INTRODUCTION.

|B

the press, the right of the people to assemble or to petition
the Government; but whilst Congress cannot pass a law
infringing these rights, the Canadian. like the British, Parliament
 may do so.
6. Congress with the assent of three-fourths of the States Awesd
may amend its Constitution; the Dominion Parliament has Constino
 similar power. The Dominion may alter the franchise ton:
or legislate on matters relating to the election of members
of the House of Commons, but so far as substantial changes
in the Constitution are concerned recourse must be had to
the Imperial Parliament.

It is naturally to be expected that difference of opinion fanaa
would occasionally arise as to the limits of the Dominion and Provinces
the Provincial powers respectively. The only serious conflict 393 Dex
that has arisen is due to the exercise of the right of the
Governor-General to veto a Provincial Act. In this respect
the Governor-General by statute possesses a power that does
not belong to the Crown. The Crown may veto an Act of
the Dominion, but cannot veto an Act of a Provincial legislature.
 The number of Provincial Acts vetoed by the Governor-General
 is comparatively small, but the mere fact that the
Governor-General, acting on the advice of his ministers,
may find himself obliged to veto a Provincial Act on the
ground that it is contrary to the “policy of the Dominion,”
may give rise to a serious conflict of Provincial versus Dominion
 policy.
In Canada, as in the States, the judiciary (including Judiciary
under this term the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council)
tends to occupy the most prominent place as the arbiter between
 Provincial and Dominion rights. The decisions of the
Courts as to the limits of the legislative power of the Dominion
 and of the Provinces have been loyally accepted in
Canada, as in the States, and as time goes on there seems
every reason to expect that the importance and power of the