cHAP.1I] THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 927
simple majorities in 1857, and a similar provision in Queens-
land was repealed in 1871 while another survived until
1908, then to disappear by a simple majority as a preliminary
to action properly requiring a two-thirds majority, which
could not have possibly been obtained even in the Lower
House, where the numbers were only forty-seven to
twenty-five.
The mode of taking the referendum is provided for by
a Commonwealth Act, No. 11 of 1906, as amended by No. 20
of 1909, and again by No. 31 of 1910,2 which provides for the
issue of a writ to the chief electoral officer for the Common-
wealth and the Commonwealth electoral officers in the several
states. The interest of the state is recognized by the power
of the Governor to demand a recount and to appoint a
scrutineer, while the return for the state must be sent to the
Governor. Any return may be disputed in the High Court,
but a referendum is not vitiated by technical errors which
have not been shown to have affected the result of the
referendum.
No case has yet occurred of a deadlock between the
Houses under this clause, but a simple referendum has taken
place under the provisions of s. 128 on five occasions: The
first occasion was in 1906.2 contemporaneously with the
general election of the House of Representatives of the
Commonwealth on December 12. The question which was
submitted was a minor point as to the date when the elec-
tions of senators should take place. Under the Constitution
of 1900 the term of office of a senator began on the first day
of January following the date of his election. This plan
was found inconvenient, as the general election of the
House of Representatives would normally take place in
April, whereas the Senate elections would have to take place
in the preceding December at the latest. The Common-
wealth Parliament sat, as a rule, during the months from
June to December, and experience showed that senators with
3}
See Queensland Parliamentary Debates, xi. 165 seq. ; c. 163 seq.
See Parliamentary Debates, 1910, pp. 6383 seq.
See Parl. Pap., 1907, No. 7, p. 23.
