CHAP, I] THE UNITY OF THE EMPIRE 1457
came neatly out ; in that case the New South Wales Govern-
ment were sued in a New South Wales Court on a contract
to pay a soldier ten shillings a day for service in South Africa.
The Imperial Government had paid him four shillings and
sixpence a day, and the New South Wales Government
claimed to set this amount off against the total claim, The
Privy Council held that this could be done, and they stated
that in such a case there could be no difference asserted
between the Crown in its several positions as the Crown in
the United Kingdom, and the Crown in the State of New
South Wales. Nor can it be held that this judgement is
in any way inconsistent with the rule that Colonial claims
against the Crown are not subjects in which here a petition
of right will normally be allowed ;! it cannot safely be
said that they will never be allowed ; but in any case the
position is simply that a creditor should sue the Crown in
the Courts of the Government which contracted the debt,
and which is answerable for it. It is not at all likely that
the Crown could recover against a defendant who had
paid the debt to a Colonial Government, any more than
a plaintiff can recover when the debt has been paid by the
Crown in some other capacity, and it does not seem that the
fact of the claim being a military one could be held to make
any difference.?
2 2, Furure PROSPECTS
In the period 1884-93, the question of Imperial federation
was extremely prominent and was repeatedly debated.?
Febraary 11, 1905, p. 34. Cf. also Sloman v. Government of New Zealand,
1 C. P.D. 563; inre Oriental Bank, 28 Ch, D. 643: in re Bateman’s Trust,
L5 Eq. 355.
' Cf. Robertson, Proceedings by and against the Crown, p. 340. The
author is wrong in thinking that a petition of right is not available against
» Colonial Government in the Courts of the Colony ; see Clode, Petition of
Right, In Dinizulu’s case the Attorney-General in England admitted that he
had a legal right to the salary promised him from Natal funds. Cf. p. 145,
* Harrison Moore, Commonwealth of Australia,’ p. 89. seems to suggest
that this is the differentia.
¥ Ct. Ewart, Kingdom of Canada, pp. 159-68 ; Dilke, Problems of Greater
