parliament in 1892, when the government, of which Sir John Abbott was premier, passed an address to the Queen, requesting that immediate steps be taken to free Canada from treaty restrictions “incompatible with the rights and powers conferred by the British North America act of 1867 for the regulation of the trade and commerce of the Dominion.”  Any advantages which might be granted by Great Britain to either Belgium or the German Zollverein under these particular treaties, would also have to be extended to a number of other countries which had what is called the “favoured nations clause” in treaties with England.  While these treaty stipulations with regard to import duties did not prevent differential treatment by the United Kingdom in favour of British colonies, or differential treatment by British colonies in favour of each other, they did prevent differential treatment by British colonies in favour of the United Kingdom.  As we shall presently see, when I come to review the commercial policy of the new Dominion government three years later, the practical consequence of these treaties was actually to force Canada to give for some months not only to Germany and Belgium, but to a number of other countries, the same commercial privileges which they extended in 1897 to the parent state.

Among the difficult questions, which have agitated the Dominion from time to time and perplexed both Conservative and Liberal politicians, are controversies connected with education.  By the British North America act of 1867 the legislature of each province may exclusively make laws in relation to education, but at the same time protection is afforded to denominational or dissentient schools by giving authority to the Dominion government to disallow an act clearly infringing the rights or privileges of a religious minority, or to obtain remedial legislation from parliament itself according to the circumstances of the case.  From 1871 until 1875 the government of the Dominion was pressed by petitions from the Roman Catholic inhabitants of New Brunswick to disallow an act passed by the provincial legislature in relation to common schools on the ground that it was an infringement of certain rights which they enjoyed as a religious body at the time of confederation.  The question not only came before the courts of New Brunswick and the Canadian house of commons, but was also submitted to the judicial committee of the imperial privy council; but only with the result of showing beyond question that the objectionable legislation was clearly within the jurisdiction of the legislature of New Brunswick, and could not be constitutionally disallowed by the Dominion government on the ground that it violated any right or privilege enjoyed by the Roman Catholics at the time of union.  A solution of the question was, however, subsequently reached by an amicable arrangement between the Roman Catholics and Protestants, which has ever since worked most satisfactorily in that province.