, 1873-03-19

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1t will be remembered that according to the
Colonial Law Of 1868 the authority of legisIating
on the affairs named in s l of this Draft--the
interior affairs Of the Islands, Is exercised
thus; that the legislation rests with the
Legislative power of the Kingdom, but the
power of the Rigsdag delegated to the Colonial
Councils, so that under ordinary circumstances
the power of legiSlating is exercised by the
King and the respective Colonial Council, by
Ordinances; and, as we are all aware, the
whole colonial Legislature has since the Colo
NAL Law came into force been made by Ordi-
nances. AS said il The Motives to lie Draft.
the Government comedies that the full partici-
patton of the Colonial Councils in Iegislatinc
for the interior affairs of the islands should be
asserted as fundamental principle and chief
rule, and the paragraph is framed in keeping
with this principle, 50 that the legislative power
of the Colonial Councils no longer appears as
b ing delegated to them from3the Diet. But.
then, the consequence Of that is, that the Diet
the Ri-sdag-, or rather the Legislative
Authorities of the Kingdom are excluded from
occupying themselves with the affairs of the
Colonies, unless their action be desired by the
Home Government for the purpose of carrying
a measure, a Law, which the Colonial Council
had opposed, consequently, for The purpose of
overriding or Superseamg the resolution taken
by the Colonial Council. While therefore also
hereafter, according to the Draft, the Gov
eminent, as again said in the Motives, reserves
for itself the privilege OF the means for e%ffeGting
measures for the benefit of that part of the
population, unrepresented in the Colonial Coun-
ellis, the corresponding privilege which the
Colonial Councils or the Islands on their part
possessed to seek the assistance of the Diet for
obtaining any measure or any legislative enact
ment, against the wish of the Government, is
being withdrawn although, true enough, the
Motives would seem to allude to such a priyi-
lrge, when they say :...." because that very
provision may afford on the other side to the
Colonies a support against a pressure which it
would be possible for Government to exercise
in matters of colonial legislation. A Draft of
law, dangerous to the special interest of the
Colonies, or even unjust, wilmeetwi viii frmer re-
sistence in the Colonial Council when the oppos-
ing party can count upon that its motives will be
weighed in the Representation of the Mother
country For, it aYails but little, that the Or
dinances are TO be laid on the Table of the Diet,
or that the motives of the opposing party NAV
be weighed by that Body, as long as it has it
not in its power to do anything except on the
proposal Of the very Government, that already
in the Colonial Council will have opposed and
will have stopped that very measure, for the
attainment of which the assistance of the Diet
- uCGu6u3 anu WuICA Will HOb GWEN nave tu6
power,-if it, very unnaturally should have
the will, to bring before the Diet a mea-
sure not their wn for, according to the Daft
it is only when the Colonial Council rejects or
alters a Draft of Ordinance presented by the
Government, that this latter can bring It before
the Diet.
The Committee does not mean to recommend
a clause to that effect, that every Draft of Or
dinanoe adopted by the Colonial Council, but
to which the Government refuses to o.
tain Royal Sanction, shall be brought before
the Diet there might be many masters
not worth that, The Committee has also been
in some doubt, whether it would be right to re-
commend, that such cases should be submitted
to the Diet whenever the Colonial Council re.
quested it; it might, perhaps, be objected that
it would be unreasonable to expect, that the
same Government that had been unwilling TO
obtain the Royal Sanction to a measure would
be willing to submit to the Diet the Bill passed
by the Colonial Council. But this objection
may be more seeming than real, and there
may be nothing contradictory therein, that the
Government in pursuance of a given Law SIM
ply brings in for the decision of the Diet a mea-