t14 PARLIAMENTS OF THE DOMINIONS [PART III 
legal difference of opinion on this head. On the other hand, 
the Canadian Government held, differing from His Majesty’s 
Government, that the Canadian Parliament had power to 
repeal any provisions as to copyright enacted prior to 1867, 
the year in which the British North America Act was passed. 
Section 91 of that Act empowers the Parliament of Canada 
to make laws for the peace, order, and good government 
of Canada in relation to all matters not coming within the 
classes of subjects assigned by the Act exclusively to the Legis- 
lature of the Provinces, and for greater certainty, but not so as 
to restrict the generality of these terms, it is declared that the 
exclusive legislative authority of the Parliament of Canada 
sxtends to all matters coming within the classes of subjects 
thereinafter enumerated, which include as No. 23 copyrights. 
It was argued by the Government of Canada, in a memo- 
randum of August 3, 1889, that this section conferred upon 
the Canadian Parliament the right to legislate as to copy- 
right without regard to any previous legislation whatsoever, 
whether passed by the Provincial or Imperial Parliaments, 
subject only to the Imperial right of disallowance and also to 
the control by Imperial legislation subsequent to the British 
North America Act and applicable to Canada.t 
The interpretation placed by His Majesty’s Government on 
she terms of the Act of 1867 was quite different ; it was held that 
that Act conferred upon the Parliament of Canada exclusive 
powers as against the Provinces of legislation with regard to 
copyright, but that it did not confer upon Canada any larger 
power of legislation than the several provincial legislatures 
wouldhaveenjoyedhad the Actof 1867 never beenpassed. This 
opinion was expressed at a very early date, on the 7th Novem- 
ber, 1871, by Sir Roundell Palmer (afterwards Lord Selborne) 
and Mr. Herschell (afterwards Lord Herschell), who said :— 
It is abundantly clear that the provision in the Act of 
the Imperial Legislature, 30 Vict. cap. 3. by which the 
* Parl. Pap., C. 7783, pp. 5, 6. This doctrine first came to light in Sir 
J. Thompson's defence of the refusal of Government to disallow the 
Jesuits’ Estates Act of Quebec (51 & 52 Vict. e. 13); see Canada House of 
Commons Debates, 1889, pp. 958 seq.