cHAP. 111] THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA 977
the election of his successor, who was elected as soon as
possible after the dissolution or expiration of the Council.
The Governor had the power to disallow any election, where-
upon a new election had to take place, and at any time during
the office of any Superintendent the Crown had the right to
remove him from office on receiving an address signed by
the majority of the members of the Provincial Council praying
for his removal. The Superintendent was not assigned by
the Act itself ! any special executive authority, but that was
merely in keeping with the general nature of the Act, which
practically does not deal with the Executive Government at
all. As a matter of fact, he had a sphere of activity some-
what similar to that of the Administrators of the South
African Provinces, and clearly he would have been entitled
to act on his own responsibility, subject always to the
possibility of his removal if the majority of the members
of the Council desired him to be removed. The power,
however, of removing him was simply facultative, although
in fact it could be exercised according to the rules of
responsible government, and the Superintendent would thus
become a sort of elective Lieutenant-Governor.2
As a matter of fact the principle of Provincial Councils
did not work well, and was eventually abolished in virtue
of an Act passed by the Imperial Parliament in 1868 and
carried into effect by an Act in 1875 of the Parliament of
New Zealand, under which ordinary municipal institutions
were substituted for the council system.®
In addition to its paramount power of legislation, the
General Assembly had power to constitute new provinces,
to direct the number of members of which a Provincial
Council should consist, to alter the boundaries of the pro-
vinces, and to alter the provisions respecting the election of
* The Councils used to proceed strictly on party lines, like Parliaments,
and the Superintendents exercised the functions then exercised by
Governors, and dismissed Ministers.
* It must be remembered that the Act of 1852 throughout never refers
to responsible government even for the main government of New Zealand.
* See Parl. Pap., 1876, A 2 a; the Abolition of Provinces Act, 1875;
Imperial Act 31 & 32 Vict. c. 92.
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