cHAP. 11] THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 917
the land at the date that it was acquired. For the enforce-
ment of laws in force in the territory and the administration
of justice the inferior Courts of the State of New South
Wales shall continue to have the jurisdiction which they had
before the commencement of the Act and shall exercise such
jurisdiction as is conferred on them by ordinance by the
Governor-General in Council.
(c) The Northern Territory
As early as 1907 the Parliament of South Australia passed
an Act to permit of the surrender of the Northern Territory
to the Commonwealth, but the acceptance of the territory
was long delayed by difficulties as to the terms. The
Northern Territory, though an integral part of South Aus-
tralia, has always been treated in a different manner from
the rest of the country, as has been rendered necessary by
its infinitesimal white population and immense area. More-
over, the only railway communication in it consists of a line
from Port Augusta in the state to Oodnadatta and a line
from Port Darwin to the station Pine Creek, 146 miles south.
The gap intervening between Pine Creek and Oodnadatta is
no less than twelve hundred miles, and the state was in no
position to spend the large sum necessary for the extension
of the railway system.
Under the terms of the Northern Territory Acceptance
Bill of 1909 and the Act of 1910, the Commonwealth Govern-
ment has taken over the whole control of the Northern
Territory of South Australia, henceforth to be named the
Northern Territory of Australia, the Civil Service and all
Cf. St. Ledger, Federation or Unification? chap. v, for a concise
view of the position from the Queensland outlook. The linking up of the
northern, central and southern railway system of Queensland, there referred
to as inevitable, has been arranged for by the Queensland Acts Nos. 11
and 12 of 1910, see Parl. Pap., Cd. 5582, pp. 32, 33. The question of sub-
dividing Queensland has been repeatedly discussed in the state, e.g. in
1891, 1896, and 1905. See also Parl. Deb., 1910, pp. 221 seq., where the
question whether a referendum would Le needed under s. 123 of the Con-
stitution or merely the consent of both State and Federal Parliaments is
discussed.
