Legislative Council of Nova Scotia
| Legislative Council of Nova Scotia | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1838 |
| Disbanded | May 31, 1928 |
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | none |
The Legislative Council of Nova Scotia was the upper house of the legislature of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It existed from 1838 to May 31, 1928. From the establishment of responsible government in 1848, members were appointed by the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia on the advice of the Premier.
The Legislative Council had its origins in the older unified Nova Scotia Council, created in 1720, which exercised a combination of executive, legislative, and judicial functions. The Council acted as the Governor's cabinet, as the upper house of the provincial legislature, and as the province's General Court until the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia was established in 1754. The Council generally consisted of twelve members, five of whom constituted a quorum. While appointments were technically made by the Sovereign, they were in practice made by the Board of Trade, though the Governor usually provided a list of potential nominees. Nominations were at pleasure, but were in practice treated as during good behaviour.
Following a series of conflicts with the Assembly and rising demands for responsible government in the province, the Board of Trade ordered in 1838 that the Council be split into separate Executive and Legislative Councils.
With the Assembly seemingly unable to abolish the Legislative Council without its permission, it eventually came to consider reforming the Council as a next-best alternative. The first serious reform proposal was considered in 1916, when the Assembly passed a reform bill based on the imperial Parliament Act, 1911, which limited the veto of the House of Lords. The bill would have changed the Council's absolute veto to a suspensory veto; if the Assembly passed a bill in three successive legislative sessions over two years, the bill would go into effect notwithstanding the lack of the Council's consent. This bill, which was presented to the Council in the last days of the 1916 session at the height of the first World War, was received badly by the Council, which refused to pass it. A similar bill was considered by the Assembly the following year, but was dropped after the Council threatened not to pass any other bills sent to it by the Assembly.
...
Wikipedia