Power of disallow Rules for conduct of business. [24 & 25 Vict. c. 67, s. 18.] in 66.-(1) When an Act of the Governor-General Council has been assented to by the governor-general he must send to the Secretary of State an authentic copy thereof. (2) It is lawful for His Majesty to signify through the Secretary of State in Council his disallowance of any such Act. (3) Where the disallowance of any such Act has been so signified, the governor-general must forthwith notify the disallowance, and thereupon the Act, as from the date of the notification, becomes void accordingly (a). (a) When an Act has been passed by the Governor-General in Council the Secretary of State usually sends a dispatch intimating that the Act has been considered in council and will be left to its operation. But this formal expression of approval is not essential to the validity of the Act. 67. The Governor-General in Council may at legislative meetings of the governor-general's council, subject to the assent of the governor-general, make rules for the conduct of business at legislative meetings of the council, and for prescribing the mode of promulgation and authentication of Acts made at such meetings; but any such rule may be disallowed by the Secretary of State in Council, and if so disallowed has no effect. A bill, when introduced, is published in the official gazettes in English and the local vernacular, with a 'Statement of Objects and Reasons,' and a similar course is usually adopted after every subsequent stage of the bill at which important amendments have been made. Thus a bill as amended in committee is published with the report of the committee explaining the nature of, and reasons for the amendment. The draft of a bill is in some cases published for the purpose of eliciting opinion, before its introduction into the council. When a bill is introduced, or on some subsequent occasion, the member in charge of it makes one or more of the following motions(1) That it be referred to a select committee; or (2) That it be taken into consideration by the council, either at once or on some future day to be then mentioned; or (3) That it be circulated for the purpose of eliciting opinion thereon. The usual course is to refer a bill after introduction to a select committee. It is then considered in council after it is reported by the committee, with or without amendments, and is passed, either with or without further amendments made by the council. make re 68.—(1) (a) The local Government (b) of any part of Power to British India to which this section for the time being applies gulations. may propose to the Governor-General in Council the draft of [33 Vict. any regulation for the peace and government of that part, 2.] with the reasons for proposing the regulation. (2) Thereupon the Governor-General in Council may take any such draft and reasons into consideration, and when any such draft has been approved by the Governor-General in Council and assented to by the governor-general (c), it must be published in the Gazette of India, and in the local official gazette, if any, and thereupon has the like force of law and is subject to the like disallowance as if it had been made by the Governor-General in Council at a legislative meeting. (3) The governor-general must send to the Secretary of State an authentic copy of every regulation to which he has assented under this section. (4) The Secretary of State may by resolution in council apply this section to any part of British India as from a date to be fixed in the resolution, and withdraw the application of this section from any part to which it has been applied (d). (a) This power was conferred by the Act of 1870, with the object of providing a more summary legislative procedure for the more backward parts of British India. The enactment conferring the power was passed in consequence of a dispatch from the Government of India drafted by Sir H. S. Maine. (See Minutes by Sir H. S. Maine, Nos. 67, 69.) The regulations made under it must be distinguished from the old Madras, Bengal, and Bombay regulations, which were made before 1833 by the Governments of the three presidencies, and some of which are still in force. (b) Local Government' is defined by s. 124. (c) It will be observed that the Governor-General in Council cannot amend the draft. (d) The Indian Statute Book has from the earliest times contained ' deregulationizing' enactments, i. e. enactments barring, completely or partially, the application in the more backward and less civilized parts of the country of the ordinary law, which was at first contained in the old 'regulations.' These enactments took varied and sometimes very complicated forms, so that, in course of time, doubts arose, and it became occasionally a matter of considerable difficulty to ascertain what laws were and what were not in force in the different ' deregu c. 3, 88.1, Power to lationized' tracts. The main object of the Scheduled Districts Act, 1874 (XIV of 1874), was to provide a method of removing these doubts by means of notifications to be issued by the Executive Government. The preamble refers to the fact that 'various parts of British India had never been brought within, or had from time to time been removed from, the operation of the general Acts and regulations, and the jurisdiction of the ordinary Courts of Judicature'; that 'doubts had arisen in some cases as to which Acts or regulations were in force in such parts, and in other cases as to what were the boundaries of such parts; and that it was expedient to provide readier means for ascertaining the enactments in force in such territories and the boundaries thereof, and for administering the law therein.' The Act then proceeds to specify and constitute a number of deregulationized tracts as 'scheduled districts,' to give the power of declaring by notification what enactments are, or are not, actually in force in any scheduled district, and to provide for extending by notification to any 'scheduled district,' with or without modifications or restrictions, any enactment in force in any part of British India at the date of the extension. The Act also gives powers to appoint officers for the administration of a scheduled district, and to regulate their procedure and the exercise of their powers therein, and also to settle questions as to the boundaries of any such tract. A large number of declaratory and extending notifications have been issued under the Act. Every district to which 33 Vict. c. 3, s. 1 (reproduced by this section of the Digest), is made applicable thereupon becomes by virtue of s. I of the Indian Scheduled Districts Act, 1874 (XIV of 1874), a scheduled district within the meaning of that Act and of the Indian General Clauses Act, 1897 (X of 1897, s. 3 (49) ). The Scheduled Districts Act, 1874, is immediately followed in the Indian Statute Book by the Laws Local Extent Act, 1874 (XV of 1874), the object of which is to remove doubts as to the application of certain enactments to the whole or particular parts of British India. This Act also uses the expression scheduled districts,' but in a sense which has in the course of time become different from that in which the term is used in the Scheduled Districts Act. The lists of scheduled districts appended to the two Acts were originally identical, but since 1874 Acts have been passed which have amended or partially repealed the list in Act XIV, but have not in all cases made corresponding alterations in the list annexed to Act XV. Moreover, certain regions not included in the original schedule have, by reason of the application to them of 33 Vict. c. 3, s. 1, become ipso facto scheduled districts. The Legislative Department of the Government of India has published lists of the territories which are ' deregulationized," "scheduled,” and subject to the statute 33 Vict. c. 3, s. 1, respectively.' 69. The governor-general may in cases of emergency make and promulgate ordinances for the peace and good nances in government of British India, or any part thereof, and any make ordi emer Vict. c. ordinance so made has, for such period not exceeding six cases of months from its promulgation as may be declared in the gency. notification, the like force of law to a law made by the [24 & 25 Governor-General in Council at a legislative meeting; but 67, s. 23.] the power of making ordinances under this section is subject to the like restrictions as the power of making laws at legislative meetings; and any ordinance made under this section is subject to the like disallowance as a law passed at a legislative meeting, and may be controlled or superseded by any such law. The power given by this section has rarely been exercised, and should be called into action only on urgent occasions. The reasons for a resort to it should always be recorded, and these, together with the Ordinance itself, should be submitted without loss of time to His Majesty's Government. Local Legislatures. of local [See 55 & 70. The Governor of Madras in Council, the Governor Meaning of Bombay in Council, the Lieutenant-Governors in Council, legisof Bengal, the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, the latures. Punjab, Burma, and Eastern Bengal and Assam, and any 56 Vict. c. 14, s. 6.] local legislature which may be hereafter constituted in pursuance of the Indian Councils Act, 1861, are local legislatures 24 & 25 Vict. c. 67. 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 local legislatures constituted since its passing. tion of legis 71.-(1) (a) The legislative powers of the Governor of ConstituMadras in Council and the Governor of Bombay in Council are exercised at legislative meetings of their respective councils. lative council (2) For the exercise of those powers the governors of Bombay. [24 & 25 Madras and Bombay respectively must nominate persons Vict. c. 67, resident in India to be additional members of their councils. ss. 29, 30. 55 & 56 (3) The number of the additional members of each of the said councils (besides the advocate-general of the province Vict. c. 14, Procedure at legis or officer acting in that capacity) is such as to the governors of Madras and Bombay respectively from time to time seems expedient, but must be not less than eight nor more than twenty (b). (4) The advocate-general or acting advocate-general for the time being of the province must be appointed one of the additional members of the council of the governor of that province. (5) Of the additional members of each of the said councils at least one-half (c) must be persons who are not in the civil or military service of the Crown in India, and if any such 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 either of the said councils [other than the advocate-general or acting advocate-general] (d) is two years. (7) An additional member of either of the said councils is entitled to be present at legislative meetings of the council, and at no others. (8) The Governor-General in Council may, with the approval of the Secretary of State in Council, make regulations (e) as to the conditions under which nominations are to be made under 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 1892. (b) The number under the Act of 1861 was not less than four nor more than eight. (c) 'One-half.' Does this include the advocate-general? point does not seem clear. The (d) The words in square brackets probably express the effect of the existing law, but the construction is not clear. (e) The effect of these regulations is summarized above, pp. 119, 120. 72.-(1) At every legislative meeting of the council of lative the Governor of Madras, or of the Governor of Bombay, meetings the governor or some ordinary member of his council, and of councils of Madras at least four other members of the council, must be present. |