OHAP. viI] CABINET SYSTEM IN DOMINIONS 323 
In the provinces things have been different, and Ministries 
have been less clearly divided on political grounds and so less 
stable, but even there of recent years matters have changed. 
Nova Scotia is steadily Liberal under Mr. Fielding’s influence, 
and Mr. McBride’s Ministry, which replaced the chaos of 
politics on personal grounds by the party system, has main- 
tained itself since 1903 in overwhelming strength in 1907 
and 1910 in British Columbia ; from 1871 to 1905 the 
Liberals under Sir O. Mowat and Colonel Ross ruled Ontario, 
but since then the Conservatives under the lead of Sir James 
Whitney in Ontario, and of Mr. Roblin since 1900 in Manitoba, 
have held office for considerable periods, while the Conserva- 
tive Opposition in Quebec is still very weak, though it held 
office for a period after Mr. Mercier’s dismissal by Mr. Angers 
in 1891. . On the other hand, in 1908! the Conservatives 
overthrew the Liberal reign in New Brunswick, which had 
lasted since 1883. There has already been one change of 
Premier in Alberta, and Prince Edward Island has in the 
past wavered a good deal? Saskatchewan, since its creation, 
has remained Liberal. 
In Newfoundland, after several changes, Sir R. Bond's 
Ministry lasted from 1900 to 1909, and the next Ministry, of 
Sir BE. Morris, appears to be firmly seated in office. 
In the case of the Commonwealth, changes have been 
incessant since 1901. The first Ministry, that of Sir Edward 
Barton, came to an end through his resignation in 1903, but 
the Government to which Mr. Deakin succeeded was in 
effect unchanged in politics. It was overthrown in 1904 
on the question of the inclusion of railway servants in the 
Conciliation and Arbitration Act by a coalition between the 
Labour party and Mr. Reid’s party? The Labour Ministry 
which followed only lasted from April 27 to August 17, 1904, 
' Even in Nova Scotia the Conservatives gained seats in 1911. 
¢ It has been Liberal since 1891, but the 1908 election was a shock; 
Macphail, Essays in Politics, pp. 441 seq. It is curious that when the 
Dominion Government is Liberal the provinces tend to be Conservative, and 
vice versa. SirJ, Macdonald seems to have preferred this condition of affairs. 
® Parliamentary Debates, 1904, p. 1243 ; Turner, Australian Commonwealth. 
pp. 73 seq.