A census is directed to be taken in the year 1911 and in every tenth year thereafter, on a day to be appointed by proclamation. The Statistician is required to collect annually statistics in relation to the following matters :-population; vital, social, and industrial matters; employment and non-employment; imports and exports; inter-state trade; postal and telegraphic matters; factories, mines and productive industries generally; agricultural, horticultural, viticultural, dairying, and pastoral industries; banking, insurance and finance; railways, tramways, shipping, and transport; land tenure and occupancy; and any other prescribed matters.

WAR CENSUS (HUGHES) ACT 1915.

On 23rd June 1915, when it became evident that there would be long continuance of war and that an appeal would have to be made to the manhood and financial resources of the Commonwealth in order to prosecute the war, an Act was passed providing that a census or censuses should be taken in such States, territories, or parts of the Commonwealth and on such day or days, or within such period or periods as the Governor-General might appoint by proclamation. The persons or class of persons who were required to furnish particulars for the purpose of any such census and the nature of the particulars required to be furnished, were directed to be specified in such proclamation. Thereupon it became the duty of the Commonwealth Statistician to prepare forms and instructions and to take all necessary steps for the taking and collection of the census.

51. (XII.) Currency,59 coinage, 60 and legal tender61 :

§ 59. "CURRENCY."

LEGISLATION.

AUSTRALIAN NOTES (FISHER) ACT 1910-1911.

Conditions of Issue.

The Treasurer, is empowered with the authority of the GovernorGeneral-in-Council, to issue Australian Notes, and to re-issue and cancel them. Australian notes may be issued in any of the following denominations, namely, ten shillings, one pound, five pounds ten pounds or any multiple of ten pounds. They are a legal tender throughout the Commonwealth and all territories under its control, and are payable in gold coin on demand at the Commonwealth Treasury at the Seat of Government.

The moneys derived from the issue of Australian notes and any interest thereon are to be placed to the credit of an account called the Australian Notes Account, which is a trust account within the meaning of the Audit Act. Part of the moneys standing to the credit of the Australian Notes Account is to be held by the Treasurer in gold coin for the purposes of the reserve provided for in the Act, and the Treasurer may invest the remainder.

By the Act of 1910, the Treasurer was required to hold in gold coin a reserve as follows:- (a) an amount not less than one-fourth of the amount of Australian notes issued up to seven million pounds and (b) an amount equal to the amount of Australian notes issued in excess of £7,000,000.

By the amending Act of 1911, the required amount of the reserve was altered to be not less than one-fourth of the amount of Australian notes issued."

Volume of Note Issue.

On the 24th January 1919, the number of Commonwealth notes issued and in circulation and not redeemed were 19,024,083, representing an amount of £57 725 009 sterling. The amount of gold coin held in the Treasury for the purposes of the Act at that date was £22,025,971 10s., representing 38.15 per cent. of the notes in circulation. In addition, gold was held elsewhere amounting to £500,000. Including this sum, the gold reserve was 39.02 per cent. of the notes in circulation.

§ 60." COINAGE."

LEGISLATION.

COINAGE (FORREST) ACT 1909.

Denominations of Coins.

In the terms of the Imperial Coinage Act 1870, this Act fixes the standard weight and fineness of gold, silver, and bronze coins. It authorizes the Treasurer to cause to be made and issued silver and bronze coins of the following denominations: Silver-florin, shilling, sixpence, threepence; bronze-penny, half-penny. It also authorizes the issue of nickel coins of the denominations, weight, and fineness to be specified in any proclamation under the Act. It provides that British or Australian coins shall be a legal tender(a) in case of gold coins, to any amount; (b) in case of silver coins,

L. P.

30

up to forty shillings; and (c) in the case of bronze coins, up to one shilling. It also enables the Governor-General, by proclamation, to declare that any coins other than silver or bronze shall be current and legal tender to any amount, not exceeding five shillings, specified in the proclamation. And it requires all instruments and transactions relating to money to be in terms of coins which are current and a legal tender under the Act, unless it is in terms of the currency of some British possession or foreign country.

Decimal System.

In 1902 a Select Committee of the House of Representatives, of which Mr. G. B. EDWARDS was Chairman, reported in favour of a decimal system of coinage, on a gold basis, with the British sovereign as standard V. & P., 1901-1902, vol. 1, p. 861. The report was adopted by the House on 19th June 1903; and a further resolution of the House in favour of legislation for carrying out the recommendations of the Committee was passed on 16th June 1904.

$61. "LEGAL TENDER."

Commonwealth notes and certain coins are made legal tender throughout the Commonwealth. See "Currency" and "Coinage.” 51. (XII.) Banking62 other than State banking; also State banking extending beyond the

limits of the State concerned, the incor

63

poration of banks, and the issue of paper money:

§ 62. "BANKING."

LEGISLATION.

COMMONWEALTH BANK (FISHER) ACT 1911-1914.

Constitution and Business.

This Act established a Commonwealth Bank, called the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, with power to carry on the general business of banking, to acquire and hold land, to receive money on fixed deposit or current account, to make advances, to discount bills and drafts, to issue bills and drafts and grant letters of credit. to deal in exchanges, specie, etc., to borrow money, and to do any thing incidental to the above. But it is expressly forbidden to issue bank notes for circulation as currency. (Australian notes are issued by the Treasury; see Notes to section 51 (XII.), supra).

The capital of the Bank was £1,000,000, to be raised by debentures. This capital was, in 1914, increased to £10,000,000. The The Treasurer is empowered to advance money to the Bank, at 31 per cent., for preliminary expenses and initial capital. One-half of the net profits of the Bank is to be credited to a bank reserve fund, available for the payment of any liabilities of the Bank. The other half is to be credited to a Redemption Fund, which may be used in repayment of any money advanced to the Bank by the Treasurer, or in the redemption of the debentures or stock issued by the Bank; and any excess may be used on the redemption of any Commonwealth debts, or State debts taken over by the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is declared to be responsible for the payment of all moneys due by the Bank.

The management of the Bank is vested in a Governor, appointed by the Governor-General and holding office, during good behaviour, for a term of seven years. The Governor may establish branches or agencies of the Bank in any part of the Commonwealth or of any territory under the control of the Commonwealth, and with the consent of the Treasurer may establish branches in London and in any part of the world The Governor may also establish a Savings Bank department, and branches or agencies thereof.

Six Years' Record.

In the first business period of the Commonwealth Bank, the broken year to June 30, 1913, the general and savings branches both registered losses amounting to £46,636, but though the savings branch continued to show a debit balance for two years longer, the profits from the general business of the Bank more than counterbalanced the deficit, and the Bank, as a whole, consequently has shown a profit since 1913.

The profits made by the Bank in 1917-18 were nearly £150,000 below the figures for the preceding year which was the best in the history of the Bank.

The complete record of the Bank to June, 1918, is as follows:

The total net profits of the bank from its inception to the end of the last financial year were £758,951/2/4 to which the general bank contributed £718,348/7/5, and the savings bank £40,602/14/11. Half the profits go to the reserve fund, and the other half to the redemption fund.

The London branch of the Bank, on June 30, 1916, had 493 private accounts with a total credit of £26,729. By the end of 1917 the number of accounts had increased to 1,075 and the credit balance to £455,563.

§ 63.

66

THE INCORPORATION OF BANKS."

Though, according to the dicta of High Court Judges expressed in Huddart Parker v. Moorehead, 8 C.L.R., 330, the Commonwealth has no general power to create corporations, that power is expressly given to it as regards banking corporations; Jumbunna Mine v. Victorian Coal Miners' Association, 6 C.L.R., at pp. 334, 355; Huddart Parker v. Moorehead, 8 C.L.R., at p. 363.

51. (xiv.) Insurance,

other than State insurance; also State insurance extending beyond the limits of the State concerned:

LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANIES (GROOM) ACT 1905.

The main object of this Act is to limit the amount of money payable by life assurance companies on the death of children, and it contains provisions to prevent the prescribed amount being exceeded in any case by multiple insurances of a child. A life assurance company may not pay any sum, on the death of a child under ten years of age, except to the parent or the personal representative of the parent, nor except upon the production of a certificate of death specially issued for the purpose by a Registrar of Deaths and indorsed to the Company.

The Act does not apply when the person insuring has an interest in the life of the child; nor where the insurance is effected by a person