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CANADA.

(Dominion of Canada.)

Constitution and Government.

The Dominion of Canada consists of the provinces of Ontario, Quebec — formerly Upper and Lower Canada — Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. They were united by an Act of the Imperial Parliament, passed in March, 1867, known and cited as' The British North America Act, 1867,' and which came into operation on the 1st July, 1867, by royal proclamation. The Act orders that the constitution of the Dominion shall be ' similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom;' that the executive authority shall be vested in the sovereign of Great Britain and Ireland, and carried on in her name by a Governor-general and Privy Council ; and that the legislative power shall be exercised by a Parliament of two Houses, called the ' Senate.' and ' the House of Commons.' Pro- vision is made in the Act for the admission of Newfoundland, British Columbia, Vancouver's Island, and the remaining provinces and territories of British North America, into the Dominion of Canada.

The members of the Senate of the Parliament of the Dominion are nominated for life, by summons of the Governor-general under the Great Seal of Canada. By the terms of the constitution, there must be 72 senators, namely, 24 from the Province of Ontario, 24 from Quebec, 12 from Nova Scotia, and 12 from New Brunswick. Each of them must be 30 years of age, a born or naturalised sub- ject, and possessed of property, real or personal, of the value of 4,000 dollars in the province for which he is appointed. A sena- tor's seat is vacated by his ceasing to have the requisite property qualification, and by non-attendance in parliament for two consecu- tive sessions. The House of Commons of the Dominion is elected by the people, for five years, at the rate of one representative for every 17,000 souls of the decennial census. At present, on the basis of the census returns of 1861, the House of Commons consists of 181 members — 82 for Ontario, 65 for Quebec, 19 for Nova Scotia, and 15 for New Brunswick. It is calculated, on the basis of official returns stating the present ratio of increase of population, that the next census, oi' L871, will give to Ontario 98, to Quebec 65, to Nova Scotia 18, and to New Brunswick 15 members. The