CHAP. 1] THE DOMINION OF CANADA 667
¢. The borrowing of Money on the Public Credit.
5. Postal Service.
6. The Census and Statistics.
7. Militia, Military and Naval Service, and Defence.
8 The fixing of and providing for the Salaries and Allow-
ances of Civil and other Officers of the Government
of Canada.
Beacons. Buovs, Lighthouses. and Sable Island.
sanctity of contracts has been invoked in Canada (The Grand Junction Rail-
way Co. v. The Corporation of Peterborough, (1883) 8 S. C. R. 86, at p. 100;
in re Clay, (1886) 1 B. C., (Irving) at p. 306), but it was once and for all
settled by the decision in I’ Union St. Jacques de Montréal v. Belisle, (1874)
6 P. C. 31, where one judge of the Lower Court had quoted the doctrine
(20 L. C. J. 29, at p. 38) ; re Goodhue, 19 Gr. 366 ; Canadian Law Journal,
N. 8, ix. 12; Municipality of Cleveland v. Municipality of Melbourne,
4 L. N. 277 ; re McDowell and the Town of Palmerston, (1892) 22 O. R. 563 ;
Licence Commissioners of Prince Edward County v. County of Prince Edward,
(1874) 26 Gr. 452 ; Kelly v. Sullivan, 2 P. E. 1. 34; 18. C. R. 1. So also
the Dominion can pass a retrospective taxation Act; Attorney-General of
Canada v. Foster, (1892) 31 N. B. 153 (in that case there was no antecedent
resolution to warn the taxed person: .in ex parte Wallace & Co., (1892)
13 N. 8. W. L. R. 1, the Court upheld the practice of collecting new duties
from the date of the resolution of the Legislative Assembly.
Partial invalidity is possible without complete rejection, if the invalidity
can he separated, but not if otherwise ; cf. Privy Council Report on Liquor
Licence Laws of 1883-5 in 4 Cart. 342, note 2: McKilligan v. Machar,
(1886) 3 M. R. 418; Allen v. Hanson, (1890) 16 Q. L. R., at p. 64; 18
8. C. R. 667, at p. 673. Moreover, limiting phrases— so far as the legisla.
ture has power thus to enact *~are adequate to render valid dubious enact-
ments ; Attorney-General of Canada v. Attorney-General of Ontario, 20 O. R.
222, at p. 246; 19 0. A. R. 31, at p. 40; 23 8. C. R. 458, at p. 471 : and of.
re Windsor & Annapolis Railway Co., 4 R. & G. 312,
An Act which is invalid can impose no rights or duties, and it does not
require first to be formally set aside before it is treated as a nullity ; Bourgoin
v. Chemin de Fer de Montréal, (1880) 5 App. Cas. 381 ; Théberge v. Landry,
(1876) 2 App. Cas. 102; Lenoir v. Ritchie, 38. C. R. 575, at pp. 624, 625; and
it seems to be clear law that the Court can take note of the unconstitution-
ality on its own initiative. Valin v. Langlois, (1879) 5 Q. L.R. 1, at p. 16,
per Meredith C. J. ; contra, Stuart J., in Belanger v. Caron,(1879) 5 Q. L. R.,
at p.25. In some cases there may be estoppel, but the instances are not
conclusive ; see Ross v. Guilbault, (1881) 4 L. N. 415; Forsyth v. Bury,
(1885) 15 8. C. R. 543; McCaffrey v. Ball, (1889) 34 T.. C. J. 81; Ross v.
The Canada Agricultural Insurance Co.. (1882) 5 L. N. 23: Lefroy, n. 260,
note 1
