be aided by a Council, not exceeding fifteen, nor less than seven persons, to be appointed by the Governor-General in Council. The powers of this Council were to be from time to time as defined by Order in Council, i.e., by the Dominion government. By the 5th and 6th sections of this Act it was provided:

"5. All the laws in force in Rupert's Land and the NorthWestern Territory at the time of their admission to the Union shall so far as they are consistent with "the British North America Act, 1867,"-with the terms and conditions of such admission approved of by the Queen under the 146th section thereof and with this Act-remain in force until altered by the parliament of Canada, or by the Lieutenant-Governor under the authority of this Act.

"6. All public officers and functionaries holding office in Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory at the time of their admission into the Union, excepting the public officer or functionary at the head of the administration of affairs, shall continue to be public officers and functionaries of the NorthWest Territories with the same duties and powers as before, until otherwise ordered by the Lieutenant-Governor under the authority of this Act."

to which clauses we shall shortly have occasion again to refer.

Again, in 1870 (the admission not having yet taken place) the parliament of Canada passed “ An Act to amend and continue the Act 32-33 Vic. c. 3; and to establish and provide for the government of the province of Manitoba " -33 Vic. c. 3. The provisions of this Act as to Manitoba I will be dealt with later. As to the remaining portions of the territories about to become part of the Dominion, the only amendment of the Act of the previous session was in the provision that the Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba should also be commissioned as Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories-as such remaining portions were now to be called. With this amendment the Act of 1869 was continued to the end of the session of 1871.

Confining our attention, then, to the North-West Territories; when next the parliament of Canada met, these territories were part of the Dominion, and much of the legislation of that session applied to them equally with the other parts of Canada. From that time to the present the Dominion parliament has had the power to legislate for the North-West Territories in reference to all matters within the ken of a colonial legislature (e); and although large powers of local self-government have been conceded to the inhabitants of these Territories they are held at the will of the parliament of Canada. To what extent that parliament will interpose in reference to matters over which legislative power has been conferred on the North-West assembly, depends on "conventions" not capable of accurate definition. No doubt before very long a new province or provinces will be formed out of these territories. The position, therefore, is so evidently temporary that we feel some difficulty in deciding to what extent of detail we should go in discussing the present position of the North-West Territories. What we write will in all probability be in a very short time of historical interest merely. Present usefulness therefore must be our guide, leaving the future to take care of itself. Because, however, cases may arise in which the rights of litigants will depend on the law as it stood at some particular time since 1870, we deem it advisable before discussing the Acts which are to-day the constitutional charters of the North-West Territories, to state shortly the changes which have been made from time to time up to the present, in order that the proper sources of legislation at any given period, and in relation to any given matter, may be consulted.

On the 15th of July, 1870, these Territories became part of Canada. The Acts of the two previous sessions expiring at the end of the session of 1871, a permanent Act was passed (34 Vic. c. 16), containing the same provisions as had

(e) See chapter IX., ante.

been made by those Acts. We should note here the B. N. A. Act, 1871 (34-35 Vic. c. 28), which will be printed in full when we come to deal with Manitoba. So far as concerns the North-West Territories, it merely validated the previous Canadian legislation (32-33 Vic. c. 3, and 33 Vic. c. 3), and made the general provision above noted that "the parliament of Canada may from time to time make provision for the administration, peace, order, and good government (ƒ) of any territory not for the time being included in any territory."

Period from 15 July, 1870, to 1 November, 1873.

During this period, then, legislative authority over the North-West Territories was exercised or exerciseable-in the order of efficacy

(a) By the Imperial Parliament:

(b) By the Parliament of Canada:

(c) By the Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba in relation. only to such matters as were designated by order of the Governor-General in Council. By 36 Vic. c. 5, the number of the council of the North-West Territories was increased to a maximum of 21, instead of 15, the minimum remaining at 7. Nothing, however, was done toward the government, by local authority, of the North-West Territories until December, 1872, when Lieutenant-Governor Morris of Manitoba was commissioned to act as Lieutenant-Governor of these Territories,- with a council of eleven members to aid him in the administration of affairs there. By Order in Council of date 12th February, 1873, it was ordered:

"1. That the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories, by and with the advice of the said Council shall be, and he is hereby authorized to make provision for the administration of justice in the said territories, and generally to make and establish such ordinances as may be necessary for the peace, order, and good government of the said North-West Territories and of Her

(f) See Riel v. Regina, 10 App. Cas. 675, fully noted, ante, p.

347.

4

Majesty's subjects and others therein. Provided, first, that no such ordinance shall deal with or affect any subjects which are beyond the jurisdiction of a provincial legislature, under the British North America Act, 1867,' and provided, second, that all such ordinances shall be made to come into force only after they have been approved by the Governor-General in Council, unless in case of urgency, and in that case the urgency shall be stated on the face of the ordinance."

with further provision for the transmission of all ordinances to the Governor-General, who should be at liberty to disallow any of them at any time within two years from their passuge.

Period from 1 November, 1873. to 7 October, 1876.

On the 1st of November, 1873, the Act 36 Vic. c. 34, came into force. It provided-probably to remove doubts -that the local legislation on the various subjects which by Order in Council to that date had been committed to the legislative ken of the Lieutenant-Governor and his Council, should thereafter be passed by the LieutenantGovernor, by and with the advice and consent of the Council. In relation to all matters not so committed, legislative power was by the Act conferred on the Governor-General in Council. The legislative power of both the Dominion cabinet and the Lieutenant-Governor in Council-each within its respective sphere-might be exercised in the way of extending to the Territories general Acts of the parliament of Canada with such modification as might be thought desirable, or in the way of repealing such general Acts so far as they might apply to the territories; with this proviso, however, that no law to be passed by either of these bodies should (1) be inconsistent with any Act of the parliament of Canada of express application to the Territories; (2) alter the punishment provided for any crime or the legal description or character of the crime itself; (3) impose any tax or any duty of customs or excise or any penalty exceeding one hundred

dollars; or (4) appropriate any monies or property of the Dominion without the authority of the Dominion parliament. All local legislation was to be subject to disallowance within two years after its passage.

During this period, therefore, legislative power was exercisable-in the order of its efficacy

(a) By the Imperial Parliament:

(b) By the Parliament of Canada:

(c) By the Governor-General in Council in relation to all matters not committed to the Lieutenant-Governor and his Council; which in reality placed the entire legislative power (subject to the foregoing) in the hands of the Dominion government, if it had chosen to exercise it, for the powers of the Lieutenant-Governor were themselves defined by the Order in Council to which we have referred, and could of course be at any time curtailed:

(d) By the Lieutenant-Governor in Council in relation to all matters from time to time committed to them for legislative action.

During this period, however, no further Orders in Council were passed relative to the powers of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, nor was the legislative power of the Governor-General in Council exercised, so that this and the earlier period are practically one. Dominion legislation of a general character passed during this period would prima facie apply to the North-West Territories, and in addition we may note 36 Vic. c. 35, which made special provision for the administration of justice therein.

Period from 7 October, 1876, to 28 April, 1877.

In 1875 was passed "The North-West Territories Act, 1875," which came into force, however, only on the 7th of October, 1876. It amended and consolidated previous legislation, and under it the first resident Lieutenant-Governor was appointed, and the first legislative session took