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The Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island (sometimes "House of Assembly of Vancouver Island") was the colonial parliamentary body that was elected to represent voters in the Colony of Vancouver Island. It was created in ''1856'' after a series of petitions were sent to the colonial office in London protesting the Hudson’s Bay Company’s proprietary rule over the colony. It was the first elected assembly in British North America west of Ontario. Although at first only handful of colonists met the voting requirement, and most of those that did were tied to the HBC, the franchise was gradually extended, and the assembly began to assert demands for more control over colonial affairs, as well as criticize Douglas's inherent conflict of interest as both governor and HBC chief factor. ==History== In an attempt to minimize the influence of the assembly he had been ordered to establish, Governor James Douglas, who described himself as "utterly averse to universal suffrage, or making population the basis of representation,"〔Duffus〕 set an unusually high property requirement of for voters. The island was divided into four districts, and the assembly consisted of eight members: one from each of Nanaimo and Sooke, two from Esquimalt, two from Metchosin and three from Victoria. In the election on July 22, 1856, Victoria, which had the greatest number of qualified voters at five, was the only district contested. The power of the Assembly was severely limited. Despite the protests of newspapermen such as Amor de Cosmos, Douglas appointed the members of his government according to his own agenda, regardless of who dominated the Assembly. The governor also maintained control over the legislative process through the Legislative Council, an upper house of a sort that had its members appointed directly. However, the Assembly did have one significant power: it had to approve any use of public funds. The colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia were joined into a new single colony (called British Columbia) in 1866, and the Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island ceased to exist. Its role was filled in the new colony by the Legislative Council of British Columbia. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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