Procedure at meetings of lieuten ant-gover nor's council. [24 & 25 Vict. c. 67, s. 45. 9 Edw. VII, c. 4, 8. 4.] Powers of local legislature. The maximum number of members of any council of a lieutenantgovernor hereafter constituted is thirty. See the Indian Councils Act, 1909, Sch. I. Section 3 of the Government of India Act, 1912 (2 & 3 Geo. V, c. 6), empowers the Governor-General in Council to establish a legislative council for any chief commissionership, by proclamation, adapting the provisions of the Indian Councils Acts relating to lieutenant-governorships. A legislative council was established for Assam on November 14, 1912, and for the Central Provinces in November, 1913. 75.-(1) At every meeting of a lieutenant-governor's council the lieutenant-governor, or in his absence the vicepresident of his council, or, in the absence of the vice-president, the member of the council highest in official rank among those holding office under the Crown, presides (a). (2) The legislative powers of the council may be exercised only at meetings at which the lieutenant-governor or some other member holding office under the Crown, and a specified number of additional members of the council, are present (b). (3) In case of difference of opinion at any meeting of the lieutenant-governor's council, if there is an equality of votes, the lieutenant-governor or other person presiding has a second or casting vote. (a) The Indian Councils Act, 1909, requires the appointment of a vice-president to take the place of the lieutenant-governor in his absence. (b) Under the Regulations of 1909 as amended in 1912 there are required to be present, in order to form a quorum, ten additional members in the case of the Council of Bihar and Orissa and ten members in the case of the United Provinces, eight in the case of the Punjab and Assam, and six in the case of Burma. 76.-(1) The local legislature of any province in India may, subject to the provisions of this Digest, make laws for the peace and good government of the territories for the time Vict. c. 67, being constituting that province (a). [24 & 25 SS. 42, 43, 48. 55 & 56 Vict. c. 14, s. 5.] (2) The local legislature of any province may, with the previous sanction of the governor-general, but not otherwise, repeal or amend as to that province any law or regulation made by any authority in India other than that local legislature (b). (3) The local legislature of any province may not, without the previous sanction of the governor-general, make or take into consideration any law (a) affecting the public debt of India, or the customs duties or any other tax or duty for the time being in force and imposed by the authority of the Governor-General in Council for the general purposes of the government of India; or (b) regulating any of the current coin, or the issue of any bills, notes, or other paper currency; or (c) regulating the conveyance of letters by the post office or messages by the electric telegraph within the province; or (d) altering in any way the Indian Penal Code (c); or (e) affecting the religion or religious rites or usages of any class of His Majesty's subjects in India; or (f) affecting the discipline or maintenance of any part of His Majesty's naval or military forces; or (g) regulating patents or copyright; or (h) affecting the relations of the Government with foreign princes or States. (4) The local legislature of any province has not power to make any law affecting any Act of Parliament for the time being in force in the province (d). (5) Provided that an Act or a provision of an Act made by a local legislature, and subsequently assented to by the governor-general in pursuance of the provisions contained in this Digest, is not to be deemed invalid by reason only of its requiring the previous sanction of the governor-general under this section. (a) The Governor-General in Council has concurrent power to legislate for a province under a local legislature. In practice, however, this power is not, unless under very exceptional circumstances, exercised as to matters within the competency of the local legislature. (b) Under the Act of 1861 a local legislature could not alter an Act of the Government of India passed after the Act of 1861 came into operation. Consequently the sphere of operations of the local legis latures was often inconveniently restricted by the numerous Acts passed by the Governor-General in Council since 1861, particularly by such general Acts as the Evidence Act and the Easements Act. The provision reproduced in sub-section (2) was inserted in the Act of 1892 for the purpose of removing this inconvenience. (c) Sir Charles Wood, when Secretary of State for India, in a dispatch dated December 1, 1862, addressed the Government of India as follows: Cases, no doubt, will occasionally occur when special legislation by the local Governments for offences not included in the Penal Code will be required. In these cases the general rule should be to place such offences under penalties already assigned in the Code to acts of a similar character. This mode of legislation, though an addition to, cannot be deemed an alteration of the Penal Code; but if any deviation is considered necessary, then the law requires that your previous sanction should be obtained. 'It was the intention of Her Majesty's Government that, except in local and peculiar circumstances, the Code should contain the whole body of penal legislation, and that all additions or modifications suggested by experience should from time to time be incorporated in it. And the duty of maintaining this uniformity, of course, devolves upon your Excellency in Council. 'As a general rule, for the guidance of the local councils, it would probably be expedient-and this appears also to be your own view— that all bills containing penal clauses should be submitted for your previous sanction.' In consequence of this dispatch all Bills introduced into a local legislature and containing penal clauses are required to be sent to the Government of India for consideration as to the penal clauses. As to what would amount to an alteration of the Penal Code, see Minutes by Sir H. S. Maine, Nos. 5 and 6. (d) Among the Acts which a local legislature cannot 'affect' is the Indian High Courts Act, 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 104), and, consequently, questions have arisen as to the validity of laws affecting the jurisdiction of the chartered high court. It has been held that the Governor of Bombay in Council has power to pass Acts limiting or regulating the jurisdiction of the courts established by the local legislature, and that such Acts are not void merely because their indirect effect may be to increase or diminish the occasions for the exercise of the appellate jurisdiction of the high court (Premshankar Raghunathji v. Government of Bombay, 8 Bom. H. C. Rep. A. C. I. 195). Also that the Bombay Legislative Council has authority to make laws regulating the rights and obligations of the subjects of the Bombay Government, but not to affect the authority of the high court in dealing with those rights and obligations (Collector of Thana v. Bhaskar Mahadev Rheth, I. L. R., 8 Bom. 264). The power of the Governor-General in Council to affect by legislation the prerogative of the Crown is expressly recognized by statute (see below, s. 79). It may perhaps be inferred that the local legislatures do not possess this power. But see Bell v. Municipality of Madras, 25 Mad. 474. ss. 37, 38, 48. 77. (1) At a legislative meeting of the Governor of Business Bengal in Council, of the Governor of Madras in Council, lative at legisof the Governor of Bombay in Council, or of the Lieutenant- meetings. [24 & 25 Governor of Bihar and Orissa in Council, and at a meeting of Vict. c. 67, any other Lieutenant-Governor or any Chief Commissioner in Council, no business may be transacted other than the consideration of measures introduced [or proposed to be introduced] (a) into the council for the purpose of enactment, or the alteration of rules for the conduct of business at legislative meetings (b). (2) At any such meeting no motion may be entertained other than a motion for leave to introduce a measure into the council for the purpose of enactment, or having reference to a measure introduced [or proposed to be introduced into the council for that purpose, or having reference to some rule for the conduct of business] (a). (3) Provided that the Governors in Council of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay respectively, and the LieutenantGovernor or Lieutenant-Governor in Council or Chief Commissioner of every province must, with the sanction of the Governor-General in Council, make rules for authorizing at any legislative meeting of their respective councils the discussion of the annual financial statement of their respective local Governments and of any matter of general public interest and the asking of questions, but under such conditions and restrictions as may in the rules applicable to those councils respectively be prescribed. (4) It is not lawful for any member of any such council to introduce, without the previous sanction of the governor or lieutenant-governor or chief commissioner, any measure affecting the public revenues of the province or imposing any charge on those revenues. (5) Rules for the conduct of business at legislative meetings of the Governor of Bengal in Council, of the Governor of VII, c. 4, 9 Edw. s. 5.] Assent to local legis- Madras in Council, of the Governor of Bombay in Council, (a) The words in square brackets are not in the Act of 1861, but (b) The range of business at meetings of these legislative councils has been materially extended by s. 5 of the Indian Councils Act, 1909, and the rules made under it. 78. (1) When an Act has been passed at a meeting of the council of a governor, lieutenant-governor or chief commissioner, the governor or lieutenant-governor or chief Vict. c. 67, commissioner, whether he was or was not present in council 88. 39, 40, at the passing of the Act, may declare that he assents to 41, 48.] or withholds his assent from the Act. [24 & 25 (2) If he withholds his assent from any such Act, the Act has no effect. (3) If he assents to any such Act he must forthwith send an authentic copy of the Act to the governor-general, and the Act has not validity until the governor-general has assented thereto, and that assent has been signified by the governor-general to, and published by, the governor, lieutenantgovernor, or chief commissioner. (4) Where the governor-general withholds his assent from any such Act he must signify to the governor, lieutenantgovernor, or chief commissioner in writing his reason for so withholding his assent (a). (5) When any such Act has been assented to by the governor-general, he must send to the Secretary of State |