SIR E. DEAS THOMSON

WILLIAM CHARLES WENTWORTH After the Original Oil Paintings in the Mitchell Library

relations of the Executive and Legislature, however, was set at rest by a despatch forwarded by the Secretary for the Colonies to the Governor, advising him of the introduction of the system of responsible government, and thus explicitly stating what the Act merely implied. As a consequence, the Governor's position henceforth carried less political power. Whilst he remained the official head of the Government, all real authority rested with the Ministers, who exercised it as long as they could retain the confidence of the Legislative Assembly. The personnel of the Assembly, in its turn, depended on the political opinions of the enfranchised community. Thus the

democrats had at last come to realise their greatest aspiration. Popular control over the Legislature directly, and over the Executive through the Legislature, had become accomplished fact.

an

The first wholly elected Parliament was
opened on the 22nd May, 1856, by Governor
Denison. Within a month the first Ministry.
responsible to Parliament was formed with
Stuart Alexander Donaldson
as Premier;

Thomas Holt, Treasurer, and Sir William
Manning, Attorney General.

The Constitution of 1856 is in its general Constitutional character the present Constitution of the changes since 1856 State. But important alterations and modifi

cations, in respect of both the composition of

Simple Majorities

the Houses and the extent of the franchise, have since been made, whilst since 1901 certain functions have been transferred to the care of the Federal Government and Parliament. The most important modifications are the following

(1) In 1857 it was resolved that simple, for Constitutional instead of two-thirds majorities as agreed upon when drawing up the Constitution, could

Amendments.

effect alterations of electoral divisions and the distribution of representatives.

Electoral Reforms (2) In the following year (1858) secret voting by means of the ballot-box was introduced, and the franchise was further liberalised, though it was not until 1893 that. "manhood suffrage" and the principle of one man one vote" were adopted. At the present day it is illegal for an elector to vote for a candidate for any electorate other than the one in which he resides. Residence, not possession of property, is the determining factor in the matter of the franchise. Since 1902 women have been allowed to vote, though it was at the same time emphatically laid down that no woman could be nominated as a candidate or be elected as a member of Parliament.* Thus "Universal" or "Adult" Suffrage is now in full operation. Every adult resident, man or woman, provided he or she is a natural-born

*Act 54, 1902 (27th Aug.).

ór naturalised subject of the Crown, and is hot a lunatic or criminal, is entitled to vote; and every man who is not disqualified by reason of lunacy, bankruptcy, crime, business contract with the Government or allegiance to a foreign power, is eligible for Parliamentary membership:

In 1911 the residential qualifications were reduced to the lowest practicable. A new arrival may claim the vote after six months' residence in the Commonwealth, provided he has at the same time lived for the last three months within the State, and at least one month in the electorate. In the previous year a system of second ballot" was introduced The Second Ballot to ensure that no candidate should be returned until he had received the support of an

absolute" majority (ie., more than one-half). of the voters polling in the electorate. If more than two candidates are nominated for an electorate, and the first ballot does not result. in an absolute majority for any one of them, the names of the two most favoured candidates are re-submitted to the 'electors and a second poll is taken. The contest is in this way reduced to a clear-cut issue between two aspirants, and the system is supposed to avoid the evils of vote-splitting. It seems, however, an unsatisfactory substitute for the more perfect system of "preferential voting," such as is in operation in Tasmania.

Numerical strength (3) The number of members elected to the of the Assembly. Legislative Assembly has varied from time to time. Before the colonies federated, the

Payment of Members.

Tariff Freedom.

tendency was for the number to grow larger. Thus it rose from 54 in 1856 to 72 two years later, and to 108 in 1880, with provision for its automatic increase along with that of the population. Consequently, in 1891, 141 members were returned by 74 electorates. Two years later, however, the colony was cut up into 125 single-member electorates; and after the establishment of the Federal Commonwealth, as the State found it could manage with a reduced House, the number was fixed at 90, and stands at that level at the present day.

(4) Payment of members was introduced in 1889, and is considered a democratic necessity, so that no one, not even the poorest, may be prevented from offering his services as a legislator. From 1889 to 1912 the members of the Assembly were remunerated at the rate of £300 per year, but in September, 1912, the remuneration was increased to £500.

(5) In 1873 the Imperial Government removed its embargo on differential rates, thus giving the colony unrestricted control over its tariff arrangements. This right it retained (but did not use) until the control of customs was handed over to the Commonwealth Government.