been taken, for the Court must then have gone into the very enquiry which it was the manifest purpose of the plea to avert. It appears to their Lordships that the plaintiff could not have safely taken issue on it. He would have been met at the trial by the objection that it was a plea of privilege, pleaded as a preliminary plea to the jurisdiction, and neither was, nor was intended to be, an answer to the action.

It was contended that, under "The Supreme Court Procedure Law, 1872," of the Colony, which provides that defects in form shall be disregarded, and that, on demurrer, the Court shall give judgment according to the very right of the cause, the judgment should now be given for the appellant; but their Lordships think, for the reasons above given, that upon this ambiguous and defective plea a proper and final judgment on the right of the cause, cannot be pronounced.

In the result, their Lordships must humbly advise Her Majesty to affirm the judgment of the Court below, and with costs.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE COMMISSION OF THE GOVERNOR-DOCUMENTS AND ANNO

TATIONS.

1. Commission of Governor Cornwallis, 1749.

GEORGE THE SECOND, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of Faith, etc. To our trusty and well beloved, the Honourable Edward Cornwallis, Esquire, Greeting. Whereas we did by our letters patent under our Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster the eleventh day of September in the second year of our reign, constitute and appoint Richard Philipps, Esquire, our Captain General, and Governor in Chief, in and over our Province of Nova Scotia or Acadie, in America, with all the rights, members and appurtenances whatsoever thereunto belonging, for and during our will and pleasure; as by the said recited letters patent, relation being thereunto had, may more fully and at large appear.

Now know you that we have revoked and determined, and by these presents do revoke and determine the said recited letters patent, and every clause, article and thing therein contained; and further know you that we reposing special trust and confidence in the prudence, courage, and loyalty of you, the said Edward Cornwallis, of our special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, have thought fit to constitute and appoint you, the said Edward Cornwallis, to be our Captain General and Governor in Chief in and over our Province of Nova Scotia or Acadie in America, with all the rights, members, and appurtenances whatsoever thereunto belonging, and we do hereby require and command you to do and execute all things in due manner that shall belong unto your said command and the trust we have reposed in you according to the several powers and authorities granted or appointed you by this present Commission and the instructions herewith given you; or by such further powers, instructions and authorities as shall at any time hereafter be granted or appointed you under our signet and sign manual, or by our order in our Privy Council, and according to such reasonable laws and statutes as hereafter shall be made or agreed upon by you with the advice

and consent of our Council and the Assembly of our said Province, under your government hereafter to be appointed in such manner and form as is hereafter expressed.

And for the better administration of justice, and the management of the public affairs of our said Province, we hereby give and grant unto you, the said Edward Cornwallis, full power and authority to chuse, nominate and appoint such fitting and discreet persons as you shall either find there or carry along with you, not exceeding the number of twelve, to be of our Council in our said Province. As also to nominate and appoint by warrant under your hand and seal all such other officers and ministers as you shall judge proper and necessary for our service and the good of the people whom we shall settle in our said Province until our further will and pleasure shall be known.

And our will and pleasure is, that you the said Edward Cornwallis (after the publication of these our letters patent), do take the oaths appointed to be taken by an Act passed in the first year of his late Majesty's, our Royal father's reign, entitled "An Act for the further security of His Majesty's Person and Government and the succession of the Crown in the Heirs of the late Princess Sophia, being Protestants, and for extinguishing the hopes of the pretended Prince of Wales and his open and secret abettors." As also that you make and subscribe the Declaration mentioned in an Act of Parliament made in the twenty-fifth year of the reign of King Charles the Second, entitled "An Act for preventing danger which may happen from Popish Recusants." And likewise that you take the usual oath for the due execution of the office and trust of our Captain General and Governor in Chief of our said Province, for the due and impartial administration of justice; and further that you take the oath required to be taken by Governors of Plantations to do their utmost that the several laws relating to Trade and the Plantations be observed. All which said oaths and declaration our Council in our said Province, or any five of the members thereof, have hereby full power and authority and are required to tender and administer unto you and in your absence to our Lieutenant-Governor, if there be any upon the place, all which being duly performed you shall administer unto each of the members of our said Council, as also to our Lieutenant-Governor, if there be any such upon the place, the said oaths mentioned in the said Act entitled

"An Act for the further security of His Majesty's Person and Government and the succession of the Crown in the heirs of the late Princess Sophia, being Protestants, and for extinguishing the hopes of the pretended Prince of Wales and his open and secret abettors;" as also to cause them to make and subscribe the aforementioned declaration and to administer to them the oath for the due execution of their places and trusts.

And we hereby give and grant unto you full power and authority to suspend any of the members of our said Council to be appointed by you as aforesaid from sitting, voting, and assisting therein if you shall find just cause for so doing.

And if it shall at any time happen that by the death, departure out of our said Province, suspension of any of our said Councillors, or otherwise, there shall be a vacancy in our said Council (any five whereof we do hereby appoint to be a quorum), our will and pleasure is that you signify the same unto us by the first opportunity that we may under our signet and sign manual constitute and appoint others in their stead.

But that our affairs at that distance may not suffer for want of a due number of Councillors, if even it shall happen that there shall be less than nine of them residing in our said Province, we hereby give and grant unto you the said Edward Cornwallis full power and authority to chuse as many persons out of the principal freeholders inhabitants thereof as will make up the full number of our said Council to be nine and no more; which persons so chosen and appointed by you shall be to all intents and purposes Councillors in our said Province until either they shall be confirmed by us, or that by the nomination of others by us under our sign manual or signet our said Council shall have nine or more persons in it.

And we do hereby give and grant unto you full power and authority, with the advice and consent of our said Council, from time to time as need shall require, to summon and call General Assemblys of the Freeholders and Planters within your Government, according to the usage of the rest of our Colonies and Plantations in America.

And our will and pleasure is that the persons thereupon duly elected by the major part of the Freeholders of the respective counties and places and so returned shall before their sitting take the Oaths mentioned in the Act entitled "An Act for the further security of his Majesty's Person and Govern

ment and the succession of the Crown in the Heirs of the late princess Sophia being Protestants, and for extinguishing the hopes of the pretended Prince of Wales and his open and secret abettors," as also make and subscribe the aforementioned declaration (which Oaths and Declaration you shall commissionate fit persons under our Seal of Nova Scotia to tender and administer unto them), and until the same shall be so taken and subscribed no person shall be capable of sitting tho' elected, and we do hereby declare that the persons so elected and qualified shall be called and deemed the General Assembly of that our Province of Nova Scotia.

And that you the said Edward Cornwallis with the advice and consent of our said Council and Assembly, or the major part of them respectively, shall have full power and authority to make, constitute, and ordain Laws, Statutes and Ordinances for the publick peace, welfare and good government of our said province and of the people and inhabitants thereof and such others as shall resort thereto, and for the benefit of us, our heirs and successors, which said Laws, Statutes, and Ordinances are not to be repugnant, but as near as may be agreeable, to the Laws and Statutes of this our Kingdom of Great Britain.

Provided that all such Laws, Statutes and Ordinances, of what nature or duration so ever, be within three months or sooner after the making thereof transmitted to us under our Seal of Nova Scotia for our approbation or disallowance thereof, as also duplicates by the next conveyance.

And in case any or all of the said Laws, Statutes and Ordinances not before confirmed by us shall at any time be disallowed, and not approved and so signified by us, our Heirs or Successors under our or their sign manual and signet, or by order of our or their privy Council unto you the said Edward Cornwallis, or to the Commander in Chief of our said Province for the time being, then such and so many of the said Laws, Statutes and Ordinances as shall be so disallowed and not approved shall from thenceforth cease, determine, and become utterly void and of none effect, anything to the contrary thereof notwithstanding.

And to the end that nothing may be passed or done by our said Council or Assembly to the prejudice of us our Heirs and Successors, we will and ordain that you the said Edward