Page:The Irish Parliament; what it was, and what it did.djvu/11



are many versions of the British Parliament: it has had but one counterpart—that of Ireland. The Legislatures of the Colonies and Dependencies of Great Britain, where they are representative, have each, it is true, been modelled on the legislature of the mother country. They each, however, in outward form and structure, consciously depart from their original. Each colony has the Sovereign of Great Britain for its head, while the more important ones have a legislative Council or Senate analogous to the British House of Lords, and a Legislative Assembly analogous to the British House of Commons. In no instance, however, are any of the Colonial Legislative Councils framed on the hereditary principle. In some cases their members are nominees of the Crown, and hold office for life. In others, the Legislative Councillors hold office for a term of years, and are elected by electors having a property or educational qualification. In no instance is there a trace of a spiritual peerage. The Colonial Legislative Assemblies or Lower Houses are elected either by universal suffrage, or by electors having certain property