FOURTH ORDINARY MEETING. 31 



With us the Provinces were merged into the new Dominion — gave 

 up their names and their charters, and submitted to be governed by 

 one parliament at Ottawa. They were re-cast, re-created and formed 

 into Provinces of the Dominion — no longer separate colonies of the 

 empire, but constituent elements of the new larger colony. The 

 powers given to the Provinces were enumerated powers — many of 

 their ancient rights were gone or become obsolete, and henceforth 

 they were new creatures, supreme in their own local rights, but 

 having no capacity to increase their own stature by one cubit. * * 



The main feature of every Federation is how far its constituent 

 provinces approach to sovereign Stales. The autonomy of our 

 Canadian provinces is perhaps the lowest in the scale of power that 

 can be exemplified in history. The list of subjects assigned to the 

 Central Government at Ottawa is fully more than double that 

 assigned to the Provinces, and every unenumerated matter goes to 

 swell the central list. And not only that, but the larger list embraces 

 the important matters. When the autonomy of a Province is spoken 

 of, or the home rule of a Province asserted, it must be with large 

 qualifications. The home rule of an obedient wife to her husband is 

 not an inappropriate comparison but like all other comparisons is not 

 to be pursued too far. * * * 



For good or for evil, so far as our written constitution goes, the 

 people of Canada have agreed to be governed by one Parliament — to 

 have laws made for the peace, order and good government of Canada 

 — but for convenience sake the Provinces have the exclusive right to 

 legislate on certain defined subjects. The legislation is kept under a 

 species of control in the Courts, which is also exercised over 

 Dominion legislation, and the other the veto power of the Governor 

 General of Canada. The Lieutenant-Governor of each province is 

 an official of the Government of Canada, and is sent to preside over 

 the local Legislatures with certain powers over the legislation and 

 with executive control. The subordination of the Provinces to the 

 Dominion is provided for — at least on paper, and their whole duty is 

 the transacting of the Local government assigned to them. The 

 provinces are independent of each other, but are unable to enter into 

 any engagements other than the constitution provides for them. This 

 is far from being in the position of quasi independent states, and 

 indeed inter-provincial dealings are removed much further than before 

 the union of 1867. * * * 



