CHAP.1v] ALTERATION OF THE CONSTITUTION 433 
with regard to majorities had been adopted in accordance 
with its usual practice of following exactly the constitution 
of the Mother Colony. It was provided by s. 91 that any 
alteration of the Legislative Council required the passing of 
the second and third readings of the Bill with the concurrence 
of two-thirds of members for the time being of the Council 
and the Assembly respectively, and every such Bill was to be 
reserved and a copy to be laid before both Houses of Parlia- 
ment for a period of thirty days at least before Her Majesty’s 
assent thereon was signified. These provisions were applied as 
in New South Wales by s. 10 to the Lower House,? with the 
alteration that a majority of members only was necessary in 
the Legislative Council, and the assent of the Queen was not to 
be given until an address had been presented by the Legis- 
lative Assembly to the Governor, stating that the Bill had 
been so passed. This latter provision was repealed by a simple 
Act, 34 Vict. No 28, in 1871, after an attempt had failed in 
1870, but the proviso with regard to the Legislative Council 
did not disappear until Act No. 2 of 1 908, when it was repealed 
by a simple Act, despite the protests of those who held that 
it should have been passed by two-thirds majorities in both 
Houses, a step which would have been impossible in view of 
the relations of parties at the time. 
In the case of South Australia 3 it was provided that 
alterations in the constitution of the Houses should only be 
made if passed by absolute majorities in both Houses on the 
second and third readings, and the inconvenience of this pro- 
vision was seen in 1910, when the Lower House had a majority 
in favour of passing the Bill of that year to reduce the 
Council franchise to that of the Assembly, but by accident an 
absolute majority was not available on the occasion of the 
Second reading of the Bill and the standing orders had to be 
* Of the Act 31 Vict. No. 38, following clause xxii of the Order in Council 
of June 6, 1859, 
* This is not in the Order in Council but is taken from 18& 19 Vict. c. 54, 
sched. 5. 15. The rule disappeared in 1857 in New South Wales. 
' Act No. 2 of 1855-6, 5. 34. This requirement as to majorities being 
disregarded led to the invalidity of the Electoral Act, 1861, and the Regis- 
tration Act, 1862, validated by 26 & 27 Vict. c. 84. 
1279 af