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THE BILL. DEAFT OF A BILL TO CONSTITUTE THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTEALIA. Peeamble. Wheeeas the people of [Bere name the colonies which have adopted the Constitution], humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God, have agreed to unite in one indissoluble federal commonwealth 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 thebefoee enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons, in the present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows : — I. This Act may be cited as " The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act." 11. This Act shall bind the Crown, and its provisions referring to the Queen shall extend to Her Majesty's heirs and successors in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom. 111. It shall be lawful for the Queen, with the advice of the Privy Council, to declare by Proclamation that, on and after a day therein appointed, not being later than one year after the passing of this Act, the people of [Here name the colonies which have adopted the Constitution] 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 Governor-General for the Commonwealth. IV. 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. V. This Act, and all laws made by the Parliament of the Commonwealth under the Constitution, shall be binding on the Courts, Judges, and people of every State and of every 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, the Queen's ships of war excepted, whose first port of clearance and whose port of destination are in the Commonwealth. VI. "The Commonwealth" shall mean the Commonwealth of Australia as established under this Act. " Colony " shall mean any colony or province. " The States " 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

EXPLANATION. (By Dr. Quick, Delegate to Convention.) A "Commonwealth" means a political community organized and united for the purposes of • self-government. The term "Dominion of Australia," or "United States of Australia," might, with equal propriety, have been selected, but as the name "Commonwealth" was selected by the Convention of 1891, on the recommendation of Sir Henry Parkes, it has been generally accepted as sufficiently comprehensive and appropriate to designate the Federal Union of Australia. The preamble sounds the key-note of the Imperial statute which will clothe the Constitution with the form of law. It recites that the people of the Australian colonies have agreed to unite in an indissoluble Commonwealth under the Crown, and that in so doing they humbly rely on the blessing of Almighty God. It further recites that provision should be made for the admission of other colonies. Several distinct and important affirmations are here expressed—(l) The agreement of the people to unite ; (2) the nature of the union; (3) the permanence and indissolubility of the union ; (4) its relation to the Crown ; (5) reliance on Divine Providence ; (6) confidence in the future expansion of the Commonwealth. These are the enacting, ordaining, and establishing words of the Imperial Parliament, whose authority alone is sufficient to create the Commonwealth. Sections I. to VIII. Sections I. to VIII. are the " covering sections " of the Imperial Act, providing that on a day to be appointed by Eoyal Proclamation, issued within twelve months from the passing of the Act, the people of the concurring colonies shall be united in a federal constitution under'the name of "The Commonwealth of Australia." Three stages in the erection of the Commonwealth must be observed—(l) The passing of the Imperial Act; (2) issue of proclamation ; (3) a day therein appointed. The Commonwealth is established on the day so appointed. At any time after the passing of the Act the Parliaments of the concurring colonies may pass any laws which they are authorised to pass under the Constitution, such as electoral machinery laws, &c, so the Governor-General may be appointed at any time after the proclamation. Upon his arrival in the Commonwealth he will appoint his first Administration ; with their advice he will proceed to take over certain departments, and hold the first election under the Constitution. The Act binds the Crown, and so abridges the prerogative where so expressed. The Act and laws made thereunder bind the Judges and the people of the States and of the Commonwealth, and are in force on British ships, with certain limitations. "The States " are defined as part of the Commonwealth, and "original States" are those States forming part of the Commonwealth at its establishment. "The Federal Council Act, 1895," and the Colonial Boundaries Act are repealed.