910 THE FEDERATIONS AND THE UNION [PART IV
proclamation by the Crown, the frontier is so altered, while
by the Constitution Act for Western Australia ! the Crown
has power to annex one portion of a Colony to another. It
is certain that all these powers remained in existence up to
the date of the Commonwealth, and that the provisions are
by that Constitution impliedly repealed, as Professor Harrison
Moore 2 suggests, seem very improbable, and in the case of
demarking a contiguous boundary, he admits that there
may be doubt. Indeed, in 1908 there was a proposal on foot
bo settle the disputed boundary between the States of South
Australia and Victoria by such an agreement, which fell
through because the Parliament of Victoria, being convinced
that the land belonged by right to Victoria, was not prepared
bo pay the sum agreed upon provisionally by its Premier.
§ 9. Parva AND THE NORTHERN TERRITORY
(a) Papua
So far the only territory which has been taken over from
the Crown by the Commonwealth is the territory of British
New Guinea, being the portion of New Guinea which
was secured by the British Government in the struggle for
its possession which ensued on the over-zealous annexation
by Queensland in April 1883 of the portion not claimed by
the Dutch. A Protectorate was proclaimed by Commodore
Erskine in November 1884 over the south-east coast and
adjacent islands, and a special commissioner, Sir Peter
Scratchley, was appointed in 1885, but died the same year,
being appropriately succeeded by the Hon. John Douglas,
formerly Premier of Queensland. At the Colonial Conference
of 18873 there was much discussion of the Western Pacific,
and much dissatisfaction was expressed with the Imperial
Government, but on that occasion the Colonial Premiers
undertook to do what was clearly essential, viz. to make
good the cost of governing the island, the annexation of which
was clearly of no Imperial interest, and the cost of govern-
' 53 & 54 Vict. c. 26. * Op. cit., p. 596.
* Parl. Pap., C. 5091. See also C. 3617, 3691, 3814 (1883); 3839, 3863
(1884) ; 4217, 4273. 4290, 4441, 4584 (1884-5) ; 4656 (1886).
