Acts of the imperial parliament, which are of universal policy, and intended to affect all our transmarine possessions, at whatever period they shall be acquired, such as the navigation-acts, or acts for abolishing the slave-trade and slavery, are binding on every species of colony, plantation, or province, whether they were enacted previously or subsequently to the acquisition of those colonies, and whether those colonies are named in the acts or not.

The reason of this is, that such must manifestly be the intention of the legislature.

We must now proceed to take a brief and general view of the internal constitution of the colonies, and other foreign possessions of the crown.

With respect to their interior polity, our colonies are divided by Blackstone into three classes:-"1. Provincial establishments, the constitutions of which depend on the respective commissions issued by the crown to the governors, and the instructions which usually accompany those commissions; under the authority of which, provincial assemblies are constituted, with the power of making local ordinances, not repugnant to the law of England. 2. Proprietary governments, granted out by the crown to individuals, in the nature of feudatory principalities, with all the inferior regalities, and subordinate powers of legislation, which formerly belonged to the owners of counties palatine: yet still with these express conditions, that the ends for which the grant was made be substantially purtion that the right is relinquished;" but a mere declaration that parliament will not any longer tax the colonies. His lordship added, that even in the speeches and writings of Mr. Burke himself there is no single phrase there is no single sentence-disputing the right of parliament he confines his doctrine entirely to the expediency of exercising the right of the mother-country as far as regarded the taxation of the colonies." It must be remembered, that the declaratory act applies only to those colonies which have representative assemblies.

E

sued, and that nothing may be attempted which may derogate from the sovereignty of the mother-country. 3. Charter-governments, in the nature of civil corporations, with the power of making by-laws for their own internal regulation, not contrary to the law of England; and with such rights and authorities as are specially given them in their several charters of incorporation. The form of government in most of them is borrowed from that of England. They have a governor, named by the king (or, in some proprietary colonies, by the proprietor), who is his representative or deputy. They have courts of justice of their own, from whose decisions an appeal lies to the king in council in England. Their general assemblies, which are their house of commons, together with their council of state, being their upper house, with the concurrence of the king, or his representative the governor, make laws suited to their own emergencies."1

Blackst. Com. introd. p. 108. "But it is particularly declared, by stat. 7 and 8 W. III. c. xxii. § 9, that all laws, by-laws, usages, and customs, which shall be in practice in any of the plantations, repugnant to any law made or to be made in this kingdom relative to the said plantation, shall be utterly void and of none effect."-Blackst. loc. cit.

Clark (Colon. Law, p. 18) gives the following list of the colonies, exclusive of those under the government of the East India Company. In West Indies and South America: 1. Antigua, including Barbuda; 2. Barbadoes; 3. British Guiana, including Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice; 4. Dominica; 5. Grenada; 6. Jamaica; 7. Monserrat ; 8. Nevis; 9. St. Christopher's, including Anguilla; 10. St. Lucia; 11. St. Vincent; 12. Tobago; 13. Trinidad; 14. Virgin Islands. In North America, continental and insular: 1. Bahama Islands; 2. The Bermuda, or Somers' Island; 3. Canada Lower; 4. Canada Upper; 5. Prince Edward's Island; 6. New Brunswick; 7. Newfoundland, with part of Labrador; 8. Nova Scotia, including Cape Breton. In Africa: 1. Cape of Good Hope; 2. Sierra Leone, with the settlements on the Gold Coast. In the Indian Seas: 1. Ceylon; 2. Mauritius, with Sey

There is at present no proprietary government in existence; and almost all the colonies are of the class denominated by Blackstone provincial establishments, with the exception of Sierra Leone, which is, said to be a charter-government, and partakes more of the nature of a colony acquired by occupancy than of any other. Three other colonies, viz. Newfoundland, New South Wales, and Van Diemen's Land, were acquired by discovery, or simple occupation, and were consequently never subject to the legislation of the crown. They have lately received constitutions, with provincial representative assemblies. To these we must add South Australia. There are other colonies and territories which were originally acquired by conquest and cession, and remain without similar franchises; they are therefore still subject to the legislation of the crown. These are, St. Lucia, Trinidad, the newly constituted colony of British Guiana, the Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, Ceylon, and the European establishments of Gibraltar, Malta, and Heligoland.

The remaining colonies were acquired by conquest or cession; but they have received constitutions from the crown, with the power of making laws for themselves in legislative assemblies, and are therefore no longer subject to the legislation of the queen in council.1

Their constitutions are moulded, so far as conveniently may be, on that of England. A commission, in the form of letters patent, is issued under the great seal, appointing

chelles. In the South Seas: 1. New South Wales, with Norfolk Island; 2. Van Diemen's Land; 3. Western Australia. The following possessions are not strictly colonies. In Europe: 1. Gibraltar; 2. Heligoland; 3. Malta. By the act 3 and 4 W. IV. c. 85, the island of St. Helena was transferred from the East India Company to the

crown.

1 Clark, Colon. L. p. 27.

a governor, as the representative and deputy of the crown, and investing him with supreme executive authority; but assigning certain persons, usually of the best estate and quality in the province, to advise him as a council of state. He is directed by the commission, and by instructions signed by the sovereign in council, to summon, from time to time, a representative assembly among the inhabitants; who, with the concurrence of the governor and council, are empowered to enact laws for the colony, which they are generally directed to frame, as nearly as may be, agreeably to those of England.

In some colonies, as, for instance, in Canada, an executive council is erected which is perfectly distinct from the legislative council; the former being the advisers of the governor in the discharge of his executive functions, and the latter holding the place of the house of lords, as the upper house of the legislature.1 Where there are not two distinct bodies of councillors, the council performs the duties of the privy council, and those of the house of lords, or upper house of the legislature. Their legislative powers they in most colonies exercise sitting as an upper house, distinct from the governor; who is, however, not bound to abide by their advice given as a council of state, and may refuse his assent to the ordinances which they have passed in their legislative capacity.2

The governor is appointed by the crown during pleasure. Any individual aggrieved may petition the queen in council for his removal; and he is amenable to parliament, to the court of Queen's Bench, and to special commissioners assigned by the crown.3

But he may suspend the members of assembly until 2 Clark, Colon. L. p. 37.

Clark, Colon. L. P. 399.

3 Clark, Colon. L. p. 35. Stat. 11 and 12 W. III. c. xii. and xxiv.; G. III. c. lxxxv. ; 8 East 31.

her majesty's pleasure be known. Her majesty may remove any councillor from office.

The house of assembly is formed on the model of the house of commons. The freeholders are assembled by virtue of the queen's writ; their votes are received by an officer of the crown; and in some colonies the representatives must be possessed of a landed qualification. The members are assembled by royal proclamation, and a speaker having been chosen and approved by the queen's representative, they perform all the functions belonging to the house of commons in England.1

The ordinances framed by the legislative assembly, with the assent of the governor, are called acts of assembly, and constitute the statute-law of the colony. They have force of law in the province without the assent of the crown, unless (as is sometimes the case) they are passed with a clause suspending their effect until her majesty's pleasure has been taken thereon.

But acts of assembly may be disallowed by her majesty in council (unless she has confirmed them by order in council) at any time, however remote; though this prerogative is in practice never exercised after an act has been examined by the lords of the committee of trade, and their lordships have reported that it should be left to its operation.2

The courts of justice in these colonies are for the most part analogous to those in England.

The most important point of dissimilarity between these provincial constitutions and that of the mothercountry is, that the advisers of the crown in the colonies are not dependent for their tenure of office upon the votes

1 As to the power of colonial assemblies to commit for contempt, see Beaumont v. Barnett, 1 Moore, P. C. Cases, 73.

2 Clark, Colon. L. p. 41-44.