THE FEDERAL CONVENTION.

Evening Star, Issue 8478, 1 April 1891, Page 4

THE FEDERAL CONVENTION.

The Convention resumed its sittings yes' terday afternoon :

DEATH OF MB MABROSSAN. Mr M'Millan (New South Wales) feelingly referred to the death of Mr J. M. Maorossan, one of the Queensland delegates, which took place last night, and moved to reoord the great loss Australia and the Convention had sustained. Sir S. Griffiths said no man had a wider knowledge of the subject of federation than the deceased gentleman, whose death was a national loss.

The motion was carried. THE CONSTITUTIONAL COMMITTEE'S REPORT. Sir S. Griffiths brought cp the report and appendices of the Constitutional Committee, and moved that the report and Bill be referred to a committee of the whole Convention. He explained the reasons whioh had led them to the framing of the Bill with the title of '* Commonwealth," which he thought would be regarded as a most natural and proper name. The Committee had decided upon the name of " State" in order to indicate the component parts of the commonwealth.

THE CONSTITUTION BILL. The Bill provides that the short title shall be "The Commonwealth of Australia.' Her Majesty the Queen has power to proclaim a commonwealth not later than six months after the passing of the Bill. The Federal Council Act is repealed. Legislative power is vested in the Queen, Senate, and House of Representatives. The Governor-General to be appointed by the Crown at a ealary of not less than LIO.OOO per annum, which is not to be diminished during the term of office. The Governor-General 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 the commonwealth. Annual sessions are to be held, and members of both Houses are to have the immunities enjoyed by members of the House of Commons until the Federal Parliament defines the immunities. . The Senate shall consist of eight members from each State, and be chosen by the Legislatures in session; each senator to have one vote, and to be elected for six years. The failure o[ any State to provide for its representation in the Senate is not to affect the latter's power and despatch of business. Senators from each State are to be divided into two classes. The first class is to retire after three years' service, and the second class at the end of the sixth year, so that one-half may be chosen every third year. In the event of a vacancy occurring during a recess, the Governor in State has power to nominate a senator till Parliament meets, and such senator chosen to fill the vacancy is only to sit for the unexpired term. The qualification for the Senate is five years' residence, and no person shall be eligible who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years. One-third of the members to form a quorum in the Senate, and all questions of sitting of that Chamber to be determined by a majority of votes, the president in all cases to be entitled to a vote, and when the votes are equal on any question he shall possess a negative vote. The Bill enact 3 that members of the House of Representatives are to be elected for a term of three years, and that the minimum number of representatives oi each colony shall be four. The qualifications of members to be the same as at present exists. When in any State the people of any race not entitled by law to vote at the elections are more numerous than those entitled to vote for the House of Representatives, that State's number of representatives shall be reduced in proportion to the number of the people of auch race in the State. When upon the Appointment of representatives it is found after dividing the number of people in a State by the number of members to which it is entitled there remains a surplus greater than one-half of such number, such State shall have one additional member. The apportionment of representatives is left open, and a fresh apportionment must be made after each census, which is to be taken at intervals of more than ten years. Electoral divisions are to be determined by the different States. The qualification for a member is that he be of the age of twenty-one and an ejector. A isnator is disqualified from sitting in the House. One-third of members to constitute a quorum, and in cases of equal voting the Speaker is to have a casting vote. Part 4 of the Constitution BUI makes provision relating to hsth branches of the Legislature. The members of both Houses are to be paid LSOO per annum. The remainder of the section defines the nature of disqualifications and penalties, and gives power to feoth Houses to pass standing orders. Part 5 defines the powers of Parliament with tha exception of money Bills and appropriation Bills (which are separately dealt with specially), and are the same as those contained in the report of the Finance Committee previoasly telegraphed, with the addition of the following:—Fisheries ia Australian waters beyond territorial limits, census, Bt&tistics, naturalisation of aliens, status in the commonwealth of foreign corporations and of corporations formed in any State, marriage and divorce, mail service, executions, civil and criminal process, the judgment of a court of one State in another iJtate, recognition of laws, public ye.oords, the judicial proceedings of one State in another, State emigration, immigration, influx of criminals, external affairs and treaties, relations of the commonwealth to the islands in the Pacific, control of railways with respect to transport for purposes of the commonwealth.

Parliament is also to have exclusive powers of legislation respecting the affairs of any raes, such legislation not being applicable to the general community or to aboriginal races, and the government of any territory which may by the surrender of any State and the acceptance of Parliament become the seat of Government. The commonwealth will exercise like authority over all places acquired by the commonwealth, with the consent of the Parliament of the State in wnioh the places are situated, for the construction of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, quarantine stations, or for any other purposes of general concern; matters relating to any department or departments of the public service, the control of which is transferred to the Executive Government of the commonwealth.

aloney Billa (appropriation of revenue or itawuag taxation) which originate in the House.—The Senate to have equal power to the House in respect to all proposed laws appropriating necessary supplies for ordinary annual services of the Government which the Senate may affirm or reject, but not amend ; but the Senate may net amend any proposed law in such a manner as to increase a*y proposed charge or burden en the peopls; (2) laws imposing taxation shall deal with the imposition of taxation only ; <3) laws imposing taxation except laws imposing duties of Customs on imports shall deal with one subject of taxation only; (4) expenditure for services other than ordinary annual services of Government shall not be authorised by the same law as that which appropriates supplies for such ordinary annual services, but shall be authorised by separate law or laws; {§) in case of a proposed law which the Senate may not amend the Senate may at any stage return it to the House with a message requesting an omission or amendment of any of the items or provisions therein, and the Honse may, if it thinks fit, make such omissions or amendments to any of than with or without notification. It is aot lawful for the House to pass any vote, resolution, or law for the appropriation of any part of the public revenue or the produce of any tax or impost to any purpose that has not been first recommended to the House by message from the Governor-General in the session in which the vote, resolutions, or law is proposed. The Governor-General may return any law sent him for the Queen's assent with an amendment which he may desire to be made. Parliament may deal with such amendments as they think fit. Executive Government.-—The GovernorGeneral is vested with power to appoint officers to administer departments of state, «ach officers to hold office during the pleasure of the Governor-General, and to be capable of being chosen from and of those eitting as members of either House, such Ministers not to exceed Beven in number, and their total salaries not to amount in the aggregate to over L 15,000 annually. The

appointment and removal of civil servants is vested in the Governor-General-in-Counoil. The control of the following departments of the public service to be at once assigned and assumed to be taken over by the Exeoutive Government, and the commonwealth shall assume the obligations of any State or States with respect to such matters:— Customs, excise, postal and telegraph, military and naval defenoe, ocean beacons and buoyß, ocean lighthouses and lightships, and quarantine. The powers under existing laws to be exercised by the Governor-General, with or without the advice of the Executive Government, as the c&Be may be. Judicature Committee.—The Parliament of the commonwealth to have power to establish a court, called the Supreme Court of Australia, to consist of a Chief Justice and so many other justices (not less than four) as Parliament from time to time prescribes. Parliament may also from time to time, subject to the provisions of this constitution, establish other courts, The Queen may, in any case in whioh the public interests of the commonwealth or of any State or other part of the Queen's dominions are concerned, may grant le*ve to appeal to herself in Council against any judgment of the Supreme Court of Australia it regards judicial powers. The report of the Judiciary Committee, previously telegraphed, holds good, with the exception of the admissiou of counsel to practise in tha oourts of any State about which no mention is made.

In the report respecting finance and trade all duties and revenms from the consolidated fund are appropriated for the public service, the commonwealth are to have the power to levy; also to control the transfer of officers', transfer of lands and buildings. Collection of Customs and excise, freetrade on the establishment of a uniform tariff apportionment of the surplus of revenue and consolidation of the public debts are on the lines laid down in the financial report. Parliament is granted the power of prohibiting or annulling any law or regulation by any State derogatory to the freedom of trade,

Chapter 3 is devoted to States, provides for the conservation of the existing powers of any colony not vested by the present Bill in the commonwealth. All laws in force in any colonies relating to any matters deolared by this constitution to he within the Legislative powers of the Parliament of the commonweath shall, except as otherwise provided by this constitution, continue in force in the States respectively; and may be repealed or altered by the parliaments of the States until other provision is made on that behalf by the Parliament of the commonwealth. When the law of the State is inconsistent with the law of the commonwealth, the latter to prevail on the former to the extent of the inconsistency. The powers of the present Governors of the colonies to be preserved as far as possible. The Governor of each State is provided for, but the appointment is left to each State. Members of the Senate or House of Representatives cannot sit in the State Legislature, and the Parliament of the State is made to cede any part of the State to the commonwealth. The State shall not impose taxes or dutits on imports or exports except such as are necessary for executing the inspection laws of State, and the net produce of taxes and duties shall be for the use of the commonwealth, and any such inspection laws may be annulled by the commonwealth. The State shall not, without the consent of the commonwealth, impose tonnage dues, or raise and maintain a military or naval force, or impose a tax on land, or other property belonging to the commonwealth. The State shall not coin money, or make anything but gold or silver coin legal tender in payment of debts. It shall make no laws prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and shall not infringe on the privi leges of citizens of any other States, or deny any person within its jurisdiction equal protection of lawful faith, credit is to be given in each State to the laws, public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. The commonwealth shall protect every State against invasion, and on application of the Executive to the Government of a State, against domestic violence. Every State is to make provision for the detention and punishment in its prison of persons acoused and convicted of offences against the laws of the commonwealth, and the Parliament of the commonwealth may make laws to give effect to this provision. Chapter 4 is devoted to new States, and provides that any existing colonies may, upon adopting this constitution, be admitted to the commonwealth, and Parliament shall have power to admit new States, and make and impose conditions and representations as it may think fit. The commonwealth may make laws for the provisional government of territories placed by the Queen under the authority of the commonwealth, and the latter may, with the consent of the State, alter the limits of States. A new State shall not be formed by separation or union of two States without the consent of all concerned.

The capital is to be decided by the commonwealth, and until such is done the majority of the Governors of the different States are to determine the 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 a convention selected by the electors of the several States. If the proposed amendments are approved by the convention of a majority of the States they shall become law, subject to the Queen's assent, but any amendments by which the proportionate representation of any State in either House 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 till this morning. __^____^_^__