270 IMPERIAL CONTROL OVER THE DOMINION.
on the validity of the Act, but they applied through the
Governor-General to the Privy Council for its opinion. The
law officers reported in favour of the Act, and on the ground
that the power of confirming or disallowing provincial Acts
was vested by law absolutely and exclusively in the Governor-General’,
the Lord President of the Council declined to
interfere.
Governor- The legality of the Act was upheld by the Supreme Court
renoral of New Brunswick, but notwithstanding this, the Dominion
consult House of Commons asked the Governor-General to disallow
Govern: certain other statutes amending the Act in question. At
bhe request of his Ministers the Governor-General laid the
whole matter before the Imperial Government, and the
Secretary of State for the Colonies replied, that as the Acts
in question were within the powers of the local legislature,
they ought to be allowed to remain in force and could not be
interfered with by the Dominion House of Commons?
Petitions It is a standing rule of the Colonial service that all
oi ioct communications from a Colony should be transmitted to the
horera- Imperial Government through the Governor, and when a
petition against an Act of Ontario granting special privileges
to an Orange Society was presented to the Colonial Secretary,
it was forwarded to the Governor-General. The Colonial
Secretary in acknowledging the petition laid down the
principle, “that it is contrary to established constitutional
procedure for Her Majesty's Government to interfere unless in
very special circumstances with such legislation as is within
she competency of a provincial Legislature®.”
The rule may be taken as established—that, except in
very special or extraordinary circumstances, the Home
Government will not recommend the Governor-General to
disallow a provincial Act that falls within the matters over
which the Provinces have full jurisdiction.
! Todd, p. 347; Can. Sess. Pap. 1877, No. 89, p. 348.
Todd, p. 348; Can. Sess. Pap. 1874, No. 25, p. 8.
3
3 Todd, p. 857.
