992 THE FEDERATIONS AND THE UN.ON [PART It
§ 8. TREATIES AND NATURALIZATION
It is expressly provided by the Constitution that the Union
shall become responsible for any treaties binding on the pro-
vinces before unification,! and the agreement of February 2,
1909, between the Cape, Natal, and the Transvaal as to
railway traffic is treated as a treaty.
Under the Commonwealth Constitution there is no corre-
sponding provision. It has been held by the Commonwealth
Government, though the argument has not been accepted,
and could not be accepted, by the Imperial Government,
that all treaties binding on the states of the Commonwealth
before federation ceased ipso facto to be binding at all by
federation. This argument, which is based on the analogy
of independent states, and is invalid in the case of parts of
one Empire, has not been accepted by the Imperial Govern-
ment, and in practice the Government of the Commonwealth
has accepted the position that it remains bound in respect
of the Colonies affected by treaties concluded before federa-
tion.
In the case of Canada, the matter was settled once and for
all by the British North America Act, s. 132 of which provides
that the Parliament and Government of Canada shall have
all powers necessary or proper for performing the obligations
of Canada, or of any provinces thereof, as part of the British
Empire towards foreign countries, arising under treaties
between the Empire and such foreign countries. Though
this section does not expressly state that the treaties which
affected the Colonies before federation shall be binding on
Canada in respect of provinces so affected after federation,
it has no meaning except on this understanding, and the
Canadian Government have accepted the position that they
‘8. 148,
* See Parl. Pap., Cd. 3826, p. 6; Cd. 4355, p. 12. The Navigation Bill
as actually introduced into the Senate accepted liability (s. 414) for all
treaties binding on any state so far as that state was concerned, and the
validity of the Queensland adherence to the Japanese treaty of 1894
was recognized by notice being given of the termination of that adherence.
