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Essays and addresses

While the King had full power of administration, including law- making, of the Colony, he could not legally do anything contrary to an Act of Parliament the alleged power of nullifying Parlia- mentary legislation asserted, to his own undoing, by the last Stuart King, no subsequent monarch attempted.

If then the statute of (1605) 3 James I, 5, applied to the Colony, the Ordinance giving Roman Catholics the right to practise law (even in a single Court) or to sit on Juries was ultra wrest and without effect.

The Attorney General Sir Fletcher Norton, and Solicitor Gen- eral Sir William De Grey (afterwards , ) gave their joint opinion to "The Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations," June 10, 1765, "that His Majestys Roman Catholick Subjects residing in the Countries, ceded to His Majesty in America are not subject in those Colonies, to the Incapacities, disabilities, and Penalties, to which Roman Cath- olicks in this Kingdom are subject by the Laws thereof" : 236: Canadian Archives; Dartmouth Papers, M.

383, 69.

With this opinion, the Lords of Trade thoroughly agreed nor could they "conceive what foundation there is for the Doctrine, that a Roman Catholick, provided he be not a Recusant convict is incapable of being admitted to practice in those Courts as a Proctor, Advocate or attorney": pp.