in the branches of the Royal Mint existing in New South Wales, Victoria and West Australia which are subsidized by the State Governments. The Coinage Act passed in 1909 provided that the future Australian coinage should consist of the following coins :-In gold, £5, £2, £1, and 10s.; in silver, 2s., ls., 6d., and 3d.; and in bronze, ld. and d. Gold was made a legal tender up to any amount, silver up to 40s., and bronze up to 1s. Ultimately the coinage was to be undertaken in Australia, but for the time an agreement was made with the authorities of the Royal Mint in London for the coinage of silver and copper coin in London, to be shipped to Australia as required, the old silver and copper coin was to be gradually withdrawn from circulation in Australia. Considerable revenue is being derived from the profits made by the coinage of silver and copper. The profits so far having been £347,297 from silver coin and £12,423 from bronze coin. Commonwealth Note Issue. By the Australian Notes Act 1910 the Commonwealth Treasurer was empowered to issue notes to be a legal tender throughout the Commonwealth and redeemable at the Seat of Government. The denominations of the notes were to be from 10/- up to £100 each. The Act directed the Treasurer to hold the following reserve of gold coin as security for payment of the notes, viz.: (a) An amount not less than quarter of the amount of notes issued up to seven million pounds and (b) an amount equal to the amount of Australian Notes issued in excess of seven millions pounds. By the Amending Act of 1911, No. 21, the reserve clause was altered to read as follows: The Treasurer shall hold in gold coin a reserve of not less than quarter of the amount of Australian Notes issued." This amendment was intended to come into force on the 1st July, 1912. Its operation was afterwards deferred until the Commonwealth elections 1913. These elections resulted in the return to power of another Administration and the new Treasurer, Sir JOHN (afterwards Lord) FORREST announced his intention, during his tenure in office, of maintaining the reserve at the rate provided in the original Act. He went out of office in September 1914; but since then there has been a very great change in the proportionate gold reserve. On 30th June, 1916, the value of the notes issued and unredeemed was £45,057,616, against which there was a gold reserve of £16,262,693, leaving an uncovered amount of £28,794,923. At the end of August 1918, Australian notes to the value of no less than £54,552,794 had been issued and were not redeemed. As against this issue there was a gold reserve of £17,659,754 leaving an uncovered amount of £36,893,040, It thus appears that a large proportion of the notes-all of which are payable on demand—is permanently uncovered by gold, and this proportion constitutes an undoubted part of the public debt. This item is constantly fluctuating in amount, and financially resembles a bank overdraft on which no interest is payable. No reference has been made to the uncovered notes in the tables officially summarising the public debt. The Commonwealth Bank. By an Act passed in 1911 provision was made for the creation of a Commonwealth Bank authorized to carry on Savings Banks ordinary banking as well as Government banking business. It was not empowered to issue bank notes but in other respects it had the functions of an ordinary bank of issue. It was to be managed by a Governor and a Deputy-Governor to be appointed by the Governor-General. The capital of the bank was originally fixed at £1,000,000 sterling to be raised by the issue and sale of debentures. In 1914 an Act was passed to increase the capital of the bank to £10,000,000 but no additional capital has, up to the present, been advanced by the Commonwealth Government to the Bank. The first step in the organization of the bank was to appoint as Governor Mr. DENNISON MILLER of the Bank of New South Wales and Mr. JAMES KELL of the Bank of Australasia was subsequently appointed Deputy-Governor. Bounties. In the exercise of exclusive power to grant bonuses or bounties on the production or export of goods the following Acts have been passed, namely:-Sugar Bounty Act 1903; 1905; 1912; Bounties Act 1907; Cotton and fibres-flax and hemp; jute; sisal-hemp ; oil raw materials; cotton-seed; linseed (flax seed); rice; rubber; coffee, raw; fish, preserved; fruits dried; combed wool or tops. Manufacturers' Iron-work Encouragement Act 1908-12. Iron Bounty Act 1914-1915. Shale Oil Bounties Act 1910. Wood Pulp and Rock Phosphate Act 1912. Insurance. The Life Insurance Companies Act 1905 limited the amount of insurance money payable on the death of a child and prohibited the payment of insurance money on the death of a child to any person except the parent or the person representative of a parent. The Marine Insurance Act 1909 contains a consolidation of the laws relating to this branch of Insurance. Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes. The Bills of Exchange Act 1909-12 is a codification of the law relating to this branch of negotiable instruments based on the English model. Copyrights, Patents, Designs and Trade Marks. Up-to-date legislation on these subjects are to be found in the Customs Act 1901-10, section 52A; the Patents Act 1903-9; the Trade Marks Act 1905-12; the Designs Act 1906-12; the Patents, Trade Marks and Designs Act 1910-1914; Copyright Act 1905-12. Exclusion and Naturalization Laws. Legislation to regulate immigration and emigration and the exclusion from Australia of undesirable and unhealthy persons, including paupers and criminals, is to be found in the Immigration Act 1901-12; The Pacific Islands Labourers Act 1901-6. Desirable aliens of good repute and qualified by residence may be naturalized and admitted to citizenship but not as a right. Industrial Laws. The Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904-15 utilizes to the fullest extent the limited Federal control over labour and employment conferred by section 51 (xxxv.). It vests in a Court consisting of a President, the authority to prevent and settle by conciliation and arbitration industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one State. One of the principal and unexpected features of this legislation has been the authorization and creation of a network of industrial associations or organizations having the conduct of labour and employment matters in the interests of and on behalf of employers and workers. The difficulties of interpretation of the grant of power have been very great, raising such questions as the extension of the Act to State railways and State tramways; preference to unionists; the union badge; attempts to make general regulations or common rules; attempts to make the Federal awards supersede the determination of State Wages Boards; the extent to which the High Court can control the proceedings of the Arbitration Court by a writ of prohibition. In connection with the naval and military service, the Commonwealth public service and works and railways within the Federal Territories, including the Federal Capital, Federal control over labour and employment is of course unfettered. Invalid and Old-Age Pensions and Maternity Allowance. The liberality of the Invalid and Old-Age Pensions Act 1908-12 passed pursuant to the express provisions of the Constitution, section 51 (XXIII.) and the Maternity Allowance Act 1912, passed in pursuance of sub-section XXXIX. and section 81 (the appropriating power) is shown by papers presented to Parliament in connection with the Budget of 1918. Shipping, Navigation and Lighthouses. Some indication of the great extent of Federal control over navigation and shipping and sea-borne trade and commerce (interstate and external) and those engaged in it are afforded by the Sea Carriage of Goods Act 1904; the Seamen's Compensation Act 1911; the Navigation Act 1912 reserved for the Royal Assent; the Lighthouse Act 1911-15; the Inter-State Commission Act 1912 and in the awards of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration in maritime enterprises under the industrial legislation authorized by the Constitution, section 51 (xxxv.). Acquisition of Land. By the Land Acquisition Act 1909 the Commonwealth was authorized to acquire any land required for public purposes. Such land may be acquired either by agreement with the owner or by compulsory process. Inter-State Rivers. The power of the Commonwealth over inter-state rivers and navigation is illustrated in the River Murray Water Act 1915, which ratified an agreement entered into between the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth and the States of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia for the appointment of an Inter-State Commission authorized to construct works necessary for the storage and distribution of the waters of the River Murray. Federal Capital and Territories. The control of the Commonwealth over Federal Territories is exercised in such legislation as the following: Papua Government Act 1905. Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909. Seat of Government Administration Act 1910. Norfolk Island Act 1913. Seat of Government. Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909 and the Seat of Government Administration Act 1910 provided for the establishment and organization of the Federal Capital. Already about £1,742,632 has been spent in this great enterprise. Northern Territory. On the 7th November, 1907, the Commonwealth and the State of South Australia entered into an agreement for the surrender to and acceptance by the Commonwealth of the Northern Territory, subject to approval by the Parliaments of the Commonwealth and the State. This approval was given by the South Australian Parliament under the Northern Territory Surrender Act 1907 (assented to on the 14th May, 1908) and by the Commonwealth Parliament under the Northern Territory Acceptance Act 1910 (assented to on the 16th November, 1910). The Territory accordingly was transferred by Proclamation to the Commonwealth on the 1st January, 1911. It is a territory under the Commonwealth Constitution, Section 122, but is not a part of the Commonwealth under covering clause VI. The Commonwealth has assumed liability for payment of loans. previously contracted by South Australia in connection with the Northern Territory. It has also assumed entire responsibility for the Administration of the Territory and the Port Augusta and Oodnadatta Railway. The debts and liabilities taken over by the Commonwealth were as follows-Loans £3,657,836; railway responsibility £2,274,486; total £5,932,322. |