisdiction of the Queen and English Parliament. 
6. The Courts in deciding upon the relative powers of Former 
the Dominion and provincial Legislatures will have regard db ind 
to the powers of the provinces at the time of the Con- 
federation *, 
7. When the validity of an Act is in question the first Ht of 
point to be decided is this: does the subject-matter fall tion. 
within any of the matters assigned to the provinces ? If it 
does not and it is a provincial Act, then such Act is ultra vires; 
but if it prima facie falls within one of such classes, then the 
further question arises, viz. “whether, notwithstanding this is 
so, the subject of the Act does not also fall within one of the 
enumerated classes of subjects in sect. 91, and whether the 
power of the provincial Legislature is not thereby over- 
borne 2” 
Instead of following the order in which the legislative 
powers are expressly or impliedly mentioned in the Act, the 
following attempt is made to group the various powers 
under definite heads. 
AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION. 
Certain important but limited powers are given to the 
Dominion Parliament and to the provincial Legislatures to 
enable them from time to time to amend their Constitutions. 
1 B, N. A. Act, s. 16. 2 34 & 35 Vie. (i) c. 28.8. 2. 3 Ib. 1. 6. 
t The Corporation of Three Rivers v. Sulte, Q. 5 Legal News, 330. 
5 Citizens’ Insurance Co. v. Parsons, 45 L. T., N. 8. 721, Cart. 265; Dobie 
v. The Temporalities Board, 7 App. Cas. 136. 1 Cart. 351: Bank of Toronto 
v. Lambe. I. BR. 12 App. Cas. 575.