LABOUR AND THE CONSTITUTION, 471 
But there are other difficulties in the way of giving the decisions of the 
Council mandatory power. In the first place, the creation of a body 
with such authority would make it, in effect, the legislating authority, 
and legislation would virtually cease to be provincial. Instead of 
being provincialised, legislation would have been taken away from 
one form of Central Legislature and entrusted to another. Nor would 
the change be for the better, for the new body would be less represent- 
ative of the community as a whole than the old one, it would be less 
able to assume responsibility for the administration of its own decrees, 
and it could not be given the power of taxing public funds, so that 
decisions that involve charges on these funds (and some charge is in- 
separable from most labour laws) could hardly be mandatory. If 
it is possible to keep legislation central, we consider the authority 
finally responsible for legislation must be the Central Legislature. 
Functions of the Council. 
If, therefore, authority to legislate in labour matters were with- 
drawn from the centre in whole or in part, the Council’s functions in 
respect of such legislation could hardly exceed the preparation of legislative 
proposals for the provincial legislatures and the exercise of such autho- 
rity as may be delegated to them by legislative enactments. Legislative 
proposals would be prepared either on the initiative of the Council or 
on references to them by provincial Governments or Legislatures, and 
they could be prepared for provincial or general application as the case 
required. If, in respect of any proposal for the adoption of general 
legislation, a resolution had the support of not less than two-thirds of 
the Government representatives, it might be made obligatory for pro- 
vineial Governments within a specified time to submit the proposals to 
Sheir respective legislatures for a decision as to their adoption or rejec- 
tion. We do not advise going further than this. The Council would 
thus be able to overcome the- initial difficulties in the way of translating 
its desires into action and its composition and outlook would, we hope, 
make it a powerful influence on public opinion ; but the final voice 
would rest with the members of the legislatures. We would emphasise 
our view that, whether the Council is dealing with central or provincial 
legislation, the assistance which it can render the Governments and the 
community will depend, not on the results of votes but on the actual 
discussion and on the extent to which members starting with different 
outlooks can reach common conclusions. While voting may be neces- 
sary on a number of occasions, the aim should be to avoid divisions 
as far as possible. As a minor discouragement to endeavours on the 
part of employers’ or workers’ representatives to vote down their 
opponents with the aid of the other votes, we suggest that votes should 
be recorded separately in three groups, one including employers’ 
representatives, one workers’ representatives and one the remaining 
members. 
Administration and Finance. 
The Council will probably find it necessary to set up a small 
committee for the administration of matters of importance relating to