ia, New Brunswick, and Prince
Edward Island, charged with the control of local matters in their
respective sections" In another paragraph the resolutions declared that
"in forming a constitution for a general government, the conference,
with a view to the perpetuation of our connection with the
mother-country, and the promotion of the best interests of the people of
these provinces, desire to follow the model of the British constitution
so far as our circumstances permit" In a subsequent paragraph it was set
forth: "the executive authority or government shall be vested in the
sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and be
administered according to the well-understood principles of the British
constitution, by a sovereign personally, or by the representative of the
sovereign duly authorised."

In these three paragraphs of the Quebec resolutions we see clearly
expressed the leading principles on which the Canadian federation
rests--a federation, with a central government having jurisdiction over
matters of common interest to the whole country comprised in the union,
and a number of provincial governments having the control and management
of certain local matters naturally and conveniently belonging to them,
each government being administered in accordance with the
well-understood principles of the British system of parliamentary
institutions.

The resolutions also defined in express terms the respective powers of
the central and provincial governments. Any subject that did not fall
within the enumerated powers of the provincial legislatures was placed
under the control of the general parliament. The convention recognised
the necessity of preventing, as far as possible, the difficulties that
had arisen in the working of the constitution of the United States,
where the residuary power of legislation is given to the people of the
respective states and not to the federal government. In a subsequent
chapter I give a brief summary of these and other details of the system
of government, generally laid down in the Quebec resolutions and
practically embodied in an imperial statute three years later.

Although we have no official report of the discussions of the Quebec
convention, we know on good authority that the question of providing
revenues for the provinces was one that gave the delegates the greatest
difficulty. In all the provinces the sources of revenue were chiefly
customs and excise-duties which