opinion ought to have the power to modify the rigour of customary law and practice in consonance with public sentiments. This is all the more necessary because of the diversity of the conditions of life all over India and a law suited to one province might not suit another. And again a province also had no chance of getting a law for its own purpose passed in the Central Council. That Council would naturally feel no interest in a Bill of a provincial or parochial scope, and it was sure to be defeated, or referred back to the Provincial Council. And even if the proposed Bill were of wider application, it had no chance of success on account of the opposition of some provinces. Thus Basu's Marriage Bill, though suited to the advanced Provinces was thrown out on account of the hostility of the more conservative Provinces.

The new Rules.

53. As a preliminary to the removal of these restrictions there ought to be a clear demarcation of powers between the Central and local Legislatures. This will now generally follow the lines of demarcation between 'central' and 'provincial' subjects which have been already explained. A statutory. demarcation, leaving the validity of Acts to be challenged in the courts on the ground of their being in excess of the powers of the particular legislature by which they were passed, is of course out of question in India where the Central Government is responsible to Parliament for the whole country. It must be the result of convention.

Given such convention, the Provinces have been allowed large powers of legislation by getting rid of the requirement as to previous sanction.

The reader should refer here to section 10 of the Act which defines the powers of local Legislatures. It will be seen that Bills of a purely provincial application "i. e. for the peace and good Government of the province"

can be introduced in the Council without previous sanction. Previous sanction is required for taking into consideration laws affecting (a), (b), (c), (d), of clause (3); (e) includes all central subjects. This recognises the division between "Central" and "Provincial Subjects"; (f) refers to the proviso:as to 'subject to Indian Legislation' already mentioned; (g) refers to powers specially reserved to the Governor-General in Council by existing laws; (h) has retrospective application to Acts passed in the past and mentioned in the Schedule, printed as Appendix C and to any law made of the GovernorGeneral in Council amending a law so specified; (i) has a prospective application to laws to be passed in the future and containing a provision as to previous sanction.

Previous sanction is also required for repealing or altering any law made by any authority in British India before the Indian Council's Act of 1861, provided that the Governor-General in Council may, by notification in the Gazette of India, declare that this provision shall not apply to any such law which he may specify, and if he does so, previous sanction shall not thereafter be necessary to the alteration or repeal of that law.

The object of (f) i. e. of the provision 'subject to Indian Legislation' is two-fold-(1) to secure a reserve of ultimate authority in the Government of India, which in abnormal circumstances could be brought into play for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of the Acts passed by the Indian Legislature and thus to meet the objection raised as to separation of legislative and Administrative powers; (2) to enable the Goverment of India to exercise limited powers of control in respect of such parts of certain provincial subjects as should be recognised as having more than merely a provincial interest.

The object of (h) i. e. of scheduling certain Acts which cannot be repealed or altered without previoussanction has been well explained by the Functions. Committee. It is to prevent tinkering by provincial Legislature with certain Indian Acts of a comprehensive character which, though forming part of or dealing mainly with all-India subjects, also govern or contain provisions affecting provincial subjects.

If the power of the provinces to legislate on provincial subjects which, though in a sense forming part of all-India subjects, are treated as excluded therefrom for the purposes of the division made, were to be freely exercised in such a way as to alter in its application to those subjects the general frame-work of the law of the country as laid down in the Indian Codes and other Acts regulating commercial and business relations, serious confusion might result. The reason for inclusion of particular Acts in the schedule will appear on reference to the lists of subjects given in the appendix; for instance, (a) civil law and criminal law are made all-India subjects, while the administration of justice is made a provincial subject. The schedule includes the Criminal and Civil Procedure Codes, the India Penal Code, and the Indian Evidence Act. (b) Again, Commerce (including Banking and Insurance) is an all-India subject, while Industrial Insurance is a Provincial Subject. The schedule includes two general Acts relating to Insurance. (c) Trading Companies and other Associations are treated as an allIndia subject, while Cooperative Societies (which are also trading companies of a kind) are made a provincial subject. The schedule includes the Indian Company's Act. (d) Again ports are divided between the Government of India and the Provincial governments; the major ports being treated as an all-India subject, and other

ports as a provincial subject. The Indian Ports Act is included in the schedule.

The schedule thus affords necessary supplementary protection to certain important all-India stitutes. The bulk of Indian legislation, which requires protection will, however, be safeguarded by the general restrictions proposed, namely,

(1) by debarring Provincial Legislatures from legislating on all-India subjects, except with previous sanction, and

(2) by making Provincial subjects in whole or in part subject to Indian legislation; and to that extent rendering provincial legislation thereon subject to previous sanction.

Return and Reservation of

Bills.

council for

54. A Bill might be passed by a local Council without securing the previous sanction of the Governor. Instead of compelling the Governor either to assent to it or veto it, section 12 of the Act leaves the Governor the alternative of returning the Bill to the reconsideration. He may return the Bill with amendments for reconsideration either in whole or in part or if he does not so return it, he may reserve it for the consideration of the Governor-General. The law in both the cases is laid down in Section 12 of the Act which should be here referred to. This reservation of Bills is either compulsory or optional according to the rules mentioned below. The provision as to compulsory reservation is a convenient device for securing special supervision over legislation on certain subjects and for reassuring interests affected. And reservation in general has also this advantage that it enables the Governor to ascertain the views of the Governor-General on important legislative projects; thus he might return the Bill for reconsideration to the

Council, after having consulted the Governor-General. And the latter also will have an opportunity of having an interim examination of the Bill, and will not be faced with the alterative either of assenting to or vetoing it.

The Reservation of Bills Rules, made under this Section provide that Governor of Province shall reserve for the consideration of the Governor-General, any Bill not previously sanctioned by him and which has been passed by the Provincial Council and is presented to him for his assent if the Bill appears to contain provisions (a) affecting the religion or religious rites of any class of British subjects in British India or (b) regulating the constitution or functions of any University; or (c) having the effect of including within a transferred subject matters which have hitherto been classified as reserved subjects, or (d) providing for the construction or management of a light or feeder railway or tramway other than a tramway within municipal limits or (e) affecting the land revenue of a Province either so as to (i) prescribe a period or periods within which any temporarily settled estate or estates may not be assessed to land revenue, or (ii) limit the extent to which the assessment and land revenue of such an estate or estates may be made or enhanced, or (iii) modify materially the general principles upon which land revenue has hitherto been assessed, if such prescription, limitation, or modification appears to the Governor to be likely seriously to affect the public revenues of the Province. And the Governor may reserve a Bill under similar conditions, if it appears to him (a) to affect any matter where with he is specially charged under his Instrument of Instructions, (b) to affect any central subject, (c) to affect the interests of another province.

(N. B.-The Instrument of Instructions is given in Appendix D).

It should be remembered that the Governor-General cannot return a Bill for reconsideration to the Council after it has received the assent of the Governor. If the