PREFACE

WHEN T published in 1909 my Responsible Government
 wn the Dominions, it was my intention in due
course to develop at length the summary sketch
contained in that book, and in particular to give in
detail the evidence on which were based the conclusions
 there presented. The need for rewriting
became more pressing after the unexpectedly swift
conclusion of the discussions of South African union,
and the opportunity has been afforded by the readiness
 of the Clarendon Press, on the recommendation of
Sir Charles Lucas, K.C.M.G., C.B., Assistant Under-Secretary
 of State for the Colonies, to undertake the
publication of the work.
My obligations to previous writers are, I trust,
adequately indicated and acknowledged by the
references in the notes, except in the case of the
first edition of Todd’s classical treatise, Parliamentary
 Government in the British Colonies. In this,
the first work on the subject, Todd so ably covered
the period up to about 1879 that a later writer can
add but little. I have, however, endeavoured, so
far as was compatible with adequate treatment of
the subject, to deal with the earlier years of the
history of responsible government in such a way
18 to supplement the information given bv Todd.