SHAP. VII] MERCHANT SHIPPING 1197 
the highest legal authority, these sections accurately and 
°Xclusively define the powers of the New Zealand Parliament, 
subject to the remark that of course the Parliament of the 
Dominion can re-enact any provisions of the Imperial 
Merchant Shipping Act, and subject to the fact that, as has 
been noted above, by certain other sections of the Imperial 
Merchant Shipping Act special powers of legislation are given 
dn certain matters to Dominion Parliaments, 
In the case of the Commonwealth of Australia these 
powers are undoubtedly possessed by the Commonwealth 
Parliament, but in addition s. 5 of the Commonwealth of 
Australia Constitution Act ® provides that ‘the laws of the 
Commonwealth shall be in force on all British ships, the 
Queen’s ships of war excepted, whose first port of clearance 
and whose port of destination are in the Commonwealth ’, 
The meaning of this clause would appear to be to extend 
the legislative powers of the Commonwealth with regard 
to merchant shipping not only to registered vessels and 
vessels engaged in the coasting trade, but to vessels even if 
not registered or engaged in the coasting trade, strictly 
speaking, if they fall within the ambit of the words of the 
section. Of course the section means much more than that, 
in that it puts the other laws of the Commonwealth in force 
on board these vessels, but with regard to merchant shipping 
its effect must be as stated. 
The precise meaning of the clause has fortunately received 
judicial interpretation in the High Court of the Common- 
wealth in 1908 in the case of The Merchant Service Guild of 
Australasia v. Archibald Currie and Company Proprietary, 
Limited.® In that case a joint stock company registered in 
Victoria were owners of a line of ships registered in Melbourne 
' Parl, Pap., Cd, 4355, pp. 19, 20. * 63 & 64 Vict. c. 12. 
*5C. LR. 737. This supports Quick and Garran’s view, Constitution 
of Commonweaish, P- 361. But it must be emphasized that it applies only 
to vessels which, wherever registered, have a real home in Australia. It 
Seems reasonable, it may be added, that the power should exist and should 
be given to the other Dominions. See also Harrison Moore, Commonwealth 
of Australia,? pp. 74, 80, 261, 281 ; above, pp. 400, 401, 
12793