1126 ADMINISTRATION AND LEGISLATION [PART V
It is clear that the treaties which were binding on the
states before federation remain binding on the Common-
wealth in respect of these states after federation. That has
been recognized by the fact that the Anglo-Japanese Treaty
of 1894, as applied to Queensland by the protocol of 1897, was
denounced at the request of the Commonwealth Government.
The same doctrine of the continuing effect of treaties
binding on Australian States before federation has been laid
down by the Secretary of State in the case of the Anglo-
French Declaration of 1889 respecting wreck, and of the
adherence of all the Australian States, save Victoria, to the
Anglo-French Mailship Convention of August 30, 1890.
The case of South Africa presents no difficulties: the Union
power of legislation is paramount (9 Edw. VIL ec. 9, s. 59),
and the Union takes over the burden of any treaty binding
upon a Colony at Union (s. 148) in respect of that territory.
§ 5. THE RaTiFicATION OF TREATIES
The legal theory is that the Crown makes treaties and
ratifies treaties on its own responsibility without reference
to Parliament. The theory is no doubt correct, but in
practice it has been of late years considerably modified. In
the first place, in deference to considerations of political
expediency, important changes, such as those of the cession
of Heligoland in 1890 and the French Convention of 1904,
have been made subject to the approval of Parliament.
Secondly, the Government have hesitated to ratify treaties
which would have altered the law of the land without
first obtaining the necessary alteration of the law. Good
instances are the cases of the Copyright Act of 1886, passed
to render possible adherence to ‘the Convention of Berne,
and the similar Bill introduced in 1910 and again in 1911 to
render possible ratification of the Berlin Convention of 1908.
Again, in the session of 1910 Bills were introduced to allow
of the ratification of the Hague Conventions of 1907.
Moreover, even in the case of treaties which do not require
any alteration of the law, as in the case of the International
1 Cf, Parl. Pap., Cd. 3891, p. 6; 4355, p. 12.
