134 THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNMENT [PART II
Governor-General of Australia, by the vesting in him under
the Constitution, ss. 2 and 61, of the Executive Government of
the Commonwealth, and the same view appears to have been
held by Mr. Justice Clark.! It would be a mistake to suppose
that there is any difference in the delegation of the executive
powers in the cases of the Governors-General of the Federa-
tions and the Union and the delegation of the Governors
of Colonies and States. The former delegation takes place
by statute, but it is no more full and effectual than in the
latter case, save in so far as the powers necessary for the
Executive Government of a federation with larger legislative
powers than those of a simple Colony may exceed the powers
of the Governors of simple Colonies.
It should, however, be noted that an act of State can be
ratified ex post facto, and possibly thus a Governor could be
enabled to perform one? though this case has not yet, it
seems, occurred.’
$8. THE LIABILITY OF A GOVERNOR TO SUIT
The legal cases which decide that the Governor has none
of the privileges of a Viceroy have been quoted above for
the most part in the judgement of the Privy Council in
the case of Musgrave v. Pulido. A Governor may be sued
in the Courts of the Colony over which he is Governor
for private debts, whether contracted in the Colony or
outside? He may be sued also for acts done in his
official position as Governor? In both cases also he
may be sued in England subject to the ordinary principles
of private international law.® The case is neatly exem-
Australian Constitutional Law, p. 66.
} Bee the judgements on the Victoria case, 14V. L. R. 349, though those of
a’Beckett and Holroyd JJ. are doubtful even of that. See pp. 120, 169.
® Hill v. Bigge, 3 Moo. P. C. 465. This overrides Harvey v. Lord
Aylmer, 1 Stuart, 542, decided on the strength of the dictum in Fabrigas v.
Mostyn, that a Governor could not be sued in his own Colony ; see Wheeler,
Oonfederation Law, p. 10. * Musgrave v. Pulido, 5 App. Cas. 102,
Fabrigas v. Mostyn, 20 St. Tr. 81; Glynn v. Houston, 2 M. & G. 337;
Wall v. Macnamara, cited in 1 T. R. 536. Cf. Forsyth, Cases and Opinions
on Constitutional Law, p. 84.
