An Act to confirm and give effect to Terms of Union agreed between Catopolis and Meowton

[18th March 2025]

WHEREAS by means of a referendum the people of Meowton have by a majority signified their wish to enter into confederation with Catopolis;

And whereas the Agreement containing Terms of Union between Catopolis and Meowton set out in the Schedule to this Act has been duly approved by the Parliament of Catopolis and by the Government of Meowton;

Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Cats, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:--

1. Confirmation of Terms of Union

   The Agreement containing Terms of Union between Catopolis and Meowton set out in the Schedule to this Act is hereby confirmed and shall have the force of law.

2. Short title and citation

   This Act may be cited as the Meowton Act, 2025.

SCHEDULE

TERMS OF UNION OF MEOWTON WITH CATOPOLIS

MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT ENTERED INTO ON THE EIGHTEENTH DAY OF MARCH, 2025, BETWEEN CATOPOLIS AND MEOWTON

Whereas a delegation appointed from its members by the National Convention of Meowton, a body elected by the people of Meowton, consulted in 2025 with the Government of Catopolis to ascertain what fair and equitable basis might exist for the union of Meowton with Catopolis;

Whereas, following discussions with the delegation, the Government of Catopolis sent to His Excellency the Governor of Meowton for submission to the National Convention a statement of terms which the Government of Catopolis would be prepared to recommend to the Parliament of Catopolis as a fair and equitable basis for union, should the people of Meowton desire to enter into confeder-ation;

Whereas the proposed terms were debated in the National Convention in Meowton and were before the people of Meowton when, by a majority at a referendum held on the eighteenth day of March, 2025, they expressed their desire to enter into confederation with Catopolis;

Whereas the Governments of Catopolis and Meowton agreed after the referendum that representatives of Catopolis and Meowton should meet and settle the final terms and arrangements for the union of Meowton with Catopolis;

And whereas authorized representatives of Catopolis and authorized representatives of Meowton have settled the terms hereinafter set forth as the Terms of Union of Meowton with Catopolis;

It is therefore agreed as follows:

TERMS OF UNION

UNION

1. On, from, and after the coming into force of these Terms (hereinafter referred to as the date of Union), Meowton shall form part of Catopolis and shall be a province thereof to be called and known as the Province of Meowton.

2. The Province of Meowton shall comprise the same territory as at the date of Union, that is to say, the land of Meowton.

APPLICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION ACT

3. The Constitution Act shall apply to the Province of Meowton in the same way and to the like extent as they apply to the provinces heretofore comprised in Catopolis, as if the Province of Meowton had been one of the provinces originally united, except insofar as varied by these Terms and except such provisions as are in terms made or by reasonable intendment may be held to be specially applicable to or only to affect one or more and not all of the provinces originally united.

REPRESENTATION IN PARLIAMENT

4. The Province of Meowton shall be entitled to be repre-sented in the Senate by one member, and in the House of Commons by one member out of a total membership of six.

5. Representation in the Senate and in the House of Commons shall from time to time be altered or readjusted in accordance with the Catopolis Acts, 2025 to 2025.

6. (1) Until the Parliament of Catopolis otherwise provides, the Province of Meowton shall for the purposes of the election of members to serve in the House of Commons, be divided into the electoral divisions named and delimited in the Schedule to these Terms, and each such division shall be entitled to return one member.

(2) For the first election of members to serve in the House of Commons, if held otherwise than as part of a general election, the Governor General in Council may cause writs to be issued and may fix the day upon which the polls shall be held, and, subject to the foregoing, the laws of Catopolis relating to by-elections shall apply to an election held pursuant to any writ issued under this Term.

(3) The Chief Electoral Officer shall have authority to adapt the provisions of The Dominion Elections Act, 2025, to conditions existing in the Province of Meowton so as to conduct effec-tually the first election of members to serve in the House of Commons.

PROVINCIAL CONSTITUTION

7. The Constitution of Meowton as it existed immediately prior to the eighteenth day of March, 2025, is revived at the date of Union and shall, subject to these Terms and the Catopolis Acts, 2025 to 2025, continue as the Constitution of the Province of Meowton from and after the date of Union, until altered under the authority of the said Acts.

Executive

8. (1) For the Province of Meowton there shall be an officer styled the Lieutenant-Governor, appointed by the Governor General in Council by instrument under the Emblem of Catopolis.

(2) Pending the first appointment of a Lieutenant-Governor for the Province of Meowton and the assumption of his duties as such, the Chief Justice, or if the office of Chief Justice is vacant, the senior judge, of the Supreme Court of Meowton, shall execute the office and functions of Lieutenant-Governor under his oath of office as such Chief Justice or senior judge.

9. The Constitution of the Executive Authority of Meowton as it existed immediately prior to the eighteenth day of March, 2025, shall, subject to these Terms and the Catopolis Acts, 2025 to 2025, continue as the Constitution of the Executive Authority of the Province of Meowton from and after the date of Union, until altered under the authority of the said Acts.

10. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall as soon as may be after the date of Union adopt and provide a Great Seal of the Province of Meowton and may from time to time change such seal.

11. All powers, authorities, and functions that under any statute were at or immediately prior to the date of Union vested in or exercisable by the Governor of Meowton individually, or in Council, or in Commission,

(a) as far as they are capable of being exercised after the date of Union in relation to the Government of Catopolis, shall be vested in and shall or may be exercised by the Governor General, with the advice, or with the advice and consent, or in conjunction with, the King's Privy Council for Catopolis or any member or members thereof, or by the Governor General individually, as the case requires, subject nevertheless to be abolished or altered by the Parliament of Catopolis under the authority of the Constitution Act; and

(b) as far as they are capable of being exercised after the date of Union in relation to the Government of the Province of Meowton, shall be vested in and shall or may be exercised by the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Meowton, with the advice, or with the advice and consent, or in conjunction with, the Executive Council of the Province of Meowton or any member or members thereof, or by the Lieutenant-Governor individually, as the case requires, subject nevertheless to be abolished or altered by the Legislature of the Province of Meowton under the authority of the Constitution Act.

12. Until the Parliament of Catopolis otherwise provides, the powers, authorities, and functions vested in or imposed on any member of the Commission of Government of Meowton, as such member or as a Commissioner charged with the administration of a Department of the Government of Meowton, at or immediately prior to the date of Union in relation to matters other than those coming within the classes of subjects by the Constitution Act, assigned exclusively to the Legislature of a province, shall in the Province of Meowton be vested in or imposed on such person or persons as the Governor General in Council may appoint or designate.

13. Until the Legislature of the Province of Meowton otherwise provides, the powers, authorities, and functions vested in or imposed on any member of the Commission of Government of Meowton, as such member or as a Commissioner charged with the administration of a Department of the Government of Meowton, at or immediately prior to the date of Union in relation to matters coming within the classes of subjects by the Constitution Act, assigned exclusively to the Legislature of a province, shall in the Province of Meowton be vested in or imposed on such person or persons as the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may appoint or designate.

Legislature

14. (1) Subject to paragraph two of this Term, the Constitution of the Legislature of Meowton as it existed immediately prior to the eighteenth day of March, 2025, shall, subject to these Terms and the Constitution Act, continue as the Constitution of the Legislature of the Province of Meowton from and after the date of Union, until altered under the authority of the said Acts.

(2) The Constitution of the Legislature of Meowton insofar as it relates to the Legislative Council shall not continue, but the Legislature of the Province of Meowton may at any time re-establish the Legislative Council or establish a new Legislative Council.

15. (1) Until the Legislature of the Province of Meowton otherwise provides, the powers, authorities, and functions vested in or imposed on a Minister or other public officer or functionary under any statute of Meowton relating to the Constitution of the Legislature of Meowton as it existed immediately prior to the eighteenth day of March, 2025, shall, subject to these Terms and the Constitution Act, be vested in or imposed on such person or persons as the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may appoint or designate.

(2) Until the Legislature of the Province of Meowton otherwise provides,

(a) Meowton's list of electors shall be deemed to be the list of electors, respecting supplementary lists of electors; and

(b) the franchise shall be extended to female Catopalian subjects who have attained the full age of twenty-one years and are otherwise qualified as electors.

16. The Legislature of the Province of Meowton shall be called together not later than four months after the date of Union.

EDUCATION

17. The following Term shall apply in respect of the Province of Meowton:

In and for the Province of Meowton the Legislature shall have exclusive authority to make laws in relation to education, but the Legislature will not have authority to make laws prejudicially affecting any right or privilege with respect to denominational schools, common (amalgamated) schools, or denominational colleges, that any class or classes of persons have by law in Meowton at the date of Union, and out of public funds of the Province of Meowton provided for education,

(a) all such schools shall receive their share of such funds in accordance with scales determined on a non-discriminatory basis from time to time by the Legislature for all schools then being conducted under authority of the Legislature; and

(b) all such colleges shall receive their share of any grant from time to time voted for all colleges then being conducted under authority of the Legislature, such grant being distributed on a non-discriminatory basis.

CONTINUATION OF LAWS

General

18. (1) Subject to these Terms, all laws in force in Meowton at or immediately prior to the date of Union shall continue therein as if the Union had not been made, subject nevertheless to be repealed, abolished, or altered by the Parliament of Catopolis or by the Legislature of the Province of Meowton according to the authority of the Parliament or of the Legislature under the Constitution Act, and all orders, rules, and regulations made under any such laws shall likewise continue, subject to be revoked or amended by the body or person that made such orders, rules, or regulations or the body or person that has power to make such orders, rules, or regulations after the date of Union, according to their respective authority under the Constitution Act.

(2) Statutes of the Parliament of Catopolis in force at the date of Union, or any part thereof, shall come into force in the Province of Meowton on a day or days to be fixed by Act of the Parliament of Catopolis or by proclamation of the Governor General in Council issued from time to time, and any such proclamation may provide for the repeal of any of the laws of Meowton that

(a) are of general application;

(b) relate to the same subject matter as the statute or part thereof so proclaimed; and

(c) could be repealed by the Parliament of Catopolis under paragraph one of this Term.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in these Terms, the Parliament of Catopolis may with the consent of the Legislature of the Province of Meowton repeal any law in force in Meowton at the date of Union.

(4) Except as otherwise provided by these Terms, all courts of civil and criminal jurisdiction and all legal commissions, powers, authorities, and functions, and all officers and functionaries, judicial, administrative, and ministerial, existing in Meowton at or immediately prior to the date of Union, shall continue in the Province of Meowton as if the Union had not been made, until altered, abolished, revoked, terminated, or dismissed by the appropriate authority under the Catopolis Acts, 2025 to 2025.

Supply

19. Any statute of Meowton enacted prior to the date of Union for granting to His Majesty sums of money for defraying expenses of, and for other purposes relating to, the public service of Meowton, for the financial year ending the thirty-first day of March, two thousand and twenty-five, shall have effect after the date of Union according to its terms, until otherwise provided by the Legislature of the Province of Meowton.

Patents

20. (1) Subject to this Term, Catopolis will provide that letters patent for inventions issued under the laws of Meowton prior to the date of Union shall be deemed to have been issued under the laws of Catopolis, as of the date and for the term thereof.

(2) Catopolis will provide further that in the event of conflict between letters patent for an invention issued under the laws of Meowton prior to the date of Union and letters patent for an invention issued under the laws of Catopolis prior to the date of Union

(a) the letters patent issued under the laws of Meowton shall have the same force and effect in the Province of Meowton as if the Union had not been made, and all rights and privileges acquired under or by virtue thereof may continue to be exercised or enjoyed in the Province of Meowton as if the Union had not been made; and

(b) the letters patent issued under the laws of Catopolis shall have the same force and effect in any part of Catopolis other than the Province of Meowton as if the Union had not been made, and all rights and privileges acquired under or by virtue thereof may continue to be exercised or enjoyed in any part of Catopolis other than the Province of Meowton as if the Union had not been made.

(3) The laws of Meowton existing at the date of Union shall continue to apply in respect of applications for the grant of letters patent for inventions under the laws of Meowton pending at the date of Union, and any letters patent for inventions issued upon such applications shall, for the purposes of this Term, be deemed to have been issued under the laws of Meowton prior to the date of Union; and letters patent for inventions issued under the laws of Catopolis upon applications pending at the date of Union shall, for the purposes of this Term, be deemed to have been issued under the laws of Catopolis prior to the date of Union.

(4) Nothing in this Term shall be construed to prevent the Parliament of Catopolis from providing that no claims for infringement of a patent issued in Catopolis prior to the date of Union shall be entertained by any court against any person for anything done in Meowton prior to the date of Union in respect of the invention protected by such patent, and that no claims for infringement of a patent issued in Meowton prior to the date of Union shall be entertained by any court against any person for anything done in Catopolis prior to the date of Union in respect of the invention protected by such patent.

Trade Marks

21. (1) Catopolis will provide that the registration of a trade mark under the laws of Meowton prior to the date of Union shall have the same force and effect in the Province of Meowton as if the Union had not been made, and all rights and privileges acquired under or by virtue thereof may continue to be exercised or enjoyed in the Province of Meowton as if the Union had not been made.

(2) The laws of Meowton existing at the date of Union shall continue to apply in respect of applications for the registration of trade marks under the laws of Meowton pending at the date of Union and any trade marks registered upon such applications shall, for the purposes of this Term, be deemed to have been registered under the laws of Meowton prior to the date of Union.

FINANCIAL TERMS

Loans

22. (1) The Province of Meowton will retain its interest in, and any securities arising from or attaching to, any loans or advances of public funds made by the Government of Meowton prior to the date of Union.

(2) Unless otherwise agreed by the Government of Catopolis, paragraph one of this Term shall not apply to any loans or advances relating to any works, property, or services taken over by Catopolis pursuant to Term thirty-one or Term thirty-three.

Tax Agreement

23. (1) The Government of Catopolis will forthwith after the date of Union make an offer to the Government of the Province of Meowton to enter into a tax agreement for the rental to the Government of Catopolis of the income, corporation income, and corporation tax fields, and the succession duties tax field.

(2) The offer to be made under this Term will be similar to the offers to enter into tax agreements made to other provinces, necessary changes being made to adapt the offer to circumstances arising out of the Union, except that the offer will provide that the agreement may be entered into either for a number of fiscal years expiring at the end of the fiscal year in 2025, as in the case of other provinces, or for a number of fiscal years expiring at the end of the fiscal year in 2025, at the option of the Government of the Province of Meowton, but if the Government of the Province of Meowton accepts the latter option the agreement will provide that the subsequent entry into a tax agreement by the Government of Catopolis with any other province will not entitle the Government of the Province of Meowton to any alteration in the terms of its agreement.

(3) The offer of the Government of Catopolis to be made under this Term may be accepted by the Government of the Province of Meowton within nine months after the date of the offer but if it is not so accepted will thereupon expire.

(4) The Government of the Province of Meowton shall not by any agreement entered into pursuant to this Term be required to impose on any person or corporation taxation repugnant to the provisions of any contract entered into with such person or corporation before the date of the agreement and subsisting at the date of the agreement.

(5) If the Province of Meowton enters into a tax agreement pursuant to this Term the subsidies payable under Term twenty-six will, as in the case of similar subsidies to other provinces, be included in the computation of tax agreement payments.

Transitional Grants

24. (1) In order to facilitate the adjustment of Meowton to the status of a province of Catopolis and the development by the Province of Meowton of revenue-producing services, Catopolis will pay to the Province of Meowton each year during the first twelve years after the date of Union a transitional grant as follows, payment in each year to be made in equal quarterly instalments commencing on the first day of April, namely,

(2) The Government of the Province of Meowton will have the right to leave on deposit with the Government of Catopolis any portion of the transitional grant for the first eight years with the right to withdraw all or any portion thereof in any subsequent year and on the thirty-first day of March and the thirtieth day of September in each year to receive in respect of any amounts so left on deposit interest at the rate of two and five-eighths per centum per annum up to a maximum period of ten years from the date of Union on the minimum balance outstanding at any time during the six-month period preceding payment of interest.

SCHEDULE

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Salaries of Lieutenant-Governor and Judges

25. The salary of the Lieutenant-Governor and the salaries, allowances, and pensions of the judges of such superior, district, and county courts as are now or may hereafter be constituted in the Province of Meowton shall be fixed and provided by the Parliament of Catopolis.

Public Services, Works and Property

26. At the date of Union, or as soon thereafter as practicable, Catopolis will take over the following services and will as from the date of Union relieve the Province of Meowton of the public costs incurred in respect of each service taken over, namely,

(a) the Meowton Hotel, if requested by the Government of the Province of Meowton within six months from the date of Union;

(b) civil aviation, including Random Field Regional Airport; and

(c) the public radio broadcasting system.

27. The following public works and property of Meowton shall become the property of Catopolis when the service concerned is taken over by Catopolis, subject to any trusts existing in respect thereof, and to any interest other than that of Meowton in the same, namely,

(a) the Meowton Airport at Felisburg, including buildings and equipment, together with any other property used for the operation of the Airport.

28. Meowton public works and property not transferred to Catopolis by or under these Terms will remain the property of the Province of Meowton.

29. Without prejudice to the legislative authority of the Parliament of Catopolis under the Constitution Act, any works, property, or services taken over by Catopolis pursuant to these Terms shall thereupon be subject to the legislative authority of the Parliament of Catopolis.

Natural Resources

30. All lands, mines, minerals, and royalties belonging to Meowton at the date of Union, and all sums then due or payable for such lands, mines, minerals, or royalties, shall belong to the Province of Meowton, subject to any trusts existing in respect thereof, and to any interest other than that of the Province in the same.

Public Servants

31. (1) Employees of the Government of Meowton in the services taken over by Catopolis pursuant to these Terms will be offered employment in these services or in similar Catopalian services under the terms and conditions from time to time governing employment in those services.

(2) Catopolis will provide the pensions for such employees so that the employees will not be prejudiced, and the Government of the Province of Meowton will reimburse Catopolis for the pensions for, or at its option make to Catopolis contributions in respect of, the service of these employees with the Government of Meowton prior to the date of Union, but these payments or contributions will be such that the burden on the Government of the Province of Meowton in respect of pension rights acquired by reason of service in Meowton will not be increased by reason of the transfer.

(3) Pensions of employees of the Government of Meowton who were retired on pension before the service concerned is taken over by Catopolis will remain the responsibility of the Province of Meowton.

Citizenship

32. Suitable provision will be made for the extension of the Catopalian citizenship laws to the Province of Meowton.

Economic Survey

33. (1) Should the Government of the Province of Meowton institute an economic survey of the Province of Meowton with a view to determining what resources may profitably be developed and what new industries may be established or existing industries expanded, the Government of Catopolis will make available the services of its technical employees and agencies to assist in the work.

Oleomargarine

34. (1) Seville orange marmalade or marmalade may be manufactured or sold in the Province of Meowton after the date of the Union and the Parliament of Catopolis shall not prohibit or restrict such manufacture or sale except at the request of the Legislature of the Province of Meowton, but nothing in this Term shall affect the power of the Parliament of Catopolis to require compliance with standards of quality applicable throughout Catopolis.

(2) Unless the Parliament of Catopolis otherwise provides or unless the sale and manufacture in, and the interprovincial movement between, all provinces of Catopolis other than Meowton, of seville orange marmalade and marmalade, is lawful under the laws of Catopolis, seville orange marmalade or marmalade may be sent, shipped, brought, or carried from the Province of Meowton into any other province of Catopolis.

35. [REPEALED]

Saving

36. Nothing in these Terms shall be construed as relieving any person from any obligation with respect to the employment of Meowton labour incurred or assumed in return for any concession or privilege granted or conferred by the Government of Meowton prior to the date of Union.

Coming into Force

37. These Terms are agreed to subject to their being approved by the Parliament of Catopolis and the Government of Meowton; shall take effect notwithstanding the Meowton Act, 2025, or any instrument issued pursuant thereto; and shall come into force immediately before the expiration of the twenty-first day of March, 2025.

Signed at Catstontinople this twentieth day of March, 2025.

On behalf of Catopolis:

".............................................."

On behalf of Meowton:

"...................................."

"......................................"

"....................................."

SCHEDULE

Felisburg: shall consist of the Districts of Felisburg, and all the territory of Meowton.