Responsible government in the Dominions: Responsible government in the Dominions

Responsible government in the Dominions (Vol. 2)

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Multivolume work

Identifikator:: 1896405266

Document type:: Multivolume work

Title:: J. v. Staudingers Kommentar zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch und dem Einführungsgesetze

Place of publication:: München [u.a.]

Publisher:: Schweitzer

Year of publication:: 1910-1911

Collection:: Economics Books

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Volume

Identifikator:: 1896406157

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-242028

Document type:: Volume

Title:: Recht der Schuldverhältnisse

Volume count:: Bd. 2

Place of publication:: München [u.a.]

Publisher:: Schweitzer

Year of publication:: 1910

Scope:: S. 926 - 1811

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Chapter

Document type:: Multivolume work

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Siebenter Titel. Werkvertrag / Erläutert von Dr. Karl Kober

Collection:: Economics Books

cHAP. I] THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 937 whether or not the new arrangement will be more satisfactory than the old. As far as appears, the proposal of a referendum for deciding matters of dispute between the two Houses is not at present favourably regarded in any part of the Dominions. The Bill introduced into the House of Lords in 1911 by Lord Balfour of Burleigh to provide for the taking of a poll of the parliamentary electors went much beyond anything which exists in the Colonies.! It is true that in the Common- wealth and in Queensland there is provision for a referendum in cases of Bills being rejected by the Upper House, but these provisions differ considerably from those in Lord Balfour’s Bill, and in particular there is no provision for an artificial majority such as that laid down in s. 10 of the Bill, which required that the total affirmative vote in the United Kingdom must exceed the total negative vote by not less than 2 per cent. of the latter vote before a Bill could be presented for the royal assent. This provision in Lord Balfour’s Bill was clearly and unquestionably, as compared with Colonial laws, undemocratic. In the case of the Commonwealth, and in the case of Queensland alike, the requirements of the law are satisfied by majorities, and there is no attempt to secure an artificial majority of 2 per cent. Completely without parallel in the Dominions was the provision proposed to be made by the second section of Lord Balfour’s Bill for the reference to the people of Bills which had been passed by both Houses of Parliament, but against which a petition signed by not less than 200 members of the House of Commons, praying that the Bill might be submitted to a poll of the Parliamentary electors, was presented to the Crown. In no Dominion is there any provision or any suggestion of a provision that an Act which has received the approval of both Houses should be passed upon by the people, and the requirement of an artificial majority of 2 per cent. would add strongly to the obvious objections to such a provision. It is true that the Labour party in Australia has advocated for years the use of the referendum for challenging laws passed by the Parliament, just as can be done in Switzerland in certain conditions, but it is clear that for this particular proposal there is no popular demand in Australia generally, and this special view belongs to the socialistic propaganda of the Labour party, which 1s completely out of harmony with the wishes of many of the people of Australia. ! House of Lords Debates, vii. 657 seq., T13 seq.

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