Page:Public School History of England and Canada (1892).djvu/275

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CANADA SINCE CONFEDERATION.
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the appointment of judges, the construction and management of the more important public works, and the control of all Crown lands not belonging to any of the Provinces. To carry out this scheme it was necessary to have a good deal of political machinery; so each Province was given a Lieutenant-Governor, appointed by the Governor-General of the Dominion for a term of years, a Legislature elected by the people for four years, and, if the Province wished it, a Legislative Council or Senate. Of the four Provinces Ontario was the only one that felt ‘content to do without a Legislative Council. In each Province there was to be an Executive Council, or Ministry, responsible to the people through their representatives in the Legislature. The Dominion Parliament was to have, as its head, a Governor-General, appointed by the Crown; a Senate, composed of members from the different Provinces, and appointed by the Governor-General for life, and a House of Commons elected by the people. Each Province was given a certain number of senators, Ontario being given twenty-four, Quebec twenty-four, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick twenty-four; in all, seventy-two. The number of members of the House of Commons, at the outset was to be one hundred and eight} on of which Quebec sent sixty-five, Ontario eighty-two, Nova Scotia nineteen, and New Brunswick fifteen. A census was to be taken every ten years, and the number of members given to each Province was to be regulated by the population ; Quebec to send sixty-five, and the other Provinces in proportion to their population. In his way the problem of “Representation by Population” was solved. The real government of the Dominion was to be in the hands of an Executive Council, chosen by the Governor-General from the political party having a majority in the House of Commons, and was to consist, at first, of thirteen members. The Governor-General could reserve any law passed by the Dominion Parliament for the sanction of the Home Government; and, on the advice of his Council, could, within a year from the time of its passing, veto any bill passed by a local Parliament. This power of veto was given because it was feared that the Provinces might pass laws injurious to the Dominion as a whole, or hurtful to the rights of some of the people in them. Having settled the terms of the political partnership, it was thought that there would be a closer union if a railroad were built between the Maritime Provinces and Quebec. It was,