ot by the articles of a rigid Constitution; it
is not compelled to respect any immutable maxims of legislation. Hence
the Victorian Parliament--in this resembling its creator, the British
Parliament--exercises an amount of legislative freedom unknown to most
foreign representative assemblies. It can, and does, legislate on
education, on ecclesiastical topics, on the tenure of land, on finance,
on every subject, in short, which can interest the Colony. It provides
for the raising of Colonial forces; it may levy taxes or impose duties
for the support of the Victorian administration, or for the protection
of Colonial manufactures. It is not forbidden to tax goods imported from
other parts of the Empire; it is not bound to abstain from passing _ex
post facto_ laws, to respect the sanctity of contracts, or to pay any
regard to the commercial interests of the United Kingdom. It may alter
the Constitution on which its own powers depend, and, for example,
extend the franchise or remodel the Upper House. To understand the full
extent of the authority possessed by the Victorian Parliament and the
Victorian Ministry--which is, in fact, appointed by the Parliament--it
should be noted that, while every branch of the administration (the
courts, the police, and the Colonial forces) is, as in England, more or
less directly under the influence or the control of the Cabinet, the
Colonies have, since 1862, provided for their own defence, and, except
in time of war, or peril of war, are not garrisoned by British
troops.[41] It is, therefore, no practical exaggeration to assert that
Victoria is governed by its own Executive, which is appointed by its own
Parliament, and which maintains order by means of the Victorian police,
supported, in case of need, by Victorian soldiers. An intelligent
foreigner, therefore, might reside for years in Melbourne, and conceive
that the supremacy of the British Government was little more than
nominal. In this he would be mistaken. But should he assert that, as to
all merely Colonial matters, Victoria was in practice a self-governed
and independent country, his language would not be accurate, yet his
assertion would not go very wide of the truth.

The local independence, however, of an English colony is hardly more
noteworthy than are the devices by which a colony is retained in its
place as a subordinate portion of the British Empire, and anyone who
would understand the English Colonial system must pay hardly