Meanwhile a policy destined to affect profoundly the future of the
Dominion had, along with that of the construction of the Canadian
Pacific railway, become a subject of burning political discussion and
party division. During the period of Mr Mackenzie's administration a
profound business depression affected the whole continent of America.
The Dominion revenue showed a series of deficits for several years in
succession. The factories of the United States, unduly developed by an
extreme system of protection, sought in Canada a slaughter market for
their surplus products, to the detriment or destruction of Canadian
industries. Meanwhile the republic, which had for many years drained
Canada of hundreds of thousands of artisans to work its factories,
steadily declined to consider any suggestion for improving trade
relations between the two countries. In these circumstances Sir J.
Macdonald brought forward a proposal to adopt what was called a
"national policy," or, in other words, a system of protection for
Canadian industries. Mr Mackenzie and his chief followers, whose
inclinations were towards free trade, pinned their political fortunes to
the maintenance of a tariff for revenue only. After some years of fierce
discussion in parliament and throughout the country the question was
brought to an issue in 1878, when, with a large majority of followers
pledged to carry out protection, Sir John Macdonald was restored to
power. The new system was laid before parliament in 1879 by the finance
minister, Sir Leonard Tilley; and the tariff then agreed upon, although
it received considerable modification from time to time, remained, under
both Conservative and Liberal administrations, the basis of Canadian
finance, and, as Canadians generally believed, the bulwark of their
industry. It had almost immediately the effect of lessening the exodus
of artisans to the United States, and of improving the revenue and so
restoring the national credit.
Completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
In October 1878 Lord Dufferin's term of office expired, and his place as
governor-general was taken by the marquess of Lorne, whose welcome to
the Dominion was accentuated by the fact that he was the son-in-law of
the queen, and that his viceroyalty was shared by the princess Louise.
The election of 1878 marked the beginning of a long period of
Conservative rule--the premiership of Sir J. Macdonald continuing from
that time without a break until his death in 1891, while his party
remained in power till 1896. This long-continued Conservative supremacy
was apparently due to the policy of bold and rapid development which it
had adopted, and which appealed to a young and ambitious country more
strongly than the more cautious proposals of the Liberal leaders. As
soon as the government had redeemed its pledge to establish a system of
protection a vigorous railway policy was inaugurated. A contract was
made with a new company to complete the Canadian Pacific railway within
ten years, on condition of receiving a grant of $25,000,000 and
25,000,000 acres of land, together with those parts of the line already
finished under government direction. After fierce debate in parliament
these terms were ratified in the session of 1881. The financial
difficulties encountered by the company in carrying out their gigantic
task were very great, and in 1884 they were compelled to obtain from the
Dominion government a loan of $20,000,000 secured on the company's
property. This loan was repaid by 1887. Meanwhile the work was carried
forward with so much energy that, five years before the stipulated
period of completion, on the 7th of November 1886, the last spike was
driven by Mr Donald A. Smith (Lord Strathcona), whose fortune had been
largely pledged to the undertaking, along with those of other prominent
Canadian business men, especially Mr George Stephen (Lord Mountstephen),
Mr Duncan McIntyre, and Mr R.B. Angus. Under the energetic management of
Mr (later Sir) W.C. Van Home, who was appointed president of the company
in 1888, the new railway soon became the most prominent feature in the
development of the country; lines of steamships were established on the
great lakes and the Pacific; a stream of immigration began to flow into
the prairie region; and the increasing prosperity of the railway had a
poverful influence in improving the public credit.
Riel's rebellion.
Even before the Canadian Pacific railway was fully completed, it proved
of great service in a national emergency which suddenly arose in the
north-west. With the organization of Manitoba and the opening of
improved communication immigrants began to move rapidly westward, and
government surveyors were soon busy laying off lands in the Saskatchewan
valley. The numbers of the half-breed settlers of this district had been
increased by the migration of many of those who had taken part in the
first uprising at Fort Garry. Influenced by somewhat similar motives,
fearing from the advance of civilization the destruction of the buffalo,
on which they chiefly depended for food, with some real grievances and
others imaginary, the discontented population sent for Riel, who had
been living, since his flight from Fort Garry, in the United States. He
returned to put himself at the head of a second rebellion. At first he
seemed inclined to act with moderation and on lines of constitutional
agitation, but soon, carried away by fanaticism, ambition and vanity, he
turned to armed organization against the government. To half-breed
rebellion was added the imminent danger of an Indian uprising, to which
Riel looked for support. The authorities at Ottawa were at first
careless or sceptical in regard to the danger, the reality of which was
only brought home to them when a body of mounted police, advancing to
regain a small post at Duck Lake, of which the rebels had taken
possession, was attacked and twelve of their number killed. Volunteers
and militia were at once called out in all the old provinces of Canada,
and were quickly conveyed by the newly constructed line of railway to
the neighbourhood of the point of disturbance. Major-general Middleton,
of the imperial army, who was then in command of the Canadian militia,
led the expedition. Several minor engagements with half-breeds or
Indians preceded the final struggle at Batoche, where Gabriel Dumont,
Riel's military lieutenant, had skilfully entrenched his forces. After a
cautious advance the eagerness of the troops finally overcame the
hesitation of the commander in exposing his men, the rifle pits were
carried with a rush, and the rebellion crushed at a single stroke.
Dumont succeeded in escaping across the United States boundary; Riel was
captured, imprisoned, and in due course tried for treason. This second
rebellion carried on under his leadership had lasted about three months,
had cost the country many valuable lives, and in money about five
millions of dollars. Clear as was his guilt, Riel's trial, condemnation
and execution on the 16th of November 1885, provoked a violent political
storm which at one time threatened to overthrow the Conservative
government. The balance of power between parties in parliament was held
by the province of Quebec, and there racial and religious feeling evoked
no slight sympathy for Riel. But while a section of Quebec was eager to
secure the rebel's pardon, Ontario was equally bent on the execution of
justice, so that in the final vote on the question in parliament the
defection of French Conservatives was compensated for by the support of
Ontario Liberals. In the end 25 out of 53 French members voted in
justification of Kiel's punishment. With him were executed several
Indian chiefs who had been concerned in a massacre of whites. Painful as
were the circumstances connected with this rebellion, it is certain that
the united action of the different provinces in suppressing it tended to
consolidate Canadian sentiment, and the short military campaign had the
effect of fixing public attention upon the immense fertile territory
then being opened up.
Macdonald's fiscal policy.
The general election of 1882 turned chiefly upon endorsement of the
national policy of protection; in that of 1887 the electoral test was
again applied to the same issue, while Sir John Macdonald also asked for
approval of the government's action in exacting from Riel the full
penalty of his guilt. On both issues the Conservative policy was upheld
by the electors, and Macdonald was continued in power with a large
parliamentary majority. From the election of 1887 the Riel agitation
ceased to seriously influence politics, but the fiscal controversy
continued under new forms. Between 1887 and 1891 a vigorous agitation
was kept up under Liberal auspices in favour of closer trade relations
with the United States, at first under the name of Commercial Union and
later under that of Unrestricted Reciprocity. The object in both cases
was to break down tariff barriers between the United States and Canada,
even though that should be at the expense of discrimination against
Great Britain. The Conservative party took the position that commercial
union, involving as it would a common protective tariff against all
other countries, including the motherland, would inevitably lead to
political unification with the United States. The question after long
and vehement discussion was brought to a final issue in the election of
1891, and Sir John Macdonald's government was again sustained. From that
time protection became the settled policy of the country. On their
accession to power in 1896 it was adopted by the Liberals, who joined to
it a preference for the products of the mother country. Under the
protective policy thus repeatedly confirmed, Canada gradually became
more independent of the American market than in earlier times, and
enjoyed great commercial prosperity. Soon after the election of 1891 Sir
John Macdonald (q.v.) died, after an active political career of more
than forty years. Under his direction the great lines of policy which
have governed the development of Canada as a confederated state within
the empire were inaugurated and carried forward with great success, so
that his name has become indissolubly connected with the history of the
Dominion at its most critical stage.
Macdonald's successors.
During the years which succeeded the death of Sir John Macdonald a
succession of losses weakened the position of the Conservative party
which had held power so long. The Hon. J.C.C. Abbott, leader of the
party in the Senate, became prime minister on Macdonald's death in 1891,
but in 1892 was compelled by ill-health to resign, and in 1893 he died.
His successor, Sir John Thompson, after a successful leadership of about
two years, died suddenly of heart disease at Windsor Castle, immediately
after being sworn of the imperial privy council. Charges of corruption
in the administration of the department of public works, which led to
the expulsion of one member of parliament, involved also the resignation
from the cabinet of Sir Hector Langevin, leader of the French
Conservatives, against whom carelessness at least in administration had
been established. The brief premiership of Sir Mackenzie Bowell, between
1894 and 1896, was marked by much dissension in the Conservative ranks,
ending finally in a reconstruction of the government in 1896 under Sir
Charles Tupper. Breaks had been made in the Liberal ranks also by the
death in 1892 of the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie and the withdrawal of the
Hon. Edward Blake from Canadian politics to accept a seat in the British
parliament as a member of the Home Rule party. But the appeal made to
the electors in 1896 resulted in a decisive victory for the Liberal
party, and marked the beginning of a long period of Liberal rule.
Laurier.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier (q.v.) became prime minister, and strengthened the
cabinet which he formed by drawing into it from provincial politics the
premiers of Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The administration
thus established underwent many changes, but after winning three general
elections it was still in power in 1909. The period of Sir Wilfrid
Laurier's rule was one of striking progress in material growth, and a
marked development of national feeling. While the federation of the
provinces favoured the growth of a strong sentiment of Canadian
individuality, the result of unification had been to strengthen
decidedly the ties that bind the country to the empire. This was as true
under Liberal as under Conservative auspices--as Canadians understood
the meaning of these party names. The outbreak of the South African war
in 1899 furnished an occasion for a practical display of Canadian
loyalty to imperial interests. Three contingents of troops were
despatched to the seat of war and took an active part in the events
which finally secured the triumph of the British arms. These forces were
supplemented by a regiment of Canadian horse raised and equipped at the
sole expense of Lord Strathcona, the high commissioner of the Dominion
in London. The same spirit was illustrated in other ways. In bringing
about a system of penny postage throughout the empire; in forwarding the
construction of the Pacific cable to secure close and safe imperial
telegraphic connexion; in creating rapid and efficient lines of
steamship communication with the motherland and all the colonies; in
granting tariff preference to British goods and in striving for
preferential treatment of inter-imperial trade; in assuming
responsibility for imperial defence at the two important stations of
Halifax and Esquimalt,--Canada, under the guidance of Sir Wilfrid
Laurier and his party, took a leading part and showed a truly national
spirit.
Canadian expansion.
The opening years of the 20th century were marked by a prolonged period
of great prosperity. A steady stream of emigrants from Europe and the
United States, sometimes rising in number to 300,000 in a single year,
began to occupy the vast western prairies. So considerable was the
growth of this section of the Dominion that in 1905 it was found
necessary to form two new provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan, from the
North-West Territories, the area of each being 275,000 sq. m. Each
province has a lieutenant-governor and a single legislative chamber,
with a representation of four members in the Senate and five in the
House of Commons of the Dominion parliament. The control of the public
lands is retained by the general government on the ground that it has
been responsible for the development of the country by railway
construction and emigration. With the rapid increase of population,
production in Canada also greatly increased; exports, imports and
revenue constantly expanded, and capital, finding abundant and
profitable employment, began to flow freely into the country for further
industrial development. New and great railway undertakings were a marked
feature of this period. The Canadian Pacific system was extended until
it included 12,000 m. of line. The Canadian Northern railway, already
constructed from the Great Lakes westward to the neighbourhood of the
Rockies, and with water and rail connexions reaching eastward to Quebec,
began to transform itself into a complete transcontinental system, with
an extension to the Hudson Bay. That this line owed its inception and
construction chiefly to the joint enterprise of two private individuals,
Messrs Mackenzie and Mann, was a striking proof of the industrial
capacities of the country. To a still more ambitious line, the Grand
Trunk Pacific, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, aiming at
extensive steamship connexion on both oceans, and closely associated
with the Grand Trunk system of Ontario and Quebec, the government of
Canada gave liberal support as a national undertaking. The eastern
section of 1875 m., extending from Winnipeg to Moncton, where connexion
is secured with the winter ports of Halifax and St John, was, under the
act of incorporation, to be built by the government, and then leased for
fifty years, under certain conditions, to the Grand Trunk Pacific
Company. The western portion, of 1480 m., from Winnipeg to the Pacific,
was to be built, owned and operated by the company itself, the
government guaranteeing bonds to the extent of 75% of the whole cost of
construction. The discovery of large deposits of nickel at Sudbury; of
extremely rich gold mines on the head-waters of the Yukon, in a region
previously considered well-nigh worthless for human habitation; of
extensive areas of gold, copper and silver ores in the mountain regions
of British Columbia; of immense coal deposits in the Crow's Nest Pass of
the same province and on the prairies; of veins of silver and cobalt of
extraordinary richness in northern Ontario--all deeply affected the
industrial condition of the country and illustrated the vastness of its
undeveloped resources. The use of wood-pulp in the manufacture of paper
gave a greatly enhanced value to many millions of acres of northern
forest country. The application of electricity to purposes of
manufacture and transportation made the waterfalls and rapids in which
the country abounds the source of an almost unlimited supply of energy
capable of easy distribution for industrial purposes over wide areas.
Relations with the United States.
Since confederation a series of attempts has been made with varying
degrees of success to settle the questions in dispute between the
Dominion and the United States, naturally arising from the fact that
they divide between them the control of nearly the whole of a large
continent and its adjoining waters. Considering the vastness of the
interests involved, there is much cause for satisfaction in the fact
that these differences have been settled by peaceful arbitrament rather
than by that recourse to force which has so often marked the
delimitation of rights and territory on other continents The Washington
Treaty of 1871 has already been referred to. Its clauses dealing with
the fisheries and trade lasted for fourteen years, and were then
abrogated by the action of the United States. Various proposals on the
part of Canada for a renewal of the reciprocity were not entertained.
After 1885 Canada was therefore compelled to fall back upon the treaty
of 1818 as the guarantee of her fishing rights. It became necessary to
enforce the terms of that convention, under which the fishermen of the
United States could not pursue their avocations within the three miles'
limit, tranship cargoes of fish in Canadian ports, or enter them except
for shelter, water, wood or repairs. On account of infractions of the
treaty many vessels were seized and some were condemned. In 1887 a
special commission was appointed to deal with the question. On this
commission Mr Joseph Chamberlain, Sir Sackville West and Sir Charles
Tupper represented British and Canadian interests; Secretary T.F.
Bayard, Mr W. le B. Putnam and Mr James B. Angell acted for the United
States. The commission succeeded in agreeing to the terms of a treaty,
which was recommended to Congress by President Cleveland as supplying "a
satisfactory, practical and final adjustment, upon a basis honourable
and just to both parties, of the difficult and vexed questions to which
it relates." This agreement, known as the Chamberlain-Bayard treaty, was
rejected by the Senate, and as a consequence it became necessary to
carry on the fisheries under a _modus vivendi_ renewed annually.
In 1886 a difference about international rights on the high seas arose
on the Pacific coast in connexion with the seal fisheries of Bering Sea.
In that year several schooners, fitted out in British Columbia for the
capture of seals in the North Pacific, were seized by a United States
cutter at a distance of 60 m. from the nearest land, the officers were
imprisoned and fined, and the vessels themselves subjected to
forfeiture. The British government at once protested against this
infraction of international right, and through long and troublesome
negotiations firmly upheld Canada's claims in the matter. The dispute
was finally referred to a court of arbitration, on which Sir John
Thompson, premier of the Dominion, sat as one of the British
arbitrators. It was decided that the United States had no jurisdiction
in the Bering Sea beyond the three miles' limit, but the court also made
regulations to prevent the wholesale slaughter of fur-bearing seals. The
sum of $463,454 was finally awarded as compensation to the Canadian
sealers who had been unlawfully seized and punished. This sum was paid
by the United States in 1898.
As the result of communications during 1897 between Sir Wilfrid Laurier
and Secretary Sherman, the governments of Great Britain and the United
States agreed to the appointment of a joint high commission, with a view
of settling all outstanding differences between the United States and
Canada. The commission, which included three members of the Canadian
cabinet and a representative of Newfoundland, and of which Lord
Herschell was appointed chairman, met at Quebec on the 23rd of August
1898. The sessions continued in Quebec at intervals until the 10th of
October, when the commission adjourned to meet in Washington on the 1st
of November, where the discussions were renewed for some weeks. Mr
Nelson Dingley, an American member of the commission, died during the
month of January, as did the chairman, Lord Herschell, in March, as the
result of an accident, soon after the close of the sittings of the
commission. The Alaskan boundary, the Atlantic and inland fisheries, the
alien labour law, the bonding privilege, the seal fishery in the Bering
Sea and reciprocity of trade in certain products were among the subjects
considered by the commission. On several of these points much progress
was made towards a settlement, but a divergence of opinion as to the
methods by which the Alaskan boundary should be determined put an end
for the time to the negotiations.
In 1903 an agreement was reached by which the question of this boundary,
which depended on the interpretation put upon the treaty of 1825 between
Russia and England, should be submitted to a commission consisting of
"six impartial jurists of repute," three British and three American. The
British commissioners appointed were: Lord Alverstone, lord chief
justice of England; Sir Louis Jette, K.C., of Quebec; and A.B.
Aylesworth, K.C., of Toronto. On the American side were appointed: the
Hon. Henry C. Lodge, senator for Massachusetts; the Hon. Elihu Root,
secretary of war for the United States government; and Senator George
Turner. Canadians could not be persuaded that the American members
fulfilled the condition of being "impartial jurists," and protest was
made, but, though the imperial government also expressed surprise, no
change in the appointments was effected. The commission met in London,
and announced its decision in October. This was distinctly unfavourable
to Canada's claims, since it excluded Canadians from all ocean inlets as
far south as the Portland Channel, and in that channel gave to Canada
only two of the four islands claimed. A statement made by the Canadian
commissioners, who refused to sign the report, of an unexplained change
of opinion on the part of Lord Alverstone, produced a widespread
impression for a time that his decision in favour of American claims was
diplomatic rather than judicial. Later Canadian opinion, however, came
to regard the decision of the commission as a reasonable compromise. The
irritation caused by the decision gradually subsided, but at the moment
it led to strong expressions on the part of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and
others in favour of securing for Canada a fuller power of making her own
treaties. While the power of making treaties must rest ultimately in the
hands that can enforce them, the tendency to give the colonies chiefly
interested a larger voice in international arrangements had become
inevitable. The mission of a Canadian cabinet minister, the Hon. R.
Lemieux, to Japan in 1907, to settle Canadian difficulties with that
country, illustrated the change of diplomatic system in progress.
Education.
Under the British North American Act the control of education was
reserved for the provincial governments, with a stipulation that all
rights enjoyed by denominational schools at the time of confederation
should be respected. Provincial control has caused some diversity of
management; the interpretation of the denominational agreement has led
to acute differences of opinion which have invaded the field of
politics. In all the provinces elementary, and in some cases secondary,
education is free, the funds for its support being derived from local
taxation and from government grants. The highly organized school system
of Ontario is directed by a minister of education, who is a member of
the provincial cabinet. The other provinces have boards of education,
and superintendents who act under the direction of the provincial
legislatures. In Quebec the Roman Catholic schools, which constitute the
majority, are chiefly controlled by the local clergy of that church. The
Protestant schools are managed by a separate board. In Ontario as well
as in Quebec separate schools are allowed to Roman Catholics. In Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and British
Columbia the public schools are strictly undenominational. This position
was only established in New Brunswick and Manitoba after violent
political struggles, and frequent appeals to the highest courts of the
empire for decisions on questions of federal or provincial jurisdiction.
The right of having separate schools has been extended to the newly
constituted provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Secondary education is provided for by high schools and collegiate
institutes in all towns and cities, and by large residential institutions
at various centres, conducted on the principle of the English public
schools. The largest of these is Upper Canada College at Toronto. Each
province has a number of normal and model schools for the training of
teachers. For higher education there are also abundant facilities. M'Gill
University at Montreal has been enlarged and splendidly endowed by the
munificence of a few private individuals, Toronto University by the
provincial legislature of Ontario; Queen's University at Kingston largely
by the support of its own graduates and friends. University work in the
maritime provinces, instead of being concentrated, as it might well be,
in one powerful institution, is distributed among five small, but within
their range efficient universities. The agricultural college at Guelph
and the experimental farms maintained by the federal government give
excellent training and scientific assistance to farmers. Sir William
Macdonald in 1908 built and endowed, at an expenditure of at least
L700,000, an agricultural college and normal school at St Anne's, near
Montreal. While the older universities have increased greatly in
influence and efficiency, the following new foundations have been made
since confederation:--University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, 1877;
Presbyterian College, Winnipeg, 1870; Methodist College, Winnipeg, 1888;
Wesleyan College, Montreal, 1873; Presbyterian College, Montreal, 1868;
School of Practical Science, Toronto, 1877; Royal Military College,
Kingston, 1875; M'Master University, Toronto, 1888. All the larger
universities have schools of medicine in affiliation, and have the power
of conferring medical degrees. Since 1877 Canadian degrees have been
recognized by the Medical Council of Great Britain.
Indian tribes.
In her treatment of the aboriginal inhabitants of the country (numbering
93,318 in 1901) Canada has met with conspicuous success. Since the
advance of civilization and indiscriminate slaughter have deprived them
of the bison, so long their natural means of subsistence, the north-west
tribes have been maintained chiefly at the expense of the country. As a
result of the great care now used in watching over them there has been a
small but steady increase in their numbers. Industrial and boarding
schools, established in several of the provinces, by separating the
children from the degrading influences of their home life, have proved
more effectual than day schools for training them in the habits and
ideas of a higher civilization. (See INDIANS, NORTH AMERICAN.)
Constitution.
The constitution of the Dominion embodies the first attempt made to
adapt British principles and methods of government to a federal system.
The chief executive authority is vested in the sovereign, as is the
supreme command of the military and naval forces. The governor-general
represents, and fulfils the functions of, the crown, which appoints him.
He holds office for five years, and his powers are strictly limited, as
in the case of the sovereign, all executive acts being done on the
advice of his cabinet, the members of which hold office only so long as
they retain the confidence of the people as expressed by their
representatives in parliament. The governor-general has, however, the
independent right to withhold his assent to any bill which he considers
in conflict with imperial interests. The following governors-general
have represented the crown since the federation of the provinces, with
the year of their appointment: Viscount Monck, 1867; Sir John Young
(afterwards Baron Lisgar), 1868; the earl of Dufferin, 1872; the
marquess of Lome (afterwards duke of Argyll), 1878; the marquess of
Lansdowne, 1883; Lord Stanley of Preston (afterwards earl of Derby),
1888; the earl of Aberdeen, 1893; the earl of Minto, 1898; Earl Grey,
1904. The upper house, or Senate, is composed of members who hold office
for life and are nominated by the governor-general in council. It
originally consisted of 72 members, 24 from Quebec, 24 from Ontario, and
24 from the maritime provinces, but this number has been from time to
time slightly increased as new provinces have been added. The House of
Commons consists of representatives elected directly by the people. The
number of members, originally 196, is subject to change after each
decennial census. The basis adopted in the British North America Act is
that Quebec shall always have 65 representatives, and each of the other
provinces such a number as will give the same proportion of members to
its population as the number 65 bears to the population of Quebec at
each census. In 1908 the number of members was 218.
Members of the Senate and of the House of Commons receive an annual
indemnity of $2500, with a travelling allowance. Legislation brought
forward in 1906 introduced an innovation in assigning a salary of $7000
to the recognized leader of the Opposition, and pensions amounting to
half their official income to ex-cabinet ministers who have occupied
their posts for five consecutive years. This pension clause has since
been repealed. One principal object of the framers of the Canadian
constitution was to establish a strong central government. An opposite
plan was therefore adopted to that employed in the system of the United
States, where the federal government enjoys only the powers granted to
it by the sovereign states. The British North America Act assigns to the
different provinces, as to the central parliament, their spheres of
control, but all residuary powers are given to the general government.
Within these limitations the provincial assemblies have a wide range of
legislative power. In Nova Scotia and Quebec the bicameral system of an
upper and lower house is retained; in the other provinces legislation is
left to a single representative assembly. For purely local matters
municipal institutions are organized to cover counties and townships,
cities and towns, all based on an exceedingly democratic franchise.
The creation of a supreme court engaged the attention of Sir John
Macdonald in the early years after federation, but was only finally
accomplished in 1876, during the premiership of Alexander Mackenzie.
This court is presided over by a chief justice, with five puisne judges,
and has appellate civil and criminal jurisdiction for the Dominion. By
an act passed in 1891 the government has power to refer to the supreme
court any important question of law affecting the public interest. The
right of appeal from the supreme court, thus constituted, to the
judicial committee of the privy council marks, in questions judicial,
Canada's place as a part of the British empire.
The appointment, first made in 1897, of the chief justice of Canada,
along with the chief justices of Cape Colony and South Australia, as
colonial members of the judicial committee still further established the
position of that body as the final court of appeal for the British
people. The grave questions of respective jurisdiction which have from
time to time arisen between the federal and provincial governments have
for the most part been settled by appeal to one or both of these
judicial bodies. Some of these questions have played a considerable part
in Canadian politics, but are of too complicated a nature to be dealt
with in the present brief sketch. They have generally consisted in the
assertion of provincial rights against federal authority. The decision
of the courts has always been accepted as authoritative and final.
An excellent bibliography of Canadian history will be found in the
volume _Literature of American History_, published by the American
Library Association. The annual _Review of Historical Publications
Relating to Canada_, published by the University of Toronto, gives a
critical survey of the works on Canadian topics appearing from year to
year. (G. R. P.)