The federal Department of Justice was established by John A. Macdonald as part of the Conservative party's program for reform of the parliamentary system following Confederation. Among other things, it was charged with establishing national institutions such as the Supreme Court and the North West Mounted Police and with centralizing the penitentiary system. In the process, the department took on a position of primary importance in post-Confederation politics. This was particularly so up to 1878, when Confederation was "completed." Jonathan Swainger considers the growth and development of the ostensibly apolitical Department of Justice in the eleven years after the union of 1867. Drawing on legal records and other archival documents, he details the complex interactions between law and politics, exploring how expectations both inside and outside the legal system created an environment in which the department acted as an advisor to the government. He concludes by considering the post-1878 legacy of the department's approach to governance, wherein any problem, legal or otherwise, was made amenable to politicized solutions. Unfortunately for the department and the federal government, this left them ill-prepared for the constitutional battles to come. One crucial task was to establish responsibilities within the federal government, rather than just duplicate offices which had existed prior to union. Others were the establishment of national or quasi- national institutions such as the Supreme Court (1875) and the North-West Mounted Police (1873), the redrafting of the Governor-General's instructions (which was done between 1875 and 1877), and centralization of the penitentiary system (completed by 1875). The Department benefited from a deeply rooted expectation that law was both apolitical and necessary. This ideology functioned in a variety of ways: it gave the Department considerable latitude for setting policy and solving problems, but rationalized the appearance of politicized legal decisions. It also legitimized Department officials' claim that it was especially suited to review all legislation, advise on the royal prerogative of mercy, administer national penitentiaries, and appoint judges to the bench. Ultimately, the fictional notion of law as apolitical and necessary placed the Department of Justice squarely in the midst of the completion of Confederation. The Canadian Department of Justice and the Completion of Confederation will be of particular interest to students and scholars of Canadian legal and political history.

John A. Macdonald's flamboyant personality dominated Canadian public life from the years preceding Confederation to the end of the 19th century. 'Probably the greatest Canadian biography yet published in English' - Dictionary of Canadian Biography.

These essays look at key social, economic, and political issues of the times and show how they influenced the developing legal system.

This volume is the second in the Essays in the History of Canadian Law series, designed to illustrate the wide possibilities for research and writing in Canadian legal history. In combination, these volumes reflect the wide-ranging scope of legal history as an intellectual discipline andencourage others to pursue important avenues of inquiry on all aspects of our legal past. Topics include the role of civil courts in Upper Canada; legal education; political corruption;nineteenth-century Canadian rape law; the Toronto Police Court; the Kamloops outlaws and commissions of assize in nineteenth-century British Columbia; private rights and public purposes in Ontario waterways; the origins of workers' compensation in Ontario; and the evolution of the Ontario courts. Contributors include Brendan O'Brien, Peter N. Oliver, William N.T. Wylie, G. Blaine Baker, Paul Romney, Constance B. Backhouse, Paul Craven, Hamar Foster, Jamie Bendickson, R.C.B. Risk, and Margaret A. Banks.

A comprehensive account of federal-provincial relations in Canada from Confederation to the formation of Wilfrid Laurier's government in 1896, revealing a pattern of conflict and collaboration paralleling events today. Begins with brief accounts of the origins of Confederation and characteristics of late 19th-century Canada, then recounts major issues that occupied the intergovernmental agenda, such as liquor regulation, land reform, and controversy over Catholic schools. Also examines the significance of particular practices and institutions including disallowance, reservation, and judicial review. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR