PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
لتسلسلها
Reference :-
C.O.885
14 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO
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That the meaning of the word "council" in such proviso had been declared by 25 Vict. c. 11. 8. 2. to be limited to the Legislative Councils specified in the section, and that consequently the proviso did not affect Bills passed by the Legislature of New South Wales as now constituted.
That the Act 18 & 19 Vict. c. 54. after authorising Her Majesty in Council to assent to the New South Wales reserved Bill contained in the schedule to the Act (which had been passed under the authority of section 32 of 13 & 14 Vict. c. 59.), enacted (by section 3) that the provisions of 13 & 14 Vict. c. 59. and 5 & 6 Viot. c. 76. which relate to the giving and withholding of Her Majesty's assent to Bills, and the reservation of Bills for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure thereon, should apply to Bills to be passed by the Legislative Council and Assembly constituted under the said reserved Bill and that Act, and by any other Legislative body or bodies which might at any time thereafter be substituted for that Legislative Council and Assembly, and that the same Act by section 4 empowered the Legislature of New South Wales to make laws altering or repealing all, or any, of the provisions of the şaid reserved Bill in the same manner as any other laws for the good government of the said Colony, subject, however, to the conditions imposed by the said reserved Bill in certain particulars until and unless the said conditions should be repealed or altered by the authority of the said Legislature.
That the said reserved Bill, now the Constitution Act of New South Wales, by section 15, empowered the Legislature of the Colony by any Act or Acts to alter the con- stituencies represented in the Legislative Assembly and the number of representatives to be chosen in and for the Colony, and in and for the several electoral districts in the same, but with a proviso that no Bill by which the number or apportionment of representatives in the Legislative Assembly might be altered should be presented to the Government for Her Majesty's assent unless the second and third reading should have been passed by certain majorities in the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, but that this section did not require Bills passed under it to be reserved.
That section 36 of the New South Wales Constitution Act gave powers to alter the provisions and laws relating to the Legislative Council, subject to a proviso requiring any Bill for that purpose to be passed by certain majorities and to be reserved for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure, and to be laid before both Houses of the Imperial Parliament for 30 days at least before Her Majesty's pleasure thereon should be signified.
That the requirements of sections 15 and 36 of the New South Wales Constitution as to Bills passed under those sections being passed by certain majorities in the Council and Assembly were repealed by the New South Wales Act, 20 Vict., No. 10, which was reserved and assented to by Her Majesty by Order in Council.
That the doubt as to the validity of the Act, No. 38 of 1893, arose from the question whether, under the combined effect of section 31 of 5 & 6 Vict. c. 76. and section 3 of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 54., the Act in question, which altered the electoral districts to be represented in the Legislative Assembly and the number of members of the Assembly to be chosen by such districts, was required to be reserved for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure.
That it would be observed that in section 3 of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 54. the words, "and "the Bills so reserved" which occur in section 12 in 13 & 14 Vict. c. 59. were omitted, and it was suggested that this omission showed that it was not intended to apply to the Bills of the Legislature of New South Wales as constituted under 18 & 19 Vict. c. 54. the provisions of 5 & 6 Vict. c. 76. which specified the class of Bills which must be reserved.
That it was also submitted that section 4 of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 54. by making special provision for Acts altering the provisions of the scheduled Bill (now the Constitution Act of New South Wales) impliedly excluded such Acts from the operation of the provisions of 5 & 6 Vict. c. 76. requiring the reservation of Bills of that description.
That an Act passed by the Legislature of New South Wales, viz., the Electoral Act, 1880, which was repealed by the Act now in question, was not reserved but that the Governor before assenting to it had been instructed to do so; that the Act was, therefore, assuming 5 & 6 Vict. c. 76. s. 31. to apply to it, validated by 7 & 8 Vict.
c. 74.
That similar Acts of the Legislature of Victoria constituted under 18 & 19 Viet. c. 55. (the provisions of which were almost identical with those of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 54.), and the reserved Victoris Bill scheduled to that Act had been assented to by the Governor without being reserved and had been acted upon for some years past.
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of 1862, March 25.
1862, April 12. 1863, May 13.
1871, July 28. 1878, Ang. 10.
That as bearing upon the question we were referred to the Law Officers' Reports the dates shown in the margin.
That the Royal Instructions to the Governor of New South Wales did not impose 1864, Bept. 28. any restrictions upon his assenting to Bills altering the Constitution Act.
That the distribution of the Colony into electoral districts under the Act No. 38 of 1893 had been completed and a proclamation had been issued under section 3 fixing the 5th of October 1893 as the date on which the unrepealed sections of the Electoral Act, 1890, should stand repealed, and that it was intended to hold an election under the Act of 1893 in March.
That it was therefore desirable that, if that Act was invalid through omission to comply with the requirements of an Act of Parliament, steps should be taken to validate it ab initio by Imperial legislation as early as possible.
That we were requested to advise your Lordship
1. Whether the New South Wales Act No. 38 of 1893 ought to have been reserved for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure.
2. If so, whether the effect of the omission to reserve it is to render it invalid.
3. If so, whether it would be proper to introduce a Bill in Parliament for the purpose of validating it, similar to the Acts 25 Vict. c. 11. and 26 & 27 Vict. c. 84.
We have taken the matter into our consideration, and, in obedience to your Lord- ship's commands, have the honour to
That in our opinion-
Report-
1. The Act of 1893 ought to have been reserved for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure.
2. That not having been so reserved it has no validity.
3. It would be proper to introduce a Bill to validate it.
That assent of Her Majesty now given might operate to render the Act valid as from the signification of the assent in the Colony in manner provided by section 33 of the Act of 1842, but would not have a retrospective effect so as to render valid what has. already been done under the Act. For this purpose legislation is necessary, and the form of the validating Bill might follow, in substance, the Act of 1862 (25 Vict. c. 11.).
The Most Hon.
The Marquess of Ripon, K.G.,
&c.
&c.
&c.
We have, &c.
(Signed)
C. RUSSELL. JOHN RIGBY.
* Nos. 108, 110, 181, and 275 in Vol. I.; 720 in Vol. II.; 179 and 185 in Vol. III.
1878, Sept. 18.