cmap. 11] THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 867
legislation to enforce the new protection policy, and such
amendments of industrial legislation as might be necessary
for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes and
to secure a fair and reasonable wage for all classes of workers
where those matters had been only partially secured or
altogether neglected by state legislation. Any necessary
legislation to deal with trusts and combines would be passed
when required to cope adequately with them. But the
greater part of the state laws would not be affected at all ;
it was not the intention of the Commonwealth to trespass
upon the domain of the states, but to operate effectively in
a sphere in which the states could not by reason of geogra-
phical limitations and circumstances operate effectively and
unaided. Steps would be taken to supplement states wages
boards and states tribunals, but not to supersede them. The
states would still retain great and important powers, in-
cluding land and settlement, development, and protection
of natural resources, roads, forests, mines, water conservation
and irrigation, education, public health, social relations,
criminal law generally, civil law generally, contracts, torts,
real and personal property, &c., liquor and licensing, state
constitution and government, municipal and local govern-
ment, state railways, state works and undertakings, state
taxation, state insurance, state banking, administration of
justice and legal procedure, police, &c.
As against the bold decision to alter the Constitution may
be set the scheme agreed upon in 19091 by the State Premiers
and the Deakin-Cook administration. The plan then was
by legislative action of the state under s. 51 (xxxvii) to allow
industrial disputes which could not be settled by state action
to be referred to an Inter-state Commission on the motion of
a State Court if it found that it was not possible for state
tribunals to settle matters because of unequal conditions of
‘ Commonwealth Parl. Pap., 1909, No. 50; Harrison Moore, op. cit.,
pp. 619-21. The nature of the legislation necessary both to amend the
Constitution and carry out the purpose of the amendment is indicated in
Mr. Glynn's memorandum of August 1909, published in Parl. Pap., 1910,
No. 51, pp. 7, 8.
