CHAP, 1] THE DOMINION OF CANADA 739
the Court of Chancery of Ontario, by declaring the meaning
of the Act of 1881 to be and always to have been that which
it ascribed to it! Re-enactments of the law in 1882 and
1883 met with disallowance. This utterly indefensible action
Was protested against by the Government of Ontario, which
asserted with vigour, clearness, and much dignity that it
Was no part of the duty of the Dominion to interfere with
the operation of a Provincial Act within its legitimate
activity. Finally in 1884 the Act was allowed to stand, the
rates of payment being fixed by the county judges.
The next series of cases is one more justifiable : it was
flecessary in connexion with the contract for the construction
of the Pacific Railway to give a guarantee to the company,
& guarantee ratified by the Legislature of Canada in the
session of 1880-1, that the Government would not permit
for twenty years the construction of any line of railway
south of the Canadian Pacific Railway from any point at or
near the Canadian Pacific Railway, except such line as should
Tun south-west or to the westward of south-west, or to
within fifteen miles of latitude 49°. This agreement only
referred in terms to lines authorized by the Dominion Parlia-
ment, but the Dominion Government put upon it the mean-
ng that it was not to allow any line, which was no doubt the
sense intended. At any rate, they opened the game by
disallowing in 1882 the Act (44 Vict. c. 37) of Manitoba,
Incorporating the Winnipeg South-Eastern Railway Com-
bany, despite the protests of that Legislature : they then
disallowed in succession the Acts of Manitoba to incorporate
the Manitoba Tramway Company (44 Vict. c. 38), to incor-
borate the Emerson and North-Western Railway Co. (44
Viet. ¢. 39), and to encourage the building of railways in
Manitoba (45 Vict. c. 30), on the ground that they were in
conflict with the settled policy of the Dominion Government
1 regard to the direction and limits of railway construction
0 the territories of the Dominion. In 1886 they disallowed
the Emerson Railway Act again (47 Vict. c. 68), and the Acts
! Canada, Sess. Pap., 1882, No. 149 a; Provincial Legislation, 1867-95,
bp. 171 seq,
