the federal principle. Had the permissive clauses of the Bill of 1850 not been dropped, they would still in all probability have remained a dead letter. It has been thought advisable to transcribe the greater portion of the Report of the Privy Council; because, though much of it is not concerned with the subject of federation, it throws valuable light on the strong and weak points of English Colonial Government in the middle of the nineteenth century. The federal sections of the Australian Colonies Bills of 1849 and 1850 are given in Appendices A and B of Mr. C. D. Allin's The Early Federation Movement of Australia, 1907, pp. 419-423. Their fate can be traced in the pages of Hansard for these years. THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA CONSTITUTION ACT 63 AND 64 VICT, CHAP. 12 An Act to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia. [9th July, 1900.] Whereas the people1 of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania, humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God,2 have agreed to unite in one indissoluble Federal Commonwealth 3 under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and under the Constitution hereby established: And whereas it is expedient to provide for the admission into the Commonwealth of other Australasian Colonies and possessions of the Queen: Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows: 1. This Act may be cited as the Commonwealth of Short Australia Constitution Act. 1 Note expression 'the people', following precedent of United States Constitution. The British North America Act merely spoke of 'the Provinces' as expressing their desire, &c. 2 Considerable criticism had been evoked by the omission of any mention of God in the Bill of 1891. Section 116 was strengthened with a view to making clear that such mention did not imply denominational proclivities. 3 The word 'Commonwealth' excited some criticism mainly on account of its republican associations; but it was defended by quotations from Shakespeare. Title. Act to extend to 2. The provisions of this Act referring to the Queen shall Queen's extend to Her Majesty's heirs and successors in the sovesuccessors. reignty of the United Kingdom. tion of wealth. Proclama- 3. It shall be lawful for the Queen with the advice of the Common- Privy Council to declare by Proclamation 1 that, on and after a day therein appointed, not being later than one year after the passing of this Act, the people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania, and also, if Her Majesty is satisfied that the people of Western Australia have agreed thereto, of Western Australia, shall be united in a Federal Commonwealth under the name of the Commonwealth of Australia. But the Queen may, at any time after the Proclamation, appoint a GovernorGeneral for the Commonwealth. Commencement of Act. Operation 4. The Commonwealth shall be established, and the Constitution of the Commonwealth shall take effect, on and after the day so appointed. But the Parliaments of the several Colonies may at any time after the passing of this Act make any such laws, to come into operation on the day so appointed, as they might have made if the Constitution had taken effect at the passing of this Act. 5. This Act, and all laws made by the Parliament of the of the Con- Commonwealth under the Constitution, shall be binding on and Laws. the courts, judges, and people of every State and of every stitution part of the Commonwealth, notwithstanding anything in the laws of any State; and the laws of the Commonwealth shall be in force on all British ships,2 the Queen's ships of war 1 The Proclamation was made on September 17, 1900, and the Commonwealth began its life on January 1, 1901. 2 This provision was taken from Sec. 20 of the Federal Council of Australasia Act of 1885. It was objected to by Mr. Chamberlain when the Bill was first brought to England as too wide; but in the face of the determination of the Australian delegates he waived his objections. See article by Mr. A. B. Keith, on 'Merchant Shipping Legislation in the Colonies', Journal of Comparative Legislation, 1909, p. 203. See Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Companies v. Kingston [1903] A.C. 471 ; and Merchant Service Guild of Australia v. A. Currie & Co. (Lim.), 5 C. L. R. 737. Sec. 5 only applies to cases where both the beginning and the end excepted, whose first port of clearance and whose port of destination are in the Commonwealth. 6. 'The Commonwealth' shall mean the Commonwealth Definiof Australia as established under this Act. 'The States'1 shall mean such of the Colonies of New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, and South Australia, including the Northern Territory of South Australia, as for the time being are parts of the Commonwealth, and such Colonies and Territories as may be admitted into or established by the Commonwealth as States; and each of such parts of the Commonwealth shall be called 'a State'. 'Original States' shall mean such States as are parts of the Commonwealth at its establishment. tions. Federal 7. The Federal Council of Australasia Act,2 1885, is hereby Repeal of repealed, but so as not to affect any laws passed by the Council Federal Council of Australasia and in force at the establish- Act. ment of the Commonwealth. Any such law may be repealed as to any State by the Parliament of the Commonwealth or as to any Colony not being a State by the Parliament thereof. 48 & 49 Vict. c. 60. tion of 8. After the passing of this Act the Colonial Boundaries ApplicaAct, 1895,3 shall not apply to any Colony which becomes Colonial a State of the Commonwealth; but the Commonwealth Bounshall be taken to be a self-governing Colony for the 58 & 59 purposes of that Act. of the voyage are in the Commonwealth', per Griffith, C.J. In the 1891 Bill the words 'and treaties' were added after the words 'the laws'. 1 The word 'State' was chosen to emphasize the continuity of the separate life of the Colonies composing the Commonwealth, except with regard to such powers as are expressly transferred to the Commonwealth. 2 On this, see Introduction, p. 53. 3 The object of this Act was to confer general statutory authority upon the Crown to alter the boundaries of a self-governing Colony with its consent without having resort to the British Parliament. The Constitution itself now makes provision for the alteration of the boundaries of States, so that the Colonial Boundaries Act now only applies to the Commonwealth as a whole. daries Act. Vict. c. 84. V. Powers of the Parliament: Chapter II. The Executive Government: The Parliament. Part I. General. Legislative power. CHAPTER I. THE PARLIAMENT. Part I. General. 1. The legislative power of the Commonwealth shall be vested in a Federal Parliament which shall consist of the Queen, a Senate, and a House of Representatives, and which is hereinafter called 'the Parliament' or 'the Parliament of the Commonwealth'. Governor- 2. A Governor-General appointed by the Queen shall be General. Her Majesty's representative in the Commonwealth, and Salary of shall have and may exercise in the Commonwealth during the Queen's pleasure, but subject to this Constitution, such powers and functions of the Queen as Her Majesty may be pleased to assign to him. 3. There shall be payable to the Queen out of the ConGeneral. solidated Revenue Fund of the Commonwealth, for the |