A Few Quick Notes 569

-Somehow the temperature has managed to squirt up to 13, and may even be on it's way up to 14 or higher.  This temperature, along with the sun and blue skies, are contributing to a very spring-like feeling today in Wolfville.  I would fine if was like this for the next few days, but I think it might slip back below zero in a few days.

-I made some banana bread for breakfast/brunch this morning.

-I love reading bound theses.  Because they are typically double spaced and because the text is printed on only one side of each leaf one can really feel as though they are making quick work of the text.  Last night I had gone through 60 pages before I even realized what I was doing.

In the particular thesis I am reading I am surprised by the number of exclamation marks used by the author.  His subject seems to be constantly surprising or amazing him.  And before you start to think thoughts about "the youth of today" you should know that this thesis is from 1960 and was written by someone who received their BA in 1944.

Because I can I will include  a quote from this thesis (though this passage does not include an exclamation point).  This quote comes after his description of the committee structure of other provinces, provinces in which there were typically more committee memberships than members of the legislature.

At the other end of the committee spectrum is Newfoundland, which has fewer standing committee places than legislative members.  In a 36-member House there are only six standing committees with five members each.  These are internal economy; nominating; standing orders and library; miscellaneous private bills; municipal affairs; privileges and elections.

For those of you who are curious, I don't think any of these committees, with the possible exception of Nominating, exist in the same form today - though most Newfoundland committees are still relatively small.

 Oh, this passage reminded me that I think we forget about some of the practices from the not to distant past that were at one time common:

There are certain disqualifications to voting that are found in all provinces and which make certain persons ineligible for nomination to the assemblies.  Judges of the federal and provincial courts may not be entered on the electoral lists.  Persons wholly or partly of Indian blood and “ordinarily resident on an Indian reservation and entitled to receive any annuity or other benefit under any treaty with the Crown in the right of Canada” are disqualified to vote.  Some such phrasing is found in the election laws of every province, with the proviso that Indians who served in World War I or II, or were subsequently on active service with the Canadian forces, may vote.

And then there is also this one:

In British Columbia an adequate knowledge of either English or French is necessary to be a voter, and the registrar of voters may require the applicant for voting to appear before him to demonstrate his language ability.  This is, perhaps, a vestige of the provision which prevented voting by Orientals in British Columbia until World War II. 

-Back to work.