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Local Legislatures.

of local

legis

latures.
[See 55 &

56 Vict. c. 14, s. 6.]

70. The Governor of Bengal in Council, the Governor of Meaning Madras in Council, the Governor of Bombay in Council, the Lieutenant-Governors in Council of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, the Punjab, Burma, and Bihar and Orissa, the Chief Commissioners in Council of Assam and the Central Provinces, and any local legislature which may be hereafter constituted in pursuance of the Indian Councils Act, 1861, are local legislatures within the meaning of this Digest.

This section follows substantially the definition of 'local legislature' in the Indian Councils Act, 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c. 14, s. 6), with the modifications required by the constitution of local legislatures since its passing.

24 & 25 Vict. c. 67.

tion of legislative

71.—(1) (a) The legislative powers of the Governor of Constitu Bengal in Council, the Governor of Madras in Council, and the Governor of Bombay in Council are exercised at legislative meetings of their respective councils.

(2) For the exercise of those powers the governors of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay respectively must nominate and various bodies elect persons resident in India to be additional members of their councils.

(3) The maximum number of the additional members of each of the said councils (besides the advocate-general of the province or officer acting in that capacity) is fifty (b).

(4) In the case of the councils of the Governors of Madras and Bombay, and if so ordered by the Governor of Bengal in the case of his council, the advocate-general or acting advocate-general for the time being of the presidency must be appointed one of the additional members of the council of the governor of that presidency.

(5) Of the additional members of each of the said councils at least one-half must be persons who are not in the civil or military service of the Crown in India, and if any such

council
in Bengal,
Madras,

and

Bombay. [24 & 25

Vict. c. 67, ss. 29, 30.

9 Edw. VII, c. 4,

ss. 1, 6.

2 & 3 Geo.
V, c. 6,
s. I (b)].

Procedure

lative

additional member accepts office under the Crown in India, his seat as an additional member thereupon becomes vacant.

(6) The term of office of an additional member of any of the said councils [other than the advocate-general or acting advocate-general] (c) is ordinarily three years (d).

(7) An additional member of any of the said councils is entitled to be present at legislative meetings of the council, and at no other.

(8) The Governor-General in Council must, with the approval of the Secretary of State in Council, make regulations (e) as to the conditions under which and manner in which nominations and elections are to be made in accordance with this section, and prescribe the manner in which such regulations are to be carried into effect.

(a) This section reproduces the provisions of the Act of 1861, as modified by the Act of 1909.

(b) The number under the Act of 1861 was not less than four nor more than eight.

(c) The words in square brackets probably express the effect of the Act of 1861, but the construction is not clear.

(d) See footnote (c) to section 60 above, p. 225.

(e) The effect of these regulations is summarized in Chapter I.

72. (1) At every legislative meeting of the council of at legis- the Governor of Bengal, the Governor of Madras, or the meetings Governor of Bombay, the governor or some ordinary member of Bengal, of his council, and at least ten additional members of the Madras,

of councils

and Bom- council, must be present (a).

bay.

[24 & 25

(2) The governor, if present, and in his absence the viceVict. c. 67, president, or, in the absence of the vice-president, the senior ordinary member (b) of the Governor's Council, presides.

88. 34, 36. 9 Edw.

VII, c. 47.]

(3) In case of difference of opinion at any such legislative meeting, the opinion of the majority prevails.

(4) In case of an equality of votes, the governor, or in his absence the member presiding, has a second or casting vote.

(5) Any such legislative meeting must be held at such time and place as the governor appoints, and may be adjourned by

the governor or by the person presiding at the meeting if so authorized by the governor.

(a) By the Regulations of November 15, 1909, as amended in 1912, ten additional members are required to be present to form a quorum. (b) The expression in the Act of 1861 is 'senior civil ordinary member,' and the word 'civil' was perhaps intended to exclude the local commander-in-chief, who, however, was an extraordinary member. If so, the word has become unnecessary since the passing of the Madras and Bombay Armies Act (56 & 57 Vict. c. 62). The Indian Councils Act, 1909, requires the appointment of a vice-president to take the place of the governor in his absence.

tion of

lative
councils
of lieuten-
ant-gover-

of

73.—(1) The additional members of the Council of the ConstituLieutenant-Governor of Bihar and Orissa and the members of legisthe councils for legislative purposes of other lieutenantgovernors and of chief commissioners (a) must be such persons resident in India as the lieutenant-governor or chief commissioner, with the approval of the governor-general, nominates, and persons elected by various bodies.

or

(2) The maximum number of additional members members is, in the case of Bihar and Orissa, and of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, fifty; in the case of the Punjab and Burma thirty, and in the case of Assam and the Central Provinces twenty-five.

(3) The maximum number of the members of any other council of a lieutenant-governor constituted for legislative purposes is thirty.

(4) The term of office of an additional member of the Council of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bihar and Orissa and of a member of any other lieutenant-governor's council is ordinarily three years (b).

(5) The Governor-General in Council may, with the approval of the Secretary of State in Council, make regulations as to the conditions under which and manner in which nominations and elections are to be made in accordance with this section, and prescribe the manner in which such regulations are to be carried into effect (c).

nors and missioners. [24 & 25 Vict. c. 67,

chief com

Ss. 45, 48.
9 Edw.
VII, c. 4,
Ss. 1, 6.]

Power to

new local legislatures.

[24 & 25

Vict. c.

(a) By s. 44 of the Indian Councils Act, 1861, the Governor-General in Council was also empowered to extend the provisions of the Act to the territories known as the North-Western Provinces and the Punjab respectively. A legislative council was established for the NorthWestern Provinces and Oudh together (see the powers under the next section), by proclamation of November 26, 1886, and the name of the province for which the council was established was in 1901 altered to the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. Legislative councils were established for the Punjab and Burma by proclamation of April 9, 1897, for the province of Bihar and Orissa by proclamation of March, 1912 (see Act VII of 1912), for Assam in 1912, and for the Central Provinces in 1913. Under the regulations for the constitution of these legislative councils a majority of the members of each council must be persons who are not in the civil or military service of the Crown in India.

(b) See footnote (c) to section 60, above, p. 225.

(c) This power was given by the Act of 1909. The regulations are to the same general effect as those for Madras and Bombay.

74.-(1) The Governor-General in Council may, with the constitute previous approval of the Secretary of State in Council, and by notification in the Gazette of India, constitute a new province for legislative purposes, and, if necessary, appoint a lieutenant-governor for any such province, and constitute the Lieutenant-Governor in Council of the province, as from a date specified in the notification, a local legislature for that province, and define the limits of the province for which the Lieutenant-Governor in Council is to exercise legislative powers.

67, 88. 4649.]

(2) Any law made by the local legislature of any province shall continue in force in any part of the province severed therefrom in pursuance of this section until superseded by a law of the governor-general or of the local legislature to whose province the part is annexed (a).

(a) This section is intended to give the effect of the existing enactments in the Act of 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 67, ss. 46–49), which run as follows:

'46. It shall be lawful for the governor-general, by proclamation as aforesaid, to constitute from time to time new provinces for the purposes of this Act, to which the like provisions shall be applicable; and, further, to appoint from time to time a lieutenant-governor to

any province so constituted as aforesaid, and from time to time to declare and limit the extent of the authority of such lieutenantgovernor, in like manner as is provided by the Government of India Act, 1854, respecting the lieutenant-governors of Bengal and the North-Western Provinces.

'47. It shall be lawful for the Governor-General in Council, by such proclamation as aforesaid, to fix the limits of any presidency, division, province, or territory in India for the purposes of this Act, and further by proclamation to divide or alter from time to time the limits of any such presidency, division, province, or territory, for the said purposes. Provided always, that any law or regulation made by the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor in Council of any presidency, division, province, or territory shall continue in force in any part thereof which may be severed therefrom by any such proclamation, until superseded by law or regulation of the Governor-General in Council, or of the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor in Council of the presidency, division, province, or territory to which such parts may become annexed.

'48. It shall be lawful for every such Lieutenant-Governor in Council thus constituted to make laws for the peace and good government of his respective division, province, or territory; and, except as otherwise herein before specially provided, all the provisions in this Act contained respecting the nomination of additional members for the purpose of making laws and regulations for the presidencies of Fort Saint George and Bombay, and limiting the power of the Governors in Council of Fort Saint George and Bombay, for the purpose of making laws and regulations, and respecting the conduct of business in the meetings of such councils for that purpose, and respecting the power of the governor-general to declare or withhold his assent to laws or regulations made by the Governor in Council of Fort Saint George and Bombay, and respecting the power of Her Majesty to disallow the same, shall apply to laws or regulations to be so made by any such LieutenantGovernor in Council.

'49. Provided always, that no proclamation to be made by the Governor-General in Council under the provisions of this Act, for the purpose of constituting any council for any presidency, division, provinces, or territories hereinbefore named, or any other provinces, or for altering the boundaries of any presidency, division, province, or territory, or constituting any new province for the purpose of this Act, shall have any force or validity until the sanction of Her Majesty to the same shall have been previously signified by the Secretary of State in Council to the governor-general.'

It was under these enactments that local legislatures were established for the North-Western Provinces and Oudh (1886), for Burma (1897), and for Bihar and Orissa (1912). See Act VII of 1912.

The effect of the enactments appears to be that a new lieutenantgovernorship cannot be created unless a local legislature is created at the same time, as was done in the last two cases mentioned above.

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