CHAPTER XIX.

D1visioN OF LEGISLATIVE POWER.

LEGISLATIVE power over Canada is shared amongst the
fullowing authorities: (1) the Lieutenant-Governors and the
Provincial Legislatures, (2) the Governor-General and the
Dominion Parliament, and (3) the Crown and the Imperial
Parliament. The provinces can legislate on matters which
are either specifically enumerated or are governed by general
clauses; the Imperial Parliament has an implied exclusive
jurisdiction on matters expressly or impliedly reserved: the
balance of legislative power belongs to the Dominion. But
sven in those matters committed to the Dominion and the
provinces the Imperial Parliament retains a concurrent
jurisdiction.
It is difficult to refer the distribution of legislative power
s0 any one principle. The provisions of the Union Act of
1867 were based on certain resolutions agreed to by the
Imperial Government and the Canadian provinces, and it is
aot surprising to find a singular want of principle in the
framework of the Act. An attempt has been made in it to
snumerate the respective powers assigned to the Dominion
and to the provinces, but the impossibility of enumerating all
she possible subjects on which legislation might be required
forced the framers to insert two general clauses, one giving
power to the provinces to legislate on © all matters of a
merely local or private nature in the province,” and the