[martin] the colonial POLICY OF THE DOMINION 45 



It remains, however, to record one very notable exception. 

 The "colonial policy" of the Dominion with regard to Crown lands 

 has departed so fundamentally from the normal procedure in British 

 self-government that the contrast, even after the attainment of 

 provincial status in other respects, remains exceptional and indeed 

 unique. 



The control of Crown lands, and particularly of the Clergy 

 Reserves in Upper Canada, was not only one of the chief issues — ■ 

 perhaps the greatest single issue — forcing the demand for responsible 

 government, but it constituted the first-fruits of that great reform. 

 Self-governing communities which have relieved the Crown of the 

 duties and responsibilities of direct administration have been entitled 

 to the normal resources of the Crown for that purpose. As such, in 

 a very peculiar sense, the public domain has been recognized from the 

 earliest stages of colonial government; and "the plan adopted in 

 every case of the grant of responsible government," as Keith points 

 out, "took the form of a grant of full rights over the lands in exchange 

 for a civil list." ^^ 



By the Act of Union, 1840, all land revenues were surrendered to 

 the Assembly of "Canada" ^^ and the administration of Crown lands 

 followed as the first corollary of responsible government. The same 

 procedure obtained in Nova Scotia, in New Brunswick, in New- 

 foundland, in New Zealand, in New South Wales, in Tasmania, in 

 Queensland, in Victoria, in South Australia and in Western Australia, 

 both before and after the Australian confederation. 



The provincial control of Crown lands was confirmed in both 

 the Canadian and Australian confederations — -by sections 92 and 109 

 of the B.N. A. Act of 1867 and section 107 of the Commonwealth Act of 

 1900. In the case of British Columbia, which entered Confederation 

 in 1871, the same provincial rights were taken for granted without 

 discussion on either side. In the case of Prince Edward Island, in 

 1873, the Dominion went so far in pursuance of the same principles 

 as to compensate the Island by an annual subsidy for lands alienated 

 by royal grant nearly a century before responsible government was 

 conceded overseas.^* 



As already suggested, the reasons why similar provincial rights 

 were not accorded to Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905 have "never 



i^Keith, Responsible Government in the Dominions, ii, 1047. 



1^3 and 4 Vic, c. 35, s. 54. 



i^The sum of $800,000 was also to be loaned to P.E.I., as required, to purchase 

 the lands of absentee proprietors, for re-sale to small holders. See Chester Martin, 

 The Natural Resources Question, 1920, King's Printer, Manitoba, cc. v and vi. 



