cmap. 11] THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 909 
state may be formed out of territory separated from a 
state, but the consent of the Parliament of that state is 
required, and a new state may be formed by the union of two 
or more states, but the consent of the Parliaments is needed 
in that case also. Moreover, a state is allowed by s. 111 to 
surrender a portion of its territory to the Commonwealth, 
and if a surrender takes place, the Commonwealth can then, 
ander s. 122, legislate as it likes for the territory in question. 
The combined effect of all these provisions isa little curious. 
The power to admit clearly refers to cases like those of Fiji 
or New Zealand, which are outside the Commonwealth. The 
power to create a state out of territory of which the Common- 
wealth becomes possessed would operate of course to enable 
the Commonwealth to create into a state the territory of 
Papua, if it so deemed proper. Tt is curious that, as a result 
of the operation of s. 111, that although one state might 
surrender territory to the Commonwealth, the Common- 
wealth could only add the territory to another after both the 
Parliament and the electorate had agreed. It may be noted 
also that any change which affects a state’s limits cannot 
be carried by an amendment of the Constitution unless the 
majority of electors in the state concur in the proposal. 
It is a question of some difficulty whether the provisions 
of the Constitution have affected in any way the provisions 
in older Imperial Acts which authorize changes of boundary. 
Thus by the Imperial Act of 1850 8 the Crown is empowered 
to change the boundaries of New South Wales and Victoria, 
by the Act of 18554 the two Colonies can alter by concurrent 
legislation their boundary on the Murray River, by the Act 
of 18615 any Governors of contiguous Colonies can with the 
advice of their Executive Councils alter the frontier, and, on 
! This is the authority for the transfer of the Northern Territory ; see 
below. 
2 They have clearly invalidated the application to the States of the 
Commonwealth of the Colonial Boundaries Act, 1895, and, as Quick and 
Garran (pp. 975, 976) point out, with very little cause. 
3 13 & 14 Vict. c. 59, s. 30. 
1 18 & 19 Vict. c. 54, 8. 5. 
5 04 & 25 Vict. c. 44, 8. 5.