5. THE COMMONWEALTH, ITS CONSTITUTION, GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT. The Beginning of the Federal Movement Toward Political Union.— Under the Acts of 63 and 64 Vic., c. 12 (1900) known as the 'Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act,' the people Of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia were united in a Federal Commonwealth under the name of The Com monwealth of Australia; and the old colonies, under the name of states, were declared to be parts of the Commonwealth. This great act marked the completion and consummation of a movement in favor of Australian federation, which extended over a period of nearly 60 years.
In 1847, Earl Grey, Secretary of State for the Colonies, proposed to create a separate legislature in and for Australia in which all the colonies then in existence should be rep resented, and which should have power to make laws in matters of common concern. In 1849, the Privy Council proposed that there should be a General Assembly having power to deal with custom duties, postal matters and to create a Supreme Court of Appeal. In 1853 a committee of the Legislative Council of New South Wales recommended the establishment of a General Assembly. All these proposals, however, were regarded as premature. The following is a summary of other unsuccessful efforts in the same direction; (1857) a select committee of the Victorian Legislative Assem bly agreed that 'the time for union had come'; in the same year a select committee of the New South Wales Parliament passed a similar reso lution; (1860) a select committee of the Vic torian Assembly recommended negotiation; (1862) the Colonial Secretary of South Aus tralia coMmenced correspondence with other colonies urging that a uniform tariff was indis pensable; (1863) tariff conference in Mel bourne; (1865) inter-colonial conference at Sydney resulting in agreement by which the Murray border was made free of fiscal restric tion; (1867) inter-colonial conference in Mel bourne in reference to ocean postal service to Australia at which Sir Henry Parkes said: ((the time has arrived when the colonies should be united)); (1880) inter-colonial conference in Melbourne at which a resolution was passed that ((a Federal Council was needed to deal with the question of inter-colonial interest'; (1883) inter-colonial conference at Sydney at which the necessity of a Federal Council was affirmed, and at which a draft bill was adopted which afterward became law (this council, however, was not a success as only three of the coloniesjoined it); (1890) Federal conference in Melbourne convened by Sir Henry Parkes at which resolutions were passed affirming the necessity for an early con vention of the representatives of all the colonies to prepare a scheme for a Federal constitution.
Convention of On 22 March 1891, the first Federal convention was held in Sydney at which all the Australasian colonies, including New Zealand, were represented by seven delegates chosen by the Parliament of each colony. A constitution was drafted and adopted by the convention, but no practical ac tion was taken to give it effect. In January 1895, a conference of premiers was held at Hobart, at which all the Australasian colonies were represented. It was resolved that 'A con vention consisting of 10 representatives from each colony, directly chosen by the electors, be charged with the duty to frame a constitution; that the constitution so framed be submitted to the electors for acceptance or rejection by direct vote Five of the six colonies, viz., New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tas mania and Western Australia elected 10 rep resentatives. Queensland did not take part in the convention which met in Adelaide in March 1897. C. C. Kingston, then Premier of South Australia, was elected president of the conven tion, which afterward sat in Sydney and Mel bourne. A constitution was drafted, subse quently submitted to the people of the various colonies, and ratified, Queensland coming in at the last moment. The constitution so drafted and ratified by the people pf Australia was afterward embodied in an Imperial Act, came into force and the Commonwealth was pro claimed.