The Republican journal., 1892-04-07
Parliament VS.. Congress.

such subject with higher authority than
the Clerk of the Canadian House of Com
mons. He holds that, compared with the
congressional system in the Republic, the
Canadian system of responsible govern
ment is infinitely the most democratic, in
that it secures better control of the GOV
eminent by the people, and better men to
administer public affairs Those who
have seen the Canadian House of Com
mons and the United States House of
Representatives will admit the latter pro-
position. and those who read the report
of Mr.. Bourinot' lecture will be inclined
to admit the former position, also. Mon
treal Gazette.
We should be glad, did space permit, to
republish the excellent report of this lect
ure from the same paper-paltlcularly as
we cannot agree with the lecturer. DR..
Bourinot is a friendly critic, and does not
speak without knowledge. He is a close
student a writer nf ability. and has made
a special study Of parliamentary law.
His work on that sui ret j. recognized as
the standard authority in Canada We
might dismiss the question lN admitting
That the Canadian system o1 government
is the hest-for Canada and making the
same claim as to our OWN system. But it
is worth while to look into the matter.
Dr.. Bourinot says:
The system that prevails in the United
States divides all the powers OF govern
ment among SO many authorities, and
places so many checks on each, that re-
sponsibiity is weakened, and the unity
and effective operation of government
seriously impaired
And of the Canadian system:
The Canadian as compared with the
United States system is much more in the
direction of popular liberty, of popular
sovereignty and of effective government.
The special advantages Of the Canadian or
English system of parliamentary govern
ment may be briefly summed up: The
Governor Generator a Lieutenant Gov
ernor of a Provnce-his cabinet and the
peoples house are governed in Canada as
in England by system of rules, conven-
lions and understandings. which enable
them to work in harmony with each
other.....A governor, acting always UNI
der the advice of responsible ministers,
may, at any time, generally speaking,
grant an appeal to the people to test their
opinion on vital public questions and
bring the legislature in accord with the
public mind.
Now from our standpoint matters look
differently. The Governor General of
Canada is appointed by the British gov
eminent and retains Office at their pleas
ure. As we understand it. he is a purely
fol .ial ,i.,1
way. lis only duty being to ''uphold the
dignity of the Crown in his place we
have President elected more or less di-
recty by the people, with well defined
powers not the least of which is the veto
power This power has been used with
good effect and rarely abused save by
President Cleveland. when it was exerted
~ deprive worthy veterans of hard earn
ed pensions The Canadian Senators are
appointed by the government and for life
terms. United States Senators are elected
by the State Legislatures for terms of four
and six years, and without considering
vacancies caused by resignation or death.
one third of the Senator'S 90 out OF office
every two years. In other words, when a
new Congress conveneS two-thiris of the
Senate are men who have served in that
body for either two or four years This
plan is believed to best preserve the dig
nifty and usefulness of the Senate. which
is, moreover, a continuous body. That is
TO say, when a Congress expires every
other year. the House ceases to exist al
though the mcmbers for new House are
already elected while tie Senate, which
alone considers treaty matters and passes
upon Presidential nominations. may lie
called in session at any time for the per
Torrance Of such duties. For general
legislation the House must also be in SEES
sion.
Now as to representing The people
While in Canada Parliament NAV be dis
solved at any time. as Dr.. Boulinot says,
and an appeal made to the people, the
change only affects the ministry and the
House; the Governor General OF Lieut..
Governor, and the Senate remaining I'M
changed. Such appeals are by no means
frequent, while in this country all the
members of the House and one-third of
the Senate are elected every two years
and the President every four years. SO
much for the representative features of
the two governments. The checks to
which DR.. Bourinot objects in our sys-
TEN, have not been found Objectionable
here in practice. The silver question Just
now furnishes an excellent Illustration of
the wisdom of divided powers in the gov
eminent. The Democratic party, which
has an overwhelming majority in the
House, is fully committed to free silver
a policy that if carried out would be
ruinous to the country. We're the Senate
and the President also Democratic ST.
we're blow would be dealt to our national
prosperity. The belief that such a meas
ure would be defeated in the Senate, or
that if passed by that body it would be
vetoed by Republican President, has
sufficed to maintain financial stability and
to avert disastrous panic. Recent events
have also shown that outside of party