crap. m1] THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA 965 
preside, and the rules of the Assembly shall prevail. Ministers 
may speak in either House, but can only vote in that House 
in which they have seats (s. 52). 
The Parliament is given plenary power of legislation for 
the Union,? subject to the requirement of the royal assent 
and the possibility of disallowance by the Crown. The 
Governor-General is to declare, according to his discretion, 
but subject to the provisions of the Act and also to the royal 
instructions, that he assents in the King’s name, or that he 
withholds assent, or that he reserves a Bill for the signification 
of the King’s pleasure. He may also return a Bill with 
amendments for the further consideration of the House in 
which it originated. The King may further disallow any 
Act within a year after the assent of the Governor-General, 
and such disallowance will, on being communicated to 
Parliament by speech or message or by proclamation, have 
offect as annulling the law. Similarly a reserved Bill must 
be assented to within a year of the time when it was presented 
to the Governor-General for the royal assent, or it will have 
no effect. These rules differ in one or two points from the 
established practice. They follow the example of the 
Commonwealth in leaving to the Governor-General’s discre- 
tion the question of reserving Bills, and in the original draft 
made no allusion to the possibility of instructions being 
given by the Crown to the Governor-General, a possibility 
expressly recognized in the British North America Act, 1867 
(s. 55), and in the Australian States Constitution Act, 1907. 
Of course this did not really prevent the giving of instruc- 
tions, as the Governor-General as an Imperial officer is subject 
to His Majesty’s directions, or again the discretion he is to 
use is not, it may be said, his individual discretion, but 
his discretion as an Imperial officer ; but to avoid doubt the 
Bloemfontein Conference inserted a reference to the royal 
t So also in Vietoria under Act No. 1864, but there not as of right but 
by permission, and only one minister at a time can use the permission; 
the Union provision is that formerly in force in the Transvaal, Orange 
River Colony, Cape, and Natal. 
' g5, 59-67. This was advised by the Chief Justice of the Cape.