FEDERAL COUNCIL ACT.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1790, 27 December 1883, Page 4

FEDERAL COUNCIL ACT.

TitK following is the full text of draft fodSfifl Coti'ucil Bill as it left' the committeee, and as it wis placed in the iMx&i of the printer aft >v the Convention Adjourned : — A BiH to Constitute a Federal Council Of Australasia. ' Whereas it is expedient to constitute n Federal Council of Australasia, for the purpose of dealing with sneh matters of common Australasian interests in respect to which united action is desirable as can be dealt with without interfering with the management of the internal alFairs of the several colonies by their respective Legislatures ; Be it enacted hy tlu> Queen's Mo3t Excellent Majesty, by and with the consent of her Lords spiritual and temporal in this present Parliament assembled, ami by the authority of the same, as follows : — I, In this Act, unless the context otherwise require, the following terms shall btar tho meaning set opposite them respectively. "Colonies/ — The cofonfes of Fiji, New Zealand, New South Wales, ' Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia ; and the provinces oi South Australia, and their respective dependencies. "Her Majesty's posses- | sions, in Australasia"— The colonies and their dependencies, and such othei territories as Her Majesty may from time Ito time declare by proclamation. " Council"— The Federal Council as hereby constituted. " Governor"— The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or, officer administering the government of the colony referred to with the advice of his Executive Council, except in the case of Crown colonies in Avhich case the word shall mean the Governor alone. . .jThevo shall be in avid for Her i Majesty's fcosscssiQus in Australasia a "Federal Council to be constituted as hereinafter provided, and to be called the Federal Council of Australasia, and which shall have tho functions, powers, and authority hereinafter defined. 3. Within such possessions Hei Majesty shall have power, by ana w ith the consent of the Council, to make laws for the purposes hereinafter specified. 4. A session of the* Council shall be held once at least in every year. 5. Each colony shall be repiesented in the Council by two members, except in the case of Crown colonies, which shall be represented by one member each. 6. The Legislature of any colony may make such provision as it thinks fit for the appointment of the representatives of that colony, and for determining the tenure of their office. 7. In the absence of any such piovision the members may be appointed by the Governor by commission under las hand and the seal of the colony, and the members so appointed shall hold office during the pleasure of the ( Jovei nor. 8. The Council shall be summoned and prorogued by the Governor of the colony in which the session is held, and bhall be summoned and prorogiud by proclamation published in the Government Gazette of each of the colonies, and .shall meet at such time and at such place as shall be named in the proclamation. !J. The Governor ot each colony shall fioin time to time transmit to the Governors of the other colonies the names of the members appointed to lepiesent the colony of which he is Governor. 10. Notwithstanding any vacancy in the representation ot any colony the Council shall be competent to piocecd to the despatch ot business, and to exeicito theautlioiity hcicby con fen ed upon it. 11. At the request of the Governors of any three of the colonies a special session of the Council shall be summoned to deal with such special matters as m iy be mentioned in the pioclaination convening it, and until the Council shall make other provision every special session «.hall be summonod by the Governor of Tasmania, in the mode hereinbefore piovuled, and shall be held in Hobarr. 12. The Council shall in each session elect one of its membeis to be picsidcnt. la. The presence of a majouty of the whole number of members of the Council, representing a majority of the colonies for the time being, shall be neeessiry to constitute a quoinm for the despatch of businpss, and all question winch shall arise in the C muoil shall be decided by the votes of a majority of tho members present14r. No member of the Council shall sit or vote until he shall have taken and subscribed the following oath before the Governor of one of the colonies : — I, do swear that I will be faithful and bear tine allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Yictoiia, her heirs and successor, nccotding to law. So help me God. Takei- and subscribed befoie me, this day of one thousand eight hundred and . And whensoever the demise of Her present Majesty (whom may God long preserve) or of any of hei successors to the Crown of the said United Kingdom shall be notified to the Council, the members of the Council shall, before they shall be permitted to further sit and \otc therein, take and subset ibe the like oath of allegiance to the successor tor the time being to the Crown : Provided that every member authorised by the law ot the colony which he represents to make an affirmation instead of taking an oatli may make such affirmation instead of the oath hereby requited to he taken. ].l. Saving Her Majesty's preiogativc the Council shall have legislate cautboiity over all Her Majesty's possessions in Australasia, and so far as may be nccessaiy over all British ships sailing between them in lespect to the seveial matters following :—: — a. Matters alFecting the relations of Austialia with the inlands of the Pacific. b. Prevention of the influx of criminals. c. Marriage and divorce. d. Naturalisation and aliens. c. Fisheries in Australasian waters beyond ten itoiial limits. ./'. Status of corporations and joint stock companies. g. Tho service of civil processess of the Courts of any colony within the Australasian possessions out of the jurisdiction of the colony in >\ Inch it was issued. h. The enforcement of judgements of Courts of law of one colony in another. I. The enforcement of ciiminal process beyond the limits of the colon}' in which it is issued, and the extradition of criminal o fie riders (including deserters of wives and children.) ,/. Deserters from the Imperial or colo uidl naval or military forces, /•. .Such of the following mattets as maj be referred to in the Council by the Legislatures of any two or more colonies, vi/. :— General defences, within or without territorial limits ; qu.nantine, patents, copyrights, bills of exchange, uuifoi mity of weights and measuies, and any other matter of general Australasian interest, with respect to which the Legislatures of the several colonies can legislate within their own limits, and as to which it is desirable that there should be a law of geneial application. Piovidcd that the authority of tlie Council shall extend only to colonies by whose Legislatures the matter shall have been so referred to it, and to such colonies as may afterwards submit to it.

16. The Governors of any two or more of the colonies may, upon an adress of the legislature of such colonies, refer for the consideration and determination of the Council any questions relating to those colonies or their relations with one another, and the Council shall thereupon have authority tcfinquite 'into, consider, and determine by Act, the matters so referred to ifc. 17. Every Bill passed by the Council shail be presented to the Governor for Her Majesty's asent, to the Governqyj of the Colonyjn, which the Council sl.mll be sitting, bo "shall declare, according to his disprelfQn^Jbiit.auVjept to #i,e proves- " ions of upV &$ It fa , he? Malay's iuctruotiop*, vttiw ibt he «wc«t« tl»pfet<)

in Her Majesty's name, or that lie withholds such a3SP.nfc, ok that .hoireserves the Bill for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure, or that he wilL.ho, ptepared io assert thereto subject to certain amend-, incuts to ho specified hy him. 18. Where anch Governor assent? to, h Bill in Her Majesty'? name, he shall, by the first convenient opportunity, send aii authentic copy of the Act to one o' Her Majesty's piincipul Secretaries of Stat", and if lier Majesty, within oiv year after receipt thereof by the Secretary of State, thinks fit to disallow the Act, such disallowance (with a certificate of the Seetetary of State of the day of which thp Act was received by him) heing signified hy the Governor by speed) orm'wage to the Cmnoil or hy urocl.imation, shall annul the Act from and alter the day of such signification. 19. A Bill reserved for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure shall not have any force unless and until, within two years from the day on which it wns presented to the Governor for Her 1 Majesty's assent, such Governor signifies, by speech or message to the Council or by proclamation, that it has received the assent of Her Majesty. 20. All Acts of the Council, on being assented to in manner hereinbefore provided, shall have the force of law in ail Her Majesty's possessions in Australasia, or in the several colonies which they may effect, as the case may be. 21. Every such Act shall he tiansmitted by the Governor assenting thereto to the Governors of the several colonies affected thereby, and shall be proclaimed by them within their respective colonies. 22. Tf in any case the provisions of any Act of the Council shall be repugnant to, or inconsistent with, the law of any colony affected thereby, the former shall prevail, and the latter shall, .so far as such repugnance or inconsistency ex tench have no opeiation. 23. The Council may from time to time make and adopt such standing rules and ordcisas maybe necessary for the conduct of its business, and all buch rules and orders shall be binding on the membeife of tne Council. I 24. The Council may appoint temi poiarv, or permanent committees of its j membeis, to perform such duties, whether during the session of the Council or when the Council is not in session as may be referred to them by the Council. 23. The Council ma,y appoint such officers and servants as may be necessary for the proper conduct of its business, and may direct the payment to them of such remuneration as it may think fit. 20. The necesjaaryexpenditure incurred by the Council, or' in carrying out its directions, shall be defiayed, in the first instance by the colony wherein the expenditure is incurred, and shall be ultimately contubuted and paid by the seveial colonies in proportion to their population. The amounts payable by the several colonies shall ho assessed and apportioned, in case of difference, by the < ro\ ernor of the colony of Tasmania. 27. It shall be the duty of the Governor ot such colony to diieot the payment by the Colonial Tieasurcr or other proper oflicor of that colony of the amount of the eontiUmtion p.ij able by such colony under the provisions of the preceding section. 25. Whenever it shall he necessary to pi ove the proceedings of the Council in any Court of justice, or otherwise, a cci tided copy of such proceedings, under the hand of the cl^i k or other officer appointed in tliat behalf by the Council, shall lie conclusive evidence of the proceeding appearing by such copy to have been li.nl or taken. •2!). The Council may make such representations or lecommmdations to Her Majesty as it may think fit with respect to any mattcis of genet al Australasian inteiests, or to the relations of Her Majesty's possessions in Australia witli the possessions of foieign Powers. 30. That this Act shall not come into opeiation in ic&pect of any colony until the Logislatuic of such colony shall have passed an Act o." oidinance declaring that the same shall be in frice theiein, and appointing a day on and from which such opeiation shall take effect, nor until four colonies at the least shall ha\e passed snch Ac*. 31. The Act shall be styled and may be cited as "The Federal Council of Austiala&ia Act 1884,"

TEKKIULK SCKFKJiTNO OV A iSllirwrkokki) Cui'.w. — The steamer Victoria, which has arrived at Liverpool from Bombay, brought seven of the crew of the steamer Knight of the Bath, which was wrecked oft the Arabian coast, and by which sixteen of the crew perished. The Knight of the Bath stiuck on a rock on the 17th of June, (Tvo days after leaving bombay for Havre. The weather at the time was of a most fearful nature, and when th j first boat was being lowered it struck with great force again*t the side of the vessel, and one of the occupants became so alarmed that he jumped into the sea and was drowned. The boat afterwards cleared oft' the vessel, and another boat was got ready. The sea made a clean breach over the vessel, and irom time to time carried many of the crew with it. Captain T. Williams commanded the Knight of the Bath, and his brother was boastwin. The two men shook hands and bade each other goodbye, the boatswain, who was a powerful swimmer, saying lie would go ovc the stem and make a swim for it. This lie did ; but he was never afteiwaids seen Captain Williams* was washed overboard, but managed to keep himself afloat until picked np about half an hour afterwards by one of the boats. Some of the crow leniained on boaid, but were washed ovei board and drowned. After being two days in boats withoutanything to eat, the men landed at Kooria Mooria Island to get water from a creek. There was no sign of life at the spot where the men landed, but \\ hen they had all got on shore, between one and two hunched natives surrounded thorn, and instantly set about divesting the whole of the crew of their clothing. The islanders were armed with swords and knives, and the crew arc of opinion that they would have fared very much worse had it not been for the intervention of the native women. The crew wanted to leach Muscat, a town some three or four hundred miles distant. They were without shoes, and having to walk on the sharp pointed coral and other substance, their feet became lacerated. For four days no food passed their lips, and the poor fellows were forced to eat raw sand crabs. Meeting some friendly fishei man they got some seed from them, but it was not sufficient for the seventeen men, Thinking that better and safer progress could bo made by water than by land the crew took three fishsrmen's canoes which they found on the beach, but no sooner had they got afloat than the canoes either capsized or became filled with water, causing the men to abandon the attempt. The fishermen were extremely kind to the unfortnnate men, and kept them for forty-five days, sharing with them their vice, seeds, and sh-rk. The steamer Amberwitch at last came along the coast, and brought the seventeen survivors to Bombay. >

Oxk Shim,inu. — Francis ,T. Sliortts' Popular Art Union.— Ten iiist-ciass Oil Paintings by celebrated artisN. 5000 tickets at Is. Hie prizes are magnificent and costly. Country subscribers sending stamps or otherwise will havo tickets by return post. Enclose stamped envelope for reply .—-Fkancis J. Shokti, 140, Queen-r.treet, Auckland.— [Advt.]

Rats asv Mice. —lf you wish to destroy them get a packet of Hill'sMagicVhrmin i Kir,i.i'.R in packets, Cd, 9d, and Is, to be obtained ef all storekeepers, or from T. B. Hill by enclnsfng an extra stamp.

1 Lifb in the Btrsir— Then 1 and Now.— It is generally supppsed that in the bush we have to put up with many discomforts and privations in the .shape ot food, l( Formerly it was so, bull now, thanks to T. B, ,Hiix, who has himself dwelt' in the bush, If food does consist chiefly of tinned meat* his Coi.<?Nf al Saiicu gives to them a most delectable* flavour^ making' them as well , of the plainest, food roost enjoyable, j and instead | as hard biscuits and indigrcf tiblc damper his Improvbd Colonial'Bakzng Powdbr makes the .very besj breftd.cswneji.j.cakejj,^and^pastr^r farand 'moro'whojje^ome thah s yeast of i leaven, Sold by' %\\ itbrekeepe>i who 929 ob.;