exempting persons from the general laws of trade, or the authority of Parliament, or granting exclusive privileges to individuals, (t) and when a representative government has been granted to a colony the right of the Crown to legislate ceases, (u) unless it has been specially reserved, as in the case of British Guiana, Malta, and Mauritius.

Appeals from the Colonies. From the highest civil or criminal court in any colony appeal lies to the King in Council, and since 1833 (x) these appeals are heard by the judicial committee of the Privy Council. The right to appeal is, however, usually limited, by Order in Council or local legislation, to cases in which leave to appeal has been granted according to the rules in force in the colony. (y) In all cases, however, the Crown retains the prerogative right to grant special leave to appeal, unless that right has expressly been taken away by precise words. Accordingly an Act of the Canadian Dominion (2) which declared the judgment of the Canadian Court of Appeal in insolvency questions to be final, was held not to interfere with the prerogative of the Crown to grant special leave to appeal. (a) In criminal suits the Privy Council will not grant special leave to appeal unless "some substantial or grave injustice has been done through disregard of the forms of legal process, or some violation of the principles of natural justice," (b) or unless the question raised is of grave importance. (c) And in civil suits, where the issue in dispute is a question of fact only, the judicial committee of the Privy Council will not entertain an appeal, (d) and special leave to appeal from the Supreme Court of Canada (e) will be refused unless the case

(t) See 20 St. Tri. p. 323.

(u) Ib. p. 329.

(x) 3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 41.

(y) As to the rules in force in the various colonies, see Macpherson's Privy Council Practice, 2nd ed., pp. 69-118.

(z) 40 Vict. c. 41, s. 28 (Canadian Act).

(a) Cushing v. Dupuy (1880), 5 App. Cas. 409, overruling Cuvillier v. Aylwin (1832), 2 Knapp, 72.

(b) Ex parte Deeming, [1892] A. C. 422.

(c) Reg. v. Bertrand (1867), L. R. 1 P. C. 520.

(d) Canada Central Railway Co. v. Thomas Murray (1883), 8 App. Cas. 574.

(e) The decision of which is by the British North America Act, 1867, declared to be final, saving the right of his Majesty to grant "special leave" to appeal.

C.L.E.

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is of gravity, involving matter of public interest, or some important question of law, or affecting property of considerable amount, or where the case is otherwise of public importance. (f) It would seem that the same principle would apply in any other colony where the judgment of the colonial court is declared to be final. To meet the fact that the rules in force in some colonies prevented appeals to the Privy Council from courts other than a court of error or appeal in the colony, it is provided by statute (g) that his Majesty may by Order in Council provide for appeals to his Majesty from any colonial court though not a court of error or appeal.

Where the leave of the colonial court is a necessary preliminary to an appeal, and the colonial court has no power to grant such leave, the proper course is to apply to the Privy Council for special leave to appeal, which may be granted by virtue of the prerogative.

The law of a colony upon any particular point must be proved as a fact in an English court, and this is usually done by an expert. Recourse may, however, be had to the provisions of the 22 & 23 Vict. c. 63, which provides for the remission of cases by courts in one part of his Majesty's dominions for the opinion in law of the court in any other part of his Majesty's dominions. (h) The prerogative rights of the Crown, such as forfeiture, extend to the Colonies ; therefore, prior to 1870 and the abolition of forfeiture on conviction for felony, (i) the Crown was held entitled to a colonial felon's goods. (k)

Legislation in Colonies. Those colonies in which the Crown has the sole right of legislation, either through a governor or by Order in Council, are generally described as Crown colonies, to distinguish them from those which have representative, or representative and responsible, legislatures; and laws in such colonies are generally termed ordinances.

(f) Prince v. Gagnon (1882), 8 App. Cas. 103.

(g) 7 & 8 Vict. c. 69, s. 1.

(h) The 34 Vict. c. 11 enacts more generally that any superior court may remit a case to the court of any foreign state with whom a convention to that effect exists, to ascertain the law of such foreign state on any point.

(i) 33 & 34 Vict. c. 23.

(k) In re Bateman's Trust (1873), L. R. 15 Eq. 355.

But every colony, whether a Crown colony or not, is subject to the paramount authority of the Imperial Parliament. (1) Examples of the exercise of this power are to be found in the suspension of the Canadian constitution on two occasions, (m) and the abolition of slavery. (n)

Representative legislatures are conferred generally by Act of the Imperial Parliament, or in cases where representative institutions have already been granted, the full system of responsible government may be established by a Colonial Act ratified by Imperial Act.

In Cape Colony a representative legislature was granted by letters-patent in 1850, and in 1852 this legislature passed

Act establishing responsible government, which was ratified by the Crown by Order in Council. The present constitution of the Union of S. Africa is effected by Imperial Act.

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The validity or otherwise of colonial laws is regulated by the Act to remove Doubts as to the Validity of Colonial Laws, 1865, (o) which enacts that any colonial law which is in any respect repugnant to any Act of Parliament extending to the colony, or to any order or regulation made under the authority of such Act, or having in the colony the force or effect of such Act, shall be read subject to such Act, order, or regulation, and shall, to the extent of such repugnancy, be void and inoperative." (p) By the same Act every colonial legislature is empowered to establish or abolish and reconstitute courts of justice within the colony; and every representative legislature (q) is empowered to make laws respecting the constitution, powers, and procedure of such legislature, provided they are enacted in the necessary form. (r)

(1) See, as to conquered colonies, per Lord Mansfield in Campbell v. Hall (1774), 20 St. Tri. p. 322 et seq.; and, semble, this applies to all colonies.

(m) See 1 & 2 Vict. c. 9; and 2 & 3 Vict. c. 53.

(n) 3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 73.

(o) 28 & 29 Vict. c. 63.

(p) Ib. s. 2.

(q) The term representative legislature' " includes all Colonial Legislatures, which shall comprise a legislative body, of which one-half are elected by inhabitants of the colony. (Ib. s. 1.)

(r) Ib. s. 5.

Classification of Colonies.

At the present day, apart from the various protectorates and the territories administered by chartered companies, there are thirty-four colonies with distinct governments. These may be divided into four groups, according to their constitutions:

Crown Colonies.-Group I. consists of five colonies, in which the Crown has the sole power of legislation, which it exercises through a governor, commissioner, or resident, alone. These areGibraltar. Labuan.

St. Helena.
Basutoland. (s)

Ashanti. (t)

In all of these, except Basutoland, the Crown has reserved power to legislate by Order in Council.

Group II.—In fourteen colonies the Crown has the control of administration and legislation, which it exercises through a governor or administrator, assisted by executive and legislative councils, composed of ex-officio or official, or partly official and partly nominated members, the Crown reserving the right of veto. These are

Hong Kong.

Trinidad and Tobago.

Grenada

St. Lucia

St. Vincent

known as the Windward Islands. (u)

(8) Basutoland was annexed to Cape Colony in 1871 (Cape of Good Hope Act, No. 12 of 1871), but was not made subject to the general laws of the colony, the Governor of Cape Colony legislating for Basutoland by proclamation. It was disannexed in 1883, and the government is now administered by a resident commissioner, under the supervision of the high commissioner for South Africa, the latter having the power of legislation.

(t) Ashanti was annexed by Order in Council the 26th of September, 1901, consequent upon the successes of the British arms in that year. It is now, therefore, a British colony, and by the same Order in Council the government is administered by a chief commissioner, appointed by the governor of the Gold Coast; the latter has the power of legislation by Ordinance.

(u) The group known as the Windward Islands geographically includes Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago, which are now separate colonies. Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent were united under a governor and commander-in-chief by letters-patent of the 17th of March, 1885. Each

The Seychelles.

The Straits Settlements (Singapore, Penang, and Malacca).

Sierra Leone.

Gambia.

The Gold Coast.

The Falkland Islands.

British Honduras.

Nigeria (formerly known as Lagos, and later Southern Nigeria). (x)

Turks and Caicos Islands. (y)

In most of these colonies (z) the Crown may legislate by Order in Council. The governments of these colonies are contituted by means of three documents: (1) Letters-patents under the Great Seal constitute the office of governor, create the executive and legislative councils, and frame the constitution. (a) (2) By commission under the sign manual and signet the governor is appointed. (3) Instructions under island retains its own institutions, an administrator representing the governor-in-chief in St. Lucia and St. Vincent, and there is no common legislature or system of laws. A common Court of Appeal was, however,

instituted in 1859.

(x) The colony of Lagos was constituted by letters-patent of the 13th of January, 1886, the name of the colony being subsequently changed to "Southern Nigeria " by letters-patent in 1906, it being provided by Order in Council, 16th February, 1906, that the governor and legislative council for Southern Nigeria should exercise the power of legislating by Ordinance, and of appointing commissioners, judges, etc., for the territories formerly comprised within the protectorates of Lagos and Southern Nigeria respectively, which territories were by the same order amalgamated into the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria. (See Order in Council, 16th February, 1906, and see post, p. 495, as to the subsequent amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Nigeria Protectorates under the name of the Nigeria Protectorate. The boundaries of the Colony of Nigeria were defined by Order in Council of 22nd November, 1913, and a Council of Nigeria (for both the Colony and Protectorate) established. Letters-patent of 29th November, 1913, constituted the office of Governor and Commander in Chief for the Colony and provided for executive and legislative councils.

(y) The legislature consists of a commissioner and a legislative council, both appointed by the governor of Jamaica.

(z) Until 1902, British New Guinea was included in this list. But that colony has now been placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia by letters-patent of the 18th of March, 1902. (See St. R. & O. 1902.) It is now a dependency of the colony under the name of Papua, by proclamation of the governor-general in 1906. Ceylon and Fiji were formerly in this list, but their legislative councils now include elected members, and they fall therefore in Group III.

(a) In Honduras the legislative council is nominated under a local Act and not under letters-patent.