Adaption of Canadian parliamentary processes to the conditions of the modern state must aim at two objectives not easily reconcilable and not easily pursued at one and the same time. First, it is vital that we enable the Government to govern. Governing now involves a large annual volume of new and amending legislation, the devising of complex taxation measures for raising some $4 billion a year from the reluctant taxpayer, and the appropriation of this vast sum to the various items of expenditure. A very large portion of the time of the House of Commons is therefore needed for Government business.

Second, it is equally vital to ensure effective responsibility of the Government to our elected representatives, to make it reasonably possible for the House of Commons to understand general Government policy as well as specific proposals for legislation, and to grasp the reasons why this policy and these measures are held to be necessary in the national interest. In addition, because the numerous policies being administered from day to day are more important than the new policies being proposed for adoption at any given time, it is necessary for the House to be able to learn enough about the actual running of the great business of the government of Canada to conduct an intelligent audit of the ramified activities of government. A large part of the time of the House is needed for these purposes.

An architect, viewing for the first time the structure of the Canadian economy, would be impressed at the outset by its flying buttresses, that is, its external connections and supports, which appear to bulk about a quarter as large as the main edifice. On closer examination he might remark on the apparent strength of the main structure in its own right and begin to question the function and need of the flying buttresses.

Should he chance to meet another visitor, especially one who had made the pilgrimage from the south, he would probably be treated to a glowing eulogy on its details and be told that it is the soundest such structure in the world. Indeed, the intimate knowledge and unqualified approbation of another comparative stranger, who claimed to be paying his first visit, and a short one at that, might surprise this architect.

Moreover, if he ventured inside he would immediately be struck by the great activity going on and the sense of unconcern exhibited by the inhabitants. Were he to fall into conversation with one of the many incumbents entrusted with the governance and administration of the building, he would hear the same note of confidence sounded in the security of the structure. He would likely be told that the diligent labour in progress was contributing to a steady enlargement and strengthening of the building and that this work had a momentum of its own. The flying buttresses would be pointed to with pride and their need freely admitted and even emphasized. But his attention would also be drawn to an ingenious collection of internal scaffolding, movable supports, counterweights, and other contrivances designed to protect the edifice as far as possible against adverse trade winds and against inflationary fires that might creep in by way of the buttresses. Some of these devices, it would be pointed out, are actively but not too obviously in use; others have been successfully employed in the past; all are ready for instant and judicious use in case of need.

The interval in the history of the Canadian balance of payments to be dealt with in this paper is a short one. Even so, it is well to emphasize at the outset that limitations of time, the unusual complexities of the period, and the fact that it is still too recent to be viewed in its true perspective, make it impossible to do much more than a reconnaissance survey, in the hope that this will enable one at least to trace and identify the principal factors involved if not to appraise them finally.

Time limitations notwithstanding, since this is the only session devoted to the balance of payments, it is appropriate to recall that Canada has recently passed the half-century milestone in balance of payments statistics. Undoubtedly this is a record for an unbroken series of balance of payments estimates. It is of course quite true that this is not a uniform series; there are three distinct sets of estimates which are neither identical in quality nor in aim. Nevertheless they are sufficiently complete and conformable to give us a fairly uninterrupted view of the main developments in the balance of payments. The gradual evolution of the estimates from a purely private effort undertaken to test theoretical assumptions down to an accepted instrument of official policy is a story in which Canadians can justly take some pride.

It is the purpose of this paper to consider some of the problems which have confronted the inhabitants of Tasmania and the Canadian Maritime Provinces in fitting themselves, individually and corporately, into the Australian and Canadian federations.

If the move to federate be regarded as a leap in the dark, then the majority of the Tasmanians of the late 1890's would have to confess that they jumped, while their Maritime counterparts of the 1860's could claim, with some justice, that they were pushed. In the referenda held on the proposed federal constitution prior to the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia, Tasmania shared with Victoria the honour of being the colony recording the highest percentage of affirmative votes. No such popular endorsement was sought for the terms of union embodied in the British North America Act. Tilley's defeat in the 1865 New Brunswick election, which was fought on the issue of federation, and the success of the “Repeal” advocates in the 1867 federal and provincial general elections in Nova Scotia, were indicative of the popular disapproval with which the proposals for federation were regarded in these two provinces which became charter members of the Dominion; while the special circumstances surrounding the belated entry of Prince Edward Island into Confederation were indicative of the attitude of the Islanders to the movement. The cause of federation in the Maritimes, unlike that in Tasmania, required tangible external “encouragement”–from the Colonial Office and from Canada–to assure its success.

The present Italian Constitution may be said to have its origin in the adoption of the republican form of government by the referendum held in June, 1946. Its basic features are embodied in the Charter constructed by the Constitutional Assembly then elected and are designed to establish a firm foundation for the organization and life of the Italian state as well as of its citizens. The Constitution is the true expression of the popular will since exponents of the various political creeds co-operated in framing the fundamental laws and practices that are to govern the operation of the Italian state, independently of political fluctuations. Its preservation is entrusted not to the citizens or to their representatives but to the Constitutional Court which it provides for.

In the new Constitution, Italy remains a unitary state. However, the structure of the state has undergone a change since the nineteen regions, which under the monarchy were only geographical divisions, have now been given constitutional autonomy in local matters. Thus within the state we now find the following territorial subdivisions: the regions, the provinces, and the communes.

The autonomy of the regions is local in the sense that their jurisdiction does not extend beyond their respective boundaries and is confined to the promotion of local interests. Their legislative function is restricted by the Constitution (article 117) to matters such as the boundaries of the communes, local urban and rural police, public fairs and markets, public welfare agencies, medical aid and hospitalization, trade schools and other special schools, provisions for school aid, local museums and libraries, tourist trade, public means of transportation such as street cars and bus lines, public works of regional interest such as the improvement of lake ports, highways, roads, and aqueducts. The regions are required to make provisions for securing obedience to state laws. The Italian state can assign other administrative functions to the regions. All matters of general interest, such as those which relate to the administration of justice, to the relations of citizens to the Italian state, and to administrative functions of a general character, fall within the province of the Italian state legislature.

Until recently, except in the relatively limited field of industrial production, no measure, in volume terms, of the over-all output of the Canadian economy was available. The estimates of Gross National Product had been published only in current dollars. The release, since 1950, of Gross National Expenditure in constant dollars, and especially the historical series from 1926 to 1950 published early last year, provided economists, statisticians, and the business community in general with an analytical tool of unusual relevance and value.

In recent years, because of violent changes in prices, unadjusted value series, used in isolation, have become increasingly inadequate as indicators of economic trends. Of necessity, interest has shifted to measures of volume. For some purposes, as in studies of productivity and real growth of the economy, constant dollar series provide at least an over-all framework and some generalized magnitudes. I will attempt to describe in this paper the work now being done at the Dominion Bureau of Statistics in the field of real output. The discussion of scope, principles, methods, and problems of the projects involved is preceded by a short summary of the history and background of the work.