cHAP, 11] THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 933 
a majority of some 14,000 for prohibition out of a total vote 
of 543,058! No more than 23 per cent. of the electorate 
were those in favour of a prohibitory law, and Sir Wilfrid 
Laurier, in the Canadian House of Commons on March 21, 
1899.2 definitely stated that the voice of the electorate as 
expressed was not such as to warrant the Government in 
introducing a prohibitory measure, and he indicated that 
unless at least one-half of the electorate recorded their votes 
in favour of the policy it would not be possible to expect 
Parliament to pass a prohibitory measure. Nor has Parlia- 
ment taken any steps to pass that measure, partly no doubt 
in view of the continuous hostility of the Province of Quebec. 
[n 1910 a referendum was taken in Queensland under the 
authority of Act No. 11 of 1908 on the question of religious 
instruction in the schools. The referendum was taken con- 
temporaneously with the general election for Members of the 
House of Representatives of the Australian Commonwealth, 
and the result was decisively in favour of the introduction of 
denominational education with a conscience clause. Parlia- 
ment accordingly passed an Act (No. 5) permitting such educa- 
tion. It should, however, be noted that the case was very 
exceptional. The Premier and several members of Parlia- 
ment who voted for the Bill expressly explained that they 
were hostile to the measure, but that they thought them- 
selves bound to carry out the decision of the people as 
expressed at the referendum ; though there was a majority 
of 17,0003 in favour of the proposal, the total vote was small 
—about 54 per cent.—and was declared by the opponents of 
the Bill to be completely unrepresentative. At any rate, 
the result appears to have given rise to widespread dissatis- 
faction in Queensland. The cost was £4,879 18s. 3d. 
Under Act No. 1025 of South Australia of 1910, a refer- 
endum was taken in April 1911 to decide whether the salaries 
of members of Parliament should be increased from £200 to 
£300. The Parliament of the Commonwealth in 1907, and 
those of Tasmania and Western Australia in 1910, increased 
* The actual figures were: for, 278,487 ; against, 264,571. The total 
slectorate was 1,236,419. There were majorities in all the provinces save 
Quebec. See Canada Sess. Pap., 1899, No. 20; Biggar, Sir 0. Mowat, 
ii. 527-40; Hopkins, Sir J. Thompson, pp. 423 seq. 
? Debates, i. 99. 1Ibid., i. 95, will be found a strong pronouncement by 
the Prime Minister showing that his view was that a referendum was only 
justified by the undertaking given by the party before coming into power. 
So as regards reciprocity in 1911 he repudiated the referendum theory. 
¥ Exact ficures were: for, 74,228 : against, 56,681 : informal, 7.651.