222 THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNMENT [pART II
majority of the Government side would shortly be unseated.
Accordingly, the Governor in the exercise of his discretion
refused to grant a dissolution, and thereupon the Government
resigned office on April 11, 1894, on the ground of his refusal.
The Governor asked the leader of the Opposition to form
a Ministry, and he was allowed a short prorogation of
Parliament to enable him to form the Government. The
Legislative Assembly on the 13th of April passed a resolution
protesting against the action of the Governor, and asking
him to dissolve the Legislature forthwith so as to prevent
the chaos which would ensue in the absence of Revenue and
Supply Acts, and the entrusting of the Government to a, party
>onsisting of only one-third of the members of the House.
The House proceeded to rescind the resolution it had passed
for the grant of supply, and declared that for any persons in
the Government of the Colony to pay any sums for or towards
the support of services voted, after the Legislature should have
been prorogued or dissolved before an Appropriation Act
had been passed, would be a gross breach of the public trust,
and derogatory to the fundamental principles of the Legislature,
 and subversive of the principles of responsible
government. They also protested that the minority in the
House should not be entrusted with the collection of taxes
‘or the purpose of revenue.
The position was very difficult, as the Revenue Act expired
on the 11th of June, and on the other hand it was practically
impossible to hold a general election in the spring, as the
people of the Colony were engaged in preparing for the
fisheries, and the difficulties of an election would interfere
with those preparations. Moreover, dissolution at once
would terminate the trials of the election petitions.
The Governor, on the advice of ministers, prorogued the
House of Assembly to the 23rd of May. But it was found
impossible to obtain supply by the 11th of June, and accordingly
 the taxes were levied on the authority of the Executive
Government alone and under the protection of a man-of-war
stationed at St. John’s. In the meantime a dissolution was
withheld and kept over until the termination of the election