CHAP, 1] THE DOMINION OF CANADA 731
advice.! Though in that case the Secretary of State told
certain petitioners that the matter was one for the Governor-
General, in answering a petition in 1875 regarding a second
Act he merely said that the Secretary of State had not felt
at liberty to interfere with the course taken by the Governor-
General? In the matter of the complaints of the Presby-
terians against the Ontario legislation as to the union of
the churches and the college at Kingston the Secretary of
State took no action,® but in the case of the complaint of
Mr, Butt, M.P., in 1878, regarding the Act of New Brunswick
regarding Orangemen, the Secretary of State? still used
language which indicated that Her Majesty’s Government
might interfere in a very exceptional case. And probably
the view still then was that the Governor-General had some
personal discretion, though of course it might be that the
Secretary of State only meant that a matter might be so
grave that the Governor-General might change his ministers
rather than allow an Act which was obviously wrong or
disallow an Act obviously justifiable.
At any rate, the modern practice which has grown up is
perfectly satisfactory so far as Imperial interests are con-
cerned : the Dominion Government have at the request of
the Imperial Government disallowed a whole series of British
Columbia Acts dealing in a hostile spirit with the Japanese
and other Asiatic races, while the Lieutenant-Governor
disallowed, an amusing Act passed in 1907 wherein the
Omission of a ‘not’ rendered the Act of precisely no use,
while the Act passed in 1908 had the ‘not’ restored, but
Was ultimately disallowed after being held wlira vires by
the Courts of the province.’ Again, in deference to the
* Parl Pap. C. 1351, pp. 42, 54-61.
> Canada, Sess, Pap., 1877, No. 89, pp. 435-47. .
' Parl. P, ap., H. C. 389, 1878. Lord Stanley referred home for instrue-
tions as to whether he could legally allow the Jesuit Estates Act of Quebec
in 1888 to remain in force; see Hopkins, Sir John Thompson. v. 143;
Provincial Legislation, 1867-95, pp. 395 seq.
* See British Columbia Sess. Pap 1908, D. 15,43; G. 59; 13B.C. 370;
Canadian Annual Review, 1907, pp. 882 seq. : 1908. pp. 540 seq. ; above,
P.680. nn ©
2 Thid., pp. 50. 62-4
