Guide 3 to NSW State Archives relating to Responsible Government - OCR - Flipbook - Page 211
A Guide to New South Wales State Archives relating to Responsible Government
On 13 May 1933 the Referendum was held, at which the
Constitution Amendment (Legislative Council) Act had been
approved by the electors. The results of the Referendum were
published in the Government Gazette of 6 June 1933. The number
of votes in favour of the Bill, the "Yes" votes, was 716,938; the
number of votes not in favour of the Bill, the "No" votes, 676,034;
informal votes, 18,144; the total votes being 1,411,116.
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.
This file contains papers relating to the granting of the assent to a
suite of bills relating to the reform of the Legislative Council: the
Constitution Further Amendment (Legislative Council Elections)
Act, 1932 assented to on 17 June 1933; the Constitution
Amendment (Legislative Council) Act, 1932, on 22 June 1933; and
the Constitution Amendment (Legislative Council Elections) Act,
1933 on 25 September 1933.
A delay in the assent of the Constitution Amendment (Legislative
Council Elections) Bill 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. The statement of claim challenged the validity of
both the reform and the machinery Acts — ie the Constitution
Amendment (Legislative Council) Act, 1932, and the Constitution
Further Amendment (Legislative Council Elections) Act, 1932 —
and also provisions of the Bill. The suit was dismissed on
5 September 1933 with an unanimous judgment that the
challenged Acts and provisions were valid. Instructions to assent
to the Constitution Amendment (Legislative Council Elections) Bill
were given to the Governor in the Secretary of State's telegram of
23 September 1933.
Included are: copies of the bills/acts relating to the reform of the
Legislative Council; opinions from the Attorney General;
despatches, including telegraphic despatches, between the
Governor and the Secretary of State; messages from the Governor
to the Parliament; cable cipher codes; ciphering and deciphering of
cables; copies of Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative
Assembly and Minutes of the Proceedings of the Legislative Council
(that of 28 June 1933 relates to questions asked about the validity
of the referendum on the Constitution Amendment (Legislative
Council) Bill); and minutes from the Premier. Among the
messages from the Governor is one dated 10 October 1933
advising that a writ directed to Cecil Harnett Hamilton Calvert,
Clerk of the Parliaments as Returning Officer, had been issued for
the election of 60 Members to constitute the Legislative Council of
New South Wales.
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State Records Authority of New South Wales
