and according to precedents. They expected that the Senate would attract to its membership all the best and strongest representative men in Australia to whom the motto would be "None for Party, all for the State"; this anticipation has not been realized. In actual practice the Senate has become a Chamber composed of members representing political parties similar in composition to those of the House of Representatives. Instead of being a Council of States, it has become a party chamber. The principle of equality of State representation in the Senate was conceded for the protection of State rights and not for the representation of political parties. This unexpected development has been brought about to some extent by the evolution of new political parties and new political forces in Australia which were beyond the ken and vision of the framers of the Constitution. It was never expected that political organization and machine politics known as the Caucus system and the system of voting by party tickets would become within a few years after Federation such a perfect science, that the electors would practically be deprived of the right of choosing and nominating candidates for the Senate and that such choice and nomination would by party organization and party discipline become the monopoly of a few and that in voting for candidates for the Senate electors would be required to vote for bunches of men whose names are bracketed together in a ticket, thereby excluding the nomination of desirable candidates who would not stoop or bow down to party managers and party organizers. Whatever objections may be taken to the choice of American Senators by the various State Legislatures, anti-democratic as it is, it has not had the effect of excluding from the American Senate, the strongest, the most gifted and most eloquent statesmen in the United States.

It has been proposed that there should be a reform in the method of choosing members of the Australian Senate by abolishing the one electorate in each State provided by the Constitution, section 7, and by substituting three electorates in each State, each of the three electorates returning two Senators retiring by rotation one every three years. Such a reform would be within the competence of the Parliament of the Commonwealth to adopt, as the present method of voting in one electorate in each State is only a temporary one to remain until the Parliament otherwise provides. Such a change might possibly be an improvement on the existing system and would prevent the Senate elections from being such a

scramble as they are at present, when thousands of electors in Australia go to the poll and vote blindly not knowing anything about the Senate candidates, for whom they vote according to party ticket, whilst thousands of others vote carelessly and recklessly with absolute disregard to the names or identity of the candidates opposite whose names they place the regulation mark.

Qualification of electors.

8. The qualification of electors25 of senators shall be in each State that which is prescribed by this Constitution, or by the Parliament, as the qualification for electors of members of the House of Representatives; but in the choosing of senators each elector shall vote only once.

$25. "QUALIFICATIONS OF ELECTORS OF SENATORS."

LEGISLATION.

COMMONWEALTH FRANCHISE ACT 1902.

Qualifications of Electors.

Subject to certain disqualifications all persons not under 21 years of age male or female, married or single, who have lived in Australia for six months continuously, who are natural born or naturalized subjects of the King and whose names are on the electoral roll for any electoral division are entitled to vote at the election of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. No person who is of unsound mind or attainted of treason or who has been convicted and is under sentence or subject to be sentenced for any offence punishable under the law of any part of the King's Dominions by imprisonment for one year or longer, is entitled to be so placed on the electoral roll or to vote at any election of members of the Senate or the House of Representatives. No aboriginal native of Australia, Asia, Africa or the Islands of the Pacific except New Zealand is entitled to have his name placed on an electoral roll unless so entitled under the Constitution, section 41.

Method of election of senators.

9. The Parliament of the Commonwealth may make laws prescribing the method of choosing senators, but so that the method shall be uniform for all the States.

Subject to any such law, the Parliament of each State may make laws prescribing the method of choosing the senators for that State.

Times and places.

The Parliament of a State may make laws for determining the times and places of elections of senators for the State.

COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1918, Section 123.

The Senate Elections Act 1903 makes provision for the election of senators to fill periodical triennial or casual vacancies. The election of senators to fill both periodical and casual vacancies have to be conducted at one and the same election. The number of candidates required to be elected at the election must be the whole number required to fill the periodical and the casual vacancies. Those of the elected candidates to the number of the periodical vacancies who received the largest number of votes are deemed to be elected to fill the periodical vacancies whilst the elected candidates who are not elected to fill the periodical vacancies are deemed to be elected to fill the casual vacancies for the unexpired balance of the term annexed to those vacancies.

The following is the present electoral method of choosing

senators :

(1.) In a Senate election a voter must mark his vote on his ballot-paper as follows:

:

(a) where his ballot-paper is a ballot-paper in accordance with Form E in the Schedule to the Electoral Act-by

making a cross in a square opposite the name of each candidate for whom he votes ;

L. P.

16

(b) where he votes at a polling place on polling day in accordance with the regulations relating to absent voting-in the manner prescribed by those regulations; and

(c) where he votes by post under the provisions of Part XII. of the Act-in the manner prescribed by the regulations relating to voting by post.

(2.) In a Senate election a voter must vote for the full number of candidates to be elected.

Application of State laws.

10. Until the Parliament otherwise provides, but subject to this Constitution, the laws in force in each State, for the time being, relating to elections for the more numerous House of the Parliament of the State shall, as nearly as practicable, apply to elections27 of senators for the State.

§ 27. "ELECTIONS OF SENATORS.”

LEGISLATION.

COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1902-1911.

COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1918.

The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1902-1911 made general arrangements for the election of senators concurrently with the election of members of the House of Representatives; for the preparation of rolls of electors one common roll being used for the nomination of candidates; for the conduct of the polling ; the Senate electors voting in each State as one electorate; voting by ballot in the polling booths; voting by post and absent voting out of the polling booth; the scrutiny; the return of the writs; limitation of electoral expenses; the prohibition of bribery, undue influence and certain acts constituting electoral offences. Voting by post was abolished by an Act passed in 1911 and was restored by the Act of 1918; the absent voting out of a polling place provisions are omitted.

Failure to choose senators.

11. The Senate may proceed to the despatch of business, notwithstanding the failure of any State to provide for its representation in the Senate.

Issue of writs.

12. The Governor of any State may cause writs 28 to be issued for elections of senators for the State. In case of the dissolution of the Senate the writs shall be issued within ten days from the proclamation of such dissolution.

§ 28. "WRITS TO BE ISSUED."

LEGISLATION.

COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1902-1911, SECTIONS 86-90. COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1918, SECTIONS 59; 60; 62; 65. SENATE ELECTIONS ACT 1903, SECTION 7.

Writs for the elections of senators and members of the House of Representatives may be in the forms prescribed in the schedule of the Electoral Act, and they fix the dates for the nomination, the polling, and the return. The writs for return of senators are addressed to the Commonwealth electoral officer for the State in which the election is to be held. Writs for the election of members of the House of Representatives are addressed to the respective divisional returning officers for the divisions in which the elections are to be held.

Rotation of senators.29

13. As soon as may be after the Senate first meets, and after each first meeting of the Senate following a dissolution thereof, the Senate shall divide the senators chosen for each State into two classes, as nearly equal in number as practicable; and the places of the senators of the first class shall become vacant at the expiration of [the third year], three years, and the places of those of the second class at the expiration of [the sixth year], six years, from the beginning of their term of service; and afterwards the places of senators shall become vacant at the expiration of six years from the beginning of their term of service.

The election to fill vacant places shall be made [in the year at the expiration of which] within one year before the places are to become vacant.