782 THE FEDERATIONS AND THE UNION [ParT IV 
was that it had no executive or judicial power, though the 
creation of an Australian Court of Appeal had been in the 
air since 1861, in great measure in consequence of the trouble 
and expense of carrying appeals home from such distant 
Colonies. Moreover, membership was strictly optional, and 
only Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, and Western Australia 
sent members, as a rule, to its meetings, while Fiji dropped 
out after the first meeting, and New South Wales and New 
Zealand held aloof. Moreover, the jealousy of the powers of 
the Council, which was merely composed of representatives 
nominated by the Legislature, who were all ministers up 
to 1895, when an Order in Council under the Act in 1894 
enlarged its numbers, prevented it having any authority 
to raise a revenue or expend money. It met in 1886 and 
passed laws regarding the enforcement of j udgements beyond 
the limits of each state ; in 1888 it regulated the pearl-shell 
and béche-de-mer fisheries in Australian waters beyond the 
berritorial limits of Queensland. In 1889 it passed a similar 
Act for Western Australia; on this occasion only Southern 
Australia being present under the authority of the temporary 
Act passed by its Parliament in December 1888: in 1891 
its sole activity consisted in an Act for the recognition of 
orders in lunacy by the Supreme Courts of one state in the 
Courts of the others. On this occasion alone Western 
Australia failed to attend. In 1893 it passed an Act to 
regulate the garrison of King George’s Sound and Thursday 
Council sat, and he could reserve Bills, and must reserve all Bills of classes 
1-3, if not previously approved by the Crown, The laws of the Council were 
to override Colonial laws, and the Council could make representations to 
the Crown on matters of general interest or the relations of the Colonies 
with the possessions of foreign powers. It had to meet once in two years 
at least, being summoned by the Governor of the Colony in which it had 
decided to hold its next session ; a special session could be held on a 
requisition from the Governors of three Colonies. Questions were decided 
by individual votes, the President having also a casting vote (ss. 10, 11). 
There were passed also an Interpretation Act (49 Vict. No. 1) and an 
Act to facilitate the proof of Acts of Parliament, signatures of officers, 
Ye. (49 Viet. No. 2); see Quick and Garran, op. cit., p. 377. 
' Mr. Holder tried to rejoin in 1892, but the Upper House refused to 
accept the Bill,