cap. I] THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 865
(e) The Referenda of 1911
As the result of the unsatisfactory position as to the
powers of the Commonwealth Parliament the Labour
Government secured the passing through the Commonwealth
Parliament of two Bills which, had they been accepted at the
referendum on April 26, would have given to the Parliament
of the Commonwealth all necessary power to deal with
questions affecting trade and labour conditions.
Tt was proposed by the first Bill, the Constitution Alteration
(Legislative Powers) Bill, 1910, to amend s. 51 of the Constitu-
tion by omitting from paragraph (i) the words * with other
countries and among the states’, thus giving to the Parlia-
ment full power to deal with trade and commerce throughout
the Commonwealth, and by inserting as a new paragraph xx,
in place of the old paragraph which ran ‘ Foreign corpora-
tions, and trading or financial corporations formed within
the limits of the Commonwealth’, the new clauses already
cited which extend the powers of the Parliament as to (a) the
creation, dissolution, regulation, and control of Common-
wealth corporations; and as to state and foreign cor-
porations.!
The old paragraph xxxv of s. 51 of the Constitution was to
be altered by omitting the words ‘ Conciliation and Arbitra-
tion for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes
extending beyond the limits of any one state’, and inserting
in their place the words ‘ Labour and employment including
(@) the wages and conditions of labour and employment in
any trade, industry, or calling, and (b) the prevention and
settlement of industrial disputes, including disputes in
Vine, Fruit, and Vegetable Protection Act, 1885 (No. 345). Cf. also
the Tasmania Act No. 5 of 1909 regarding potatoes. Cf. also the dispute
against the federal regulation limiting the weight of corn sacks. Victoria
Parl. Pap., 1908, No. 21, p. vii.
1 See especially Parliamentary Debates, 1910, pp. 4676 seq, 4801 seq,
1912 seq., 5014 seq., 5185 seq., 5294 seq., 5395 seq., 6170 seq. For a oriti-
sism, cf, Turner, Australian Commonwealth, pp. 297 seq. The Australian
newspapers from March to April are full of discussions regarding the
Bills. Cf. Keith, Journ. Soc. Comp. Leg., xii. 119, 120.
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