1October 1993 2 3 King-Byng Affair 4 William Lyon Mackenzie King's Position on the 5 Constitutional Authority of the Prime 6 Minister 7 8 ...edited by Marijan Salopek 9 10 ============================= 11 12 Letter from William Lyon Mackenzie King to Governor General Byng, 13 28 June 1926 14 15 Your Excellency having declined to accept my advice to place 16 your signature to the Order-in-Council with reference to a 17 dissolution of parliament, which I have placed before you to-day, 18 I hereby tender to Your Excellency my resignation as Prime 19 Minister of Canada. 20 Your Excellency will recall that in our recent conversations 21 relative to dissolution I have on each occasion suggested to Your 22 Excellency, as I have again urged this morning, that having 23 regard to the possible very serious consequences of a refusal of 24 the advice of your First Minister to dissolve parliament you 25 should, before definitely deciding on this step, cable the 26 Secretary of State for the Dominions asking the British 27 Government, from whom you have come to Canada under instructions, 28 what, in the opinion of the Secretary of State for the Dominions, 29 your course should be in the event of the Prime Minister 30 presenting you with an Order-in-Council having reference to 31 dissolution. 32 As a refusal by a Governor-General to accept the advice of a 33 Prime Minister is a serious step at any time, and most serious 34 under existing conditions in all parts of the British Empire to- 35 day, there will be raised, I fear, by the refusal on Your 36 Excellency's part to accept the advice tendered a grave 37 constitutional question without precedent in the history of Great 38 Britain for a century, and in the history of Canada since 39 Confederation. 40 If there is anything which, having regard to my 41 responsibilities as Prime Minister, I can even yet do to avert 42 such a deplorable and, possibly, far-reaching crisis, I shall be 43 glad to do so, and shall be pleased to have my resignation 44 withheld at Your Excellency's request pending the time it may be 45 necessary for Your Excellency to communicate with the Secretary 46 of State for the Dominions. 47 48 Source: 49 Public Archives of Canada, King Papers, Letter from William 50 Lyon Mackenzie King to Governor General Byng, 28 June 1926. 51 =============================== 52 53