The House of Commons consists (at present) of two hundred and fourteen members, elected with regard to a fair representation of the relative population of the different sections of the country by the following plan:—The province of Quebec has always sixty-five members, and the other provinces have a number of members bearing the same proportion to their populations as sixty-five bears to the population of Quebec. The representation is adjusted after every decennial census—the last census being taken in 1911. The population of the West naturally increases much faster than that of the older provinces, and consequently every census requires a readjustment in favour of the West. For instance, during the decade following the census of 1891, Ontario had ninety-two members and Manitoba had only seven, but since 1901 the number of Ontario’s members has dropped to eighty-six, while that of Manitoba has risen to ten, and the next readjustment, which is already overdue, will show an even greater change in the balance of population. In the Dominion, as in the provincial parliaments, the principle followed is that of responsible cabinet government; and in this important respect it resembles the British system, and differs from the government of the United States. In the latter country, the appointment of all the chief executive officers rests with the President, subject to the consent of the Senate. Thus, as Professor Goldwin Smith puts it, “instead of a ministry responsible to the legislature and dependent for existence on its vote, America has a ministry independent of the legislature and irremovable during its term of four years.” But, in Canada, when a man takes office in the ministry he must go back to his constituents for re-election; and though the normal life of the House of Commons is five years, it may be dissolved at any time by the Governor-General on the advice of his ministers. Of course, if a cabinet is defeated it must resign and give place to one which has the confidence of the House. In this way, the will of the people (or it would be more correct to say of the men, for women have as yet no voice in the election of members to parliament) is supreme in Canada; and they must, in the last resort, hold themselves responsible for the doings of the men whom they put or retain in office. [Illustration: THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, OTTAWA]