CO885-(11-13) — Page 132

5508.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

mwimmi

Reference :-

C.O. 885

11 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO

MY LORD,

No. 826.

(TASMANIA.)

(SOUTH AUSTRALIA.)

LAW OFFICERS. to COLONIAL OFFICE.

We are honoured with your Lordship's commands signified in Mr Holland's

Temple, May 30, 1873. letter of the 29th instant, stating that he was directed by your Lordship to transmit to us a copy of the "Australian Colonies Duties Act, 1873," which had just received the Royal Assent, and by which the Legislature of any one of those Colonies is enabled, for the purpose of carrying into effect any agreement between any two or more of them, to make laws with respect to duties upon the importation of articles specified in the Act.

2. That he was to transmit to us a copy of a paper presented to Parliament on the 10th June 1872, upon the Intercolonial Tariff arrangements of the Australian Colonies, and to call our attention to the Bills passed by the Legislatures of Tasmania and South Australia upon the subject of such Intercolonial Tariff arrangements, but reserved by the respective Governors of those Colonies for Her Majesty's Assent. That these Bills would be found at pp. 44 and 53.

3. That it would be seen that these Bills were passed in 1870 and 1871, but Her Majesty could not be advised to assent to them so long as the provisions of the Australian Colonies Government Act (13 & 14 Vict. c. 59. s. 27.) were in force, by which the imposition of differential duties were prohibited.

4. That this prohibition having been removed by the Imperial Act which has just passed, the question arose whether Her Majesty could properly be advised to assent to the Bills passed by the Colonial Legislatures.

5. That looking at the provision of those Bills, it was apprehended that such assent could be given if they had been passed after the coming into operation of the Imperial Act of the present Session, and the question for our consideration, and upon which your Lordship requested us to favour you with our opinion, was whether the fact that they were passed by the Colonial Parliaments before the Imperial Act came into opera- tion prevented Her Majesty from assenting to the Bills, and thus bringing them into operation, although the Imperial Act had now sanctioned such legislation by the Colonial Parliaments.

And that he (Mr. Holland) was to request us to report at our early convenience, as it would be necessary to communicate with the Australian Colonies by the next mail.

I

In obedience to your Lordship's commands we have the honour to—

Report

We are of opinion that Her Majesty cannot properly assent to the Bills in question. The Colonial Legislature had at the time the Bills were passed no power to pass them, and the recent Imperial Act does not repeal the prohibition against passing such Bills ab initio, but merely authorises the Legislature of the Colonies to pass such Bills in future.

The Right Hon. the Earl Kimberley.

We have, &c.

(Signed)

J. D. COLERIDGE. G. JESSEL.

U 16278-835. 25.-5,86.