PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION. 225
withstanding anything in the Act) the exclusive legislative
authority of the Parliament of Canada should extend to all
matters coming within the classes of subjects enumerated in
that section. With the same object apparently the paragraph
at the end of sect. 91 was introduced, though it may
be observed that this paragraph applies in its grammatical
construction to No. 16 of sect. 92.
“ Notwithstanding this endeavour to give pre-eminence to
the Dominion Parliament in cases of a conflict of powers, it is
obvious that in some cases where this apparent conflict exists,
the Legislature could not have intended that the powers exclusively
assigned to the provincial Legislature should be
absorbed in those given to the Dominion Parliament. Take
as one instance the subject ‘marriage and divorce,” contained
in the enumeration of subjects in sect. 91: it is evident
that solemnization of marriage would come within this
general description; yet ‘solemmization of marriage in the
province’ is enumerated among the classes of subjects in
sect. 92, and no one can doubt, notwithstanding the general
language of sect. 91, that this subject is still within the
exclusive authority of the Legislatures of the provinces. Seo
‘the raising of money by any mode or system of taxation’
is enumerated among the classes of subjects in sect. 91: but
though the description is sufficiently large and general to
include ‘direct taxafion within the province in order to the
raising of a revenue for provincial purposes’ assigned to provincial
Legislatures by sect. 92, it obviously could not have
been intended that in this instance also the general power
should override the particular one. With regard to certain
classes of subjects, therefore, generally described in sect. 91,
legislative power may reside. as to some matters falling
within the general description of these subjects in the Legislatures
of the provinces. In these cases it is the duty of the
Courts, however difficult it may be, to ascertain in what
degree, and to what extent, authority to deal with matters
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