of the
Constitution intend that the Lord-Lieutenant should occupy the position
in substance of Colonial Governor, and rule Ireland through a ministry
appointed nominally by the Lord-Lieutenant, but in reality selected by
the Irish legislative body. In this manner the Irish Constitution is,
like that of Victoria, a copy of the English original.

There is created--and this, of course, is the vital provision of the
Constitution--an Irish legislature, which I shall take leave hereafter
to call by its proper name, the "Irish Parliament," consisting of the
Queen and an Irish legislative body, which we may call a House of
Parliament or a Chamber, made up itself of two orders.[57]

The Irish Parliament, subject to certain restrictions, has authority to
make or repeal any laws for the peace, order, and good government of
Ireland; it is in fact in the strictest sense what I have termed it, an
Irish Parliament. It is the body which indirectly appoints and controls
the Executive, and directly legislates for Ireland. It can repeal laws
which have been passed by the existing Parliament of the United Kingdom
in so far as they are in force in Ireland.

The powers of the Irish Parliament are, it should be noted, indefinite.
The Parliament, that is to say, may pass any law which it is not, under
the Constitution, forbidden to pass. In this respect it stands in the
position not like that of the American Congress, which can legislate
only on certain topics, which are expressly placed within the competence
of Congress, but in a position like that occupied by the Parliament of
the Canadian 1 Dominion, which can legislate on all topics not expressly
excepted from its competence. The difference between a legislature of
definite and a legislature of indefinite powers is important. In the one
case changes of circumstances may diminish but cannot increase the
authority of the legislature; in the other case changes of circumstances
may increase but cannot diminish that authority. The Irish Parliament is
a body whose authority will, from the necessity of things, tend
constantly to increase.

If the authority given to the Irish Parliament is indefinite, it is not
unlimited. A large number of exceptions and restrictions are imposed
upon its freedom of action. It is hard to point to any clear principle
on which they rest. Their object undoubtedly is to guard against
legislation about subjects such as the armed forces, the coinage, and
the like, w