72 RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT [PART I
silence of the Constitution Act of 18 Viet. No. 17 is quite
remarkable. The Act provides for a Civil List, and for compensation
 to officers who may retire on political grounds :—
Whereas by the operation of this Act certain Officers of
the Government will be more liable to loss of office on political
grounds than heretofore and it is just to compensate the
present holders of such office for the actual loss of such
offices in case the same should happen upon political grounds
or at their option to compensate them for such increased
liability to loss of office.
But it does not vest any official appointments in the
Governor in Council, and it makes no provision for ministerial
 office. It does provide in s. 27 for the vacating of
places in Parliament if an officer accepts office under the
Crown at pleasure, but apparently all such persons were
eligible for re-election, and no distinction is made between
political and ordinary offices. An Act 34 Viet. No. 42
provided that no officers holding appointments from the
Governor or the Governor in Council should be elected
members of Parliament except the Colonial Secretary, the
Colonial Treasurer,! the Attorney-General, and the Minister
of Lands and Works. By another Act 64 Vict. No. 5,8. 8,
provision was made to alter the provisions of 8. 27 of the
Constitution Act so as to provide that ministers need not
vacate office on accepting office after election to Parliament.
The only other legislation bearing remotely on the question
is the provision in the Acts of the Legislature for the creation
of the new office of Minister of Lands and Works in 1869,2
and various Acts settling the salaries of the ministers of the
Crown? But it may also be noted that the Interpretation
Act, 1906, defines the Governor to mean the Governor acting
with the advice of his Executive Council. There is not,
however, a trace of connexion between the Ministry and
Parliament as far as law is concerned.
* Renamed Chief Secretary and Treasurer by 46 Vict. No. 8,
33 Vict. No. 4.
* 46 Viet. No. 9; until 1910 the salaries were fixed annually, usually at
£750, with £200 for the Premier extra. In 1910 these sums were made
permanent.