Chapter II (3)

107. All stocks, cash, banker's balances, and securities for
money belonging to each Province at the time of the Union,
except as in this Act mentioned, shall be the property of
Canada, and shall be taken in reduction of the amount of the
respective debts of the Provinces at the Union.

108. The public works and property of each Province,
enumerated in the third schedule to this Act, shall be the
property of Canada.

109. All lands, mines, minerals, and royalties belonging to
the several Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
at the Union, and all sums then due or payable for such lands,
mines, minerals, or royalties, shall belong to the several
Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in
which the same are situate or arise, subject to any trusts
existing in respect thereof, and to any interest other than
that of the Province in the same.

110. All assets connected with such portions of the public
debt of each Province as are assumed by that Province shall
belong to that Province.

111. Canada shall be liable for the debts and liabilities of
each Province existing at the Union.

112. Ontario and Quebec conjointly shall be liable to Canada
for the amount (if any) by which the debt of the Province of
Canada exceeds at the Union sixty-two million five hundred
thousand dollars, and shall be charged with interest at the
rate of five per centum per annum thereon.

113. The assets enumerated in the fourth Schedule to this Act
belonging at the Union to the Province of Canada shall be the
property of Ontario and Quebec conjointly.

{534}

114. Nova Scotia shall be liable to Canada for the amount (if
any) by which its public debt exceeds at the Union eight
million dollars, and shall be charged with interest at the
rate of five per centum per annum thereon.

115. New Brunswick shall be liable to Canada for the amount
(if any) by which its public debt exceeds at the Union seven
million dollars, and shall be charged with interest at the
rate of five per centum per annum thereon.

116. In case the public debt of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
do not at the Union amount to eight million dollars and seven
million dollars respectively, they shall respectively receive
by half-yearly payments in advance from the Government of
Canada interest at five per centum per annum on the difference
between the actual amounts of their respective debts and such
stipulated amounts.

117. The several provinces shall retain all their respective
public property not otherwise disposed of in this Act, subject
to the right of Canada to assume any lands or public property
required for fortifications or for the defence of the country.

118. The following sums shall be paid yearly by Canada to the
several Provinces for the support of their Governments and
Legislatures: Ontario, eighty thousand dollars; Quebec,
seventy thousand dollars; Nova Scotia, sixty thousand dollars;
New Brunswick, fifty thousand dollars; [total] two hundred and
sixty thousand dollars; and an annual grant in aid of each
Province shall be made, equal to eighty cents per head, of the
population us ascertained by the census of one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one, and in the case of Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick, by each subsequent decennial census until the
population of each of those two Provinces amounts to four
hundred thousand souls, at which rate such grant shall
thereafter remain. Such grant shall be in full Settlement of
all future demands on Canada, and shall be paid half-yearly in
advance to each Province; but the Government of Canada shall
deduct from such grants, as against any Province, all sums
chargeable as interest on the Public Debt of that Province in
excess of the several amounts stipulated in this Act.

119. New Brunswick shall receive by half-yearly payments in
advance from Canada, for the period of ten years from the
Union, an additional allowance of sixty-three thousand dollars
per annum; but as long as the Public Debt of that Province
remains under seven million dollars a deduction equal to the
interest at five per centum per annum on such deficiency shall
be made from that allowance of sixty-three thousand dollars.

120. All payments to be made under this Act, or in discharge
of liabilities created under any Act of the Provinces of
Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick respectively, and
assumed by Canada, shall, until the Parliament of Canada
otherwise directs, be made in such form and manner as may from
time to time be ordered by the Governor General in Council.

121. All articles of the growth, produce, or manufacture of
anyone of the Provinces shall, from and after the Union, be
admitted free into each of the other Provinces.

122. The Customs and Excise Laws of each Province shall,
subject to the provisions of this Act, continue in force until
altered by the Parliament of Canada.

123. Where Customs duties are, at the Union, leviable on any
goods, wares or merchandises in any two Provinces, those
goods, wares and merchandises may, from and after the Union,
be imported from one of those Provinces into the other of them
on proof of payment of the Customs duty leviable thereon in
the Province of exportation, and on payment of such further
amount (if any) of Customs duty as is leviable thereon in the
Province of importation.

124. Nothing in this Act shall affect the right of New
Brunswick to levy the lumber dues provided in chapter fifteen,
of title three, of the Revised Statutes of New Brunswick, or
in any Act amending that act before or after the Union, and
not increasing the amount of such dues; but the lumber of any
of the Provinces other than New Brunswick stall not be
subjected to such dues.

125. No lands or property belonging to Canada or any Province
shall be liable to taxation.

126. Such portions of the duties and revenues over which the
respective Legislatures of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick had before the Union power of appropriation as are
by this Act reserved to the respective Governments or
Legislatures of the Provinces, and all duties and revenues
raised by them in accordance with the special powers conferred
upon them by this act, shall in each Province form one
Consolidated Revenue Fund to be appropriated for the public
service of the Province.

127. If any person being at the passing of this Act a member
of the Legislative Council of Canada, Nova Scotia, or New
Brunswick, to whom a place in the Senate is offered, does not
within thirty days thereafter, by writing under his hand,
addressed to the Governor General of the Province of Canada,
or to the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick
(as the case may be), accept the same, he shall be deemed to
have declined the same; and any person who, being at the
passing of this Act a member of the Legislative Council of
Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, accepts a place in the Senate,
shall thereby vacate his seat in such Legislative Council.

128. Every member of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada
shall before taking his seat therein, take and subscribe
before the Governor General or some person authorized by him,
and every member of a Legislative Council or Legislative
Assembly of any Province shall before taking his seat therein,
take and subscribe before the Lieutenant Governor of the
Province, or some person authorized by him, the oath of
allegiance contained in the fifth Schedule to this Act; and
every member of the Senate of Canada and every member of the
Legislative Council of Quebec shall also, before taking his
seat therein, take and subscribe before the Governor General,
or some person authorized by him, the declaration of
qualification contained in the same Schedule.

{535}

129. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, all laws in
force in Canada, Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick at the Union,
and all courts of civil and criminal jurisdiction, and all
legal commissions, powers and authorities, and all officers,
judicial, administrative, and ministerial, existing therein at
the Union, shall continue in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and
New Brunswick respectively, as if the Union had not been made,
subject nevertheless (except with respect to such as are
enacted by or exist under Acts of the Parliament of Great
Britain or of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland), to be repealed, abolished or altered by
the Parliament of Canada, or by the Legislature of the
respective Province, according to the authority of the
Parliament or of that Legislature under this Act.

130. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, all
officers of the several Provinces having duties to discharge
in relation to matters other than those coming within the
classes of subjects by this Act assigned exclusively to the
Legislatures of the Provinces shall be officers of Canada, and
shall continue to discharge the duties of their respective
offices under the same liabilities, responsibilities and
penalties as if the Union had not been made.

131. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, the
Governor General in Council may from time to time appoint such
officers as the Governor General in Council deems necessary or
proper for the effectual execution of this Act.

132. The Parliament and Government of Canada shall have all
powers necessary or proper for performing the obligations of
Canada or of any Province thereof, as part of the British
Empire towards foreign countries, arising under treaties
between the Empire and such foreign countries.

133. Either the English or the French language may be used by
any person in the debates of the Houses of Parliament of
Canada and of the Houses of the Legislature of Quebec; and
both those languages shall be used in the respective records
and journals of those Houses; and either of those languages
may be used by any person or in any pleading or process in or
issuing from any Court of Canada established under this Act,
and in or from all or any of the Courts of Quebec. The Acts of
the Parliament of Canada and of the Legislature of Quebec
shall be printed and published in both those languages.

134. Until the Legislature of Ontario or of Quebec otherwise
provides, the Lieutenant Governors of Ontario and Que bee may
each appoint under the Great Seal of the Province the
following officers, to hold office during pleasure, that is to
say,--the Attorney General, the Secretary and Registrar of the
Province, the Treasurer of the Province, the Commissioner of
Crown Lands and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public
Works, and, in the case of Quebec, the Solicitor General; and
may, by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council from time
to time prescribe the duties of those officers and of the
several departments over which they shall preside or to which
they shall belong, and of the officers and clerks thereof; and
may also appoint other and additional officers to hold office
during pleasure, and may from time to time prescribe the
duties of those officers, and of the several departments over
which they shall preside or to which they shall belong, and of
the officers and clerks thereof.

130. Until the Legislature of Ontario or Quebec otherwise
provides, all rights, powers, duties, functions,
responsibilities or authorities at the passing of this Act
vested in or imposed on the Attorney General, Solicitor
General, Secretary and Registrar of the Province of Canada,
Minister of Finance, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Commissioner
of Public Works, and Minister of Agriculture and Receiver
General, by any law, statute or ordinance of Upper Canada,
Lower Canada, or Canada, and not repugnant to this Act, shall
be vested in or imposed on any officer to be appointed by the
Lieutenant Governor for the discharge of the same or any of
them; and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works
shall perform the duties and functions of the office of
Minister of Agriculture at the passing of this Act imposed by
the law of the Province of Canada as well as those of the
Commissioner of Public Works.

136. Until altered by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the
Great Seals of Ontario and Quebec respectively, shall be the
same or of the same design, as those used in the Provinces of
Upper Canada and Lower Canada respectively before their Union
as the Province of Canada.

137. The words "and from thence to the end of the then next
ensuing Session of the Legislature," or words to the same
effect, used in any temporary Act of the Province of Canada
not expired before the Union, shall be construed to extend and
apply to the next Session of Parliament of Canada, if the
subject matter of the Act is within the powers of the same as
defined by this Act, or to the next Sessions of the
Legislatures of Ontario and Quebec respectively, if the
subject matter of the Act is within the powers of the same as
defined by this Act.

138. From and after the Union, the use of the words "Upper
Canada," instead of "Ontario," or "Lower Canada" instead of
"Quebec," in any deed, writ, process, pleading, document,
matter or thing, shall not invalidate the same.

139. Any Proclamation under the Great Seal of the Province of
Canada, issued before the Union to take effect at a time which
is subsequent to the Union, whether relating to that Province
or to Upper Canada, or to Lower Canada, and the several
matters and things therein proclaimed shall be and continue of
like force and effect as if the Union had not been made.

140. Any proclamation which is authorized by any Act of the
Legislature of the Province of Canada to be issued under the
Great Seal of the Province of Canada, whether relating to that
Province or to Upper Canada, or to Lower Canada, and which is
not issued before the Union, may be issued by the Lieutenant
Governor of Ontario or of Quebec, as its subject matter
requires, under the Great Seal thereof; and from and after the
issue of such Proclamation the same and the several matters
and things therein proclaimed shall be and continue of the
like force and effect in Ontario or Quebec as if the Union had
not been made.

141. The Penitentiary of the Province of Canada shall, until
the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, be and continue
the Penitentiary of Ontario and of Quebec.

142. The division and adjustment of the debts, credits,
liabilities, properties and assets of Upper Canada and Lower
Canada shall be referred to the arbitrament of three
arbitrators, one chosen by the Government of Ontario, one by
the Government of Quebec, and one by the Government of Canada;
and the selection of the Arbitrators shall not be made until
the Parliament of Canada and the Legislatures of Ontario and
Quebec have met; and the arbitrator chosen by the Government
of Canada shall not be a resident either in Ontario or in
Quebec.

{536}

143. The Governor General in Council may from time to time
order that such and so many of the records, books, and
documents of the Province of Canada as he thinks fit shall be
appropriated and delivered either to Ontario or to Quebec, and
the same shall henceforth be the property of that Province:
and any copy thereof or extract therefrom, duly certified by
the officer having charge of the original thereof shall be
admitted as evidence.

144. The Lieutenant Governor of Quebec may from time to time,
by Proclamation under the Great Seal of the Province, to take
effect from a day to be appointed therein, constitute
townships in those parts of the Province of Quebec in which
townships are not then already constituted, and fix the metes
and bounds thereof.

145. Inasmuch as the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick have joined in a declaration that the construction
of the Intercolonial Railway is essential to the consolidation
of the Union of British North America, and to the assent thereto
of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and have consequently agreed
that provision should be made for its immediate construction
by the Government of Canada: Therefore, in order to give
effect to that agreement, it shall be the duty of the
Government and Parliament of Canada to provide for the
commencement, within six months after the Union, of a railway
connecting the River St. Lawrence with the City of Halifax in
Nova Scotia, and for the construction thereof without
intermission, and the completion thereof with all practicable
speed.

146. It shall be lawful for the Queen, by and with the advice
of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, on Addresses
from the Houses of the Parliament of Canada, and from the
Houses of the respective Legislatures of the Colonies or
Provinces of Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and British
Columbia, to admit those Colonies or Provinces, or any of
them, into the Union, and on Address from the Houses of the
Parliament of Canada to admit Rupert's Land and the
North-western Territory, or either of them, into the Union, on
such terms and conditions in each case as are in the Addresses
expressed and as the Queen thinks fit to approve, subject to
the provisions of this Act, and the provisions of any Order in
Council in that behalf shall have effect as if they had been
enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland.

147. In case of the admission of Newfoundland and Prince
Edward Island, or either of them, each shall be entitled to a
representation in the Senate of Canada of four members, and
(notwithstanding anything in this Act) in case of the
admission of Newfoundland the normal number of Senators shall
be seventy-six and their maximum number shall be eighty-two;
but Prince Edward Island when admitted shall be deemed to be
comprised in the third of the three divisions into which
Canada is, in relation to the constitution of the Senate,
divided by this Act, and accordingly, after the admission of
Prince Edward Island, whether Newfoundland is admitted or not,
the representation of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in the
Senate shall, as vacancies occur, be reduced from twelve to
ten members respectively; and the representation of each of
those Provinces shall not be increased at any time beyond ten,
except under the provisions of this Act for the appointment of
three or six additional Senators under the direction of the
Queen.

CONSTITUTION OF CANADA: A. D. 1871.
British North America Act, 1871.

An Act respecting the Establishment of Provinces in the
Dominion of Canada. [29TH JUNE, 1871.]

WHEREAS doubts have been entertained respecting the powers of
the Parliament of Canada to establish Provinces in territories
admitted, or which may hereafter be admitted, into the
Dominion of Canada, and to provide for the representation of
such Provinces in the said Parliament, and it is expedient to
remove such doubts, and to vest such powers in the said
Parliament: Be it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent
Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords,
Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons in this present Parliament
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1. This Act may be cited for all purposes as The British North
America Act, 1871.

2. The Parliament of Canada may from time to time establish
new Provinces in any territories forming for the time being
part of the Dominion of Canada, but not included in any
Province thereof, and may, at the time of such establishment,
make provision for the constitution and administration of any
such Province, and for the passing of laws for the peace,
order and good government of such Province, and for its
representation in the said Parliament.

3. The Parliament of Canada may from time to time, with the
consent of the Legislature of any Province of the said
Dominion, increase, diminish, or otherwise alter the limits of
such Province, upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed
to by the said Legislature, and may, with the like consent,
make provision respecting the effect and operation of any such
increase or diminution or alteration of territory in relation
to any Province affected thereby.

4. The Parliament of Canada may from time to time make
provision for the administration, peace, order, and good
government of any territory not for the time being included in
any Province.

5. The following Acts passed by the said Parliament of Canada,
and intituled respectively: "An Act for the temporary
government of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory
when united with Canada;" and "An Act to amend and continue
the Act thirty-two and thirty-three Victoria, chapter three,
and to establish and provide for the government of the
Province of Manitoba," shall be and be deemed to have been
valid and effectual for all purposes whatsoever from the date
at which they respectively received the assent, in the Queen's
name, of the Governor General of the said Dominion of Canada.

6. Except as provided by the third section of this Act, it
shall not be competent for the Parliament of Canada to alter
the provisions of the last mentioned Act of the said
Parliament in so far as it relates to the Province of
Manitoba, or of any other Act hereafter establishing new
Provinces in the said Dominion, subject always to the right of
the Legislature of the Province of Manitoba to alter from time
to time the provisions of any law respecting the qualification
of electors and members of the Legislative Assembly, and to
make laws respecting elections in the said Province.

{537}

CONSTITUTION OF CANADA: A. D. 1875.
Parliament of Canada Act, 1875.

An Act to remove certain doubts with respect to the powers of
the Parliament of Canada, under Section 18 of the British
North America Act, 1867. [19TH JULY, 1875.]

WHEREAS by section 18 of The British North America Act, 1867,
it is provided as follows:-

"The privileges, immunities, and powers to be held, enjoyed,
and exercised by the Senate and by the House of Commons, and
by the members thereof respectively, shall be such as are from
time to time defined by Act of the Parliament of Canada, but
so that the same shall never exceed those at the passing of
this Act held, enjoyed, and exercised by the Commons House of
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
and by the members thereof." And whereas doubts have arisen
with regard to the power of defining by an Act of the
Parliament of Canada, in pursuance of the said section, the
said privileges, powers or immunities; and it is expedient to
remove such doubts: Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's
Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of
the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as
follows:-

1. Section 18 of The British North America Act, 1867, is
hereby repealed, without prejudice to anything done under that
section, and the following section shall be substituted for
the section so repealed:--The privileges, immunities, and
powers to be held, enjoyed and exercised by the Senate and by
the House of Commons, and by the members thereof respectively,
shall be such as are from time to time defined by Act of the
Parliament of Canada, but so that any Act of the Parliament of
Canada defining such privileges, immunities and powers shall
not confer any privileges, immunities, or powers exceeding
those at the passing of such Act held, enjoyed, and exercised
by the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, and by the members thereof.

2. The Act of the Parliament of Canada passed in the
thirty-first year of the reign of her present Majesty, chapter
twenty-four, intituled An Act to provide for oaths to
witnesses being administered in certain cases for the purposes
of either House of Parliament, shall be deemed to be valid,
and to have been valid as from the date at which the royal
assent was given thereto by the Governor General of the
Dominion of Canada.

3. This Act may be cited as The Parliament of Canada Act,
1875.

CONSTITUTION OF CANADA: A. D, 1886.
British North America Act, 1886.

An Act respecting the Representation in the Parliament of
Canada of Territories which for the time being form part of
the Dominion of Canada, but are not included in any Province.
[25TH JUNE, 1886.]

WHEREAS it is expedient to empower the Parliament of Canada to
provide for the representation in the Senate and House of
Commons of Canada, or either of them, of any territory which
for the time being forms part of the Dominion of Canada, but
is not included in any Province: Be it therefore enacted by
the Queen's. Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice
and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons,
in the present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of
the same, as follows:--

1. The Parliament of Canada may from time to time make
provision for the representation in the Senate and House of
Commons of Canada, or in either of them, of any territories
which for the time being form part of the Dominion of Canada,
but are not included in any Province thereof.

2. Any Act passed by the Parliament of Canada before the
passing of this Act for the purpose mentioned in this Act
shall, if not disallowed by the Queen, be, and shall be deemed
to have been, valid and effectual from the date at which it
received the assent, in Her Majesty's name, of the
Governor-General of Canada. It is hereby declared that any Act
passed by the Parliament of Canada, whether before or after
the passing of this Act, for the purpose mentioned in this
Act, or in The British North America Act, 1871, has effect,
notwithstanding anything in The British North America Act,
1867, and the number of Senators or the number of Members of
the House of Commons specified in the last-mentioned Act is
increased by the number of Senators or of Members, as the case
may be, provided by any such Act of the Parliament of Canada
for the representation of any provinces or territories of
Canada.

3. This Act maybe cited as The British North America Act,
1886. This Act and The British North America Act, 1867, and
The British North America Act, 1871, shall be construed
together, and may be cited together as The British North
America Acts, 1861 to 1886.

----------CONSTITUTION OF CANADA: End----------

CONSTITUTION OF (OR FOR) THE CAROLINAS (Locke's).

See NORTH CAROLINA: A. D. 1669-1693.

CONSTITUTION OF CHILE.

See CHILE: A. D. 1833-1884, and 1885-1891.

CONSTITUTION OF CLEISTHENES.

See ATHENS: B. C. 510-507.

CONSTITUTION OF COLOMBIA.

See COLOMBIAN STATES: A. D. 1830-1886, and 1885-1891.

CONSTITUTION OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1861 (FEBRUARY).

CONSTITUTION OF CONNECTICUT
(1639--the Fundamental Agreement of New Haven).

See CONNECTICUT; A. D. 1636-1639, and 1639.

CONSTITUTION OF DENMARK.

See SCANDINAVIAN STATES (DENMARK-ICELAND): A. D. 1849-1874.

CONSTITUTION OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, or the United Netherlands.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1584-1585.

{538}

CONSTITUTION OF ENGLAND.

"Our English Constitution was never made, in the sense in
which the Constitutions of many other countries have been
made. There never was any moment when Englishmen drew out
their political system in the shape of a formal document,
whether as the carrying out of any abstract political theories
or as the imitation of the past or present system of any other
nation. There are indeed certain great political documents,
each of which forms a landmark in our political history. There
is the Great Charter [see ENGLAND: A. D. 1215], the Petition
of Rights [ENGLAND: A. D. 1625-1628, and 1628], the Bill of
Rights [ENGLAND: A. D. 1689 (October)]. But not one of these
gave itself out as the enactment of anything new. All claimed
to set forth, with new strength, it might be, and with new
clearness, those rights of Englishmen which were already old.
... The life and soul of English law has ever been precedent;
we have always held that whatever our fathers once did their
sons have a right to do again."

_E. A. Freeman, The Growth of the English
Constitution, chapter 2._

"It is, in the first place, necessary to have a clear
understanding of what we mean when we talk about 'the English
Constitution.' Few terms in our language have been more laxly
employed. ... Still, the term, 'the English Constitution' is
susceptible of full and accurate explanation: though it may
not be easy to set it lucidly forth, without first
investigating the archaeology of our history, rather more
deeply than may suit hasty talkers and superficial thinkers.
... Some furious Jacobins, at the close of the last century,
used to clamour that there was no such thing as the English
Constitution, because it could not be produced in full written
form, like that of the United States. ... But an impartial and
earnest investigator may still satisfy himself that England
has a constitution, and that there is ample cause why she
should cherish it. And by this it is meant that he will
recognise and admire, in the history, the laws and the
institutions of England, certain great leading principles,
which have existed from the earliest period of our nationality
down to the present time; expanding and adapting themselves to
the progress of society and civilization, advancing and
varying in development, but still essentially the same in
substance and spirit. These great primeval and enduring
principles are the principles of the English Constitution. And
we are not obliged to learn them from imperfect evidences or
precarious speculation; for they are imperishably recorded in
the Great Charter, and in Charters and Statutes connected with
and confirmatory of Magna Charta [see ENGLAND: A. D. 1215].
... These great primeval and enduring principles of our
Constitution are as follows: The government of the country by
an hereditary sovereign, ruling with limited powers, and bound
to summon and consult a parliament of the whole realm,
comprising hereditary peers and elective representatives of
the commons. That without the sanction of parliament no tax of
any kind can be imposed; and no law can be made, repealed, or
altered. That no man be arbitrarily fined or imprisoned, that
no man's property or liberties be impaired, and that no man be
in any way punished, except after a lawful trial. Trial by jury.
That justice shall not be sold or delayed. These great
constitutional principles can all be proved, either by express
terms or by fair implication, from Magna Carta, and its ...
supplement [the statute 'Confirmatio Cartarum ']. Their
vigorous development was aided and attested in many subsequent
statutes, especially in the Petition of Rights and the Bill of
Rights. ... Lord Chatham called these three 'The Bible of the
English Constitution,' to which appeal is to be made on every
grave political question."

_E. S. Creasy, Rise and Progress of the English
Constitution, chapter 1._

"The fact that our constitution has to be collected from
statutes, from legal decisions, from observation of the course
of conduct of the business of politics; that much of what is
written is of a negative sort, stating what the Crown and its
ministers cannot do; that there is no part of it which an
omnipotent Parliament may not change at will; all this is a
puzzle not only to foreign jurists who are prepared to say,
with De Tocqueville, that the English constitution does not
exist, but to ourselves who are prepared to maintain that it
is a monument, if only we can find it, of political sagacity.
Those who praise it call it flexible; those who criticise it
unstable."

_Sir W. R. Anson, The Law and Custom of the
Constitution, part 1, page 35._

ALSO IN:
_William Stubbs, Constitutional History of England
in its Origin and Development._

_H. Hallam, Constitutional History of England:
Henry VII. to George II._

_T. E. May, Constitutional History of England, 1760-1860._

_R. Gneist, History of the English Constitution._

_E. Fischel, The English Constitution._

_W. Bagehot, The English Constitution._

_E. Boutmy, The English Constitution._

See, also, PARLIAMENT, THE ENGLISH,
and CABINET, THE ENGLISH.

----------CONSTITUTION OF ENGLAND: End----------

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE.

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1791.
The Constitution accepted by Louis XVI.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1789-1791,
and 1791 (JULY-SEPTEMBER).

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1793 (or the Year One).
The Jacobin Constitution.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1793 (JUNE-OCTOBER).

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1795 (or the Year Three).
The Constitution of the Directory.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1795 (JUNE-SEPTEMBER).

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1799.
The Constitution of the Consulate.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1799 (NOVEMBER-DECEMBER).

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1814.
The Constitution of the Restoration.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1814 (APRIL-JUNE).

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1848.
The Constitution of the Second Republic.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1848 (APRIL-DECEMBER).

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1852.-
The Constitution of the Second Empire.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1851-1852.

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1875-1889.
The Constitution of the Third Republic.

The circumstances of the framing and adoption in 1875 of the
Constitution of the Third Republic will be found narrated
under FRANCE: A. D. 1871-1876.

The following is the text of the organic law of 1875, with the
later amendatory and supplemental enactments, down to July 17,
1889, as translated and edited, with an historical
introduction, by Mr. Charles F. A. Currier, and published in
the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social
Science, March, 1893. It is reproduced here with the kind
permission of the President of the Academy, Professor Edmund
J. James:

{539}

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1875.
Law on the Organization of the Public Powers. February 25.

ARTICLE 1.
The legislative power is exercised by two assemblies: the
Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Chamber of Deputies is
elected by universal suffrage, under the conditions determined
by the electoral law.

[Footnote: See law of November 30, 1875, infra.]

The composition, the method of election, and the powers of the
Senate shall be regulated by a special law.

[Footnote: See laws of February 24, and August 2, 1875, infra.]

ARTICLE 2.
The President of the Republic is chosen by an absolute
majority of votes of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies united
in National Assembly. He is elected for seven years. He is
re-eligible.

ARTICLE 3.
The President of the Republic has the initiative of the laws,
concurrently with the members of the two Chambers. He
promulgates the laws when they have been voted by the two
Chambers; he looks after and secures their execution. He has
the right of pardon; amnesty can be granted by law only. He
disposes of the armed force. He appoints to all civil and
military positions. He presides over national festivals;
envoys and ambassadors of foreign powers are accredited to
him. Every act of the President of the Republic must be
countersigned by a Minister.

ARTICLE 4.
As vacancies occur on and after the promulgation of the
present law, the President of the Republic appoints, in the
Council of Ministers, the Councilors of State in ordinary
service. The Councilors of State thus chosen may be dismissed
only by decree rendered in the Council of Ministers. The
Councilors of State chosen by virtue of the law of May 24,
1872, cannot, before the expiration of their powers, be
dismissed except in the manner determined by that law. After
the dissolution of the National Assembly, revocation may be
pronounced only by resolution of the Senate.

ARTICLE 5.
The President of the Republic may, with the advice of the
Senate, dissolve the Chamber of Deputies before the legal
expiration of its term. [In that case the electoral colleges
are summoned for new elections within the space of three
months.]

[Footnote: Amended by constitutional law of
August 14, 1884, infra.]

ARTICLE 6.
The Ministers are jointly and severally ('solidairement')
responsible to the Chambers for the general policy of the
government, and individually for their personal acts. The
President of the Republic is responsible in case of high
treason only.

[Footnote: See ARTICLE 12, law of July 16, 1875, infra.]

ARTICLE 7.
In case of vacancy by death or for any other reason, the two
Chambers assembled together proceed at once to the election of
a new President. In the meantime the Council of Ministers is
invested with the executive power.

[Footnote: See ARTICLES. 3 and 11, law of July 16, 1875, infra.]

ARTICLE 8.
The Chambers shall have the right by separate resolutions,
taken in each by an absolute majority of votes, either upon
their own initiative or upon the request of the President of
the Republic, to declare a revision of the Constitutional Laws
necessary. After each of the two Chambers shall have come to
this decision, they shall meet together in National Assembly
to proceed with the revision. The acts effecting revision of
the constitutional laws, in whole or in part, must be by an
absolute majority of the members composing the National
Assembly. [During the continuance, however, of the powers
conferred by the law of November 20, 1873, upon Marshal de
MacMahon, this revision can take place only upon the
initiative of the President of the Republic.]

[Footnote: Amended by constitutional law of
August 14, 1884, _infra_.]

[ARTICLE 9.
The seat of the Executive Power and of the two Chambers is at
Versailles.]

[Footnote: Repealed by constitutional law
of June 21, 1879, _infra._]

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1875.
Law on the Organization of the Senate. February 24.

[Footnote: By the constitutional law of
August 14, 1884, it was provided that Articles 1 to 7
of this law should no longer have a constitutional
character; and they were repealed
by the law of December 9, 1884, _infra_.]

[ARTICLE 1.
The Senate consists of three hundred members: Two hundred and
twenty-five elected by the departments and colonies, and
seventy-five elected by the National Assembly.]

[ARTICLE 2.
The departments of the Seine and Nord elect each five
senators. The following departments elect four senators each:
Seine-Inférieure, Pas-dc-Calais, Gironde, Rhône, Finistère,
Côtes-du-Nord. The following departments elect three senators
each: Loire-Inférieure, Saône-et-Loire, Ille-et-Vilaine,
Seine-et-Oise, Isère, Puy-de-Dôme, Somme, Bouches-du-Rhône,
Aisne, Loire, Manche, Maine-et-Loire, Morbihan, Dordogne,
Haute-Garonne, Charente-Inférieure, Calvados, Sarthe, Hérault,
Basses-Pyrénées, Gard, Aveyron, Vendée, Orne, Oise, Vosges,
Allier. All the other departments elect two senators each. The
following elect one senator each: The Territory of Belfort,
the three departments of Algeria, the four colonies:
Martinique, Guadeloupe, Reunion and the French Indies.]

[ARTICLE 3.
No one can be senator unless he is a French citizen, forty
years of age at least, and enjoying civil and political
rights.]

[ARTICLE 4.
The senators of the departments and colonies are elected by an
absolute majority and by 'scrutin de liste', by a college
meeting at the capital of the department or colony and
composed: (1) of the deputies; (2) of the general councilors;
(3) of the arrondissement councilors; (4) of delegates
elected, one by each municipal council, from among the voters
of the commune. In the French Indies the members of the
colonial council or of the local councils are substituted for
the general councilors, arrondissement councilors and
delegates from the municipal councils. They vote at the
capital of each district.]

[ARTICLE 5.
The senators chosen by the Assembly are elected by 'scrutin de
liste' and by an absolute majority of votes.]

[ARTICLE 6.
The senators of the departments and colonies are elected for
nine years and renewable by thirds every three years. At the
beginning of the first session the departments shall be
divided into three series containing an equal number of
senators each. It shall be determined by lot which series
shall be renewed at the expiration of the first and second
triennial periods.]

[ARTICLE 7.
The senators elected by the Assembly are irremovable.
Vacancies by death, by resignation, or for any other reason,
shall, within the space of two months, be filled by the Senate
itself.]

{540}

ARTICLE 8.
The Senate has, concurrently with the Chamber of Deputies, the
initiative and passing of laws. Money bills, however, must
first be introduced in, and passed by the Chamber of Deputies.

ARTICLE 9.
The Senate may be constituted a Court of Justice to judge
either the President of the Republic or the Ministers, and to
take cognizance of attacks made upon the safety of the State.

ARTICLE 10.
Elections to the Senate shall take place one month before the
time fixed by the National Assembly for its own dissolution.
The Senate shall organize and enter upon its duties the same
day that the National Assembly is dissolved.

ARTICLE 11.
The present law shall be promulgated only after the
passage of the law on the public powers.

[Footnote: i. e., the law of February 25, 1875, _supra_.]

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE; 1875.
Law on the Relations of the Public Powers. July 16.

ARTICLE 1.
The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies shall assemble each
year the second Tuesday of January, unless convened earlier by
the President of the Republic. The two Chambers continue in
session at least five months each year. The sessions of each
begin and end at the same time. [On the Sunday following the
opening of the session, public prayers shall be addressed to
God in the churches and temples, to invoke His aid in the
labors of the Chambers.]

[Footnote: Repealed by law of August 14, 1884, _infra_.]

ARTICLE 2.
The President of the Republic pronounces the closure of the
session. He may convene the Chambers in extra session. He must
convene them if, during the recess, an absolute majority of
the members of each Chamber request it. The President may
adjourn the Chambers. The adjournment, however, must not
exceed one month, nor take place more than twice in the same
session.

ARTICLE 3.
One month at least before the legal expiration of the powers
of the President of the Republic, the Chambers must be called
together in National Assembly and proceed to the election of a
new President. In default of a summons, this meeting shall
take place, as of right, the fifteenth day before the
expiration of those powers. In case of the death or
resignation of the President of the Republic, the two Chambers
shall reassemble immediately, as of right. In case the Chamber
of Deputies, in consequence of Article 5 of the law of
February 25, 1875, is dissolved at the time when the
presidency of the Republic becomes vacant, the electoral
colleges shall be convened at once, and the Senate shall
reassemble as of right.

ARTICLE 4.
Every meeting of either of the two Chambers which shall be
held at a time other than the common session of both is
illegal and void, except the case provided for in the
preceding article, and that when the Senate meets as a court
of justice; and in this last case, judicial duties alone shall
be performed.

ARTICLE 5.
The sittings of the Senate and of the Chamber of Deputies are
public. Nevertheless each Chamber may meet in secret session,
upon the request of a fixed number of its members, determined
by the rules. It decides by absolute majority whether the
sitting shall be resumed in public upon the same subject.

ARTICLE 6.
The President of the Republic communicates with the Chambers
by messages, which are read from the tribune by a Minister.
The Ministers have entrance to both Chambers, and must be
heard when they request it. They may be represented, for the
discussion of a specific bill, by commissioners designated by
decree of the President of the Republic.

ARTICLE 7.
The President of the Republic promulgates the laws within the
month following the transmission to the Government of the law
finally passed. He must promulgate, within three days, laws
whose promulgation shall have been declared urgent by an
express vote in each Chamber. Within the time fixed for
promulgation the President of the Republic may, by a message
with reasons assigned, request of the two Chambers a new
discussion, which cannot be refused.

ARTICLE 8.
The President of the Republic negotiates and ratifies
treaties. He communicates them to the Chambers as soon as the
interests and safety of the State permit. Treaties of peace,
and of commerce, treaties which involve the finances of the
State, those relating to the persons and property of French
citizens in foreign countries, shall become definitive only
after having been voted by the two Chambers. No cession, no
exchange, no annexation of territory shall take place except
by virtue of a law.

ARTICLE 9.
The President of the Republic cannot declare war except by the
previous assent of the two Chambers.

ARTICLE 10.
Each Chamber is the judge of the eligibility of its members,
and of the legality of their election; it alone can receive
their resignation.

ARTICLE 11.
The bureau of each Chamber is elected each year for the entire
session, and for every extra session which may be held before
the ordinary session of the following year. When the two
Chambers meet together as a National Assembly, their bureau
consists of the President, Vice-Presidents and Secretaries of
the Senate.

[Footnote: The bureau of the Senate consists of a president,
four vice-presidents, six secretaries and three questors; the
bureau of the Chamber of Deputies is the same, except that
there are eight secretaries instead of six.]

ARTICLE 12.
The President of the Republic may be impeached by the Chamber
of Deputies only, and tried by the Senate only. The Ministers
may be impeached by the Chamber of Deputies for offences
committed in the performance of their duties. In this case
they are tried by the Senate. The Senate may be constituted a
court of Justice, by a decree of the President of the
Republic, issued in the Council of Ministers, to try all
persons accused of attempts upon the safety of the State. If
procedure is begun by the ordinary courts, the decree
convening the Senate may be issued any time before the
granting of a discharge. A law shall determine the method of
procedure for the accusation, trial and judgment.

[Footnote: Fixed by law of April 10, 1880.]

ARTICLE 13.
No member of either Chamber shall be prosecuted or held
responsible on account of any opinions expressed or votes cast
by him in the performance of his duties.

{541}

ARTICLE 14.
No member of either Chamber shall, during the session, be
prosecuted or arrested for any offence or misdemeanor, except
on the authority of the Chamber of which he is a member,
unless he be caught in the very act. The detention or
prosecution of a member of either Chamber is suspended for the
session, and for its [the Chamber's] entire term, if it
demands it.

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1879.
Law Revising Article 9 of the Constitutional Law of
February 25,1875, June 21.

Article 9 of the constitutional law of February 25, 1875, is
repealed.

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1884.
Law Partially Revising the Constitutional Laws, August 14.

ARTICLE 1.
Paragraph 2 of Article 5 of the constitutional law of February
25, 1875, on the Organization of the Public Powers, is amended
as follows: "In that case the electoral colleges meet for new
elections within two months, and the Chamber within the ten
days following the close of the elections."

ARTICLE 2.
To Paragraph 3 of Article 8 of the same law of February 25,
1875, is added the following: "The Republican form of the
Government cannot be made the subject of a proposed revision.
Members of families that have reigned in France are ineligible
to the presidency of the Republic."

ARTICLE 3.
Articles 1 to 7 of the constitutional law of February 24,
1875, on the Organization of the Senate, shall no longer have
a constitutional character.

[Footnote: And may therefore be amended by ordinary
legislation. See the law of December 9, 1884, _infra_.]

ARTICLE 4.
Paragraph 3 of Article 1 of the constitutional law of July 16,
1875, on the Relation of the Public Powers, is repealed.

CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1875.
Law on the Election of Senators. August 2.

ARTICLE 1.
A decree of the President of the Republic, issued at least six
weeks in advance, determines the day for the elections to the
Senate, and at the same time that for the choice of delegates
of the municipal councils. There must be an interval of at
least one month between the choice of delegates and the
election of senators.

ARTICLE 2.
Each municipal council elects one delegate. The election is
without debate, by secret ballot, and by an absolute majority
of votes. After two ballots a plurality is sufficient, and in
case of an equality of votes, the oldest is declared elected.
If the Mayor is not a member of the municipal council, he
presides, but shall not vote.

[Footnote: Amended by Article 8, law of December 9, 1884,
_infra_.]

On the same day and in the same way an alternate is elected,
who takes the place of the delegate in case of refusal or
inability to serve.

[Footnote: See Article 4, law of February 24, 1875, _supra._]

The choice of the municipal councils shall not extend to a
deputy, a general councilor, or an arrondissement councilor.

[Footnote: See Article 4, law of February 24, 1875, _supra._ ]

All communal electors, including the municipal councilors, are
eligible without distinction.

ARTICLE 3.
In the communes where a municipal committee exists, the
delegate and alternate shall be chosen by the old council.

[Footnote: Amended by Article 8,
law of December 9, 1884, _infra_. ]

ARTICLE 4.
If the delegate was not present at the election, the Mayor
shall see to it that he is notified within twenty-four hours.
He must transmit to the Prefect, within five days, notice of
his acceptance. In case of refusal or silence, he is replaced
by the alternate, who is then placed upon the list as the
delegate of the commune.

[Footnote: See Article 8, law of December 9, 1884, _infra_.]

ARTICLE 5.
The official report of the election of the delegate and
alternate is transmitted at once to the Prefect; it states the
acceptance or refusal of the delegates and alternates, as well
as the protests raised, by one or more members of the
municipal council, against the legality of the election. A
copy of this official report is posted on the door of the town
hall.

[Footnote: See Article 8, law of December 9, 1884, _infra_.]

ARTICLE 6.
A statement of the results of the election of delegates and
alternates is drawn up within a week by the Prefect; this is
given to all requesting it, and may be copied and published.
Every elector may, at the bureaux of the prefecture, obtain
information and a copy of the list, by communes, of the
municipal councilors of the department, and, at the bureaux of
the sub-prefectures a copy of the list, by communes, of the
municipal councilors of the arrondissement.

ARTICLE 7.
Every communal elector may, within three days, address
directly to the Prefect a protest against the legality of the
election. If the Prefect deems the proceedings illegal, he may
request that they be set aside.

ARTICLE 8.
Protests concerning the election of the delegate or alternate
are decided, subject to an appeal to the Council of State, by
the council of the prefecture, and, in the colonies, by the
privy council. A delegate whose election is annulled because
he does not satisfy the conditions demanded by law, or on
account of informality, is replaced by the alternate. In case
the election of the delegate and alternate is rendered void,
as by the refusal or death of both after their acceptance, new
elections are held by the municipal council on a day fixed by
an order of the Prefect.

[Footnote: See Article 8, law of December 9, 1884, _infra_.]

ARTICLE 9.
Eight days, at the latest, before the election of senators,
the Prefect, and, in the colonies, the Director of the
Interior, arranges the list of the electors of the department
in alphabetical order. The list is communicated to all
demanding it, and may be copied and published. No elector has
more than one vote.

ARTICLE 10.
The deputies, the members of the general council, or of the
arrondissement councils, who have been announced by the
returning committees, but whose powers have not been verified,
are enrolled upon the list of electors and are allowed to
vote.

ARTICLE 11.
In each of the three departments of Algeria the electoral
college is composed: (1) of the deputies; (2) of the members
of the general councils, of French citizenship; (3) of
delegates elected by the French members of each municipal
council from among the communal electors of French
citizenship.

ARTICLE 12.
The electoral college is presided over by the President of the
civil tribunal of the capital of the department or colony. The
President is assisted by the two oldest and two youngest
electors present at the opening of the meeting. The bureau
thus constituted chooses a secretary from among the electors.
If the President is prevented [from presiding] his place is
taken by the Vice-President [of the civil tribunal], and, in
his absence, by the oldest justice.

{542}

ARTICLE 13.
The bureau divides the electors in alphabetical order into
sections of at least one hundred voters each. It appoints the
President and Inspectors of each of these sections. It decides
all questions and contests which may arise in the course of
the election, without, however, power to depart from the
decisions rendered by virtue of Article 8 of the present law.