872 THE FEDERATIONS AND THE UNION [parr Iv 
of law with monopolies and trusts which is clearly favoured 
by the vagueness of the powers of Congregs.1 
(9) The Result of the Referenda 
By March the newspapers of the Commonwealth revealed 
doubt as to the possibility of the referenda becoming law. 
With a rare unanimity the ordinary press was opposed to the 
changes in the Constitution, and naturally this told in a 
ountry where papers are unquestionably powerful. A 
marked split developed itself in the Labour party of New 
South Wales when Mr. Holman declared against so wholesale 
a taking over of the powers of states, but was reduced to 
silence by the decision of the party as a whole. Whatever 
the causes, the result was the decisive defeat of the proposals, 
by large majorities in every state save Western Australia. 
The contrast with the results of the general election of 1910 
is instructive. 
The last general election in the Commonwealth was held 
on April 13, 1910.2 There was an election for eighteen mem- 
bers of the Senate, that is half of that body, who retire 
every three years. As each of the six states is one con- 
stituency for the election, and each elector has three votes, 
and there was a good deal of cross voting, it is difficult to 
give figures exactly. 
The electorate consisted of 2,258,482 persons; 62-16 per 
cent. voted ; the aggregate number of votes cast for the 
Government, which carried the whole eighteen seats, was 
2,021,092 ; the total number of votes cast for other candi- 
dates was 1,922,414, giving an aggregate majority of 98,678. 
In the case of the House of Representatives, 71 out of 75 
seats were contested. The available electorate was 2,148,969; 
62-80 per cent. of the electorate voted. The aggregate vote 
cast for labour members was approximately 672,000, that 
ngainst 624,000, leaving an aggregate majority of 48,000 
votes. 
* Cf. Harrison Moore, Op. cit., pp. 549-60 ; Quick and Garran, op. cit, 
op. 515-49, 
* See Parl. Pap., 1910, No. 1.