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Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive branch) in Westminster democracies are responsible to parliament rather than to the monarch, or, in a colonial context, to the imperial government. If the parliament is bicameral, then the government is responsible first to the parliament's lower house, which is more numerous, directly elected and thus more representative than the upper house. Responsible government of parliamentary accountability manifests itself in several ways. Ministers account to Parliament for their decisions and for the performance of their departments. This requirement to make announcements and to answer questions in Parliament means that ministers have to have the privileges of the "floor" which are only granted to those who are members of either house of Parliament. Secondly, and most importantly, although ministers are officially appointed by the sovereign authority of the head of state and can theoretically be dismissed at the pleasure of the sovereign, they concurrently retain their office subject to their holding the confidence of the lower house of Parliament. When the lower house has passed a motion of no confidence in the government, the government must immediately resign or submit itself to the electorate in a new general election. Lastly, the Sovereign is in turn required to effectuate their sovereignty only through these responsible ministers. He or she must never attempt to set up a "shadow" government of executives or advisors and attempt to use them as instruments of government, or to rely upon their, "unofficial" advice. He/she is bound to take no decision or action, which is put into effect under the color of his/her sovereignty, without that action being as a result of the counsel and advisement of his/her responsible ministers. His/her ministers are required to counsel him/her (i.e., explain to him/her and be sure he/she understands any issue that he/she will be called upon to decide); and, to form and have recommendations for him/her (i.e., their advice or advisement) to choose from; which are the ministers’ formal, reasoned, recommendations as to what course of action should be taken. == Canada == In the history of Canada, responsible government was a major element of the programme of development towards independence. The concept of responsible government is associated in Canada more with self-government than with parliamentary accountability; hence the notion that Newfoundland "gave up responsible government" when it suspended its self-governing status in 1933. In the aftermath of the American Revolution, the British government was sensitive to unrest in its remaining colonies with large populations of British colonists. After the 1837 Lower Canada Rebellion led by Louis-Joseph Papineau, and the 1837–1838 Upper Canada Rebellion led by William Lyon Mackenzie, Lord Durham was appointed governor general of British North America and had the task of examining the issues and determining how to defuse tensions. In his report, one of his recommendations was that colonies which were developed enough should be granted "responsible government". This term specifically meant the policy that British-appointed governors should bow to the will of elected colonial assemblies. The first instance of responsible government in the British Empire outside of the United Kingdom itself was achieved by the colony of Nova Scotia in January–February 1848 through the efforts of Joseph Howe. The plaque in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly erected by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada reads: First Responsible Government in the British Empire. The colony of New Brunswick soon followed in May 1848 when Lieutenant Governor Edmund Walker Head brought in a more balanced representation of Members of the Legislative Assembly to the Executive Council and ceded more powers to that body. In the Province of Canada, responsible government was put to the test in 1849, when Reformers in the legislature passed the Rebellion Losses Bill. This was a law that provided compensation to French-Canadians who suffered losses during the Rebellions of 1837–1838 in Lower-Canada. The Governor General, Lord Elgin, had serious misgivings about the bill but nonetheless assented to it despite demands from the Tories that he refuse to do so. Elgin was physically assaulted by an English-speaking mob for this, and the Montreal Parliament building was burned to the ground in the ensuing riots. Nonetheless, the Rebellion Losses Bill helped entrench responsible government into Canadian politics. In time, the granting of responsible government became the first step on the road to complete independence. Canada gradually gained greater and greater autonomy over a considerable period of time through inter imperial and commonwealth diplomacy, including the British North America Act of 1867, the Statute of Westminster of 1931, and even as late as the patriation of the British North America Act in 1982 (see Constitution of Canada). 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「responsible government」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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