Guide 3 to NSW State Archives relating to Responsible Government - OCR - Flipbook - Page 207
A Guide to New South Wales State Archives relating to Responsible Government
A suite of bills relating to the reform of the Legislative Council had been passed in the
Legislature: the Constitution Further Amendment (Legislative Council Elections) Act,
1932 (assented to on 17 June 1933); the Constitution Amendment (Legislative Council)
Act, 1932, (assented to on 22 June 1933); and the Constitution Amendment (Legislative
Council Elections) Act, 1933 (assented to on 25 September 1933). There was a delay in
the assent of the Constitution Amendment (Legislative Council Elections) Bill which was
caused by proceedings instituted in the Supreme Court in Equity for an injunction to
restrain the Electoral Commissioner from returning the writ and the President of the
Legislative Council from presenting the Bill to the Governor for the Royal assent.
However, the suit was dismissed on 5 September 1933 with an unanimous judgment
that the challenged Acts and provisions were valid.
A Referendum was held on 13 May 1933 at which, by a narrow majority of 40,904, the
electorate approved the Constitution Amendment (Legislative Council) Act. The main
provisions of the Act approved by the electors were those reducing and limiting the
number of Members in the Legislative Council to 60 with a specified term of service
instead of for life; providing for an elective instead of a nominee Chamber; defining the
powers of the new Council; and providing for the settlement of deadlocks by referendum.
The Members of the Legislative Assembly and the non-retiring Members of the Legislative
Council comprised the "electorate". They voted as one electoral body and recorded their
votes at simultaneous sittings of the respective Houses of Parliament. In the election of
the first House of 60 Members, four separate ballots were taken between 2 November
and 14 December 1933, and in each 15 Members were elected. The term of service was
12 years for the first 15 elected, and 9, 6 and 3 years respectively for each successive
group. Thereafter one fourth of the Members were to be elected every three years at an
election to take place during the six months immediately preceding the retirement of the
15 Members whose term of service was about to expire. Members elected to fill casual
vacancies would serve only the unexpired period of the term of the vacant seat.
The first sitting of the reconstituted Legislative Council was 24 April 1934.
Governor
Subject bundles — Papers of Sir Dudley de Chair on the
Constitution Crisis of 1926, 1914-27
CGS 4542,
[12/2031.3-.9]
Comprises a number of parts as follows.
[12/2031.3] Papers re official visit to England by the Attorney
General, Edward A McTiernan, 1926-27 (Comprises copies of
telegrams with translations; despatches from and to the Secretary
of State; proof of the Votes and Proceedings of 28 October 1926;
newspaper clippings; and Legislative Assembly paper
Appointments to the Legislative Council: Memorandum by The
Hon. E A McTiernan, Attorney-General of New South Wales
regarding certain aspects of the Constitutional Position in this
State, ordered to be printed 16 November 1926.)
204
[12/2031.3]
State Records Authority of New South Wales
