George the Third, or by any other Act of Parliament, or by any Act of the Legislature of the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada respectively, are vested in or are authorized or required to be exercised by the respective Governors or Lieutenant-Governors of the said Provinces, with the Advice or with the Advice and Consent of the Executive Council of such Provinces respectively, or in conjunction with such Executive Council, or with any number of the Members thereof, or by the said Governors or Lieutenant Governors individually and alone, shall, in so far as the same are not repugnant to or inconsistent with the Provision of this Act, be vested in and may be exercised by the Governor of the Province of Canada, with the Advice or with the Advice and Consent of, or in conjunction, as the case may require, with such Executive Council, or any Members thereof, as may be appointed by Her Majesty for the Affairs of the Province of Canada, or by the said Governor of the Province of Canada individually and alone in Cases where the Advice, Consent, or Concurrence of the Executive Council is not required. XLVI. [Existing laws shall remain in force except in so far as they are altered by this Act or by any Acts of the Legislature of Canada.] XLVII. [Courts of Justice, Commissions, Officers, etc., shall continue unless they are altered by or are inconsistent with this Act.] XLVIII. [Provision respecting temporary Acts.] XLIX. [Repeal of those clauses of 3 G. IV. c. 119 (Act for regulating inter-colonial trade), appointing arbitrators and prescribing their course of action.] Provinces to Revenue Fund. L. And be it enacted, That upon the Union of the Revenues of Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada all Duties and the Two Revenues over which the respective Legislatures of the form a Consaid Provinces before and at the Time of the passing of solidated this Act had and have Power of Appropriation shall form one Consolidated Revenue Fund, to be appropriated for the Public Service of the Province of Canada, in the Manner and subject to the Charges herein-after mentioned. Interpretation LI. [Consolidated Revenue Fund to be charged with the expense of collection thereof.] LII. [45,000l. per annum to be granted permanently for the services in Schedule A (Governor, LieutenantGovernor and Judges) and 30,000l. per annum during the life of Her Majesty and for five years following, for those in Schedule B (Civil Secretaries and other officials).] LIII. [The appropriation of sums may be varied: In Schedule A by Act of the legislature of Canada. LIV. [The above sums shall take the place of all territorial and other revenues of the Crown. During the life of Her Majesty and for five years after, such revenues shall be transferred to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.] LV. [Charges already created in either province shall not be absorbed into the above Fund for the period of the Acts authorising them.] LVI. [The order of charges on the Consolidated Revenue Fund shall be : (1) Expense of Collection. (2) Interest of the Public Debt. (3) Payments to Clergy. (4 and 5) Civil List. (6) Other charges already made on the Public Revenue.] LVII. [Subject to the above charges, the Consolidated Revenue Fund shall be appropriated by the Provincial Legislature for the public service.] LVIII. [The Governor may constitute townships under the Great Seal.] LIX. [Exercise of powers of Governor to be subject to orders, etc., of Her Majesty.] LX. [Magdalen Islands may be annexed to the Island of Prince Edward.] LXI. And be it enacted, That in this Act, unless otherwise expressed therein, the words "Act of the Legislature of the Province of Canada" are to be understood to mean "Act of Her Majesty, Her Heirs or Successors, enacted by Her Majesty, or by the Governor on behalf of Her Majesty, with the Advice and Consent of the Legislative Council and Assembly of the Province of Canada;" and the words "Governor of the Province of Canada" are to be understood as comprehending the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Person authorized to execute the Office or the Functions of Governor of the said Province. LXII. And be it enacted, That this Act may be amended Act may be or repealed by any Act to be passed in the present Session amended, etc. of Parliament. EARL GREY'S DESPATCHES CONCERNING THE ES TABLISHMENT OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT IN NOVA SCOTIA. 3 NOVEMBER, 1846, AND 31 MARCH, 1847. ["Parliamentary Papers," vol. 42, 1847-48.] Earl Grey [Secretary of State for the Colonies], to LieutenantGovernor Sir John Harvey, K.C.B. [Lieut.-Gov. of Nova Scotia]. DOWNING STREET, 3 November, 1846. I HAVE received your Despatch of the 15th September, marked "Private and Confidential," in which you communicate to me your views upon the state of affairs which you have found on arriving in Nova Scotia. Circumstances prevented me from answering your despatch, as you wished me to have done, by the packet which left England on the 3d instant; but the interval which has since elapsed has enabled me to devote more time to the consideration of the questions which you have brought under my notice than the brief space between the arrival and the departure of the North American packet would have allowed me to do. I perceive, from your representation of the position of affairs in Nova Scotia, that there are questions to be determined in respect to the government of that province of no ordinary difficulty, and that it is of the utmost importance that the first measures of your administration should be preceded by the most careful deliberation. The knowledge which I possess of the local politics of Nova Scotia is at present too limited to enable me, with confidence in my own judgment, to give you any positive and detailed directions as to the course which circumstances may require you to adopt in the present conjuncture; 126 but though it is out of my power to give you such instructions, there are certain general principles which ought, as I conceive, to govern your conduct in this and in similar cases; and which, as they admit of being stated, ought, I think, to be communicated to you for your guidance. I shall advert first to the important topic of the composition of the Legislative Council. In making appointments to this body, it ought undoubtedly to be the object of the administrator of the Government so to compose it as to make it fairly represent the opinion of the majority of the intelligent members of the community; but supposing the selection of the present members to have been ill-advised, and that the Council in consequence is not in harmony with public opinion, the question arises, what is then the proper course to be adopted? Under such circumstances there are two considerations to which it is necessary to advert. First, that it is impossible to allow the Legislative Council to obstruct permanently the passing of measures called for by public opinion, and sent up by the popular branch of the Legislature. Secondly, that it is a serious evil to be compelled to make an addition to the members of this body for the purpose of changing the character of the majority; since each such addition creates both a precedent and a necessity for a similar and perhaps larger addition whenever a change in public feeling gives the ascendancy to a new party in the assembly. It is difficult to reconcile these almost conflicting considerations, but this, in my opinion, may be attempted with the greatest hopes of success, by adopting as a rule that an addition is not to be made to the Legislative Council with a view to changing the character of the majority, except under circumstances of clear and obvious necessity. An anticipation that public business will be impeded because there is a majority in the Legislative Council attached to the political party which has not the confidence of the colony is insufficient to justify the appointment of additional members. Practical inconvenience must have actually arisen, and to a serious extent, before resort can with propriety be had to any measure for increasing the number of the Council. If that body be found obstructing pertinaciously the progress of public business, and the passing of laws which public opinion |