power of disallowance has never been used in relation to Australian federal legislation, and reservation has likewise been rare to nonexistent. There were similar arrangements in at least some Australian states, whose constitutional arrangements predated Australian federation by years or decades. Unlike in Canada (see below), disallowance of state laws, and reservation by state Governors, were matters directly for the Imperial government – the Australian federal government was never given the power to block state laws. Use of disallowance and reservation in the states declined and eventually ceased, and both powers were formally abolished by the Australia Act 1986. In Canada In Canadian constitutional law, the powers of reservation and disallowance of federal legislation still formally remain in place in Sections 55 and 56 of the Constitution Act, 1867. These are extended to provincial legislation by Section 90. In initial intent, and in practice for the first few years of Confederation, disallowance was considered a means of ensuring constitutional compliance. For federal bills, reservation was done on the instructions of the United Kingdom until 1878. At the 1930 Imperial Conference, it was agreed that the United Kingdom would not reserve or disallow legislation without the approval of the Canadian cabinet. Between 1867 and 1878, twenty-one federal bills were reserved, six of which were denied Royal Assent. The only disallowed federal bill was the Oaths Act in 1873, which sought to enable Parliament to call witnesses for examination regarding the Pacific Scandal; the bill was deemed to be outside the power of the Federal parliament as envisioned in the British North America Act. Reservation and disallowance are made applicable to the provincial bills in Section 90 of the Constitution Act, 1867, with the substitution of the Governor General of Canada for the Queen-in-Council and the lieutenant governor for the governor general. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald and his Conservative successors regularly advised disallowance for provincial legislation, generally citing respect for private contracts, preservation of federal jurisdiction, and the rights of local minorities as justification. Macdonald disallowed 13 railway charters issued by the fledgling provincial government of Manitoba. The election of the Liberals under Wilfrid Laurier in 1896, who regarded both reservation and disallowance as unwarranted interference in provincial affairs, began to see the use of the powers subside. Provincial governments had gained democratic legitimacy and disputes regarding division of powers were decided via judicial review, leaving Liberals such as Oliver Mowat