THE FEDERAL CONVENTION.

Evening Post, Volume XLI, Issue 76, 1 April 1891, Page 4

THE FEDERAL CONVENTION.

THE LATK MX. J. M. M'CROSSAN. THE CONSTITUTION BILL. [UNITED I-UFSH ASSOCIATION.] Syrnky, 31st March, The National Convention roßuuird its sittings at 3.30 this aftornoou. Mr. W. M'Millan (Now South Wales) feelingly roferrod to tho death of Mr. J. 11. M'Croßßan, ono of tho Queensland doloßatea, whioh took plaoo last night, and moved a motion rcoordißg the great lobb Australia and tho Convention had sustained. Sir S. W. Griffith, Premier of Queensland, said no man had a wider knowledgo of tho subject of Federation than tho deoeasod gentleman, whoso death was ft national loss. The motion was carried. Sir S. Griffith brought up the report and appendices of tho Constitutional Committee, and moved that the ropott and Bill be referred to a Committee of tho whole Convention. Ho explained the reasons which had led them in framing the Bill to adopt the title of " Commonwealth," which ho thought wonld bo regarded as the most natural and proper narao. The Committee bad decided upon tho name of "State" to indioato the oomponont parts of tho Commonwealth. THE I/BQISI.ATDRB, The Bill provides that the short title shall be "Tho Commonwealth of Australia." Her Majesty the Quoon has power to proolaim tho Commonwealth not later than six months after tho passing of tho Bill. Tho Federal CoQiioil Aot is repealed, and tho legislative power vested in the Queen, Senate, and House of Representatives. The GovernorGeneral to be appointed by the Crown at a salary not less than £10,000 per annum, which is not to be diminished during his term of offloo. The Qovernor-Qonoral is empowered to fix the time of the first and every session of Parliament, and to prorogue or dissolve Parliament. The first Parliament must be called together not later than six months after the establishment of tho Commonwealth. Annual sessions are to ba held, and membora of both Houses are to have the immunities enjoyed by members of the House of Commons until the Federal Parliament defines the immunities. Tho Senate shall consist of eight mombers from eaah State, who shall be ohoaen by the Legislatures in sesaion. Eaoh Sanator to have one vote The failure of any Stato to provide for its representation in tho Senate ia not to affeot the lattar'a powor or despatch of business. Tho Sonators from auoh State aro to be divided into two olassos, tli o first olass to retiro after three yours aorvioe, and the second class at tho end of tbo sixth year, ao that one-half may bo ohosen every third year. In the event of a vacanoy ocoumng during the recess the Governor of the State has power to nominate a Senator till Parliament meets, and suob Senator ohoson to fill a vacancy is only to ait for the unexpired torm. The qualification lor the Senate is five years' residence, and no person shall be eligible who shall not havo attained to the age of thirty yeara/-One-third of the members to form a quorum in the Senate, and all questions arising in that Chamber to be determined by a majority of votes. The President in all oases to be entitled to vote, and when the votes are equal on any question it shall pass as a negative. The Bill enacts that members of the House of Representatives aro to be eleoted for the term of three years, and that the minimum number of representatives of eaoh colony ■hall be four. The qualification of member to be the same as at present exists. When in any State, the people of any raoe not entitled by law to vote at eleotiomi are far more numerous than those entitled to vote for the House of Representative!, the State representation of that State in the House of Representatives shall be reduood by the proportion which the number of people of that raoe in the State boars to the whole number of people in the State. When, upon the appointment of representatives, it is found that after dividing the number of people In the State by the number of members to whioh it is entitled, there remains a ■orpins greater than one half of saoh number, suoh State shall have one additional member. The apportionment of representatives is left open, andafreshapportionmentmuatbe made after eaoh oensus, whioh is to bo taken at intervals of not moro than ton years. Tho oleotoral divisions are to be determined by the different States. The qualification for a member is that he be of the age of 21, and an elector. A senator is disqualified from Bitting in the House. One-third of the members to constitute a quorum, and in oases of equal voting the Speaker is to have a casting vote. Fart 4 of the Constitution Bill makes provisions relating to both branohes of the Legislature. The members of both Houses are to be paid .£5OO per annum. The remainder of the section defines the nature of disqualifications and penalties, and gives power to both Houses to pass standing orders. POWERS or PABLIAMENT. Part 5 defines the powers of Parliament With the exoeption of money Bills and appropriation Bills (whioh are separately dealt with specially), they are the same aa those contained in the report of the Finance Committee previously telegraphed, with the addition of the following : — Fisheries in Australian watora beyond territorial limits, census statistics, naturalisation of aliens, status in the Commonwealth of foreign corporations and of corporations formed? in any State, marriage and divorce, the servioe and execution of oivil and oriminal process, judgments of the Court of one State in another, State recognition of laws, public records and judicial proceedings of one State m another State ; emigration, immigration, inlux of criminals, external affairs and treaties, the relations of the Commonwealth to the Islands in the Paoifio, and oontrol of railways with respect to transport for the purposes of the Commonwealth. Parliament is also to have exolnaive powers of legislation respaoting the affaire of any speoialraoe, suob legislation not being applioable to the general community or to aboriginal raoos, and the Government of any territory whioh may by the surrender of any Stato and the aooeptanoe of Parliament become the aeat of Government of the Commonwealth ; and Bhall exeroise a like authority over all plaoes acquired by the Commonwealth with the conaont of the Parliament of the State in whioh tho plaoe is situated, for the construction of for' *, maganines, arsenals, dookyarda, quarantine stations, or for any other purposes of general conoern and for matters relating to any department or departments of the public aervioe, oontrol of which shall be transferred to the Exeontive Government of Commonwealth. Money Bills appropriating revenue and imposing taxation must originate in the House. The Senate to have equal power tc the House in respect to all proposed lawi exoept laws imposing taxation and law* appropriating nooeasary supplies for the ordinary annual aervioos of the Government, whioh the Senate may affirm or reject, but not amend ; but the Senate may not amend any proposed law in such mannor as tc increase any proposed oharge or burden or the people 2. Laws imposing taxation ■hall deal with the imposition of taxatior only. 3. Laws imposing taxation, exoept lawa imposing duties of Customs on imports, ■hall deal with one subjeot of taxation only. 4. Expenditure for servioeß other thar ordinary annual services of the Government shall not be authorised by the same law ac that whioh appropriates supplies for auoh ordinary annual services, but shall be authorised by separate law or laws. 5. In oase of a proposed law whioh Sonate may not amend, the Senate may at any Btage return it to the House, with a message requesting the omission or amendment of any items or provisions therein, and tho Honee may, if it think fit, make auoh omissions or amendments, or any of them, with oi without modifications, as it is not lawful fot the Honse to pass any rote, resolution, or law for appropriation of any part of public revenue or of produoo of any tax or impost to any purpose that has not been first recommended to tho Honse by a message from tho Governor • General in session, in whioh vote thereaolution or law is proposed. The Governor-General may return anj law lent him for the Queen's assent, with any amendments whioh he may desire to be made. Parliament may deal with auoh amendments as it thinks fit. EXECUTIVE OOTIRNMENT. Exeoutive Government. — The GovernorGeneral is vested with power to appoint offioera to administer the departmrnts of State, such officers to hold office during the pleasure of the Governor-Genei al, and oapablo of being ohoson and sitting as the mombers of either Hou,se— suoh Ministers not to oxqeed seven in number, and their total salaries not to amonnt in the aggregate to over 416,000 annually. •THE CITIL SIBTICB. The appointment and removal of Civil servants is vestod in the Governor-General ip Counoil. The control of the following departments of the public service are to bo at once assigned and assumed to be taken over by the Exeoutive Government, and the Commonwealth shall assume the obligations of all or any State or States with reßpeot of anoh matters :— Customs and Exoise, Postal and Telegraph, Military and Naval Dofenoe, Ocean Beacons and Buoys, Ooean Lighthouses and Lightships, and Quarantine. Powers under c^iaiiujK Jaws to be exeroised by the GovernorGeneral, with or without the advioo of the Exeoutive Government as the oase may be. JUDICIAL. Judicature Committee.— The Parliament of the Commonwealth to have power to establish a Court called the Supreme Court of Australia, to consist of Chief Justice and ■o many other Justices (not less than four) as Parliament from time to time prescribes. The Parliament may also from time to time, •nb]eot to provisions of this Constitution, •itabheh other Courts. The Queen may in any oase in whioh the pnblio interests of the Commonwealth or of any Stato or another part of the Queon's dominions are concerned grant leave to appeal to herself in Counoil against any judgment of the Supremo Court of Australia. As regardß Judioial powers, the summary previously telegraphed holds good with the •xoeption of the admission of oounsel to praotice in courts of any State, about whioh no mention is made in the report. FINANCB AND TRADB. Eeflpeoting finanoe and trade, all dutiea and revenues from the Consolidated Fund appropriated for the publio service the Commonwealth shall have | power to levy The transfer of officers, transfer of lands and buildings, and collection of Customs and excise are also provided for. Interstate Freetrade is to commence on the establishment of a uniform tariff. The apportionment of surplus rovorme and consolidation of publio debts are on the lines laid down in tiv> financial report. Parliament is granted power of prohibiting or annulling any law or regulation by any State derogatory to freedom of trade. FIPIRAL 6TATIB. Chapter 5 is devoted to the States, a»4 provides for the conservation of existing powers of the ooloniea not vested by the present Bill in the Commonwealth. All laws in force in any coloniea relating to any matters deolared by this Constitution to

bo within the legislative powers of the Parlinmonfc of the Common woa lth shall, except as otborwieo provided by this Constitution, continno in foroo in tho Statoa respectively, and may be repealed or altered by the Parliaments of States until other provisions are made on that behalf by the Parliament of the Commonwealth. When the law of a State is inconsistent with the law of the Commonwealth, the latter to prevail and the former to the extent of the inconsistency to be invalid. The powers of the present Governors of oolonieß to be preserved as far as possible. Governora of eaoh State will be provided for, but tho appointment left to eaoh State. Member* of the Sonato or House of Representatives cannotsit in the State Legislature and the Parliamont of the State is empowered to oede any part of the State to the Commonwealth. The State shall not impoße taxes or duties on imports or exports, except such as are necessary for executing inspection laws of States, and the net produce of taxes and duties shall be for the use of the Commonwealth, and any such inspection laws may ba annulled by the Commonwealth. The State shall not, without the consent of the Commonwealth, impose tonnage duos or raise and maintain military or'naval forces, or impose taxes on land or other property belong, in* to the Commonwealth. The State shall not coin money or make anything but gold or silver coin legal tender in payment of debt. It Bhall make no law prohibiting the free exoroise of any religion, _ and «hall not infringo tho privileges of oitizens of any other States, or deny any person within its jurisdiction equal protection of law ; fnll f *ith and credit to bo givon by eaoh State to tho laws of pnblic Aots, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. The Commonwealth shall protect every State against invasion, and on application to the Exeontive Government of the State, against domestio i violenoe. Every State to make provision for detention and punishment in its prisons of persons accused and oonviot«d of offences against the laws of the Commonwealth ; and the Parliament of the Commonwealth may make laws to give effect to this provision. NIW STATES. Chapter 0, is devoted to naw States, and provides that any existing colonies may, upon adopting the Constitution, be admitted to the Commonwealth, and Parliament shall have the power to admit new States, and make and impose conditions and regulations as it may think fit. The Commonwealth may make laws for the provisional government of territories plaoed by the Qaeen under the authority of tho Commonwealth, and the latter may, with the oonsent of the State, alter the limits of States. A new State shall not be formed by separation or by union of two States without the consent of all concerned. The Capital is to be decided upon by the Commonwealth, and until this is done the majority of the Governors of the different States are to determine a place of meeting. Any law for the amendment of the Constitution must be passed by an absolute majority of the Senate and House, and then submitted to Conventions eleoted by the electora of the Bovoral States. If the proposed amendments are approved by the Conventions of the majority of States they shall become law, subject to the Queen's assent, but an amendment by which the proportionate representation of any State in either Houbb of the Commonwealth is diminished shall not become law without the consent of the Convention of that State. After Sir S. Griffith had finished his explanation, the Convention adjourned until to-morrow morning.