Some of the earlier Acts establishing self-government, following the common form of the old colonial charter, provided that local legislation should not be repugnant to the laws of England. This might have been held to forbid such revolutionary changes as abolishing the publicity of Courts of Justice or depriving prisoners of the right to trial by jury. In our own time the question has been raised whether the sacred number of twelve jurymen could be reduced by Order in Council in a criminal court established under the Foreign Jurisdiction Acts in an Asiatic country.(78) But in 1865 it was expressly declared by the Colonial Laws Validity Act that the enactments of colonial legislatures should not be called in question for repugnancy to the law of England in any other sense than repugnancy to some Act of the Imperial Parliament or an order made under its authority. These matters are only preliminary to the questions that arise under federal constitutions, but they are necessary to be understood if we are to avoid confusion. In the case of a federated Dominion within the British Empire the federal constitution is itself an Act of the Imperial Parliament, and therefore all exercise of legislative power in the Dominion, whether by the central legislature or by that of any constituent State or Province, must be consistent with its provisions, or otherwise it will clearly be invalid to the extent of the repugnancy or excess. Every such constitution has to assign the bounds of central and local legislation; in the case of Canada, for example, the field of action open to the Dominion Parliament at Ottawa and the legislatures of the several Provinces. In strict legal theory the Confederation Act of Canada or the Commonwealth Act of Australia can be amended at Westminster like any other Act of Parliament; but, as in fact these constituent Acts were framed by Canadian and Australian statesmen, so it is well understood that the Home Parliament will not touch them except at the request of Canada or Australia. With such request, there have been amendments and legislative interpretations of the Canadian Constitution. If any Act of Parliament might be called unconstitutional, uninvited intermeddling with the constitution of a self-governing colony would be so. We may pause here to draw one immediate consequence. Whenever Home Rule is enacted and established for Ireland, Parliament must harden its heart against all endeavours, from whatever quarter they may proceed, to obtain any alteration in the scheme save as it may be required by the regularly expressed will of Ireland as a whole. This should be an understanding outside and above all party divisions, British or Irish; and it is equally necessary whether or not a certain number of Irish members continue to sit at Westminster.