1194 ADMINISTRATION AND LEGISLATION [PART V
New Zealand Act and the Commonwealth Lighthouses Bill
of 1911 both ignore these sections. But it seems impossible
to accept the view that these provisions are ultra vires. The
procedure laid down in the Imperial Act applies and must be
followed, if it is desired in virtue of that Act to insure the
payment of dues by all vessels, and the local Act can only be
effective in regard to vessels which come into the ports or
territorial waters of the Colony. On the other hand, it is
not doubtful that parts i, ii, vi, viii, xiii, and xiv in great
measure apply to the Colonies. There is a clear conflict of
jurisdiction between the provision of the Commonwealth
Navigation Bill, which prohibits the use in Australia of a
certificate of an officer cancelled in the Commonwealth and
then re-issued by the Board of Trade. Unless restricted to
the case of coasting and registered vessels the clause must
be regarded as certainly ultra vires the Commonwealth
Parliament.
The question of the powers to be exercised by the Govern-
ments of the Dominions with regard to merchant-shipping
legislation was exhaustively discussed in 1907, at the N. aviga-
tion Conference of that year. Australia and New Zealand
were adequately represented, and though much divergence
of opinion displayed itself during the discussions, ultimately
a full agreement was come to with regard to the principles
on which the merchant-shipping legislation of the Dominions
should be based.
The discussion which took place was, as far as was possible
compatibly with the nature of the subject, not based merely
on legal grounds or on the interpretation of the existing Acts,
but was based upon considerations of expediency and
convenience. The important resolution is No. 9 as explained
vy No. 10, which reads as follows —-1
9. Vessels to which Colonial Conditions are applicable
That the vessels to which the conditions imposed by the
law of Australia or New Zealand are applicable should be
(@) vessels registered in the Colony, while trading therein,
t Parl. Pap., Cd. 3567, p. v.
